Why Restaurant Servers Cringe When Families With Small Kids Are Seated in Their Section

Nowadays, there seems to be a conflict between restaurant servers and customers. Restaurant servers work long hours standing on their feet, taking orders, serving meals, cleaning up, earning minimum wage, and more. And many people tend to think that it can’t be all that bad working as a restaurant server. We have done some research and discovered a few reasons why restaurant servers cringe when families with small kids are seated in their section. Let’s take a look at a few incidents that some Reddit and Quora users have experienced while serving families with small kids.

Running Around the Restaurant

It is best to start disciplining your child and teach them that certain things are not meant to be done. Take a look at our tips on how to discipline your toddler.

Allowing your child to run around the restaurant can be disruptive to other customers dining. However, it is important to note that allowing this type of behavior can be extremely dangerous. Servers move around quickly and often serve numerous tables at the same time, carrying hot food, glasses, sharp knives, and more. These types of things can hurt the child as well as the server. Let's see what they have to say.

Reddit users' experiences:

• One night a family came into the restaurant just before closing; the servers had just finished cleaning up. The kids ran around the whole restaurant, including the kitchen. They threw sugar all over the floors. He also mentioned that he got called to their table more than 8 times for various things. After the family left, he had to stay late to clean the whole restaurant again.

Where Children Are Seated

Servers do not have control over where someone is going to seat their toddler or baby; it may be in a normal chair or a high chair. However, they don’t sit still and reach out to grab things quickly.

Reddit users' experiences:

• Had an experience where she was serving a meal on a sizzler plate, and the three-year-old reached up and grabbed the hot plate. The child and the server got burned quite badly. The parents and the boss were furious.
• Challenging when parents with babies put the stroller in the center of the aisle. This makes it difficult to serve food to the customer, stretching over to reach the table. It also makes it difficult to get past the stroller to their other tables while holding food and drinks.
• Children sitting under the table and coloring or playing with toys. This user mentioned that every time he walked past the table, the child was under the table and kept throwing toys and crayons at the waiters when they walked past. Another user mentioned two kids playing under the table, and they started arguing. One kid stood up under the table and banged his head, and all the drinks on the table spilled everywhere. The parents were furious and demanded another round of drinks free of charge.
• Putting small children at a separate table is another problem servers have experienced. Parents tend to carry on with their conversations and leave the kids unattended, expecting the server to babysit while they eat their meal in peace.

Spills and Messes

The next reason why restaurant servers cringe when families with small kids are seated in their section is spills and messes. We understand that kids are messy and often accidentally spill things. However, there are some instances where kids do this intentionally and parents don’t do anything to stop them. Servers need to be prepared to clean up the mess and make sure their dining area is clean. This additional cleaning can take up valuable time.

Reddit users' experiences:

• Using the crayons to color all the sugar packets in a variety of colors. Opening all the salt and spreading it all over the table. This user said she arrived at the table with the meals, and the whole table was snow-white and covered in salt. It looked like a zen garden. The restaurant was busy, and she had to take the food back to the kitchen. She returned to clean up the table mess and went back to the kitchen for the food. Once she served the food, the family complained it was cold and said it was because she took too long to clean up the salt.
• Cleaning mashed spaghetti, other foods, and ketchup out of the creases in the highchair.
• Another server said that the kids would rip up napkins and throw ice around everywhere, and the parents just let them continue. 

Points on how to go about it:

• Don’t pretend nothing happened and carry on.
• Don’t wave your hand in the air, demanding the server clean it up. They probably will clean it but may secretly not like you for it.
• Do apologize even though it was an accident. Apologies can go a long way, and your server will appreciate it.
• Do ask for a cloth and tell your server you will clean it. They obviously won’t let you clean it up but will appreciate your offer. At the end, you will have a clean, dry table. You will be the good books, and everyone will like and appreciate you for it.

Bathroom Mess

Bathroom mess is another reason why restaurant servers cringe when families with small kids are seated in their section. Reddit and Quora users have complained that young children are not supervised when going to the bathroom. They have caught children scribbling with crayons all over the walls, throwing toilet rolls down the toilet, playing with water, spitting water on the mirrors, and emptying all the handwash in the basin. These are all problems that servers need to clean up, which can be very frustrating. Customers without children have also complained about bathroom messes.

Noise

One of the most notable reasons why restaurant servers cringe when families with small kids are seated in their area is that kids are loud and noisy. This can often be a disturbance for customers who do not have children. Children can be disruptive towards other customers by staring over the booth and being loud and screaming. Reddit users mentioned that while children scream and cry, the parents just leave them to continue doing it instead of taking the child outside to calm down for a few minutes.

Points on how to go about it:

Maybe your baby or toddler is tired, hungry, needs a nappy change, or upset, and the whole restaurant can hear him or her crying and screaming, and they just want to put their fingers in their ears. We know babies and toddlers can be difficult and cry. The worst thing you can do is just sit there. Instead, address the situation.

• If your baby is crying, feed it, pick it up, and cuddle it. Walk away from the dining area or take a walk outside until it stops crying. The staff and patrons will be appreciative and give you a thumbs up because you actively did something about it.

Increased Expectations and Criticism

Servers have found that parents with small kids tend to be more demanding and expect immediate service and attention for their children. This can make the server feel nervous and put pressure on exceeding their expectations.

Furthermore, parents tend to complain about the food if their kids are unhappy with what they have been served. Another point to consider is that some kids don’t like fine dining. Why would you pay for a sous vide barbecue beef sirloin and the kid doesn’t want it when they would be happy with chips and chicken nuggets?

Parents Don’t Tip Enough

As a server, you know the chances of getting a decent tip when families with small kids are seated in your section are slim to none. Some Reddit users shared that parents had said they wouldn’t tip because they have kids to feed. However, that is unfair; many servers also have kids, which means they too have mouths to feed. Keep in mind that some restaurants do not pay an hourly wage and tips only are their only source of income. However, there are families out there that acknowledge when their child has been disruptive, made a huge mess, or broken items and have given the server a decent tip. 

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Luis Molinero/Shutterstock.com.