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Randomly today, after serving a couple of older customers, I found a red helium balloon, bobbing around my counter, at counter-level. I took it by the string, and while it had a loop tied on the end, there was no weight to keep it from heading off to the ceiling. I hadn't served any children, nor were there any in sight. Thinking it was possible it got lost, I tied it onto my till point screen, just in case the little one who has lost it came back (see, ain't I nice?)
About 20 minutes later, I was serving a family, a mum and dad, and their young son, who I would have guessed to be about 3 or 4 by his size and what looked like a school uniform, but was also acting more like a younger toddler (wordless squinnying and baby noises). I didn't think much of them at the time, although I noticed the boy making a reaching motion towards my till as they pushed the trolley away to exit, and I heard his mum say "He wants the balloon." She was saying it to her partner/husband, though, and were leaving.
A few minutes later, dad rejoins the queue for my till, holding Brat, who was looking very teary. I serve the rest of the customers and when it comes to Dad and Brat, Dad says very politely "I know this is going to sound really weird but...he really wants that balloon you have there."
I thought for a moment. It had been half an hour. We don't sell balloons, we're a hardware store. There were very few children in our store today (or customers at all, torrential rain and localised flooding), and what with helium balloons' tendency to race for the heavens upon release, I decided that chances are, no one was going to claim it. I said "Well, someone lost it earlier, I tied it here in case they came back, but I don't think anyone is going to claim it."
The Dad says thank you, and I untie the string. He says to me as I'm doing so "He just screams and cries for everything, so we have to give him what he wants so he'll shut up."
Now I'm regretting saying yes. I do NOT like the idea of indulging a spoilt child who doesn't not deserve it. But I've already said yes, and I'm already untying the string.
I pass the string to Brat, who then snatches it from me, and just glares. "Say thank you, H****n," the Dad said. <To protect the not-so-innocent>
Brat just scowls at me. Dad pauses for a moment, hoping the silence will prompt him. When I don't even recieve a smile, I give the kid a very cold stare. Then they left.
I really hate the fact I ended up indulging such a spoilt brat, and I really hate the fact he didn't even have any basic manners. All of which, are his parents fault. Shame really, they had seemed like a nice couple, but clearly neither of them can handle the demands of a young child. If your child screams and demands any nice "thing" he sees, and you just GIVE it to him, you are not teaching him a good lesson. The fact you can't even get your brat to say "thank you" when he has recieved a free gift, the object of his 5 minute obssession, shows you are doing something wrong as a parent.
In hindsight, I wonder what would have happened if this scenario had happened- say it had been my birthday or something, and a colleague had jokingly given me a balloon, and I tied it on my till to keep with me all day. I certainly wouldn't have handed it over then, and would the kid have a massive fucking tantrum if he had been denied?
About 20 minutes later, I was serving a family, a mum and dad, and their young son, who I would have guessed to be about 3 or 4 by his size and what looked like a school uniform, but was also acting more like a younger toddler (wordless squinnying and baby noises). I didn't think much of them at the time, although I noticed the boy making a reaching motion towards my till as they pushed the trolley away to exit, and I heard his mum say "He wants the balloon." She was saying it to her partner/husband, though, and were leaving.
A few minutes later, dad rejoins the queue for my till, holding Brat, who was looking very teary. I serve the rest of the customers and when it comes to Dad and Brat, Dad says very politely "I know this is going to sound really weird but...he really wants that balloon you have there."
I thought for a moment. It had been half an hour. We don't sell balloons, we're a hardware store. There were very few children in our store today (or customers at all, torrential rain and localised flooding), and what with helium balloons' tendency to race for the heavens upon release, I decided that chances are, no one was going to claim it. I said "Well, someone lost it earlier, I tied it here in case they came back, but I don't think anyone is going to claim it."
The Dad says thank you, and I untie the string. He says to me as I'm doing so "He just screams and cries for everything, so we have to give him what he wants so he'll shut up."
Now I'm regretting saying yes. I do NOT like the idea of indulging a spoilt child who doesn't not deserve it. But I've already said yes, and I'm already untying the string.
I pass the string to Brat, who then snatches it from me, and just glares. "Say thank you, H****n," the Dad said. <To protect the not-so-innocent>
Brat just scowls at me. Dad pauses for a moment, hoping the silence will prompt him. When I don't even recieve a smile, I give the kid a very cold stare. Then they left.
I really hate the fact I ended up indulging such a spoilt brat, and I really hate the fact he didn't even have any basic manners. All of which, are his parents fault. Shame really, they had seemed like a nice couple, but clearly neither of them can handle the demands of a young child. If your child screams and demands any nice "thing" he sees, and you just GIVE it to him, you are not teaching him a good lesson. The fact you can't even get your brat to say "thank you" when he has recieved a free gift, the object of his 5 minute obssession, shows you are doing something wrong as a parent.
In hindsight, I wonder what would have happened if this scenario had happened- say it had been my birthday or something, and a colleague had jokingly given me a balloon, and I tied it on my till to keep with me all day. I certainly wouldn't have handed it over then, and would the kid have a massive fucking tantrum if he had been denied?
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