My family consists of my husband, my daughter, and me. My daughter can be quite confrontational at times. I’m on a road trip and calling home.
Me: “I love you boys. Good night.”
Daughter: “Why are you calling us both boys when I’m a girl?”
Husband: “Well, she’s calling us both boys and I’m old, but you don’t hear me complaining, do ya?”
This takes place while there is a state-mandated requirement to wear masks when shopping. I’ve gone to the hardware store with my boyfriend and his father to pick something up. As we’re walking back to the car, his father spots a discarded cloth mask on the ground.
Father: “Oh, hey, did one of you drop your mask?”
Boyfriend: “Dad, no! It’s not ours; it’s trash.”
Father: “We should take it home and wash it.”
Boyfriend: “Leave it!”
Me: “That would be like picking up a pair of underwear off the ground and putting it in the wash!”
Father: “Well, I mean, if it’s still good…”
Boyfriend: “NO, DAD!”
When we got back to their house, his mother thankfully sided with us when his father tried to complain about us “wasting” a perfectly good mask.
I work in a children’s tuition centre. Whilst many of the parents are lovely, there is one woman who is known for being entitled and rude. Her child has only been coming to the centre for a month. The way our system works is children do one hour of work and then fifteen minutes of play.
Mother: “I want [Son] to do forty-five minutes of play today.”
Coworker: “I’m sorry, madam, but unfortunately, we cannot do that since company—”
Mother: *Cutting her off* “I don’t care. Make it happen.”
She then leaves, leaving her son behind. My coworker writes down the crazy lady’s request, but my manager assumes it is a mistake, due to it being so different from our usual timings, and changes it to forty-five minutes work and thirty minutes play. Then, when the mother comes to pick her son up, there is a queue of a few other families waiting to pick their kids up.
Mother: *Coming up to the desk* “Why the h*** wasn’t I served first? I shouldn’t have to wait to pick my son up!”
Coworker: “I’m sorry, madam, but those people got here before you and—”
Mother: *Cutting her off* “I shouldn’t have to wait for them! I should be served first! I’m a very busy and important person!”
Coworker: “I’m very sorry. Let me get your son.”
We collect him.
Son: “Mummy! They made me do forty-five minutes of work!”
The mother goes crazy upon hearing this, calling my coworker a plethora of insulting names, whilst yelling, scaring some of the younger children in the centre. This causes my assistant director to come out of the office.
Assistant Director: “What seems to be the matter, madam?”
Mother: “This stupid, useless girl got my son’s timings wrong! He was supposed to do forty-five minutes of play!”
My coworker is near tears at this point.
Assistant Director: “I apologise, madam; that was my fault. I changed those times since it is against company policy for children to spend that long—”
Mother: *Turning on him* “You incompetent idiot! How dare you?! I’m a paying customer and you should be doing what I say! I want to speak with [Director] right now!”
Assistant Director: “[Director] is on holiday right now. She will be back in—”
Mother: “I don’t care! Give me her phone number!”
Assistant Director: “I cannot give you her phone number because that would be against company privacy pol—”
Mother: “I don’t care about your company policies! Give me her d*** number! Or are you such an incompetent manager that you can’t even do that?!”
He is now fed up with this woman.
Assistant Director: “Madam, I don’t appreciate the way you are speaking to me or my employees. We are not paid to be insulted by you. I will not stand for being called incompetent and other rude things. Please leave our centre before I cancel your membership.”
Mother: “How dare you be so rude?! I will be calling your head office and I will be coming back tomorrow to get [Director] to cancel my son’s membership! I can’t believe you people are allowed to work in childcare!”
Assistant Director: “As I told you madam, [Director] will not be here tomorrow as she is on holiday. I will cancel your membership for you now. Please do not come back or I will be forced to call security.”
The woman then squealed and stormed off with her son. My assistant director cancelled her membership and made a note that she should not be allowed to rejoin. We were all very glad to see her go. The craziest part is that this woman was paying £100+ a month for our tutoring services and didn’t even want her son to be tutored!
People are wild.
Related:
The Playtime That Never Dies
My friend is telling me about what happened to her at work yesterday.
Customer: “Could I have a large [burger] value meal, and a three-nugget kids’ meal?”
Friend: “Certainly. That will be [price].”
The customer looks through his wallet and finds that he doesn’t have enough for both the meals.
Customer: “Change that to just the large [burger] and a forty-cent ice cream cone?”
My friend looks at the man’s young daughter and doesn’t want to give her just that for what is obviously going to be her only dinner.
Friend: “Okay.”
Her coworkers work on his meal, while she makes the ice cream cone. The young girl starts crying and saying that she wants hot fudge. My friend, feeling sorry for her, decides to make her a hot fudge sundae rather than the cone, without charging the man any extra.
Customer: “What do you think you’re doing? Why are you intervening in my parenting?!”
My friend gets grumpy at this, as the man obviously values himself more than his daughter, but she just ignores it. She does, however, let her manager know about it, who decides to give the girl ten mini-nuggets, free of charge.
Customer: “Stop intervening in my parenting!”
Manager: “I’m sorry, it’s a thing called human decency and making sure everyone gets fed.”
I was completely flabbergasted that a father would value his own meal over something for his daughter to eat, when he could have bought a small meal for him, and one for her, not to mention his outrage at their attempt to help feed his daughter for him.
I work at a laundromat that has machines up front, but we also do commercial laundry in the back. We have a register to offer change for the machines, which I am standing next to with my back to the register. Behind me on the counter is a bell for when we’re in the back. A little kid of about five or six dings the bell and I turn around.
Kid: “SORRY!”
Mother: “Sorry isn’t an excuse when you do something stupid on purpose.”
I had to laugh. Even though it’s annoying to get the bell rung when you’re standing next to it, that mother made my whole night.
