Kisa's Rant on Parents and their Kids

[Kisa]

This is my rant that I have been saving up for a while. Every once in a while, I will get a transaction that goes a little something like this:

Parent walks in with kid(s)
Parent makes kid(s) order their own food
Kid(s) will get super shy and talk waayyyy too quiet or kid(s) will make up cutesy nicknames for menu items
I have no clue what the kid(s) want, so I look to the parent for a translation
Parent awwe-s and fawns over the kid(s) and gushes how cute/smart/silly their little darling is
I'm still lost
Parent gets pissy with me for not understanding their kid

The End

No, not the end of my rant I need to give examples! I don't think you would forgive me if I forgot to give examples

Whuuuttt???

Sucky Mom walks in with an obviously bashful 3-5 year old girl.

SM: Tell the nice lady what you want.
Me:

The girl digs her claws into mommies skirt and buries her face into the folds.

SM: Sweetie, tell the nice lady. Tell her or else.
Me: O.O

The girl, with her face still in mommies skirt, begins to mumble her order. Press your face into a pillow and try to say something quietly and you will know exactly how the girl sounded to me. Naturally, I look to the mom hoping she will either peel her daughter away from her clothing so I can hear her or give up on making her be independant and tell me what she wants. Alas, it is not so.

SM: Heeheeteehee! She is such a shy girl! Teeheehee!

Mam, I couldn't hear your daughter. Why? Because the store is very noisy, you daughter has a quiet voice, and she is practically swallowing your skirt. Yes, I can see she's shy. Actually, I do know how she feels because I was, and still am, a bit shy. My mother did the same thing to me when I was a kid, but if the cashier couldn't hear me, she would just give the order herself so she wouldn't waste the poor woman's time and patience.

Cutesy Nicknames

Mom walks in with a 4 or so year old daughter and a 6 or so year old son. Boy wants to go first. Mom giggles about how independant and grown up her son is. Funny, most adults I know don't shout, "I WANNA GO FIRST!! ME FIRST ME FIRST ME FIRST," as loud as they can when they are ready to order. Kid yells that he wants a "squished taco". What was that? "Squished taco".

As usual, I look to the mother, hoping she will tell me what the hell a "squished taco" is. As usual, mother ignores the completely clueless look on my face, begging for help and goes on to giggle and coo about how adorable and how funny her little angel is.

What did he want? I'm sorry mam, I don't know what "squished taco" means. I don't care if you know what it means. I'm not a mind reader. You have to tell me or I won't know. I'm not part of your secret little group that, aparently, Regular Cashier is a part of too. In case it wasn't obvious before, I am not Regular Cashier and never will be. I'm about 20, RC is about 60. I weigh 125 while RC is closer to 180. I'm 5'4", RC is 5'0". If that isn't enough, I can continue.

No, I don't hate your son. Keep bitching and I just may hate you though. Taquitos? How was I supposed to know "squished tacos" were taquitos??!! Yes, I think it's cute when little kids nickname stuff or say something silly, but don't expect me to know what he/she is talking about.

Whuuuuttt??? #2

Dad walks in, gabbing away on his phone. Grreeeaaattt... He orders, repeats the order his wife is telling him on the phone, then gets the look. You know, the look; big, doofy smile, eyes staring into space, that look that always means "I gots an idear hurhurhurrr"! Quickly, he mutters something into the phone and switches the call to speaker.

SC: Go ahead Billy!
Billy: BLAGHAYADABOOBAH!!
Me:

Billy sounded like he was just learning how to talk.

SC: Hurhurr! That's my boy!

Really? I never would have guessed! You talk to your wife, then your son?!!! Unheard of!! Anyway, what did he just say?

SC: *huffily* He said he want's a soft taco kids meal.
Billy: Nagletalle!
Me: Huh?
SC: With no lettuce. *huffs*
Me: Ok.
SC: What kind of drink do you want big guy?
Billy: Plesciberty!
Me: Sorry?
SC: Cherry Pepsi!

