Sweetie, please don't play with that...

[BookstoreEscapee]

I’ve been reading back through the old threads (it’s September in my little web world) and I came across this one from Kogarashi: "… I noticed two young girls taking some noisemaker/candy/bobblehead doodads from an impulse rack and smacking them against the rack and its adjacent drink cooler. I watched this for a while as I rang out my own customers, but the closest their mother got to disciplining them in any way was to tell them to come around where she could see them …so after a while of the mother just watching and not doing anything, I excused myself politely from my current customer and approached the girls. I simply, calmly, and politely asked them to please not bang the bobbleheads on the rack. The girls kind of looked at me like they'd never had anyone tell them not to do something before, but they stopped.

I went back to my register, but I noticed the mother giving me an odd look (she was in a different line). I met her line of sight, and she (apparently calmly) asked me to ask her next time. I nodded, but couldn't give her more of a response because I had customers to help. I thought that was the end of it. The girls put back the bobbleheads because the mom wasn't buying them…. Later, one of the CSMs told me (when I went to my break) that the mother had come up and complained to her (CSM) about me. The mother complained about me disciplining her children in the store. …"

And it reminded me of one I had along the same lines.

I was at the cashwrap with another employee, and it was pretty dead. Woman comes up with her little girl, about 2 years old, and my coworker is looking up a book for the woman. In that store we had the “velvet ropes” to mark off the line (too bad we can’t use them to keep out the SCs… Sorry, you're not on The List ). My last store had the tension kind that when you unhook them roll themselves up into the top of the stand, so if you lean on them they have some room to stretch out before the stand will fall; the stands are metal and plastic, not real heavy except for the base. Not these: these were the velvet ropes that hooked on either end to a separate heavy, metal stanchion; it took some muscle to move the stands around. The rope hangs down a bit in between, just the right height for little ones to lean on, hang on, or sit on (depending on how little).

So this (very cute) 2ish-year-old little girl grabs onto the middle of the rope and starts swinging it back and forth. I’m watching her and watching the stanchions lean inward and downward with each forward push. Mom is busy with my coworker about 10 feet from her daughter, but keeps turning and telling the little girl “stop it”, several times, but she won’t go over and pull her away from the thing. So finally I say to the girl, “Sweetie, please don’t play with that” in a perfectly nice, calm voice. Mom turns to me and barks, “Why?!”

Well, why the heck do you keep telling her to stop???!!! I was speechless for a few seconds but finally told her I didn’t want her kid to get hurt. While I thought, "cuz when she pulls those things down on her little head you're probably gonna sue us."

[Imogene]

Sorry, you're not on The List

Is that at all like "Everywhere Else"? This "The List" thing?


I had a similar experience way back in the days of yore at Chesterfield. I noticed a little girl place a DVD on our rack of manga, and wander off. As she did so, I went over to grab it and put it where it belonged. A few minutes later, I pointed out to Homophobic AM what I had done, and mentioned, in passing, "Does a DVD look like a book?" Got a laugh from him.
Well, as the night wore on, I noticed a couple hanging out in the back of the store, staring at me. I thought nothing of it at the time. I assumed they were looking at something.
Just before we close the store, the couple comes up to me at the counter, and says, "She's five, . Is there anything we can do to make your job easier for you? Tidy up? Anything?"
At the time, I wasn't as cynical as I am now, otherwise my answer would've been, "Yes, teach your daughter to put things back where they belong." My answer at the time was a tail-tucked, "No." to get them out of the store.

Homophobic AM told me after they'd left that he was close to busting up at the scene, and would've lost it had I been serious at them.

[BookstoreEscapee]

yeah, and then there are the parents who put their stuff up on the counter, and decide against something their kid is holding, and point them to the display dump in front of the counter, saying, "just put it there". Like I'm not going to notice? How 'bout, "just give it to the bookseller standing right in front of you who has a basket behind her for just that sort of occurence?"

