The other day, I had a family with three smaller children sit at my
table during the end of a slow lunch shift. I was already not happy
about waiting on them because I was getting ready to clock out when
they came strolling in. But, I go there, put on my best server smile,
and go take their orders.
Normally, I don’t have issues with waiting on kids. Most of the ones I
wait on are just fine and make minimal messes and are well-behaved.
And usually, the parents are stars at keeping riled up children under
control. This was not the case. First thing I notice, is that this
family brought a freaking iPad for the kids to play with while they
ate. That is one of my biggest pet peeves in restaurants. If you want
a nice meal out with the FAMILY, at least try and engage in
conversation with the kids or bring them a quiet activity to do like a
coloring book. To me, having your kids glued to a screen the entire
time while going out defeats the purpose of family time. Anyways, the
next thing I notice is that the parents were extremely over-indulgent
when it came to the kids. All three kids ordered root beer (which is
sold per bottle and not one of the free drinks offered for kids) and
the parents don’t even blink when I warn them of this. “They can have
whatever they want!” is what I get. Okay, fine. I get them their
drinks and immediately, the youngest, a boy around 5 or 6 (something
told me he would be trouble), starts jumping up and down on his seat
yelling “I WANT CHICKEN FINGERS! I WANT CHICKEN FINGERS!” over and
over. The boy was clearly ADHD and needed to calm down. And of course,
the parents don’t blink to their child’s poor behavior. Whatever.
After I get the orders put in and the parents’ salads come out, I go
over to get them some refills and drop off the kids’ food. When I come
back, all three kids are on the floor underneath the table with the
iPad. Even though that table had been swept under by myself earlier,
there is still no guarantee exactly what is on the floor underneath a
table. Either way, it’s probably gross. Naturally, the parents don’t
care, and when I put down the drinks and food, the kids immediately
jump up and get back in their seats, leaving the iPad on the ground.
And who gets yelled at because she didn’t pick it up? Me. “That’s a
$500 iPad on the ground and you won’t pick up?!” shouts the mom at me
(not the kids). Not my iPad, not my problem. But I hand it back to
her, restraining myself from bitching her out.
Parents’ food comes, the kids are almost done, but of course, the boy
is going crazy in my section. This is where it gets really good. He’s
running around, bumping into servers, going into the kitchen, crawling
all over my just-cleaned tables, dumping sugar packets out of the
caddies, and tossing them all over my tables and other tables outside
of my section. So now, in addition to the mess he undoubtedly created
at his table, my whole section is now a mess. Best part, the parents
don’t even breathe a word of discipline. No “Get back in your seat!”
or “Get out of that lady’s way!” or “If you don’t settle down, I will
take you outside until you behave!” Nope. Just screaming and sugar
packet throwing. And the other two were way too preoccupied with the
iPad to eat their meals. The dad actually tried to take it away from
them so they could at least eat, but they screamed in protest. And no,
dad didn’t discipline them, either.
They finally leave, crazy kids in tow, and thankfully left a tip
around 20%. But, they really should have left more for the mess that I
had to clean up or better yet, left those darned kids at home! If you
can’t teach your kids how to behave at restaurants, then please don’t
take them out at all!
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