Costa apologises for refusing mum hot water to warm baby milk
Do you find yourself doing this in cafes?
Here at MFM HQ, we nodded in agreement that there were plenty of times when we were out and about with our babies - especially having a coffee in a cafe - when we'd find ourselves asking for a bowl or cup of hot water to pop our bottles in to warm up the milk for our bubba.
And that was exactly the scenario for mum Tessa Lake when she was out in Swindon with her 3-month-old daughter Arya.
Tessa went into Costa at the Greenbridge Retail Park and asked for some hot water to warm her little girl's milk but was refused - apparently on health and safety grounds.
She goes on to say that following this she made visits to 3 other Costas in the area and the same thing happened at each one.
Tessa's story
Tessa told The Sun:
“When it first happened, I assumed the staff had to be wrong.
“They refused to give me hot water on health and safety grounds but will happily sell piping hot drinks which is just ridiculous.
“They kept saying it over and over and so it seems to them that apparently a cup of tea is not a health and safety risk yet a cup of hot water is.
“I was absolutely shocked that a simple request for water had been turned down.
“Costa is probably one of the coffee shops that a lot of parents go to to catch up with other mums which is why it makes their actions even stranger.”
“When you are bottle feeding, sometimes it is more difficult than breast feeding because you need to think of somewhere you can get hot water and you rely on that amenity.
“For such a big name like Costa to not follow the request it is quite something, especially when other coffee shops like Starbucks are happy to accommodate.”
Costa's response
Costa has been super-speedy to apologise for the actions of their staff, saying:
“We are renowned for our family friendly environment and our coffee shops are the perfect place for mum’s to relax with their children.
“We welcome mothers to breastfeed in store, warm bottles and deliver drinks to their tables.
“We have apologised to the customer for her experiences and will be reissuing communication to teams to inform them of our family friendly policies.”
Now - one thing that's not clear from the reports we've read, is whether Tessa bought herself a drink in Costa, or whether she just went in there specifically to warm Arya's bottle.
But does that - should that - make a difference?
What do you think?
Do you find yourself asking for hot water for your baby's milk in cafes? Do you feel awkward doing it or is it just one of those things you have to do? Have you ever been refused?
Tell us in the comments below or over on Facebook
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Authors
Tara is mum to 1 daughter, Bodhi Rae, and has worked as Content Editor and Social Media Producer at MadeForMums since 2015
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