[pbmods]

How 'bout, "just give it to the bookseller standing right in front of you who has a basket behind her for just that sort of occurence?"

Ditto! What the hell is up with customers who decide they don't want something, so they just stuff it in front of one of my counter displays where I can't see nor get at it.

[SuperB]

I hate watching kids touch and pick up absolutely everything not bothering to put it back where they got it but the parents are worse. They will *watch* them do it and not do a thing about it. They'll even watch them stick their fingers through packaging!

This last summer I had a kid doing it and the mom not saying a word. The kid was young so I fault the mother. Mom went to the bathroom and left the kid in the store. As she reached for the lighters at the counter I leaned over and told her to put it back and not to touch anything else... please. The eyes got wide and she didn't touch a thing the rest of their visit.

I don't get that. I've watched friends let their kids get away with putting things wherever they're standing in a store and say nothing. They wouldn't let it happen at home when *they* have to clean up after them. My kids know better. (mainly because I've left it up to them to tidy up the store hoping to teach them respect when they're out in other stores)

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

So this (very cute) 2ish-year-old little girl grabs onto the middle of the rope and starts swinging it back and forth. I’m watching her and watching the stanchions lean inward and downward with each forward push. Mom is busy with my coworker about 10 feet from her daughter, but keeps turning and telling the little girl “stop it”, several times, but she won’t go over and pull her away from the thing. So finally I say to the girl, “Sweetie, please don’t play with that” in a perfectly nice, calm voice. Mom turns to me and barks, “Why?!”

Well, why the heck do you keep telling her to stop???!!! I was speechless for a few seconds but finally told her I didn’t want her kid to get hurt. While I thought, "cuz when she pulls those things down on her little head you're probably gonna sue us."

I would've come right out and said it was because she could pull those heavy stands onto herself and get hurt. I would hope mom could understand that there is the potential for bodily harm.

I know exactly how those ropes work. We have them outside the optical department at my store and use them to block off the department when it is closed.

[Mighty Girl]

Ok, for the record, I swear my daughter is selectively deaf and it drives me nuts. I'll tell her "no" a million times and when I finally reach my breaking point she looks at me like "Oh, did you say something?" BUT- when someone other than me- like a friend or a sales clerk- tells her no, she stops dead in her tracks, and I think it's freaking hilarious.

I'm actually thankful when a clerk does that- cause then it's like "See, mommy isn't just being a big meanie, it really IS against the rules".

So anyway, just wanted to throw my two cents in there

[Luna]

Sorta off topic..but a child was misbehaving in the store a few weeks ago and the mom didn't try to control her either. All the mom said was, "you'd better behave or the man is going to yell at you!"

To which "the man", one of my employees, said without batting an eye - , "No he's not - that's YOUR job."

Insert luna: ....
Mother: ...

She grabbed the kid and walked out the store quickly enough. Now you may ask - how can one of my employees get away with this? I think when you're as old as he is, you just don't care anymore. There's that age thing, on top of being a guy that he has going for him. He'll say things you wish you could say but he can get away with it. So not fair.

[GayleShy]

yeah, and then there are the parents who put their stuff up on the counter, and decide against something their kid is holding

What about the parents who let their toddlers play with something all through the store then tell you they weren't going to buy it? It drives me nuts because the thing is almost always covered with spit because the kid has been chewing on it, so we can't resell it, and the kid will start to cry more often than not. I don't like it when kids cry, it makes me jumpy, but times like these, I really feel for the kid. They are too young to know why their mother is being mean enough to take away their new toy. I normally make a big show of how gross it is to get spit all over your hands. Not that it does any good.

[Imogene]

What about the parents who let their toddlers play with something all through the store then tell you they weren't going to buy it? It drives me nuts because the thing is almost always covered with spit because the kid has been chewing on it,

Yeah, I particularly loved that when I'd catch a kid chewing on a DVD case in the store.
M: *to parental-looking person* "Yeah, you probably don't want him chewing on that... *flips my hands to show off the blackened finger pads* That's just from twenty minutes of sorting DVDs... who knows what's on the plastic..."

