Mum Furious After Paying Extra When Her Son Vomited at a Restaurant in Sunshine Coast

A mother has shared her disgust after being forced to pay extra, when her son vomited at a Sunshine Coast restaurant.

Rebecca Harnett, from Toowoomba in Queensland, took to Facebook her “unpleasant experience” at The Glasshouse Bistro in Montville. She posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page how she had cleaned up after her two-year-old son vomited on the restaurant’s floor and was forced to pay an extra $10 because of it.

Ms Harnett said she visited the restaurant last month with her children for lunch when suddenly, her son became ill. She wrote:

In an interview with Sunshine Coast Daily, Ms Harnett said waiters and waitresses told her that she needed to dispose of the vomit because ‘the waiters 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. They could have shown a bit of compassion,” she said.

Upon learning of the incident, parents on social media immediately posted their reactions saying it was reasonable for a parent to clean up the mess but being charged extra for it was a bit off.

A spokesman from the restaurant told the Sunshine Coast Daily the circumstances and the embarrassment caused was ‘unfortunate.’

“The incident caused us a loss of income because that section of the restaurant wasn’t able to be used for a period of time” he said.

He also added that the charge was fair due to the sterilisation process. “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.”

Earlier today, the restaurant posted an apology to Ms Harnett and her family through their Facebook page. The restaurant said that it is willing to refund the $10 Ms Harnett was forced to pay, but that it will not “discuss or defend the decision” the management made at the time.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk and Sunshinecoastdaily.com.au