Do you clear your table at a pizza place?

watergirl

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:07 am

amother Obsidian wrote:

No it’s not. What an absurd comparison.

It's actually a pretty good comparison! You are leaving behind gross items which you have used to clean yourself, used utensils which have your germs on it, and food remnants. It's gross.

Again, if there are trash cans, it means you are expected to clean up after yourself. It means the staff is not paid to do it for you.

Those guys sitting on stools waiting? My guess is they are delivery workers who earn tips only and not an hourly wage. If they were paid hourly, you'd bet the owner/manager would have them working to earn it.

amother

Latte

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:10 am

I grew up in Boro Park and everyone cleared their places after eating.

After I got married I moved to another city (also Frum and busy) and was totally shocked at how many ppl don't clear their place. I don't know what this is, if it's a service that's expected here or what.

Bnei Berak 10

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:17 am

watergirl wrote:

Rule of thumb - if there are trash cans with a place for your trays, and if you have to go to the counter to order and pick up your food or even if you order at a counter and someone brings you your food - trash cans around the dining area = you are expected to bus your own table. If you expect the employee to bus your table, you need to leave a tip.

I worked fast food when I was in high school and a year or two post HS. Nothing makes someone hate people more than bussing a table because people felt entitled to leave their mess for me. At least I was frum (well, growing). When I was a teen and still working on becoming frum, it was very painful when a family of very frum looking people would leave such a mess behind - there were clear trash cans and a sign by every booth telling customers to throw out their stuff when they were done. My job was to clean the table with spray and a rag, not to clear the plates that were supposed to be thrown out by the customer.

For those who say their money covers the cost of their leaving their trash behind - again if there are trash cans, you are expected to clear.

Think about it this way - when you go out to eat at a nice place, you pay the higher bill PLUS tip, right? If you expect someone to clean up after you, you need to leave them a tip.

Thank you Watergirl for your posts!

watergirl

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:19 am

Bnei Berak 10 wrote:

Thank you Watergirl for your posts!

Thank you.

I almost feel like there are some rites of passage everyone should experience. Either working fast food, or a camo counselor, or better yet both. Have both as a summer job, boys and girls. Then everyone would understand.

singleagain

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:20 am

watergirl wrote:

Oh my gosh 100% everybody needs to work some sort of customer service facing the customer with them screaming in your face job.

amother

Whitewash

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:21 am

From my observations, it seems like clearing the table wasn't expected in Brooklyn, but yes everywhere else. There was staff clearing and cleaning the tables all the time. Brooklyn people started moving elsewhere and took their norms with them.
I live in Lakewood and always clear my trays, as do a lot of other people. When I go with Brooklyn bred people, they say we aren't supposed to.

Please correct me if I am wrong in my generalization. I am not trying to bash, just a reflection of an previous out of towner, now in towner.

OOTforlife

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:23 am

watergirl wrote:

I haven't read the whole thread, but 100% agree with this. If you are at a full service sit-down dining restaurant, you probably wouldn't be able to bus your table even if you wanted to, because there won't be trash cans or places to pile your stuff.

If you are at a cafeteria-style eatery, then there will be visible trash for customer use and designated places for your trays and utensils. Use them.

ittsamother

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:36 am

amother Whitewash wrote:

Uh no. I grew up in Flatbush and 100% we cleared our tables. It's not a "Brooklyn thing to not clean tables".

tryinghard

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:41 am

I always do - and then this week we were done eating and ready to go but the garbage was full. Full enough that if I cleared our stuff, they would have fallen on the floor. So we left without clearing - but I did go to the front and let them know. And I felt bad about it anyway!

Bnei Berak 10

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:47 am

tryinghard wrote:

You did your part 100% in notifying them.

Ema of 5

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:55 am

CPenzias wrote:

There are no waiters in a pizza place. Does he leave a tip with his mess?
I used to work in a Chinese restaurant (takeout with a few tables) and was very turned off by people who just got up and left. It's rude and nasty and not menschlech as others have mentioned

Plenty of pizza places have waiters.

amother

Bone

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 10:18 am

amother Whitewash wrote:

I grew up in Brooklyn & we always cleared our tables. That's what most people did.

Goody2shoes

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 10:20 am

amother Whitewash wrote:

It's a manners thing to clean your tables regardless of where you're from.

seeker

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 10:43 am

How are we Brooklyn bashing again? I don't live in Brooklyn but for most of my life it was our closest frum community so I was there for pizza quite often and there was definitely a norm to take your tray and dump your garbage on the way out. These places are usually busy so that way you get your table faster - the person before you takes their trash, the busboy or whatever you call it gives a spray and wipe, and you're sitting down before the other people even got out the door. I would say the bare minimum, let's say a mom came with a few babies and kids and can't handle it all, they'd pile their garbage on the tray so the person coming around to spray the table only needs to make one move, tip tray into garbage and done.

Amarante

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 12:22 pm

Of course just like you clear up and throw away when you eat at a food court at the mall.

The criteria is that you are being served with paper plates and plastic utensils and there is a trash container to use to throw it all away.

The expectation is that people will toss their trash out in fast food places like McDonalds as well.

It doesn't matter if you are "served" or carry the food - you are expected to toss the stuff and then staff only has to spray the table and wipe it down for the next customer

amother

Geranium

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 12:28 pm

didn't see all the replies but yes, I always gather up the plates and napkins and pile on the tray, dump the garbage in can and leave the tray on the side--usually you see trays stacked on or near the garbage cans. I don't wipe the table usually unless there was a drink spill or something, I would wipe it up and not leave a big mess. There are workers who go around wiping off the tables in between customers. Not everyone clears their stuff but I am not comfortable leaving my garbage on the table. Growing up where I lived it was expected, maybe in NY it's not. Where I live now it's not so out of town, and I think people have diff expectations depending where they're from, because I noticed some people clear and some don't. Busier in town places have high turnover and more staff always cleaning. I was in a coffee shop in Monsey the other day and when I went to throw out our stuff I couldn't even find the garbage can right away, and I didn't see an obvious place to leave the tray so it seemed that it wasn't expected to clear but I did it anyway because it woudn't feel right to not throw out my own garbage.