A Bit Carefree With The Free Care

(I work in the play area at a popular furniture store. Parents are allowed to drop their children off for one hour, provided they sign an information form stating all their information, and that the person signing them in will be the person signing them out. A lady comes up to me with her children.)

Me: “Hi, ma’am, welcome to [furniture store].”

Customer: *grunts and shoves form at me*

Me: “As you are the person who signed this, you will be the only one able to sign your children out. You have one hour for which you have to remain in the store. Here is your pager which we will page when your time is up.”

Customer: “Yeah, I get it, okay!”

(The customer then walks off before I can even get her children in the door. Three hours go by, and she doesn’t return, which is far beyond her allotted one hour. We have paged her, sent overhead pages throughout the store, and phoned her cellphone number over twenty times and left numerous voicemails. After contacting the police, we phone her one more time; she finally she picks up.)

Customer: “Hello?”

Me: “Ma’am, where have you been? You’re children are still here and we have been unable to contact you.”

Customer: “Well, I went to work.”

Me: “Ma’am, this is NOT a daycare service. We informed you that you had one hour.”

Customer: “The man said I could leave them there for as long as I want!”

Me: “Ma’am, there are only women working here and I was the one who signed you in. I can assure you, no man said you could abandon your children here.”

Customer: “No, the man walking around in the store!”

Me: “So, you asked a random man if you could abandon your children here?”

Customer: “Yes! So, I can get my mom to come pick them up?”

Me: “Sorry, but the person who signed them in is the only one who can sign them out.”

Customer: “WHAT THE H***?! What the f*** is wrong with you people?! I’m at work trying to make a living!””

Me: “Ma’am, we are trying to protect your children from being picked up by strangers. If you don’t get here within 15 minutes, I’m calling child social services.”

(She showed up in 5.)