Like A Baby Stealing Candy

(A mother who is known to not watch her kids is talking on her phone. We have a large candy section out that has gum tape, gum beepers, candy phones, candy necklaces, and many other candy toys. The other cashier is ringing her items up, and I see her youngest one looking at a gum beeper. She tries to open it.)

Me: “Sorry, honey, but if you want that, your mom has to buy it first.”

(Her mom looks down at her daughter and says no, but winks at the same time. She puts it back, and the cashier starts to ring more items, but now the mom starts to argue with her about a sale that was last week. I am ringing up and talking to my customer. I look over to see the lady’s daughter ripping open the package.)

Me: “Ma’am, you have to pay for that now.”

(Now the other cashier looks embarrassed that she missed that. The mom starts yelling at me while I page the manager. The mother does not take the beeper away, and the daughter shoves a stick of gum in her mouth.)

Manager: “Sorry, but your child opened it up and took a piece.”

Customer: “Well, she only had one piece; I will just pay for the one stick. I don’t have the money for all of it.”

Manager: “Sorry, but you have to pay for it all.”

(The mother looks at her child and her child, almost as if trained, starts crying. Now customers are yelling at my manager, saying that he should just give the girl the gum, and they start to yell at the cashiers).

Manager: “Okay, ma’am, this is the only time.”

(The manager paid for the candy and the mother walked off. The customers gave the other cashier and me angry looks while they went through the line. After that, whenever the mother was in line we had a stock boy close by. She tried it four other times.)