This is a store, not a playground.

[Plankton78]

By grace, I got a good one for ya tonight.

Back to school. It's that time of the year again and that means school shopping. It also means that there are more of those miniature SCs-in-training, I mean children. I absolutely dislike children . Now, I know you're thinking....wait...didn't Plankton78 mention in a post about having a child? Yes! I have a toddler. BUT I like my toddler because he is mine and also because he knows how to behave, is well mannered, and actually understands that when I say no... I mean no. I don't like children beyond mine. At all. This is important.


So. A middle aged dragon lady and her little terror of five/six comes in around 9:30. We close at 10. I'm wandering the floor, checking aisles to see what needs to be cleaned but there's not much since it's closing time.

They head directly to the stationary aisle, which has all of our school supplies, ......and unfortunately is also our toy aisle. After ten minutes or so, I head back to the registers, passing the stationary/toy aisle. The kid was standing on the fourth shelf(about four or five feet the concrete floor) reaching up for a toy off the pegs above. Dragon Lady is further down the aisle, obviously not paying attention, digging through the clearance boxes.

Me: Hey kid, climb back down for me. We don't want you to fall and get hurt, okay?
MiniSC: You're not my mom and I don't have to listen to you!! [Then the monster does that lizard tounge thing where they spit at you.]
Me: No, I'm not....but I work here and we have rules, just like at school. So come on down for me, please?

Dragon Lady finally pays attention!!

SC: Eh? What are you doing to my kid?? [I'm standing a few feet from the kid, I'm not doing anything, but you really should!]
Me: I just asked your child to climb down from shelf so she doesn't fall and get hurt.
SC: You can't speak to my child that way!!
Me: Um.... Ma'am... I asked politely..... Twice. She can't climb the shelves in the stores. She could fall and get hurt.
SC: This is MY child and she can do whatever she wants!!
Me: Well, ma'am, this is my store and I can enforce any rule I want. Now, Get her off the shelf, please. We close in five minutes. Please wrap up your shopping and head to the registers.

And I walk to the registers before she has a chance to sass me.

Five minutes later, Dragon Lady and her brat get up to the registers. Of course, the child is screaming for candy and sugary soft drinks.*Shudder* Sigh. C starts checking her.

SC: *to me* I'll have you know miss sassy pants that if my child had fallen and gotten hurt, I'd have sued your precious store and you! *smirks*

I hate that. That smirk. SCs do it all time. They know they're stupid and wrong and they smirk cuz they think they can get away with anything. Not this time....

Me: I'll have you know ma'am that there are two security cameras at either end of that aisle that have recorded you ignoring your child. They will see that I came down the aisle and they will hear me politely ask your child to get down, twice. They will hear our conversion. In fact, ma'am, that camera above me here already heard your comment. You would have lost your case and been laughed out of court . Now. You have a nice night. It's time to lock our doors, please exit the store.

SC pays C, snatches her bag, and storms off. I've never seen someone turn that shade of purple before. And remind me to NOT having any more children. Ick.

[XCashier]

What a complete and utter bitch. No wonder her child is an out-of-control brat; the rotten apple doesn't fall far from the diseased tree. Good pwnage of her, though. Pity it won't get through her concrete skull to her miniscule brain; she'll be just as stupid, self-centered and nasty at the next store she goes to.

[Captain Trips]

I'll wager she wanted her brat to get hurt, just so she could sue. And she still would have lost. Why do they forget about the 327 cameras most stores have these days?

[Evannah]

Wow that's awful! I'm so glad you put that woman in her place. What a terrible mother.

[South Texan]

Isn't it wonderful to see a parent teaching her child (either through actions or inattention) to grow up to be just like her her? A victim with attitude in the making!

[OfficeSlug]

People like this need to stop having / raising kids.

Your response was beautiful. Good CS pwnage makes me cry tears of happiness.

[bloo]

Beautiful.

I, too, like my own kids and almost no one else's.

Unless their kids are also well-mannered.

[Plankton78]

Before entering customer service, I wanted lots of children. After being in customer service and observing the children of SCs. No. No. No. They don't even have to be SCs. It's the way some parents treat their children that disgusts me. Parents will either scream, yell, and then smack their child--hard or let them throw a tantrum, tear up everything in sight, and give into their demands. Oh boy, but my favorites are the parents who say something like that lady over there will get you if you don't stop.... Umm . No. I walk away. Do not drag me into your parenting because I will probably spank your bad bratty kid and make them behave. Yes. I spank my child, but it's a rarity that I need to because I taught him early on who was the boss. Ugh. Maybe I'm just judgemental, but I cringe when children come into my store.

[emax4]

That's when you ask, "So you'd be happier suing and winning at the cost of losing the life of your child???"

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Yet another of the many things I hate about BTS--the bratty kid factor goes through the roof.

