Cleaning up at the restaurant

I'm not talking about fancy places, because we never go there with 3 kids!!!!! Places like Applebee's or little sit down sandwich places. We try and get as much mess of the floor and I will wipe down the table. DH and I try to keep it as clean as we can, but they do have brooms, etc. to get the floor clean. With twinfants, how much do you do?

 

If the food that falls is out in the middle of the floor and not undedr the table I pick up and I clean the table up as much as possible. Aside from that they have brooms and vacuums.

I think your doing just fine!

 

I agree. I never let my kids trash the place. We picked up what we could. The only time we left big messes -- such as melted ice cream all over the table -- is when the waitress told us to leave it and they would get it.

We like to blow the straw papers at each other across the table. I make sure my kids pick up the papers that go on the floor. I also have them pick up dropped napkins, etc. I usually end up stacking the dishes at one end of the able because the kids like to draw on the placemats while we are waiting for the check to come. But honestly, some people with out small children leave even worse messes. Don't feel bad about leaving an untidy table for the bus help.

 

I pick up as much as I can and I leave and extra 5% tip (in addition to the usual 20%). I hope it's enough.

 

Like the pps, we clean up as much as possible. It is a huge pet peeve of mine, when people leave a huge mess behind. Plus, I try to leave a more generous tip.

 

I clean the floor with a napkin as much as I can or at least pile it up so its easier to sweep. I usually leave the table since they can just wipe it off. I do tip generously since we dont go out much for dinner.

 

wow, i don't deal with the floor..not too much, but we do tip well.

I'll have to consider this next time we go out (which isn't that often).

 

I don't do much. If we make a huge spill, I try to soak it up with our napkins, but usually some waitperson swoops in with a bunch of rags before I can even do much. When we're done, I just try to clear out quickly -- I figure it isn't that much more work for them to clean a messy table than a relatively clean one. I do leave a big tip, though.

If we're eating at a place that doesn't have table service, I do more -- I wipe the seats with a napkin, then wipe everything off the tabletop into my hand and throw it out. I try to leave the area clean enough so that someone else could sit there without the staff having to come clean it first.

 

We pack a small soft cooler with us whenever we go out. We include their utensils, milk in sippies, plastic plates, snacks, disposable place mats, wipes, and a plastic bag. We try to be as neat as possible throughout the meal so that there isn't a whole lot to clean up at the end. All garbage, wrappers, etc. go in the plastic bag. After we are all done, everything is neatly thrown away in the plastic bag and we leave it on the table for it to be thrown away. If they are extremely messy, we will leave a bigger tip (20%+); however, this is rarely the case. I don't know what it is, but they seem to be neater at a restaurant than at home!

 

We also carry a soft lunch box with snacks, utensils, drink cups, and placemats. I do clean as they eat and they just by learning are neater. If any falls on the floor I pick up any pieces of food and wipe the table down. However, in rare cases, if the kids are in meltdown mode I just grab and go and apologize to the waiter on the way out.

 

I used to do more but waiters and bus boys always made me stop, LOL!
I wouldn't do the table because they HAVE to anyhow, but if we leave a monumental mess behind I'll use a wipey or 2 and grab as much stuff off the floor as possible. . . I think if it's a giant mess it's respectful to at least show them you made an effort. But I don't see a need to bus the whole area.

 

I have always straightened up the plates and cleaned the table as much as I can before we leave, just a habit I guess. The floor however, I don't touch. We leave the floor as it is and just say, "sorry" and leave a better tip if it is just really bad. We have never left a giant huge mess as I usually pick up things as they fall.

 

QUOTE(twoin2005 @ Jul 9 2008, 04:44 PM) [snapback]868416[/snapback]
Like the pps, we clean up as much as possible. It is a huge pet peeve of mine, when people leave a huge mess behind. Plus, I try to leave a more generous tip.

I do the same. I don't go crawling under tables, but I do try and get as much as possible.

Pre Twins, I was in shock one time when we were at Olive Garden and the family next to us had what seemed to be a 4 year old and a 2 year old. They were well behaved throughout the meal but their children threw a huge container of Cheerios everywhere...and I mean everywhere!! I was so surprised they made no attempts to pick up a single Cheerio. I was facing them and could see it all. From that point on, I vowed to clean up as much as I can after my children.

 

Just curious, for those that bring their own utensils and plates, but why? I did bring little plastic spoons when they were babies (eating baby food), but we just use the restaurant's plates, utensils, etc. Most family places have paper placemats and hand out crayons, so we don't even need that. We do bring sippy cups, but occasionally, I forget them, and they get a cup with a lid. It never occurred to me to bring all that stuff.

To the OP's question, I do what I can, and leave a good tip. I don't knock myself out to clean the floor, but I will pick up napkins, silverware, straw paper, stuff like that.

 

I usually pick up as much food off the floor/table/high chairs as I can - I guess it just seems like the right thing to do. The girls are getting better, but we usually still have a bit of food on the floor.

