They're NOT Skates! They're Shoes with wheels!

[Rubystars]

I was working late a couple of weeks ago at the grocery store as a cashier.

There was kid who was maybe in 5th or 6th grade at the front end. As far as I could see, there were no guardians for this little brat around. He was skating on those heelie shoes, going really fast, back and forth across the front end, in front of the registers.

"Damn" I muttered under my breath, where the kid could not hear it. I said loud enough for the kid to hear "Hey, stop that, you're going to hurt somebody or knock over a display!"

The kid didn't hear me or pretended not to hear me. I don't have a very large amount of patience for bratty kids. I muttered something else under my breath which the kid did not hear. Was it bad judgement? Should I have been more careful? Probably, but after being there for nearly nine hours at night when I'm used to working a morning shift I felt like I was about to pass out from tiredness and that little brat was wearing on my last nerve.

I realized then I had a customer, a teenager. He had an angry look on his face. I realized he must be the kid's older brother. I told him I was going to have to talk to my manager about banning those shoes because they were dangerous.

They left together. About fifteen minutes later my managers get a call that I cussed out the young child. I didn't do anything like that! I muttered some things under my breath that the child did not hear, and that's usually not even how I am, but I certainly didn't cuss out the child. I'm just not that kind of person. The mother, who wasn't even there, apparently believed the highly exaggerated story the teenager had passed onto her.

I told my manager that I was really concerned that the kid was going to run into an old lady or old man for that matter, and either cause them to die or end up in a nursing home, or injure themself, or knock over displays. I truthfully told them that I did NOT cuss the child out. They believed me because they know I don't do that kind of thing.

Anyway the manager told me the mother wanted her to call her back so to stay quiet and listen. She put the call on speakerphone. She said "Ma'am, I talked to our cashier and she said she was concerned about someone getting hurt with your child skating through the store and that's why she asked him to stop." The mother then said "They are NOT SKATES! They are SHOES with WHEELS!"

The manager rolled her eyes and I grinned at that but had to fight to keep from laughing. Thankfully I did. I mean, what's the difference? There's no functional difference between a child zooming back and forth across the front end on heelies or on roller skates!

The mother went on "He comes in there with those shoes ALL THE TIME, and NO ONE has EVER said ANYTHING about them!"

I was thinking at this point, maybe someone should have.

I really wanted to ask that woman what was wrong with her that she thought it was ok for the kid to be skating around a store like that, but of course I had to keep quiet as I technically wasn't even supposed to be there.

She then said "There is NO SIGN saying he can't wear them in there. If you don't want him to wear them, PUT UP A SIGN!"

The manager of course apologized to her again and hung up and told me basically she thought the woman was being ridiculous but of course she told me to try to be careful how I tell people stuff even though she knew that I didn't actually cuss the kid out. She said from now on if I see a dangerous situation like that to just call a manager to deal with it.

[air914]

Ah man, where's that "Here's yer sign" comedian when you need him??

[Andara Bledin]

Like I said in another thread, management just needs to put up signs that any wheeled device or conveyance is not allowed except in cases of necessity for mobility issues.

Forget the sign naming the two million different toys and footwear options and just ban the whole selection of things with wheels all in one go!

Of course, being the literate and semi-absurd person that I am, I would have politely informed the lady that regardless of the fact that the child was wearing Heelys and not roller skates, the action of rolling around the store is still called skating.

You might mention to your manager the idea of a single, broad-category sign. After the call from Heely-mom, she might think it's a good idea.

^-.-^

[Becks]

Even if there ARE signs, no one looks at them anyway. And some managers wouldn't enforce it. Case in point, where I work. Snazzy new signs...at least three feet tall...children still using those damn things...management doesn't care.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

The mother then said "They are NOT SKATES! They are SHOES with WHEELS!"

Uh...huh. R i i i i i g h t. And Roller skates are mittens with pyramids? Roller Blades are panties with dodecahedron's?

What in the name of Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Aphrodite and the rest of the Greek Pantheon's rectal orifices does she think those things are?!?

Jesus people are just too goddamn stupid to be allowed to live

I wonder if we could get Congress to allow 143rd trimester abortions?