Ok, I get it. He wants to show off how cute and how smart his kid is. But it sounded like he was screaming gibberish! Just because YOU know what he's saying doesn't mean I know what he's saying. You see him daily and can learn what his "words" mean, whereas I am an overworked fast food worker who doesn't have the patience to learn the language of toddlers.

Cutesy Nicknames #2

Mom walks in with her 5-ish son.

SM: We want a fruit roll-up! *cutesy baby voice*

Great. One problem. This is Taco Bell, not Meijer. We sell mexican food, not fruit snacks. No, actually, I don't "know what you mean". A cheese roll-up? I don't care if that's what you and your son call it. All the Taco Bell employees and 80% of our customers call is a cheese roll-up, so you can call it a fruit roll-up 1,000 times and we will correct you 1,000 times.

Cutesy Nicknames #3

Mom, dad and son walk in.

Son: I wanna ranch turkey sam-wich!
Mom: Oh he is such a smart boy!
Dad: My boy is so grown up!
Mom: *gloat gloat*
Dad: *gloat gloat gloat*
Mom: *gloat coo fawn*
Dad: *gloat*
Me: We don't have turkey, nor do we have sandwiches.
Mom: Oh, you know what he means!
Dad: Just ring it up!
Me: I honestly have no clue what he ment. Please, feel free to enlighten me.
Dad: He ment chicken!
Me: Ok....Chicken what?
Mom: Chicken Gordita!
Me: Chicken Gordita Supreme?
Son: Ranch, please!
Me: *looks at parents*
Mom: Oh for..!!!! BAJA! BAJA!

So, lets break this down:

Turkey = Chicken
Ranch = Baja(pepperjack sauce)
Sandwich = Gordita

and, somehow, I was supposed to know all this???


Kids are cute. Parents....not so much.
(Note: The statements in this post do not apply to all parents and I do not hate parents or kids. This is just something some parents do that annoy me.)

[blas]

I couldn't agree with you more.

As a waitress, I dealt with a few annoying parents who insisted their kids order for themselves, but I don't think I really had a problem with that, I was only a server for a matter of weeks.

Out and about, especially at SUBWAY, the worst place, is where I lose my shit and see red. Any place is fair game, but it happens the most at Subway. And Noodles and Company.

I don't understand why parents think it's so adorable to make their kids order their own food, when they can't pronounce it right, are too afraid of strangers still, or are shy, or don't even really know yet what kinds of foods they like. And the best part is when they hold up the damn line because the parents are so amused by their kids asking for "stinky noodles" or whatever, and they refuse to order for their kid, and the line grows longer and longer and the employee more and more irritated.

[Food Lady]

When I was a kid Mom made us decide before we got to the speaker/counter, and she ordered it, period. I didn't start ordering food for myself until, well, I don't remember, but I certainly wasn't 3! Mom wasn't into holding up people behind us. Also, she made us clean up our mess, no exceptions. I love her for that.

[Syriilord]

When I was a kid Mom made us decide before we got to the speaker/counter, and she ordered it, period. I didn't start ordering food for myself until, well, I don't remember, but I certainly wasn't 3! Mom wasn't into holding up people behind us. Also, she made us clean up our mess, no exceptions. I love her for that.

And so did the staff, I'll bet

[HappyFun Ball]

Yeah I know all about young kids and their garbled way of speaking, the parents are with the kids all the time so they know what the kids are saying.. We however aren't around the kids all the time so we have no idea what the hell they are saying

[bankworking]

My daughter has ordered her own food before. At a restaurant. While sitting down, with a server in front of us and relative quiet about. And a menu in front of her that she is pointing at the picture of what she wants while she tells the server. When she orders, the first thing I do is not coo over her, but instead make certain the server got her order. And if she gets the name wrong, I will correct it, partly because what's the point of having her order for herself if I have her order wrong?

