Always Handle Grown Ups With Kid Gloves

(I am a head counselor at a camp. It is the end of the session and checkout doesn’t start until 5pm. The following takes place around 3pm. My boss radios up that a parent has shown up unexpectedly. I scramble to gather the kids, their belongings and final paperwork before heading to the parents.)

Parent #1: *fuming* “Well, it’s about time! We were supposed to leave by 2:30!”

Me: “Okay, I’m sorry this is taking a while. We’re just trying to get the last pieces of paperwork together. In the future, if you need to check out early, you can note it on the checkout form you filled out at the beginning of camp and—”

Parent #1: “Well, we called and confirmed we could be here early!”

Me: “Oh? Who did you confirm with? I’m sorry for the mix-up. They should have passed that info along and we could have—”

Parent #1: “Well, we left a message.”

Me: “Who did you confirm with that we got your message? Did you make verbal contact with anyone?”

Parent #1: “WE. LEFT. A. MESSAGE.”

Me: “I’m sorry, but we don’t always get a chance to check our messages. Next time, it would be better if you tried again until you made verbal contact with—”

Parent #1: *clamps her hands over her ears* “NO! NO! NO! I DON’T WANT TO FIGHT! NO FIGHTING! NO FIGHTING! [Camp Name] RULE: NO FIGHTING!”

Me: “Ma’am, I’m not trying to fight with you. I’m just letting you know how we can make early check out easier—”

Parent #1: “NO! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO FIGHTING!” *walks away from me*

(I turn to the other parent and begin explaining things to him.)

Me: “For future reference, if you fill out the early check out form we can have all the paperwork ready and your camper’s belongings set aside instead of buried in the trailer—”

(At this point, the other parent turns away from me, walks over to the trailer, opens it up and starts throwing other campers’ bags out into the dirt.)

Me: “Sir, you can’t be in there! I will help you find your camper’s belongings as soon as we finish the checkout paperwork!”

Parent #1: “THIS IS SO STUPID!”

Parent #2: “This is utter B***S***!”

Parent #1: “WHY IS THIS TAKING SO LONG?!”

Me: “If you would let me explain I would be happy to help you—”

Parent #1: “NO FIGHTING! NO FIGHTING! NO FIGHTING!”

(Fortunately, my boss comes over. He tells them the same thing I’ve been telling them. Surprisingly, their response is the complete opposite.)

Parent #1: *to my boss* “OH! Well why didn’t you just say so?” *signs the paperwork* “Have a good day!”