Mum ordered to pay R160 to clean up toddler's vomit in restaurant

Rebecca Harnett, a mother-of-three, reportedly went to The Glasshouse Bistro Montville restaurant with her children for lunch, but unfortunately, her 2-year-old son got sick and threw up. Like any responsible parent, Harnett decided to do what’s decent and cleaned up after her child, but what followed after that left her even more appalled. 

Speaking to Sunshine Coast Daily, Harnett , who had to mop in front of customers, said staff gave her plastic bag and asked her to dispose of the vomit herself, saying they couldn't touch it.

"My aunty owns a coffee shop and it's not the customer's responsibility. They have a service of duty and they didn't do it.  I was taken aback. I've spoken to my family and they think it's ridiculous. I don't think we'll be going back to that spot. I cleaned it all up.  They could have shown a bit of compassion," she told the publication.

However, the Bistro’s spokesperson told the publication "it was an unfortunate set of circumstances for the customers and their child and the embarrassment that it would have caused them. It was an unfortunate set of circumstances for us too. The incident caused us a loss of income because that section for the restaurant wasn't able to be used for a period of time. We thought at the time that our nominal charge of $10 was fair considering we had to allocate a staff member to clean up the mess to our satisfaction after they left - to make sure the area was properly sterilised. The staff member who was designated to do that then had to sit outside because they felt ill afterwards. The cost to us was far greater than $10. If we were given that set of circumstances again, we probably wouldn't charge $10 but just accept it as our lot."

Harnett's post got mixed reaction on social media