I was tweeting about this, but I’ve got time, and 140 characters is just not enough.
So I’m in line behind this woman at the Concourse Cafe, which is one of those places where you order at the register and then sit down. This woman has two kids, young kids, and they’re pretty hyped up. One still rides in a stroller. The other walks and talks, is maybe 5.
At first I felt bad for her. Travelling with kids is tough. And I overheard her say they were going to see Daddy in Alaska. That’s gotta be multiple connections…and it’s a long way, especially with two young children.
However, having to wrangle two small children through an airport and shepherd them onto a plane is no excuse to be rude.
This woman made the cafe server (and there was only one) jump through hoops getting her order. Based on her kids’ demands, she kept changing the order. Meanwhile, there are two people at the bar waiting for drinks and 5 people in line. She keeps stopping mid-sentence to turn around and holler at “Sister” (yes, she called her daughter that like it’s her name, which is not annoying at all). She wants Sister to peel Tyler’s banana for him. She tries but drops it on the floor, which means mom has to stop again mid-order to help. Note: Sister and Tyler are sitting at a table a good 20 feet away; they’re not standing with her. And we all wait. The server runs to make her kid a hot dog. When she returns from helping Sister, she 86s the hot dog and says now Sister wants pizza. Meanwhile back at the table, Sister falls out of her chair, toppling it over on top of herself. More chaos. This cycle continues. Finally, it’s time for her to pay.
And she doesn’t tip.
Now, you can get away with not tipping if you’re doing a grab-and-go on the way to the gate. You’re quick, no hassle, and you won’t be making a mess for the guy to clean up.
But Ms. Lady here was staying. And she and her two small children (who screamed through the whole meal) made a HUGE mess. HUGE. And then eventually left, and she still didn’t tip.
There is no excuse for that. None.
Of course, I overtipped because I felt so bad for the guy.
And because that woman was so rude. Thankfully, she’s not on my flight.
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I hate that. Why on earth do people think it’s OK to let their kids boss them around like tyrants? I why do they think it’s OK to make other people deal with it too? I have no idea. I was behind a lady at Picadilly like that and it made me bonkers.
And no tipping when people have to clean up after you? No sirree.
By: birdonthestreet (@birdonthestreet) on November 6, 2011
at 5:22 pm
Parents relationship with young children should be a dictatorship… That’s how it was with my parents, whatever they said was law!! And lord help us if we acted out… especially in public. Once we hit the teen years then there was more of discussion about things but when we were young… my parents were feared. People always said, we were such good kids… thats why.
It would solve a lot of problems if more parents used that method…
By: TurnJacson on November 8, 2011
at 10:50 am
Everywhere I go, there are screaming, crying kids. I have noticed they have such a high pitch, that it literally gets on my nerves. The parents just ignore it. How can they do that. I would take my child home if he did that.
By: Connie T on November 12, 2011
at 3:11 am