Books make you sick!! Oh, wait.....blame the Chinese!!

[Hon'ya-chan]

So I fielded a call today that edged on bizarre.

Me: How can I help you?
Caller: Your books made my kid sick.
Me: Okay....I apologize for the incident, we'll take them back, and if you don't have the.....
C: I think the books have mold.
Me: Beg pardon ma'am?
C: The books have Mold!! Thats what's making my kids sick!!
Me: Um....okay, look, if you have a problem with the books, just come in, explain the situation and we'll accept them as returns......
C: I don't wanna bring them in, I want you to test books for mold!!
Me: Uh, I can assure you ma'am that the books we carry don't carry mold. Also, we've had to pull some books due to....
C: (cuts me off) When we remove the books from the room, she's fine, but when the books come back in, she coughs alot.
Me: Did you take her to a doctor to be tested?
C: No, I just know. This piece of shit Chinese chink junk made my kid sick!!
Me: *getting frustrated and now angry at the "Chink" remark* Look Ma'am, either you come in and return the books and get a refund, get your kid to a doctor to pinpoint the exact cause of her coughing attacks, or contact the publishers and air your grievances with them.
C: Well, I'll just call the Health Department and report you for selling Chinese Shit!!!! *SLAM!!!*

Guess what happens 5 hours later? She calls back all pissed that the Health Department tells her to either seek medical advice (according to her, the person she called "suggested" that her child might have a cold or the flu) or return the items back to the store as it is not a matter that they deal with. Now shes threatening to go to the media about her case.

And I thought the woman buying books on how to get a job and forcing me and another co-worker to stay late 15 minutes was weird and bizarre.

[teller]

i wonder if it was a text book she may have been tryong to get outa class.

[Hon'ya-chan]

i wonder if it was a text book she may have been tryong to get outa class.

We don't sell textbooks.

[Bramblerose]

Now shes threatening to go to the media about her case.

If the universe was set up purely for my amusement and no one else's, you would live in teh same town as Mistyglitter and we could have her post about the crazy....

[PepperElf]

if the kid's reaction is THAT strong you need a doctor.
Most mold allergies are not just "sudden" reactions... at least not in my experience.

the body just doesn't *stop reacting* when the item is out of the room... it continues for a while.

so either the woman is over-reacting (very possible) or the kid really needs to see a doctor.
which means the woman is barking up the wrong tree by yelling about the media...

apparently it's ... more important to bitch and complain than it is to seek medical attention for her child.

[wagegoth]

Or maybe the kid is coughing because she hates the crap books her mom bought.

[Nurian]

Or maybe the kid is coughing because she hates the crap books her mom bought.

Aw, but who doesn't love "The Little SC Who Couldn't Take a Hint" by Wee Toddid?

[Arm]

Or maybe the kid is coughing because she hates the crap books her mom bought.

See, that was my thought. Kids aren't STUPID... they're just self-centered little shits, until trained not to be. If the kid doesn't like the book, and knows that getting 'sick' will make mommy take it away, of COURSE he'll do it! Hell, my brother's CATS do that to try to get out of things they don't like, and most kids- even SC offspring- are nearly as smart as a cat...

[Mnemjian]

I love how the lady didn't care enough to figure out why her kid was unhealthy but seemed extremely excited at the prospect of complaining about something ridiculous

[RetailWorkhorse]

C: (cuts me off) When we remove the books from the room, she's fine, but when the books come back in, she coughs alot.

.....

I'm betting 6 quarters, a dime, a pack of cigs, and a rootbeer that it's her perfume making the kid sick.

[auntiem]

I live in the land of mold and have some kind of "deadly mold" growing on my bedroom ceiling*. Anyone who lives in "mold country" wouldn't bitch about this. Me thinks a tv report has started all this.

*it has been there for 2 years and my SO who is an environmental safety guy isn't worried about it - he calls it "non issue mold"

[freaktard]

When I worked in a restaurant a few decades back, I once took a call from a woman who started screaming that our food had given her child BOTULISM, and demanding we refund her for their meals.

Naturally I gave the call to a manager. Later he told me that the woman hadn't sought medical attention for her child, but kept going on about BOTULISM and refunds.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

Naturally I gave the call to a manager. Later he told me that the woman hadn't sought medical attention for her child, but kept going on about BOTULISM and refunds.

This was my thought reading this. Some people have their priorities really messed up.

It sounds like the woman mentioned here and the one in OP's story were more concerned with getting refunds/free stuff and finding someone to blame than about actually getting their kids medical help.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Um, if the kid really had Botulism, she should have been in the hospital.

I love the "I'm going to report you the health department for something I haven't even verified with a medical professional is a problem" line of thinking.

That said, we have to start testing all the toys we carry for lead (well, the ones we make, at least). Fun times.