 

I try to clean up as much as I can. I'm not bringing out the poratable vacuum or anything, but I do like to clean up what I can.

 

When they were smaller and made messes I would try to pick up as much as I could and leave a bigger tip. I would have waiters and bus boys also tell me not to worry about it when I would apologize to them for the mess. I see other people with kids leave huge messes and not even attempt to pick any of up, hopefully they tip big.

The girls are a little better now at not making too big of a mess. Sometimes it does depend on the place we are at and how much of a mess was under and around the table before we sat down.

 

Yes, I clean up the table and under after we're done (DH's really good about it too, he was under the table this past weekend picking up Goldfish crackers ). I waited tables for a long time during college so I'm always very courteous and leave a bigger tip for whatever the kids left behind that I missed.

 

QUOTE(Sue1968 @ Jul 9 2008, 03:41 PM) [snapback]868408[/snapback]
I pick up as much as I can and I leave and extra 5% tip (in addition to the usual 20%). I hope it's enough.


That is pretty much what we do.


QUOTE(Snittens @ Jul 9 2008, 06:32 PM) [snapback]868698[/snapback]
Just curious, for those that bring their own utensils and plates, but why? I did bring little plastic spoons when they were babies (eating baby food), but we just use the restaurant's plates, utensils, etc. Most family places have paper placemats and hand out crayons, so we don't even need that. We do bring sippy cups, but occasionally, I forget them, and they get a cup with a lid. It never occurred to me to bring all that stuff.

To the OP's question, I do what I can, and leave a good tip. I don't knock myself out to clean the floor, but I will pick up napkins, silverware, straw paper, stuff like that.


Yeah, some of you are bringing so much! We used to buy those throw away placemats, but now we just wipe down the table before they eat off it, and maybe we remember the sippies!

 

QUOTE(Snittens @ Jul 9 2008, 11:32 PM) [snapback]868698[/snapback]
Just curious, for those that bring their own utensils and plates, but why? I did bring little plastic spoons when they were babies (eating baby food), but we just use the restaurant's plates, utensils, etc. Most family places have paper placemats and hand out crayons, so we don't even need that. We do bring sippy cups, but occasionally, I forget them, and they get a cup with a lid. It never occurred to me to bring all that stuff.

To the OP's question, I do what I can, and leave a good tip. I don't knock myself out to clean the floor, but I will pick up napkins, silverware, straw paper, stuff like that.



We just bring sippies and disposable plastic spoons and forks that we have been reusing for over a year now - they are so cute, primary color ones shaped like animals. We used those when they first started using utensils because they are light, safer and fun, now they just prefer to use them. They are getting better about using a plate, but if I dug down to the bottom of our diaper backpack I could probably find some of those stick down dora placemats if they are in a plate tossing mood.

As far as the OP question. Nope, I really don't clean up much. I will pile the extra garbage up on a plate to tidy up a bit, but I never really do much for the floor. I tip really well, and I know it is terrible, but I did my share of waiting tables(so did DH) and I don't really feel like I am doing anything wrong by leaving food on the floor. I do my best to stay on the twins to not toss stuff on the floor, so hopefully I am not really leaving much there anyway. There is usually already food there, and cleaning up at the end of the shift is just part of the job. I am so mean aren't I?

 

I always picked up the floor and everything until the girls were just over 2 years old. Then, one day, my cousin was our waitress and she told me to cut it out because that was part of what the staff does anyway and not having to deal with the mess was part of eating out. Since then, I haven't bothered picking up anything except the stuff they obviously wouldn't vacuum (utensils, straws, napkins, etc.).

Of course, a non-table-service restaurant requires a full clean up because someone else might need to sit there soon. Same courtesy goes for spills and piling up our dishes to make it easier for the waitperson to pick it up.

 

QUOTE
Just curious, for those that bring their own utensils and plates, but why? I did bring little plastic spoons when they were babies (eating baby food), but we just use the restaurant's plates, utensils, etc. Most family places have paper placemats and hand out crayons, so we don't even need that. We do bring sippy cups, but occasionally, I forget them, and they get a cup with a lid. It never occurred to me to bring all that stuff.


- We are one of these people that bring our own utensils, plates, and placemats. We bring their own utensils because their utensils are smaller and easier for them to use. We're really trying to discourage them from using their hands while eating so anything that we can use to make it easier for them...we use. As for the plates, some restaurants that we go to don't have plastic plates and I feel more comfortable having them use them. We bring the placemats for hygienic reasons. Not all restaurants offer the paper ones and I've seen many restaurants use the same washcloth over and over again from table to table. Plus our cooler is small and just fits all these items. We have to bring the cooler because they drink organic whole milk and none of our restaurants offer it. At this point for us this is our "normal" routine and we are so used to it, it doesn't seem like a big deal. I'm sure we will start to eliminate some items in the near future, though.