We went to visit Mum yesterday, and as is our usual routine we stopped at the services on the way home. On a good motorway day, which it was yesterday, it's only just over an hours journey between our home and the hospital, but on the way home it's nice to have a break mid-way, to get that all important coffee and something to eat after being out since just after breakfast.
As we sat down in our favourite place ... it's perfect for people watching, which we love ... I noticed this table. It's a usual sight at the services and indeed sometimes they are even worse, food takeaway containers and mess all over the floor. It makes us both sad, and if I'm honest annoyed, that people especially these days, don't seem to have the desire to tidy up after themselves in any way at the services, or in cafés. Don't get me started about the terrible littering problem along the side of the motorways and roads either!!
It doesn't take much to either stack your plates carefully in a café, or go to the many bins in the service stations with all your paper, cardboard and detritus. I have always done this, true we didn't eat out much as children but when we did we left the table as tidy as we could. I drummed it into my sons too, and the times I have eaten out with my grandchildren they always see me tidy the table and join in to help.
Seemingly there was a lot of debate on the matter a while ago, with some people countering that 'servers' don't like you to do it as they prefer to do it their own way. Some servers said they didn't like the customers tidying up as they put the cutlery into the cups, make wobbly stacks of mismatched plates, saucers and dishes, and sweep all crumbs and food onto the floor. Now that would get me annoyed too, so I do think common-sense has to be brought into play if you are tidying your table.
We always tidy up and do it sensibly ... do you?
There's a whole other debate too, do you return your shopping trolley (cart) or do you leave it abandoned to it's own devices in the carpark?
Here in the UK a lot of supermarket trollies need a pound coin or a similar sized token to free them from the line-up. I use the old pound coins and have one in every single jacket pocket and a spare in my bag as Alan often forgets to bring a pound. This does tend to get virtually everyone to return their trolley to it's correct place after use.
Whether you're tidying tables, returning shopping trollies or picking up litter that you didn't actually drop yourself, it's all just good manners really isn't it.
Sue xx
I tidy up when I eat in a cafe with the places to stack your trays and I always return my trolley... Suspect it is an age thing - I am 60. I've always done it this way.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Maeve. Old habits die hard!
DeleteThe ones with the racks to take your tray too are really handy aren't they, then you can leave your table perfect for the next people. I'm 66 and so have I. :-)
DeleteAngela - Some old habits are good old habits aren't they. :-)
DeleteMost of the time yes, I would tidy up after myself and definitely would if there were a few of us and lots of mess. Once or twice if I’ve been in a tearing hurry I’ve not done the honourable thing …….😕 shame on me.
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
As long as you do your best that is really good. There's no shame on me as I have never left a table without at least stacking and wiping. Alan does have the bad habit of sweeping the crumbs onto the floor with his napkin though ... he always gets told off by me!! (I catch the crumbs in my hand and add them to the plate.)
DeleteYes I clear up after myself if I eat out but then I litter pick most days in my local area.
ReplyDeleteI used to litter pick when I was walking the dogs, it's easy and sensible to take extra bits and pieces to the bin when you are already going there with a poo bag isn't it.
DeleteI always tidy up. And I make a point of thanking servers when I can.
ReplyDeleteSo do I, manners cost nothing and can make someone's day. :-)
DeleteWe ALWAYS tidy up. We stack the plates at the table when we're done, and try to make it as easy for the server to carry as is possible. It's the way we were raised, and it's the way we'll continue.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that there are a lot of like-minded people reading this post. We are a very well trained gang. :-)
DeleteWe always tidy and return the trays etc. if necessary we also wipe the table with a napkin. It’s really not nice to sit down and wait for a table to be cleared from a previous customer. For trolleys we keep a token in the car. When the kids were younger we used to give the pound to the child returning the trolley
ReplyDeleteOoh I bet the children loved taking the trolleys back for you. :-)
Delete⬆️ Emma - Northamptonshire
ReplyDeleteThank you. xx
DeleteAbsolutely! Having worked in the catering industry for years we always appreciated our diners making a effort to leave a tidy table, poorly stacked plates never bothered us - unlike the scutters who found it quite acceptable to use their plate as an ashtray and extinguish their fags in their leftovers. xxx
ReplyDeleteYuk, what a disgusting habit. It's a really strange thing to think of people smoking in cafés and restaurants now isn't it. It's even frowned upon, or just not allowed, in outdoor eating areas these days.
DeleteI never leave a place untidy when eating out at places like the one you describe. As for shopping carts, in the US (other than Aldi where they have the coin reposit - only a 25 cents), most supermarkets do not charge for carts. While I always return mine to the cart storage area, many others do not. They leave them blocking parking spots or on grass verges, or worst of all they leave the carts to roll around the parking lot with the result that some crash into cars, damaging them. I always park uphill from and at some distance from the cart storage areas to avoid loose carts. Can't fix stupid...or rude it would seem.
ReplyDeleteA cart could do a lot of damage to a car, it doesn't bear thinking about. In big cities here in the UK quite a few shopping trolleys end up dumped in rivers and canals, which is such a shame for nature and wildlife (and boaters), and a complete waste of money knowing how much they cost for the stores to buy.
DeleteYes-we tidy up and put litter in the appropriate bins. We do it at home so why not when we are out. Catriona
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly my way of thinking. :-)
DeleteI absolutely agree. I am a tidier, and I wouldn't have it any other way. In London, many of the shopping trolleys have either been jimmied in such a way that they will no longer accept a pound coin and no longer dock, or there's a coin jammed in them that is irretrievable in which case, they no longer dock!
