I get the appeal of pick 'n' mix. It's all just sitting there, sitting in loads of tiny tubs, ripe for the picking. And hey, no one's gonna miss just one sweet, right? You'll probably see the odd adult having a sneaky grab at some raspberries and blackberries, but most hold off because they know it's wrong to steal, they have been folded perfectly into society.
Kids, though, have no shame. In fact they take the piss. Normally I wouldn't mind too much, I might air the odd "tsk" when I see another's child swipe a jelly bean, but nothing more than that. But when I'm at work, that pick 'n' mix stand is my responsibility, and the fact that some parents just leave their children to wander over and tuck in bewilders me. My daughter doesn't raid the pick 'n' mix. We told her no when she looked at the sweets longingly, and she listened. Probably one of the few times when she actually has listened, so I guess we're lucky there. My son, I fear, will be harder to handle. But I shall try my best, and I won't keep my eye off him when I'm around.
I can't say the same for other parents though. A woman once came into the store, and her son proceeded to run towards the sweet sweet candy. His mum said "I know where you're going", but then, nothing. So I was subjected to a few minutes of the kid running over there, coming back with his face full of something, then going back over when it was time for another, all while his mother stood on the other side of the shop looking at DVDs. This pissed me off a little, so when he went to grab another I ran in front of him and kept the flaps closed, and whispered "no" to him when he tried to reach for it. He wasn't happy with that, and as soon as I had to go back behind the till he was diving in and helping himself again.
Damn kids. Eating all my sweets. They are like my treasure, and I am the ordained knight who has sworn to ensure their safety. Only much less glamorous than that. I saw another kid today. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him reach in and grab something, and I kept watching him. It took him a while to notice me, but when he did he clearly knew he was caught, because he tried to throw me off by pulling off some fast punching power ranger shit. Ain't gonna fly with me son, I know what you did, and your mediocre acrobatics aren't throwing me off your scent.
At the end of the day, though, there's not much I can do. I can't tell customers to take better care of their kids, nor do I have the facility or willpower to argue that they should pay for the few cola bottles their spawn ingested. I guess these kind of things are to be expected, there's probably some kind of allowance for it, but those damn kids still piss me off. Maybe I'll just print out some pictures of the hygienically-challenged people I've seen dig their mitts into the sweets and hold them up to the next kid I see. That'll learn 'em.
My rating: 0/5
Kids, though, have no shame. In fact they take the piss. Normally I wouldn't mind too much, I might air the odd "tsk" when I see another's child swipe a jelly bean, but nothing more than that. But when I'm at work, that pick 'n' mix stand is my responsibility, and the fact that some parents just leave their children to wander over and tuck in bewilders me. My daughter doesn't raid the pick 'n' mix. We told her no when she looked at the sweets longingly, and she listened. Probably one of the few times when she actually has listened, so I guess we're lucky there. My son, I fear, will be harder to handle. But I shall try my best, and I won't keep my eye off him when I'm around.
I can't say the same for other parents though. A woman once came into the store, and her son proceeded to run towards the sweet sweet candy. His mum said "I know where you're going", but then, nothing. So I was subjected to a few minutes of the kid running over there, coming back with his face full of something, then going back over when it was time for another, all while his mother stood on the other side of the shop looking at DVDs. This pissed me off a little, so when he went to grab another I ran in front of him and kept the flaps closed, and whispered "no" to him when he tried to reach for it. He wasn't happy with that, and as soon as I had to go back behind the till he was diving in and helping himself again.
Damn kids. Eating all my sweets. They are like my treasure, and I am the ordained knight who has sworn to ensure their safety. Only much less glamorous than that. I saw another kid today. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him reach in and grab something, and I kept watching him. It took him a while to notice me, but when he did he clearly knew he was caught, because he tried to throw me off by pulling off some fast punching power ranger shit. Ain't gonna fly with me son, I know what you did, and your mediocre acrobatics aren't throwing me off your scent.
At the end of the day, though, there's not much I can do. I can't tell customers to take better care of their kids, nor do I have the facility or willpower to argue that they should pay for the few cola bottles their spawn ingested. I guess these kind of things are to be expected, there's probably some kind of allowance for it, but those damn kids still piss me off. Maybe I'll just print out some pictures of the hygienically-challenged people I've seen dig their mitts into the sweets and hold them up to the next kid I see. That'll learn 'em.
My rating: 0/5
An enjoyable article. It must be so frustrating to see it going on and feel you can't do anything about it. I think I would have to say something to the parents and believe you would be quite within your rights to do so.
ReplyDeleteI caught a young shoplifter once, her pockets were full of trinkets and other items she had tried to steal. Her Mother was extremely abusive after being confronted so perhaps you are better off staying quiet, some people are just plain ignorant and there's not a lot decent folk can do about that.x