So far, I don't think I've annoyed any servers letting her order. But no way would I do in in a fast food line, at a speaker, or over the phone. People don't realize how hard it is for cashier's to hear if they have the kitchen at their backs.

[Evandril]

Being a parent, I don't see what the point of having your kids order if they aren't doing it *right*...other than training the next generation of SC's..."Don't worry about telling them what you really want, dear, they know already...just make noises, then yell when they pretend to not know what you mean"

My kids ordered for themselves...when it wouldn't hold up others, and my Wife or me could correct the kids until the server understood what they wanted. 'Tis not that hard, and actually teaches the kids that being understood matters!

[Moogles]

Wow. I don't force my daughter to order her own food. She's not even 3 yet! But she does know what she wants and will say on the rare times we go to the Golden Arches:

Cheese sammich wif fries an choco milk. (Grilled cheese happy meal with chocolate milk). You can actually understand her. If she decides to have a shy day, she'll bury her head in my shoulder before we're even at the counter, so I can order for her.

In restaurants, she looks at the kids menu and if she looks confused, I explain what each thing is. She has no problems asking for a cheese pizza, and it's pronounced properly!


I really disliked working/covering a counter shift. Because guaranteed parents would force their child to order, and I'd need to ask the parent to repeat what the child said. Sometimes the child would be clear, and the parent would correct only to say "only ketchup on the burger"

[dalesys]

I remember translating Varmint for my mother.

(I have 4 loople sinisters and 4 ladle bothers and mom couldn't always understand them)

[AnaKhouri]

My kid is nearly 2, and he talks A LOT. He has a huge vocabulary for his age. But I am aware that 98% of what he says is understandable only to me. And I am aware that is shy with strangers and won't talk to them at first. Apparently these parents just need a kick in the shins.

It's kind of the same when parents make their kids pay for things and count out the money and all. It's good to teach your kids this, but not when there is a line of 10 people behind you and your kid is slooooowly taking pennies from their purse one at a time.

[AccountingDrone]

I pissed off a chef when I was 5 ... I have always preferred my beast rare. [Sundog Restaurant somewhere near Detroit, on a trip to Kalamazoo to visit my Mom's brother] I ordered a rare steak, it came medium. Dad sent it back, it came back. Dad protested. Cook came out to complain that a little kid didn't have the ability to know rare from anything else and to just make me eat it. I pointed out my dad's rare steak and said I wanted one like that, not one that was burned up.

[and I startled the waiter at the Pen and Pencil in NY at the age of 8 because I wanted and ate steak tartare... he kept trying to get me to send it back and get it turned into a burger up until I dug in with glee]

[Sonoma]

Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I worked the drive thru at a regional fast food place. Mom or Dad would often think it would be sooooo cute for junior to order their own meal....while sitting in the back seat. Now, Mom & Dad could hear Junior just fine, because they were in the car with Junior. I was trying to hear Junior through a closed window, and often when Junior's sitting on the passenger side of the car.

And they wondered why Junior's order wasn't right when I read it back.

[depechemodefan]

What drives me nuts is when mom and/or dad are at a computer and they send their little kid to me. I don't understand what the kid wants to I have to go to the parent for a translation. Either the parent wanted the kid to get me because there is something wrong with the computer or they sent the kid to ask where a book is for the parent, and the kid has no idea what he/she is talking about.

[Sunshine]

the only time i let my lil ray order anything is at subway. she orders turkey or ham (we confer before) with pep jack cheese and olives... LOTS of olives. oh and mayo. easy peasy for an 8 year old. before...5? i ordered for her everywhere. no point in messin about with the poor drive thru person

[Merriweather]

Oh my gosh, I never realized so many parents did crap like that. No wonder the waiters and waitresses are so smiling and complimentary when my granddaughter (from age 4 at least, she's 8 now) orders exactly what she wants, stating her choice of what sides are offered, in a clear voice, using the exact names off the menu.