Reading threads about unattended children made me think of this, though it happened some months ago and I have not seen the family in question in a while.
I close Monday nights. The store closes at 10; we usually get out about 10:30 (after everything is cleaned up). I work in a rather large 'independent' bookstore (2 floors, 55,000 square feet).
For a long time this one family would come in every single Monday night. Family consisted of Mom, Dad, and 5 kids ranging in age from 12 to about 3. Every single Monday night the parents would dump the kids in the Kids section and leave. As in, leave the store and go into one of the nearby restaurants. The kids would be alone for HOURS.
Not only in this irresponsible in my opinion, it is DANGEROUS. This is a huge store with lots of nooks and crannies and the employees are too busy to keep an eye on unattended children.
The oldest boy did a good job of keeping them in line and made them clean up their messes etc. But I don't think this is really something a 12-year-old should have to be doing.
Anyway, the last time I saw them...
I'm cleaning the store upstairs at about 10:15 when the 5 kids in question come up the escalator. They approach the closing manager and the boy tells her their mother left them and still hasn't returned, and he knows we are closed but he doesn't know what to do. Poor kid! Manager lady immediately sits them down and goes to the nearby restaurants to find their mother. About 10:30 she returned with the mother, who is entirely unapologetic. Even better, apparently Mother had a book she'd had us hold behind the Help Desk and wanted to peruse it even though the registers are closed. So she stands a while looking at a book, then she asks Manager Lady to look up some other books for her. ML is a real pushover so she does. Meanwhile we employees are standing around by the Help Desk glaring at her. Finally, at 10:50, she collects her kids (the oldest boy looked so embarrassed!) and leaves. Not a single apology, to us or to her kids.
Haven't seen them since, thank goodness. I just hope those kids are OK.
I close Monday nights. The store closes at 10; we usually get out about 10:30 (after everything is cleaned up). I work in a rather large 'independent' bookstore (2 floors, 55,000 square feet).
For a long time this one family would come in every single Monday night. Family consisted of Mom, Dad, and 5 kids ranging in age from 12 to about 3. Every single Monday night the parents would dump the kids in the Kids section and leave. As in, leave the store and go into one of the nearby restaurants. The kids would be alone for HOURS.
Not only in this irresponsible in my opinion, it is DANGEROUS. This is a huge store with lots of nooks and crannies and the employees are too busy to keep an eye on unattended children.
The oldest boy did a good job of keeping them in line and made them clean up their messes etc. But I don't think this is really something a 12-year-old should have to be doing.
Anyway, the last time I saw them...
I'm cleaning the store upstairs at about 10:15 when the 5 kids in question come up the escalator. They approach the closing manager and the boy tells her their mother left them and still hasn't returned, and he knows we are closed but he doesn't know what to do. Poor kid! Manager lady immediately sits them down and goes to the nearby restaurants to find their mother. About 10:30 she returned with the mother, who is entirely unapologetic. Even better, apparently Mother had a book she'd had us hold behind the Help Desk and wanted to peruse it even though the registers are closed. So she stands a while looking at a book, then she asks Manager Lady to look up some other books for her. ML is a real pushover so she does. Meanwhile we employees are standing around by the Help Desk glaring at her. Finally, at 10:50, she collects her kids (the oldest boy looked so embarrassed!) and leaves. Not a single apology, to us or to her kids.
Haven't seen them since, thank goodness. I just hope those kids are OK.
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