Ap-Parent-ly, This Cashier Has Met Some Lazy Parents

I was looking after a friend’s child and had three of my kids with me, so I had a double pram, one child on a scooter board on the back of the pram, and the tiny baby in a sling. I needed to go to this kitchenware store as something essential for cooking dinner had broken and needed replacing.

It was one of those stores where the entire stock and then some is out on the floor. There are huge, teetering piles of saucepans and boxes of drinking glasses all over the place and the cashier is right at the back. It’s dangerous for someone in my position, but the kids were being awesome and I was feeling positive.

I told all the kids to keep their hands in the pram and explained that we’d do this quick shop and then head to the playground. I then carefully navigated my way through the maze to the desk.

I spoke to the cashier, found what I wanted, and was about to pay when one of the kids picked up something small from the huge pile of tempting, colourful trinkets at the counter.

Me: “Oops, [Kid], put that back down, please.”

She put it down, immediately, without my having to intervene.

The cashier snapped loudly, right at the two-year-old:

Cashier: “You don’t touch things in here or you’re going to be in big trouble! I’ll be very, very mad if you touch!”

Me: “Um… I’ll do the parenting, thank you. I think we’re done here.”

I started to reverse my load back through the maze, putting my wallet back in my bag and leaving my item on the bench.

Cashier: “What? It’s my shop! How about showing me some respect?!”

Me: “Ah, how about showing your customers some respect? We won’t be shopping here again.”

She kept shouting after me until we were out of sight. Passersby were staring.

Luckily, the supermarket next door had what I needed. That shop has had about five “closing downs” and “reopened with new management” in the last few years. I still can’t bring myself to go back.