ReplyDeleteThere's a few like that in our Aldi, I think they gather them in every now and then and get them fixed.
DeleteI tidy up and return carts. It is a bit of a pet peeve of mine when I pull into a parking space and there is a cart there, to where I have to maneuver my car around it. They could have just put the cart away. So now I avoid those parking slots because all is does is make me grumble.
ReplyDeleteIt is so annoying to pull up to a space and find a shopping trolley already occupying it isn't it. It's not the end of the world if there are two of you in the car and one can nip out and move it, but when you are on your own that's not always possible. :-(
DeleteI always tidy up when I leave a self-serve type restaurant, throwing my own trash away and returning the tray. I make the table look neat when I have a waitress that's served me. And I always park near the cart return so returning my cart is a no-brainer. I just don't get grown folk who cannot throw away their own mess!
ReplyDeleteI think as grown ups it's our duty to try and teach the next generations and lead by example. Sadly, these days there seems to be a lot of parents not teaching their children this.
DeleteI tidy up, stack my plates neatly, and put the cutlery tidy. Last week at the beach we took our cups back to save them having to walk over. I always put my trolley back and quite often tidy up others. It takes mere seconds to be helpful. The slovenly behaviour that is increasingly common makes me very annoyed. 😤
ReplyDeleteMe too, I often look on in disbelief when people just get up and walk away.
DeleteI couldn't agree more. I'm a tidy-upper too. It takes seconds after all and is the decent thing to do in pubs and cafes. My trolley is free to collect (no coin required) but I still return it to it's proper place. There's no excuse for laziness and adults should set an example.
ReplyDeleteAngie
We only have Sainsbury's with 'free' trolleys in our town, and weirdly in Manchester we have to remember that the Sainsbury's trolleys do need a pound. It really is the decent thing to do and it speaks volumes about people character doesn't it. :-)
DeleteWe always tidy up. Perhaps not stacking the plates in an eating establishment, but we do move them to the end of the table so the server can collect them a bit easier. When we eat in a place where you get your meal at the counter and take it to a table we always throw the garbage in the proper containers.
ReplyDeletePutting the shopping cart in the corral is just a simple way of being a good person. In a wind those carts can really damage a vehicle.
God bless.
Yes, 'just a simple way of being a good person' is an excellent way to describe tidying and returning. It's lovely that so many of my readers are of the same mind.
DeleteI no longer eat in public places, but, back when I did, I tidied up after myself. I have my groceries delivered now, but, back when I grocery shopped in person, I would return the cart to the nearest cart corral.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that all of us are of the same ilk, which is lovely to hear ... and I expected nothing less. :-)
DeleteWell, you've mined a rich seam for comments today! I've been watching Michael Portillo travellong around Japan, and I often wonder what visitors make of the shameful mess we have lying everywhere in this country, from messy tables to littered roads and countryside and filthy railways. We should mount a National Campaign to clear up our country!
ReplyDeleteWe really should, there are a lot of people actually earning a living on Instagram and YouTube filming themselves litter-picking and doing really good deeds. The Japanese are wonderful at cleanliness and tidiness, they must look on in horror at other countries in the world. Seemingly, at school the children are taught to be responsible for keeping their classrooms tidy, at the end of each day they clean and sweep.
DeleteHope you found your mum in reasonable spirits. I need to do some catching up in blogland, not sure what is happening in everyone's life. We had a social services visit last week, they left my mum traumatised as they need her to switch to a cheaper provider. She was found Saturday morning not fully conscious and talking gibberish and asking if they would let her keep her furniture. The disgraceful behaviour towards my mum is a cause for concern and I have spent the last few days writing a strongly worded email to them and I am now formulating a complaint which I will escalate to the ombudsman if I have to.
ReplyDeleteI have known people now just abandon their trolley, pound and all by their car and drive off..it is only a pound! I often see one on the ground that has been dropped and people walk past them, it might as well be a penny.
My pet hate at cafes and services is puling out a chair to find it covered in greasy chips and cake crumbs. Also the large portions of cake served with nothing smaller available for children or those with smaller appetites.
Not only do we tidy up afterwards but often have to clear a table to eat at. I will soon need to take some wipes with me as the tables are often cleared but not cleaned.
Sadly Mum is very poorly at the moment, but she wasn't in pain on our last visit which is a huge step forward. We had quite a few of the 'carers' when she was at home that left Mum totally confused by things they said and did. We were just about to set up remote cameras in her living room to monitor the situation when she was admitted to the hospital and then relocated to the nursing home. Perhaps this would be an idea for you.
DeleteOh I am always on the lookout for pound coins left in trolleys, even with a bad back I would walk the trolley back to the store for the sake of a pound. Our current pet peeve is tables that have been 'cleaned' but are still sticky with residue from the antibacterial sprays. We both burst out laughing the other day as I went to pick up the leftover napkins, only to find the bottom one actually stuck to the table!!
Sue, I can't even imagine walking away from a table and leaving all of my garbage for someone else to pick up! Likewise, when I see grocery carts left in the parking lot, I feel the same way. People have gotten so disrespectful and lazy. Or maybe it's entitled. I often wonder what their house looks like, if that's how they are in public.
ReplyDeleteI really do think 'entitled' is the correct word. I've heard so many people, even my grandsons on occasion, say 'Well they are paid to do it, I'm not'. You can imagine how quick I was to set them right on that one!!
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