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A tea room has sparked a ferocious debate after being accused of publicly shaming a young mum on Facebook for failing to clean up food under her baby's highchair.
Opinion is divided on who is in the wrong after a post was shared by Corby's Tea Room, in Ramsgate, which slammed the amount of mess left behind.
It includes pictures of food scattered across the floor below a highchair and table.
The post, which has since been deleted, states: "Whilst we welcome mums and toddlers, what we don’t welcome is a mess left like this with no attempt to help tidy or offer of apology and then when challenged to say weakly, 'I left a tip last time'."
It was screenshotted by the sister of the mother and shared.
"Absolutely disgusting behaviour from a so-called business," she states. "As if young mothers don't have it hard enough without your sad attempt to publicly shame them not only online but in your tearoom.
"Didn't seem to have a problem until after they had paid and tipped you.
"Personally, I think by the fact you deleted your post you are admitting perhaps getting a dustpan and brush isn't such a hard task.
"But don't worry, even though you told my sister and her 11-month-old baby they were never allowed in your tearoom again, I doubt they'd want to after such a disgusting display of unprofessional behaviour."
The post sparked an intense debate – with almost 600 comments on it.
One user writes: "That is a mess. Would you leave a friend's place like that? Highly doubt it."
Another one posted: "Would have taken 30 seconds for the mum to pick that up. Hardly rude of the staff is it."
Others leapt to the defence of the mum. One said: "That mess genuinely isn't bad for a young child eating? I'm astounded they'd publicly shame like this.
"It must be annoying but it's part of catering for young children. Don't get me wrong, some people take the **** and absolutely trash the place.
"But do they expect every single person without a child to fully clean their area before leaving too?
"If so, maybe the post should say all people need to clean up before they leave."
Another post reads: "I worked in a cafe years ago. Always had mess like this but what else do they expect?
"Next they will be moaning people didn't wash up their plate. Seriously, what a joke.
"[I] won't be going there either if they think it's acceptable to post crap like this. Not great for your business."
Paul Crush, the owner of Corby's Tea Room, has apologised for offending people – particularly young parents.
However, he has defended himself and said the post had "twisted" what had happened, accusing them of posting "outlandish comments and untruths".
He said: "The ladies – and let’s be clear, I would have posted a similar message regardless of who left such a mess and contrary to what is being said, this was not aimed at just young mums – did not even attempt a simple, ‘sorry for the mess’.
'We are sorry if this has offended or alienated some groups, young parents in particular, but come and visit for yourselves and you will see just how welcoming we are...'
"Nor did they, as they claim, tip but were happy to just walk out and leave it.
"We firmly believe hospitality is there to serve all customers and yes, we understand we have to clean up after them, but a simple recognition would be nice.
"Also for the record, I did not name or shame anyone specifically – my photos did not identify anyone, but were there to demonstrate the mess left by two adults."
He said he removed the post not because he was embarrassed but because there was name-calling between those with opposing views – and when he asked people to stop they did not, so he deleted it.
"We are an old-fashioned, friendly tearoom – check out all the real reviews on various platforms – and we welcome everyone," he added.
“I would like to emphasise that since taking over Corby’s three years ago we have actively introduced more child-friendly menus and facilities, including a baby-changing station.
“In what continues to be a very challenging time to own and run a small independent business, this unnecessary and unfair distraction doesn't help."
He said the post by the mum's sister, which remains on the site, violates the Facebook page's rules, which states naming of businesses is not allowed.
Mr Crush has said he informed the admins about this.
"We are sorry if this has offended or alienated some groups, young parents in particular, but come and visit for yourselves and you will see just how welcoming we are," he added.
