Extremely unwelcoming attitude and very rude people.
Response:
Let’s establish a timeline of events.
I chose this café to meet my friend because it had a play area for kids. My friend, my 2.5-year-old daughter, and I sat there for about two hours. During this time, my daughter played quietly with the toys. However, towards the end, she became restless and started crying—a very common behavior for a toddler. Any parent would understand this.
As soon as I realized she was getting upset, I immediately decided to leave to avoid disturbing other customers. I went to the counter and paid right away. Meanwhile, my daughter, still crying, resisted getting dressed (putting on her jacket, cap, and gloves)—again, a typical toddler reaction.
Instead of ensuring the payment had gone through, the café owner immediately told me to put the toys back. I explained that my daughter was very upset and unlikely to cooperate, but instead of showing understanding, she insisted, saying it was an "opportunity to teach my child." This statement not only ignored the reality of dealing with a distressed toddler but also reflected her judgmental attitude toward other parents. Any parent knows that when a toddler is having a meltdown, it is not the right time for a lesson—you have to pick your battles. In a normal situation, I would have absolutely put the toys back in their place. However, at that moment, my toddler had started crying and was even lying on the floor. I felt it was more important to get her out of the space rather than prolong the situation.
I asked my friend to put the toys back while I focused on calming my daughter and getting her out as quickly as possible to prevent any accidental mishaps and distract her mind to comfort her. However, the café owner showed no empathy. While she may take great pride in maintaining the café, this came at the cost of compassion and a realistic understanding of child behavior.
Creating a kids' corner in the café seems to be just a money-making strategy, rather than a genuine effort to accommodate families. If the café truly cared about children, they would have a better understanding of how kids behave, instead of setting unrealistic expectations.
Her obsession with a handful of scattered toys distracted her from checking whether my payment had gone through. By the time we had left and walked a fair distance, she came running after us, saying the payment hadn’t been processed. Since the card machine didn’t work outside, I had to walk all the way back to the café while still struggling to calm my daughter. This situation could have been avoided if she had confirmed the payment at the right time.
As for the so-called "mess," it was simply a few toys scattered within the play area—not toys all over the tables or food spilled on the floor. The claim that my daughter was excessively loud is also untrue; she played quietly for nearly the entire time, except for the last 10 minutes. In fact, her crying could have lasted only 1-2 minutes if the café owner had shown a little understanding.
2nd Response:
Running a business and offering general pleasantries is one thing, but what defines a person is how they behave when things don’t go as planned. I frequently visit cafes, and like any other child, my daughter sometimes acts her age. Yet, not once has anyone suggested that I owe an apology. Your statement "customers were disturbed by a crying child" is very dramatic. Seems like you’re willing to go to any extent just to make yourself appear empathetic.
I never suggested that you should have let the payment slide. Your claim that you didn’t check the payment because you were busy with other customers is untrue. You were just obsessed with toys and your priority is still evident in your response. To say that you did this to distract my daughter is absurd.
As i said, I would have tidied up if my daughter hadn’t been so upset. I tried to take her outside because, distressed children may throw things, potentially causing breakage. I was just trying to avoid that.
I am not going to...
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