Image by sasharae7 via Flickr
This story took place about a month ago, but it still annoys and
amuses me to this day. It was a slow day in the restaurant I work in
when this couple with a 5/6 year old girl come in. Relatively normal.
However, that’s where the normalcy ends. The “Parents” (I know this
since the girl called the woman mum) completely ignore the kid and the
kid soon starts to wander the restaurant. She almost wandered into the
kitchen, but I fortunately managed to notice her before she got in.
Since it was a slow night, my co worker offers to cover my tables
while I take care of the kid, since the parents hadn’t even noticed
she was gone. So, I bring the kid some coloring sheets and crayons
(And a small bowl of pasta when she said she was hungry) and kept her
occupied until her parents finally decided to pay attention and stop
her from wandering into dangerous places.
The parents finally notice the kid wasn’t at their table, and when
they see me talking to her, start screaming at me for “Kidnapping”
her. I somehow kept my temper and calmly explain I was just making
sure their child didn’t wander around the restaurant, as there were
servers carrying hot plates around and they could be easily dropped if
they accidently bumped into the girl. The mother shouts that she could
have done that, so I point out that the girl had been away for three
quarters of an hour, and they hadn’t noticed.
Of course, the woman goes completely berserk at this point, screaming
that I can’t accuse her of child neglect and demanding to see the
owner (Who is my dad, and was likely to back me up). However, another
customer interrupts saying that he saw everything and that he could
take her in for child neglect, pulling out a police badge. The woman
turns pale so quickly it was funny and quickly pays for the food
(Leaving a 60% tip, which me and my co worker split)
So parents, watch out for your kids, please! A restaurant is not a
place for kids to play, and you never know what the other diners work
as!
- Lizzie
