Greasy kid stuff

[edible_hat]

Yesterday a family with 5 kids came into the store. The three oldest kids were generally well behaved (well a bit noisy, but they didn't cause any real problems). The two youngest (twin boys aged around 2 years old) were in a stroller next to a display of oil bottles. While the parents were getting ready to pay, I heard a "thump" from near the stroller, I look in that direction just in time to see an oil bottle go flying through the air, and go "thump" and hit the floor right near the second one.

I said "Your kids are throwing oil bottles", the parents moved the stroller and told the kids off. They paid and kept on apologising all the way out of the store, while my boss cleaned up the oily mess. After they left, my boss said "Those guys really need to learn how to use condoms."

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Reminds of the time when I was about 4 or 5 or so and got into Dad's bucket of old motor oil.

Similar result, only bigger mess.

[Soulstealer]

I said "Your kids are throwing oil bottles", the parents moved the stroller and told the kids off. They paid and kept on apologising all the way out of the store, while my boss cleaned up the oily mess. After they left, my boss said "Those guys really need to learn how to use condoms."

Why did your boss say that? The parents had 5 kids to watch so it's no wonder they didn't see what those two were doing. And they didn't become assholes to you when you pointed it out, they did the parenty thing and all that.

Mind you 5 kids are a lot but still a bit rude.

[Rine]

I take issue with what your boss said, being that I am one of five children and oddly enough, the youngest two are twins. Truthfully, I would have been pissed off if my boss said something like that to me. Kids are kids--they grab things. The parents apologised and it was just an accident. I don't see how they were SCs at all.

[CancelMyService]

Truthfully someone bringing in 5 kids into a store needs to keep tabs on the kiddos. There's no excuse to let your spawn run amok and make messes for store employees to clean up.

[blas]

I don't think it makes your boss a bad person. Just one of those people with no brain to mouth filters.

Then again, I have been guilty of the same thing. Not on the job, of course, but out in public. Seeing couples ignoring their kids or their kids out of control. I have joked to my boyfriend and said "Maybe they should be looking in the condom aisle!" or "I bet they wish they'd used a condom."

EDIT: In fact, last Saturday after seeing children tearing apart the Halloween decor section at Wal-Mart with no parents in sight, I believe I did say to my boyfriend "And you refuse to wear condoms because WHY?"

[kibbles]

Why did your boss say that? The parents had 5 kids to watch so it's no wonder they didn't see what those two were doing. And they didn't become assholes to you when you pointed it out, they did the parenty thing and all that.

Mind you 5 kids are a lot but still a bit rude.

I agree, there was no need at all for what the boss said. These people weren't sucky customers. Two year olds get into things, but the parents stepped up and did the right thing.

[Jadedcarguy]

What he said would have been sucky if it was said in front of the customer. It wasn't, so no suck there. Crass, yes, but not sucky. I've said worse for less.

[jayel]

I think the suckiness comes from the fact that the kids should not have been allowed to pull stuff down in the first place. Having a large number of children is no excuse for not watching them and preventing accidents. If you can't handle five, stop at four. (Or in the case of twins, maybe they meant to stop at four and got a suprise!)

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

It was a rather crass thing to say, but since it was said after the customers had left it's not the worst crime in the world.

Although I never threw around bottles of motor oil when I was little and in the store with my mom. Glass jars of peanut butter on the other hand...

[Jadedcarguy]

I think the suckiness comes from the fact that the kids should not have been allowed to pull stuff down in the first place. Having a large number of children is no excuse for not watching them and preventing accidents. If you can't handle five, stop at four. (Or in the case of twins, maybe they meant to stop at four and got a suprise!)

True dat, true dat.

I look at raising a gaggle of kids like chicken farming: if you can't keep them safe and out of trouble, it ain't for you.

[Jadedcarguy]

Glass jars of peanut butter on the other hand...

That'll leave a mark!

[Rine]

I think the suckiness comes from the fact that the kids should not have been allowed to pull stuff down in the first place. Having a large number of children is no excuse for not watching them and preventing accidents. If you can't handle five, stop at four. (Or in the case of twins, maybe they meant to stop at four and got a suprise!)

It was just an accident; I don't think it matters the number of children a person has. I've seen worse mishaps come from a single kid than from a group of children. My parents taught us how to behave in public, sometimes it didn't work, but most of the time we were good kids. So, yeah, still don't see how the customers were SCs, but I guess that's just how I feel. I suppose I'm more sympathetic to large families because I know what's it's like to be in one and have rude comments like the OP's boss's said directly to me (people are really mean like that sometimes.)

BTW, your last sentence reminded me of this...my parents wanted a boy so they tried just one more time and got a pair of girls instead. Then, my mom was like "omg, no more!" and had her tubes tied.

[Sliceanddice]

errrr... not to be lynched or anything here.
But some people don't like kids, period.
And when upset can verbally express it. You might not like what he said, but he didnt say it in front of them and he is intitled to his opinion.
Besides ive heard worst.

[CancelMyService]

If someone came in a store I worked at and let their kids throw/break several items I would have had the same response the boss did.

Unless I'm reading incorrectly, this wasn't a case of a kid grabbing one item - it was several items being thrown and making a mess. The parents did apologize, so good on them for that, but you really shouldn't be having large amounts of children romping in a store.

This might just be a peeve of mine, since my mom used to make it clear what behavior was expected of me in a store before we went in.