‘She was clearly unwell - I had to throw my coffee out!' Woman's rant after visiting local cafe

A Melbourne woman sent her local cafe a message after witnessing a waitress working there - and has gone public with their surprising reply.

A Melbourne woman has gone on a public rant after witnessing a waitress working at her local cafe while she was clearly unwell. 

With Influenza cases at an all-time high and more and more families reporting kids with Mycoplasma Pneumonia, Aussies are warned to be extra vigilant when venturing out this winter.

But what happens when others aren't following the same rules of staying home and resting when sick? This is the dilemma one woman was recently faced with when dining at her local cafe recently. 

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"The staff member was clearly sick"

The woman, who refrained from naming the cafe, took to Reddit to ask how others would've felt if they saw someone sick serving them their order. 

"I emailed my local cafe to complain that a staff member is clearly sick, looked and sounded awful and was complaining to another customer she was sick," she explained in the post.

"I’m fairly sure she is the owner. I understand people need to open their business but also I’m really off-put that she didn’t even have a mask on. Am I an out of touch complainer for being grossed out by this? Is it just every man for themself to try and keep well?"

The woman then shared images of both her complaint to the cafe as well as their surprising response. 

"I would just like to point out that if a staff member is clearly sick and complaining to staff in front of customers they have a cold, they should be at home, not preparing food and drinks for customers," her email to the cafe reads. 

"I had to throw my coffee away after seeing her touch my coffee cup. I am elderly and do not want to get sick from other people's highly unhygienic habits. At the very least put a mask on please."

RELATED: Mum slams ‘bogan’ parents for entitled act at Aussie cafe

The woman was so unhappy with the ill worker, she wrote in to the cafe and they responded. Image: Reddit

"People need to work when slightly unwell"

What surprised the Aussie woman even more than seeing the worker up and about was their response defending her being there. 

"Unfortunately on occasion people do need to work when slightly unwell," the email clarified. 

"I can assure you that there are no unhygienic habits being undertaken, as we take health and wellbeing very seriously with constant sanitisation happening and gloves being worn if preparing food. Unfortunately a mask is unable to be worn by this individual."

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The response went on to apologise for the "uncomfortable" experience at their eatery, but took the opportunity to further insist there was no wrongdoing by any of their staff. 

"Given ongoing sanitisation before handling you would quite possibly be more likely to catch something from another customer or someone standing next to you outside, rather than this interaction.

"I wish you well and am sorry you didn't get to enjoy your coffee."

RELATED: Aussie fume over cafe’s unexpected fee for a basic service

Who is in the right? 

The post amassed almost 1000 comments, with many followers shocked to see that people are still not following the basic rules of staying home when sick. 

"I thought COVID was meant to teach us if you're sick stay home, but the incompetence of managers has gotten worse," one person commented. 

"It is against food safety regulations for people who handle the prep of food/drink to be unwell," another added. 

And another said: "Appalling response from the owner. No care. No responsibility about safe food handling infection control practices. Most likely made the worker to continue to work despite being sick. Some ppl are just selfish."

A woman was shocked to see a waitress unwell and serving customers. Image: iStock

But the customers weren't the only ones chiming in to this conversation. People working in hospitality are just as fed up with entitled guests also doing the wrong thing. 

Someone said: "I just went 3 weeks without pay (hospitality worker) because customers are just as bad- the amount of filthy keep cups handed over to me is revolting, as is coughing and slobbering all over your cash. Stay home if you're sick dammit!"

And another defended the cafe with: "Most hospitality workers are a couple of missed shifts away from missing their rent payments and potentially being out on the street. Cold and flu symptoms can hang around for a few weeks for some people."

Here's hoping no one got sick from the interaction and the worker was able to get a well-deserved day off to recover properly!

Originally published as ‘She was clearly unwell - I had to throw my coffee out!' Woman's rant after visiting local cafe