When you guys say that you're not a babysitting service

[Sharsarannon]

When this happens, don't let the offending adult walk out of the store. If the adult has already left the kid, Get on the phone and call the police's non emergency number or Child Protective Services.
And when the police, security, or whatever do show up what you tell them is that this child has been abandoned and ask them to take her to the police station or the local child protection agency, where they will probably be better cared for than ever in their little lives.

If and when the parents come back,
once they figure their little precious has been "abducted",
if they notice at all,
they might be bright enough to call the police and see who had the gall to take off with their angel.

Meanwhile the kid will spend at least an hour or two under a more caring and watchful eye than dear ol mum's.

[Anakah]

I work in the casino cage. Today a five year old boy stood in line by HIMSELF and came up to the window as though he were an adult. I couldn't figure out where his parents were. Of course our casino doesn't give a crap about kids getting change in a gaming area anymore so, they let him.

I'm just shocked that his parents dumped him in the arcade and he walked all the way from there to the cage, got in line by himself and was very patient and well behaved. Freaked me out.

[Shironu-Akaineko]

I'm just shocked that his parents dumped him in the arcade and he walked all the way from there to the cage, got in line by himself and was very patient and well behaved. Freaked me out.

That he was by himself or that he was patient and well behaved, unlike some of your adult customers?

[flybye023]

Three Stories

Story 1: My mom works in a hospital. She has patients all the time assuming that someone in the hospital will watch their kids while they have an exam done. This one though, really takes the cake.

While my mom was an intern she had to do an exam on a baby. The mother also had her toddler with her. She hands the baby to my mom and they start walking down the hall. By the time my mom reaches the exam room she realizes the mother is nowhere to be seen. So now Mom's sitting there alone with two small children. She waits a few moments then starts searching the halls. No mother. Mom finally goes to the ER to see if the mother is there. She's not. So, Mom hands the kids over to the ER staff since they're still filling out paperwork on the baby and hopes the mother eventually shows up.

Story 2: I used to work in a department store when I was just out of high school. One day this lady comes in pushing a stroller with a baby in it and holding a toddler by the hand. She rushes up to us and says, "Can you watch my baby, my daughter really needs to use the bathroom, 'k-thanks-bye!" We stand there with this stroller wondering just what the heck we're supposed to do. A few minutes later the mother comes back in a blind panic. "ohmygosh, omygosh, I can't believe I left my baby with strangers," etc. She was so upset that we're trying to reassure her, pointing out that we were store employees, we knew where to find the restrooms, we had our nametags on. She then replies, in tears, "But I didn't see your nametags!"
At that point we were all

Story 3: My mom was the customer in this instance but there were extenuating circumstances. Honest! When my sister was a baby my mom needed to run into the bank. After getting out of the car, mom slammed the car door on her finger. So she gets into the bank and their air conditioning isn't working. The pain and heat get to her (this is in July) and she starts to pass out. She just had enough presence of mind to shove my then eight-month-old sister into the arms of this guy standing in line behind her and down she goes. She came to in the manager's office and one of the tellers was holding my sister.