Quote:
Originally Posted by Chowhound
I'm not sure I'm buying this. If you told her vehemently about all of the violence and gore and she comes back after a warning to chew you out sounds like psychotic behavior, normal functioning adults when warned ahead of time of an ill advised purchase don't typically act like this.
I don't even play much video games and I've heard how violent and not good for kids that the grand theft auto games are.
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Oh, I buy it completely -- I have long since stopped being surprised at the rampant stupidity of some people. A long time ago, I helped a friend who owned a boutique toy store during the Christmas/Hanukkah holidays. She had one client who bought a whole bunch of stuff for Hanukkah - over $1200 worth of stuff. After the client left, I was elated and asked the owner, "Why aren't you smiling? What a great sale!" She shook her head -- "Just wait . . ." she said. Sure enough, three days into Hanukkah, the client brought back half the stuff, boxes ripped open and crushed, complaining that the "puzzles were too hard" (duh, ages 8+ for a 3 year old), the doll carriage wasn't "sturdy enough" (yeah, when you put a 25 lb. little brother in it and push it down the stairs . . .), the kids "didn't like the Rockenbok set" -- with half the parts missing (because it was too old for them), etc., etc. And this was after the owner had carefully explained to the woman that a) the puzzles are going to be too difficult for the kids, why not try these instead. "Oh, no, they are gifted, I'm sure they will have no trouble with them.", b) being warned that it was a DOLL carriage, don't let big sister put the toddler in it (given behavior in the store), and c) really advised against the Rockenbok set because of the small pieces, only to be told, "My kids are NOT stupid!" No? But their mother sure was.
Another time, a woman with an obvious spending problem dropped almost $700 for things for her children -- not for a birthday or holiday, but "just because." She had tried to put down a downpayment for a custom dollhouse, but that separate transaction failed -- I pointed it out to her, marked the receipt, and gave her a copy of the failed receipt. Later that week, she brought most of the stuff back -- opened, played with, etc -- and demanded her money back from her downpayment. I reminded her that the transaction hadn't gone through, showed her my copy of the receipt, but she went beserk, throwing around F-bombs -- in a toy store!! -- and other patrons and kids were looking at her in alarm. I reminded her quietly that kids were in the store, and to please watch her language, and she proceeded to call me everything but a child of God. I wrapped up the transaction quickly, handed her a receipt for the returns, and said, "It's time for you to leave, now.". She then stuck her nose in the air and said, "What a crappy little store! I would have been an excellent customer, but now I'm never coming back!" I know I should have just smiled and said "Have a nice day," but the words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them: "No m'am - the excellent customers KEEP the things they buy!"
There are an alarming number of adults out there pretending to be parents.
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