WATCH YOUR DAMN CHILDREN!!!

[draggar]

While at work today the manager got a call from our security company. Someone pressed one of the silent alarms.

The manager agrees to have the local police come, just in case something is going on. The police came, but stayed outside while they wanted the manager to walk though the store then out the front door, turn left and meet up with the police out of sight of the store.

The assisstant manager comes into the tech room (which has a view of the whole store) and makes sure we do not have any of the silent alarms, we do not.

The manager walks though the store and doesn't see anything odd and walks out the front door. Someone must have accidently hit it.

After the 'all clear' the security company calls back, the alarm was tripped again. Manager goes out and checks up with each rep. Nothing strange.

The alarm is pressed three more times when it is realized that one of the customer's children decided it was fun to push this button they found, hidden, under the cash register. When confronted about this, sure enough the parent swears that their child is an angel and never would do anything like that, even though she wasn't watching the kid. Uh-huh, four people saw the kid push the button.

[Aldous]

Why should they have to watch their children, don't you offer a babysitting serive *Ducks and runs* Kidding. That's ridiculous, she didn't watch her child, and the kid pressed the button 5 times. Isn't there a fee for that many false alarms? I know when our button was pressed 3 times, without cause, we had to pay like $500 or something.

[aurelemsrealm]

Oh yeah, that sounds about right. Sometimes, I think the parents need disciplined more than their children. I don't have kids of my own yet, but I can't imagine shirking responsibility like I've seen some parents do. I don't even let the dog out of the house to potty without putting the lead on him, and he can fend for himself much better than a child.

I used to work graveyard shift at the local K-Mart. One night, everyone was called to help search for a child who had wandered away from his mother. The child's older sister was the one who reported her missing sibling to Customer Service. I was severely irritated because the children's mother seemed the least bit unconcerned that her son had wandered off. She just continued shopping like it was all okay while the staff and her daughter were frantically looking for her child.

[draggar]

Luckily, we have a good reputation with out police department and after the first false alarm, we were 'flagged' as if it might happen again, so the police were not called again (thankfully).

[Ill_Used_Heroine]

When I worked in a toy store and in a book store, both stores were at either end of the mall, right next to the anchor department stores. Parents would think nothing of dropping their children off at the store on their way to the department store so they could shop. Mall security was repeatedly contacted, because there were lots of times that that either the children were destroying the store or they were freaking out because they couldn't find their parent. Amazingly, the parents would be annoyed and irritated that security had to go find them. I mean, damn ... don't they know how many creeps specifically hang out in toy & book stores with their eyes out for unattended children?

This also happens at the library, where, unfortunately, it is no longer safe to leave young children unattended. We had one dad, who left 3 of his kids here (the oldest was 6) before going to work for the day. I was like ... wow ... ever heard of a babysitter? The Librarian finally tracked him down and made him come pick up his children. Just unbelievable how thoughtless/careless parents can be with their own children.

[Lehk]

forget mall security or tracking these asshats down, if someone leaves kids that young contact child protective services

[blas]

Heroine, are you telling us that this guy would leave his kids at the library ALL day while he went to work?

What a piece of shit excuse for a father........

[BookstoreEscapee]

This also happens at the library, where, unfortunately, it is no longer safe to leave young children unattended. We had one dad, who left 3 of his kids here (the oldest was 6) before going to work for the day. I was like ... wow ... ever heard of a babysitter? The Librarian finally tracked him down and made him come pick up his children. Just unbelievable how thoughtless/careless parents can be with their own children.

I would have called the police. That cannot be legal to leave a 6-year-old (and younger) alone all day (home or public building, they are still unattended, unless the library staff takes it upon themselves, which they are presumably not trained to do, nor do they likely have liability insurance for such a situation). And who would he blame if something happened to one of his kids?!

[Ill_Used_Heroine]

Heroine, are you telling us that this guy would leave his kids at the library ALL day while he went to work?

What a piece of shit excuse for a father........

He only did it that one time, and yes, he explained to the Librarian how he intentionally left his children here at the library that morning and that he would pick them up after work @ 2:30 pm. I believe the Librarian threatened to call the police AND Child Protective Services, so he finally left work to come pick them up.

He probably drove them to the mall across the street and dropped them off at the toy store before going back to work. Poor kids.

[fma_fanatic]

And that's when you tell the parents of that "darling angel" that each false alarm costs money. Trust me, I got to hear my manager bitch when she handed me the false alarm invoices she received from the local police department for our office. Each one cost $100. At one point, we had over $1500 worth.

That's $1500 less that I had to spend for office supplies. She finally sent out a tersely worded e-mail stating that if anyone did not put their code in when they came in over the weekend that everyone who had a 24 hour badge would have to turn it in and no one would be allowed access on the weekends. No exceptions.

We haven't had a false alarm charge in almost 6 months.

[Mighty Girl]

As a parent, I'm completely behind the "watch your kids" thing. I mean who else is going to make sure they aren't snatched up by a pedophile? But I must wonder, how on earth did the kid get behind the counter and reach up under the cash register in the first place? If the register isn't open, isn't it corded off or something? Just wondering.

If that parent is the slightest bit normal, they were probably embarrassed as all hell that it was THEIR kid causing the ruckus.

[WorkAtBBuy]

As a parent, I'm completely behind the "watch your kids" thing. I mean who else is going to make sure they aren't snatched up by a pedophile? But I must wonder, how on earth did the kid get behind the counter and reach up under the cash register in the first place? If the register isn't open, isn't it corded off or something? Just wondering.

If that parent is the slightest bit normal, they were probably embarrassed as all hell that it was THEIR kid causing the ruckus.

I know at my store the registers aren't corded off at all and kids can get behind them all the time....much to my chagrin.

[violiavampyr]

Oh, god.
The other day my manager was telling me that one of her fiancees customers (he works at the single story Pennys other end of the mall) told him that she was "going to take her grandkids to Macys so that they could play on the escalator. ".

We are the only department store in this town with an escalator.

[slick]

I was a very curious child, I could have been that kid pressing the button. But my parents would always watch me, and if I wandered off, they would come after me. With all the pervs and kidnappers out there, why would any normal person allow a child to wander around alone? And if I did get to that button, believe me, not only would my parents have taken the blame for it, I would have taken the punishment. In all honesty, I feel I am a better person because they looked after me and correctly taught me right and wrong.

Seriously, are parents really this retarded now? I license to procreate, that should be a real topic of discussion.

[LadyAndreca]

My middle brother was always wandering off as a kid. He'd see something, and walk off without saying a word. It got so bad that one time he wandered off while we were vacationing in Salzburg, Austria--my parents had four other kids to watch, and only my mom could speak enough German to get help. When they finally found him, they put a bell on him so they could find him quicker the next time.

Stories like these are why I never say a word when I see little kids on leash harnesses or similar things, or when a parent is sharp with a misbehaving kid. Some people bitch about how it's cruel or demeaning to the child--I call it responsible parenting. (Besides, I have fond memories of my sister and I using our leash harnesses to drag my poor unsuspecting uncle through a department store... ) By the time I outgrew the thing, I knew not to leave my parents' side while we were out.

Well, that, and Mom had a way of saying "Is it yours? Is it a toy? Then leave it alone!" that was absolutely TERRIFYING.