Most People Don’t Want A Footlong With Their Cupcake

(At my old office there is a popular cupcake chain nearby. They have three small tables with ottoman-style seating. On top of the tables is a child, probably seven or eight years old. He has no shoes on, just his socks, and he’s walking from table to table in a circle. His grandmother is just sitting there watching it while the woman I presume to be his mother has her back to them, ordering cupcakes. I’m completely appalled. Not only is it incredibly unsanitary, it’s incredibly unsafe; the tables are not stable and the floor is concrete. It’s an accident waiting to happen. The other people are clearly appalled but no one is saying anything. Finally, I can’t take it anymore, so I pipe up. I politely tap the grandmother and say:)

Me: “I’m sorry, but people eat off those tables. Can you please ask him to get down?”

Grandmother: *looks at me and sneers* “Well, he likes it, okay?”

(A few people in line roll their eyes at this statement.)

Me: “It’s gross and it’s unsafe. He could get hurt. Get him down.”

(She rolled her eyes, but after a moment, she grabbed him violently and screamed for him to get down. The mother remained completely unaware of what was happening, and as soon as her cupcakes were ready, she gestured for them to leave the store. When I got up to the register to pay, the cashier whispered a thank you.)