Wah wah wah, they want a Mossy Oak notebook or a My Little Pony folder instead of the cheapy loss-leader notebooks and folders Mom's tossing in the shopping cart. They want the 64-count box of crayons instead of the 24-count box specified on their school supply list. They want a glue stick, not a bottle of glue. They gotta have a Trapper Keeper, even though the school list specifically says no Trapper Keepers. They want a new backpack but the one they used last year is just fine.

If the kids don't get what they want, they trash the seasonal Back to School department. Oh wait, sorry, they do that regardless.

At least at Christmas time the children are more well-behaved because Mom and Dad are blackmailing them with the threat of no presents.

[HBC_Chick]

It's so odd to me. Still, after working at my store, just how terrible people let kids misbehave. I remember very vividly, my own childhood where when we were small, we RODE in that cart. Most of us liked this, especially so if you could persuade them to let you ride in the basket. But nowadays, I hear "NO!! IDONT WANT TO GET IN THERE!!" I use all caps because the entire store hears this, and I'm sure others as we'll, but they shut the doors early

They run about unsupervised. In my department that's a terrible gamble. If you even look at a tube of shampoo wrong it just might get its friends to jump off the shelves onto the floor with it.

As I shopped the local thrift store/aka where I can say what I want to SCs and the SCs in training, I see this glorious sign. "All children MUST be attended" I'm standing there, hamster wheel starts rolling like its a NoS ball I'm thinking, oh, this sign needs to be in my department. I cannot tell you how many nail polish spills I've had, bubble bath spilled on aisle (me slipping in it of course) and more. So I bring this idea to our SDIC. She said she needed to think that over. Huh?! No need, really, we really really need this sign. They knock over blood pressure monitors, pulse oximeters, and other things near the pharmacy alone. C'mon! I'm hoping she agrees. I'm ever so helpful, and I already have em printed, she just needs to laminate my handy work. I even made extra. Housewares most definitely needs one, and produce as well.

I'll put it this way. I'd rather deal with 100 "Where Is?" Walkers, than a couple of screaming, running, unsupervised children. And they're always running. One almost always trips. Last night one little devil child just shoved the children's toothpaste tubes into a massive pile. That's another thread altogether, as to why our store insists on standing these things individually anyway. I said well, that certainly wasn't very nice of you, now was it? He uttered an apology and started to pick some up when his mother finally had her fill of sniffing body wash around the corner. She inquired as to the pile and mess. I'll give this sniffy, neglectful parent a small pass, because she went to help. I'm a bit (ok A LOT!) particular about the way they go in, as I only like a few tubes up front so this doesn't happen. Stockers tend to load it in tight so that it's quite a mess later. So I said no need, I'll clean this up because, if one isn't in the right shelf space, our bosses get so upset. She did apologize, and told her boy to stay right there, either hold the cart, or get in it. My thing is that I hand stickers to the good kiddos. I find other things for the "good teens" too! One child was walking with his mom said "excuse me, ma'am, coming through" I do this hoping, that measly sticker makes a difference. I said, "well, since you've been such a gentleman here, I think you've earned a sticker, kind sir." He just smiled. And he always remembers this. And other children do take note. Stickers, I haven't found a kid yet that hates those. Gosh forbid I forget my good kid rewards one day but, I also keep pennies for the pony near checkout. Mainly those are for "Screamers" to quiet them, as it's quite startling to me and others. I just make the universal shhh sign and hold up a few pennies. I give these to their parent and say now if you let mommy shop quietly, these are for Penny, our pony that even the teens love I haven't had a parent holler at me for overstepping yet, they always look relieved, and the screaming stops.

[South Texan]

"So you'd be happier suing and winning at the cost of losing the life of your child???"

I would be too scared of the answer to even ask that question!

[Plankton78]

That's when you ask, "So you'd be happier suing and winning at the cost of losing the life of your child???"

Should have told Dragon Lady that.

Seriously. Your kid fell because you were ignoring it and the first thing you think of is, " Hey. Let's sue the store due to my ignorance. Might as well make some money."
I really wanted to ask her if she was AT ALL concerned for her child's safety.

[XCashier]

I would be too scared of the answer to even ask that question!

It does seem that an awful lot of people love lawsuit money more than they love their own children.

[raudf]

Having seen the damage done to a younger child hitting the concrete floor from a much shorter height, I'm glad you tried to stop the child. Yes, the one I witnessed, I warned the parents not to let their 5 year old stand in the buggy, was heard warning the parents about the girl.. and she fell just as I finished talking. *sigh* At least they were baby teeth... Fortunately, the parents were more worried about the girl than the "potential money," so I just chalk it up to "taking the eyes of the kids for a second." I didn't get called to court, so I suppose they didn't sue, although I think W-Mart paid for the hospital visit.

Come to think of it, that happened during the BTS too. They were getting the fallen ready for kindergarten!