Babies.

I understand that my job is to serve you and clean up after you. I do. I understand that I (or a busser) have to clear your dishes, take your mess, and clean the table after you leave. I also have to vacuum certain parts of the restaurant, depending on which shift I am working.  These aren't my favorite aspects of my job, but I accept them. To a point.

Just don't be an asshole.

Two women came in with their babies today and each had several containers of food for their respective kid. One of them happened to have teeny pieces of pasta, which she threw every-fucking-where. The mom made absolutely no effort to keep the kid from doing this. There were chunks of food ground into the carpet. Because they brought the kids food from home, the bill was pretty low, and they tipped solely based on that. They didn't take into account the extra work I did for them (which was a fair amount, compared to my other tables) or the extra work I would be left with once they were gone. In case you're taking notes, these are things you should take into account.

And your baby-related tip today: If your kid thinks it is hilarious and awesome to take every little packet out of our sugar caddy, it wouldn't kill you to try to put it back in some reasonable order when they are done. Or better yet, don't let your kids play with this stuff. It is messy and gross and annoying. We have toys, books, and coloring pages to keep them entertained if you can't bother to do that yourself. We go through each table every day to make sure the sugars are well stocked and looking neat. It is really obnoxious to have to refill them entirely after children get their hands on them.