Woolworths Australia: Mum claim she was made to clean up son’s vomit

A mum has divided hundreds after claiming a supermarket worker ‘made her’ clean her son’s vomit up after he was sick at the self-checkout.

An anonymous woman said she was at a Woolworths counter with her children when her two-year-old son suddenly fell ill and vomited all over himself and the floor near the exit.

The mum immediately tried to help her child feel better, and apologised to the supermarket’s staff who had witnessed the encounter.

However, she said she was shocked when the staff ‘insisted’ that the mum had to clean up her son’s mess herself.

The mum also said she had to wrangle two children while trying to clean up the mess and eventually had to scan her groceries while her son was covered in vomit. 

The Sydney mum shared her experience on a popular social media group and asked if she should bother complaining to the supermarket chain.

She explained that she went to Woolworths on Sunday with her five-year-old and two-year-old to buy groceries for their school lunches when things went awry.

‘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’.’

The mum said that she was anxious about the situation and didn’t want to argue, so she started cleaning up.

‘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,’ she said.

‘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,’ the mum added.

The mum then had to scan her groceries with her son covered in vomit and her daughter making the situation worse because of the stress.  

An anonymous woman shared that she was at a Woolworths self-checkout counter with her children when her two-year-old son suddenly felt ill and vomited all over the floor near the exit

‘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,’ one commenter wrote.

‘As someone who worked in retail, they should have assisted her by at least scanning her groceries while she tended to the kids,’ a second said. ‘Or offered to watch them while she was cleaning up so that the kid didn’t run out.’

‘It’s so heartbreaking to see someone struggle so much without a helping hand,’ a woman said. ‘Kindness goes a long way.’

But others believed that parents should be responsible for their children.

‘If it were my child, I would clean up the vomit myself,’ a mum said. ‘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.’

‘It would be lovely if the shop staff offered, however they’re not obliged to and it’s 100 per cent your responsibility to clean up bodily fluids,’ another added.

‘That’s so gross, you should never expect workers to do your job for you,’ said a third.