"Table or booth? Oh, and we're going to be charging you a fee for that baby."
Yep,
that's what happened to a UK mother when she went out to eat with her 6 week old son. Her pushchair (stroller) was apparently taking up too much room in the buffet-style restaurant so they charged her £3, which is about $4.00 US dollars. She offered to put the stroller into her car, but the restaurant refused to remove the charge and said the baby was still taking up space. A 6 week old doesn't take up much space, especially when they are breastfed - mom would just hold him in her lap!
According the restaurant, the "minimum charge" is not new, and is intended for those children who eat, but don't complete a full meal.
The restaurant chain issued this statement:
Hi everyone, We have issued a statement: COSMO would like to apologise to Natasha Young for the terrible experience at our Croydon branch. COSMO is a family friendly restaurant and we pride ourselves on making children and parents feel valued. The minimum charge isn’t new and has been in operation for the 7 years that we have been in business – without incident until now, as it was never intended for babies. It’s designed for small children who eat but not a full meal. It would appear that the training, for both the staff and the managers fell well below that of our other restaurants. COSMO would like to assure customers that this is an isolated incident and we will be retraining all employees at Croydon as a matter of urgency." How would you handle something like this? What do you think about the "minimum charge"?
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Comments (80)
Remember, in socialist, environment conscious societies each person is an expense.
It's nothing personal, but the little one is just one more mouth to feed with taxpayer subsidized food, one more body to receive costly taxpayer subsidized medicine and one more nasty human being pooping up the ecosystem.
And don't even get me started on the little snot nose's carbon foot print. Your little one is using up precious oxygen that the restaurant rats and roaches need for themselves.
You got off easy with only a $4.00 fee.
@StatelessPilot@revelife - I am in awe! Mexico actually has airlines! LOL.
I guess children under 3 have a bad deal: The parents share their meal and get to eat about 60% of what they pay for. Or the parent pays for a full $6 meal for a kid who is too distracted and "not hungry". And restaurants dont want you to take it home. If you do, it all gets soggy. So the parentis already out $6 or $4 if the kid just eats of their plates!!!!! Im glad I know my child's eating habbits so I dont waste away eating out.
"How would you handle something like this? What do you think about the "minimum charge"? "
I wouldn't know exactly how to handle something like this, I'm a very shy person and when someone that I do not know says something rude or out of the way to me, I get extremely upset and just leave the situation all together. The minimum charge thing is insane, when has the world decided that babies were a thing of annoyance, and not a thing of beauty? ugh!!
Awe. I thought people were finally getting charged for the dreadful noise their little slobber muffins make. *snap*
In all seriousness (and I do NOT intend to offend. I mean this with all of my heart.) do you have some kind of social disorder? I'm really wondering because you don't seem to like much anyone and you seem to think very . . . systemy.
Nothing is more annoying then carrying dangeroulsy hot plates when people carelessly shove a stroller in the aisle. Unless you want your baby burnt, move it. Or I can burn myself and humanity wins another award for shit no one cares about. And yes, babies (like ALL people) are nasty. No matter how precious and well mannered you think snooki-yums is, your child still will smash that banana or whatever mushed up fruit under the highchair seat until it's rotten and you will shove that dirty diaper in whatever crevice suits you. $2.14 an hour is such an injustice digging out diapers from the toilets, wall cracks, and doing what I can to lysol the baby vomit off the booth seats and somehow the plants. Oh and my shirt, I LOVE working when you shove your child on me because, hey, it's your night out and I'm the babysitter. "Oh wow, I have to pay fifty cents because my stroller is taking up aisle space? That's such crap because my little Edward and Renesmee are special snowflakes and deserve all the perks adults do." Adults have no perks, everyone is gross.
It was just a stupid employee...The statement clearly said the policy was not meant for babies!
@StatelessPilot@revelife - That's funny - it seems like every time I bring my infant to a restaurant the staff and people around us go out of their way to tell me how cute he is and try to get him to smile at them. They choose to take time to interact with him because they want to.
@LupusInvictus@xanga - Personally, I think babies are the most disgusting things on the face of the planet. There's a reason I had a vasectomy at age 23. No kids and no regrets. Keep your baby. I have better things to do and spend my money on than taking care of and raising one of those things. Likewise, I don't want to be around them either.
It's a private business. They can do whatever the fuck they want. However, if I were the mom, I'd just find somewhere else to eat.
@StatelessPilot@revelife - Dude, you seem to hate everything in life, so what do you like? I am curious. I have seen your replies to things many times and they are always very pessimistic. What stuff DO you like?
@TallTanYoungLovely@xanga - Let's see: I like my job (I'm an airline pilot, and it's my first love), cats, bowling, Lindy Hop, airplanes, luxury sports cars, just to name a few.
I would have just walked out. Even if I had ordered drinks, I would have walked out and they'd never get a dime of my money. If you tell me my daughter takes up too much room, I'll take my money to a better restaurant.
@StatelessPilot@revelife - I've read a bunch of your posts, you did the world a favor getting the vasectomy.
@dream_guru5@xanga - I did the world a favor, but you would have done something totally illegal? So I'm the one who did the world a favor and you'd willingly commit a crime? Sorry, but getting up and walking out without paying is theft, and you would have been (correctly) arrested for that. Then your sorry ass would have been rotting in jail where it belongs.
@StatelessPilot@revelife -They better either have it posted or tell the parents up front. I meant if that was the case or if I had bought my drink. I would have a chat with the manager and walk out with corporate's number if I had finished the meal and I would have demanded a refund unlike that woman.
@dream_guru5@xanga - Most restaurants like that, that is corporate. Your small restaurants that are privately owned, that is "corporate." You wouldn't have a leg to stand on. Their business, their rules, period.
Personally, if I ran a restaurant, nobody under 18 would be allowed on the premises, with or without a parent. Period, end of story. Yes, that would be my right.
@StatelessPilot@revelife - I guess I wonder why you are on a blog ring that is focused on children and babies then? Anyway, you might appreciate this: http://www.howtobeadad.com/2011/1582/zombie-baby
@LupusInvictus@xanga - Because the effects of children affect me every day: on the job, in the public sphere, etc. and it's hurting me. Somebody has to be the voice for the childfree folk out there (which is distinctly different from childless).
@H2O_mElOnGeEk@xanga - Nah. I'm just a snarky, sarcastic, narcissistic pain in the ass, and I know it.
@XxInnocent_MommyxX@xanga - "The minimum charge thing is insane, when has the world decided that babies were a thing of annoyance, and not a thing of beauty? ugh!"
Sorry to break it to you, but restaurants don't care about how cute you think your baby is. They care about making money. And when babies take up the seats of paying adults, they're losing money, business and profit. They have every right to charge you money and if you don't like it, nobody is forcing you to eat there.
Are children not people? This is discrimination. Should fat or tall people pay extra because they take up more space?
Beautiful! Keep it up, restaraunts of the world. You want kids, stop ruining public space by bringing them with you, everywhere you go, like some screaming toy you won at the carnival. No one thinks they're cute, no one wants to listen to it.... Give it a rest with the breeding.... Let us eat and work in peace. Being irresponsible with what little resources are left on this planet, does not give you the right to complain....
@written_conversations@xanga - Excuse me, you're probably one of the business owners or employee's.. Do you have children?