[TruthHurts]

When I was working at the dreaded BK we had this cardboard display that had a wheel on it that was constantly rotating. I am ringing up this woman when her five year old kid starts grabbing the wheel and twisting it in the opposite direction.

After deducing that Mommy didn't give a crap I politely called out to the kid "Please don't touch the display" Mom went ballistic lecturing me about assuming that all kids are gonna break things. How unfair it was, her daughter wasn't naughty blah blah blah. During her tirade the girl twists it one more time and you guessed it broke off the wheel. Mom grabs her food in one hand and daughter in the other, with red cheeks she hightailed out of there without uttering a single word.

[Anakah]

At my last job, I was walking down the isle where we had the toothpaste and there was this woman and her baby girl. The girl had to been like one or so. And I look over and she's sucking on children's toothpaste! She was eating that stuff right up! There were so many things wrong there...

Number one: It's toxic. I don't care if it tastes like candy, it's not good for you and when your mom lets you eat the entire tube, yes you will probably feel sick. There's a reason you SPIT out toothpaste...

Number two: It's not paid for! I hate it when people or children walk down the isle just eating what they will be "buying."

Number three: Germs. I wonder how many people have gotten their hands all over the top and what not and this kid is just slobbering all over it and eating it like its candy...

I was just shocked, grossed out and mad because the mom didn't do anything. In fact, when she got to the counter, I had to scan that nasty slobbered on tube of toothpaste. Nasty! While scanning it the child let out this horrid shriek like I just ran over her dog. Grrr!

[Gurndigarn]

Now you may ask - how can one of my employees get away with this? I think when you're as old as he is, you just don't care anymore.

That might be why he said it, but mostly he can get away with it because he has a cool manager who understand people as people, not as things.

[BookstoreEscapee]

At my last job, I was walking down the isle where we had the toothpaste and there was this woman and her baby girl. The girl had to been like one or so. And I look over and she's sucking on children's toothpaste! She was eating that stuff right up! There were so many things wrong there...

not to mention the warnings on the tube to SUPERVISE children under the age of SIX when brushing their teeth!


Originally Posted by GayleShy
What about the parents who let their toddlers play with something all through the store then tell you they weren't going to buy it? It drives me nuts because the thing is almost always covered with spit because the kid has been chewing on it,

I really appreciated the parents who would bring up an extra copy of the book their child had either because (a) they know the child is going to freak out when they try to get away to be rung up or (b) the child has been chewing on it and they know I won't want to touch it!

Sorta off topic..but a child was misbehaving in the store a few weeks ago and the mom didn't try to control her either. All the mom said was, "you'd better behave or the man is going to yell at you!"

To which "the man", one of my employees, said without batting an eye - , "No he's not - that's YOUR job."

That is just AWESOME! I've had those parents too and I wish I had thought to say that! I've also had parents kind of wink at me, asking me to play along while they tell the child what they want is not for sale. Sorry, little one Those I don't mind...

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I've seen a woman allow her baby to play INSIDE a copy machine out in self serve. Kid was 2 at the most, probably closer to 1. The inside of a copy machine is full of wires, toxic toner, oil, sharp edges, and a burning hot fuser unit. You can get crushed, cut, burned, all manner of lovely things. And this dumb broad is letting her baby play in there. She had the doors open and was just obliviously wandering around self serve while this was going on.

I said to her, "Ma'am, do not let your child play in there. It's dangerous." I walked over, gently pulled the little one's hands out of harm's way, and closed the doors.

She just stared at me with the expression of a startled cow.

I said, "I know we do not want to be sued, and I'm sure you don't care to buy a copy machine."

We used to be able to get away with murder in that place. As long as the store was making money, the boss didn't care. And the store was a gold mine.