M

[Andara Bledin]

Even if there ARE signs, no one looks at them anyway. And some managers wouldn't enforce it. Case in point, where I work. Snazzy new signs...at least three feet tall...children still using those damn things...management doesn't care.

Yes, but at least if you have signs, when the idiots claim that there aren't any, you can point out that, "Yes, there are signs."

^-.-^

[protege]

Even if there ARE signs, no one looks at them anyway. And some managers wouldn't enforce it.

I bet they'd enforce it if a kid knocked someone down and they then sued the store...

[Emrld]

I like the parents that are standing there watching . . .semi crowded open shopping area . . .individual stores next to each other go outside to get from store to store - not mall like we are used to here.
Anyway I was coming out of a store and two kids basically racing come flying up the sidewalk - one actually "bumped" into me.
I was just kind of stumped . . .then Mom yells at me to watch where I am going.
Ummm excuse me - this is a public walking area - people coming in and out of stores . . . not a skating rink.
Course the nice thing is the next thing heard by all around is the shopping area Security Officer telling "Mom" he needs to speak to her and then ask if I am ok.
Where did this sense of entitlement come from?

[Crow The Robot]

We have signs and management in their defense TRY to enforce the rule but I heard one parent tell their kid to skate into a display, and they could sue. BTW this woman shoved me hard because I was in her daughter's way, I informed my manager, who gave them a warning about heelies. Here is the parent's reaction.

p: Well, I don't care. I saw your signs and I heard the page but my kid willl hellie whereever she wants and there is nothing you can do about it. If she skates into something I'll sue, and have your job. Banning heelies is discrimination. My husband's a cop and I'll have him arrest anyone who tells MY daughter what not to do that is MY job, and I say she can use heelies.

M: Ma'am, you've ignored three warnings, and you have pushed an associate, now he isn't hurt, but you stil need to leave the store now.

P: so what if he did get hurt, you have insurance for that and besides he was in my daughter's way.

M:Ma'am, he was doing his job. Now please, leave the store, before I have you tossed.

P: You can't do that.

M: Sure we can, ask your husband.

P: Never mind we'll take our business somewhere that appreciates us and we're informing the media.

M: Bye-bye.
Okay sorry to derail the thread but my point is, that SCs don't look at the signs that say "exit" and "enter" so assuming they'll read signs is a bit rich.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

She then said "There is NO SIGN saying he can't wear them in there. If you don't want him to wear them, PUT UP A SIGN!"

Yes, put up a sign so Ms. Mother of the Year can scream "HOW DARE YOU TELL MY WIDDLE PWESHUS HE CAN'T WEAR HIS SHOES WITH WHEELS IN HERE!!"

Ive' said it before and I'll say it again: If those light-up shoes could be banned in several places, why can't Heelies be banned? They're so much more of a hazard than those light up shoes ever were.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

"BTW this woman shoved me hard because I was in her daughter's way, I informed my manager, who gave them a warning about heelies."

Actually, your manager should have called the police. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I'm pretty sure that is considered assault.

[Greenday]

Every time I see a kid with those stupid things, I want to take a twig or something, throw it on the ground, and watch the kid go flying. Just like the movie Big Daddy.

[norrina]

I used to move out of the way of the speeding demons on wheels, out of a sense of self-preservation. Then I realized, (a) while I am a petite woman, most of the kids on these things are only 8 or so, so they're still smaller than me, (b) I'm a klutz, I bump into things all the time, so what is one more bump, and (c) they're on wheels, I'm on solid ground, who's more likely to fall over here... I find them amusing now.

[MadMike]

She then said "There is NO SIGN saying he can't wear them in there. If you don't want him to wear them, PUT UP A SIGN!"

There's no sign saying not to have sex on the conveyor belts either, but does that mean...

Nevermind, she probably would.

Ive' said it before and I'll say it again: If those light-up shoes could be banned in several places, why can't Heelies be banned? They're so much more of a hazard than those light up shoes ever were.

They actually banned light-up shoes? I never heard about that. Just out of curiosity, would you happen to know the reasoning behind that one?

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I think they were banned because they were seen as a "distraction" in schools or something.