Mopportunity Knocks

A mum and her young child are coming through my lane when the child spills a lot of juice all over the floor and part of my register. The mum, without hesitation, says to the child:

Customer: “Don’t worry. It’s their job to tidy up.”

My shoulders sink as I’m about to accept my fate, when my manager, who happened to be nearby, runs over with a wet mop (we keep one by the registers at all times just in case) and hands it to the mum.

Manager: “Nope. Your monkey, your circus.”

Customer: *A bit discombobulated.* “That… that’s not how it works!”

Manager: “You don’t clean up your kid’s mess?”

Customer: “Keeping the shop clean is not my responsibility, it’s yours!”

Manager: “I see.”

He leans down to the child.

Manager: “Hear that? Mummy says we’re not responsible for our own messes, so go and make as much mess as you want when you get home!”

Instead of grabbing the mop, the customer grabs her child and starts storming out, leaving her shopping behind. My manager starts to clean up the spill.

Manager: “She’ll be too embarrassed to come back, and she’s wasted an hour shopping here and not buying anything. Life’s little pleasures.”

My manager, bless him, also took her shopping trolley away to do all the put-backs.