A mum whose youngest son threw up at a supermarket checkout was left shocked when staff "insisted" she had to clean up the mess herself. The woman had nipped out to pick up some food for her children's school lunched and had brought her five-year-old daughter and two-year-old son with her.
Unfortunately, her little boy became unwell and was sick over himself and the floor, near the doors right next to the exit, reports The Mirror. Posting to social media, the mum explained she apologised for the mess but couldn't believe it when they "insisted" she clean it up, all while trying to care for her poorly son.
According to the MailOnline, the woman shared her experience in a popular social media group where she asked for advice on whether she should make a formal complaint to the store. The incident allegedly took place in a branch of Woolworths, an Australian chain of grocery stores and supermarkets completely separate from the now-defunct FW Woolworth Brits will be more familiar with.
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The fed-up mum recalled: "Then I started to get really frustrated and flustered (I wasn't rude or anything like that), after I settled my son I apologised to staff for having to get someone to clean up, and the worker turned to me and said 'no, you have to clean it up'."
She was left feeling so anxious, the mum said she didn't feel up to arguing back so began cleaning as instructed. The mum-of-two, who later had to scan her groceries while her son was still covered with his own sick, continued: "My son was being a real handful the whole time, and we were so close to the front entrance that opened up to a busy road.
"I started to clean, and the employee told a worker to stand over me to make sure I cleaned it up, meanwhile my son was trying so hard to run out to see cars."
While some commenters were sympathetic to the mum's plight, others thought she should not have expected staff to clean up after them. One person commented: "I've worked in retail for over 20 years and seen so many sick kids/grandparents. Never have I seen someone clean up their mess."
Another argued: "If it were my child, I would clean up the vomit myself. Also, I wouldn't have worried about getting groceries, I'd have simply wanted to get them home quicker because if they're throwing up, diarrhoea might follow."
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