Quote:
Originally Posted by limey
I work in a clothing and accessories shop, with most goods selling for around the $50 mark. In walks mother and 2 year old child, mother starts to try on slippers, child moves around fiddling with things. I see her taking childrens' goods off a display and politely say to her "Please don't do that." Mother takes an interest, gets the child away from the display, returns to her slippers. A little later child marches behind the sales counter, right beside me, and proceeds to stuff paper into a storage pigeonhole containing $40 leather gloves. I say "Don't do that, it's not for rubbish you know" keeping my voice pleasant. The child is not bothered and certainly not scared by me; the mother goes apeshit. "Go easy on her she's only two! In fact you I won't buy any slippers here if you're going to be so bloody snotty about it!" shoves slippers back at me and marches out.
So ... should I have addressed the parent ("Please stop you child from doing that") or the child? Was I snotty?
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Clearly the woman lacks parenting skills. It happens here all the time. People bring their children to restaurants (sometimes upscale restaurants) and let them run around like wild animals between tables, throwing things, and I've even seen then shooting spit wads all the while the parents sit there doing nothing and when someone has a complaint, they lose their minds.
When this happens, I lose my mind too. I've grabbed 2 kids shooting spit wads in my direction by the scruff of the neck and brought them back to their parents table and when their father stood up to say something I said, "Your kids are shooting spitwads in a restaurant. If I see it again, I'll whip their asses and yours too."
I've also seen parents bring screaming 2 year olds to 3 hour long epic movies when they know the child can't sit still that long, or others allowing their children to run around the theater (with blinking and glowing shoes)