Petco - Where the pets go??? A vent

[moosmom]

Last night I was working at Petco. I absolutely LOVE this job!! I wish they'd hire me full-time, but that's not gonna happen.

Anyhoo, so there I was minding my own business, when this family of 4, Mom, Dad and two young boys came in. It seems that people think Petco is a petting zoo.

There is a step stool we use (especially us "vertically challenged" employees) to reach the top tanks where the gerbils, mice, etc. are. This little kid (or should I say freaking MONSTER!!) around 4 years of age, proceeds to climb up on the stool, all the while his mother is just standing there watching him , and starts banging on the glass of the gerbil cage. I walk over and ask him very nicely to get down as I didn't want to see him fall and hurt himself. He looks at me (he must be the bad seed of the family) and screams "NO!!!!" and keeps banging on the glass, scaring the poor animals. This idiot mother just watches him and says nothing. I wanted to smack the 6itch!! I repeat myself. Again, the kid screams "NO!!! I then proceed to politely to say, "Honey, I don't want you to fall and hurt yourself" and I lift him up underneath his arms to put him on the floor. He's holding onto the ledge of the tank screaming "NO!!!!! and crying. I put him on the floor.

What does the mother do?? She starts screaming at me in broken Englsih (she was Spanish) "Don't touch my child!! Keep your hands off my child!! I apologized profusely and explained that he was scaring the animals and I didn't want him to fall on the floor and hurt himself. She's now really pissed off and takes the little $%#@*&, puts him in a carriage and rolls him up to the tank where he AGAIN starts banging on the glass. I threw my hands up in the air and walked away, putting my hand in the air as if to say, TALK TO THE HAND!!

She then goes and finds the manager and complains for like 15 minutes about how she should sue the store. The manager politely asks her what she would do if the kid fell and seriously hurt himself. "Well, I'd sue your asses!"

Lesson learned. Dawn, the manager, said that not to worry, but next time just let the little @#$%^&*'s fall on the floor and crack open their skulls. Okay by me!! She said I had plenty of witnesses as to what went on. I told her I was going out to my car for my medicine before I killed somebody (meaning the stupid parent). As I was walking back in, another customer stopped me and said, "You know, you didn't do anything wrong. What IS it with parents today? That kid should've been strapped into the kid's seat of the carriage, not climbing all over the place". It made me feel SO much better.

Okay, I'm done venting now. Just confirms how much I loathe little unbehaved children. I'm SO glad my kid is 30.

*sigh*

[zoomer]

Oh my god what a 6itchy mom and what a stupid little monster!!! I think I would have punched her if I were there and I was in your shoes... and not to menchion I am NOT patient with kids that that. I'm sorry that happened to you, and if his mom didn't want you touching her child then she should have got him down herself! Who is she letting her kids bang on animal cages, yelling at you for HELPING the animals, and then threatening to SUE the store? That is one dumb ass lady....

[RedHedd]

UGH! I would have done the same thing. What is that mother teaching her son about how to treat animals?

I LOVE going to Petco because it IS where the pets go. At our local Petco I love seeing people bring their pets in, especially the dogs. They're SO happy; like little kids set loose in a candy store. The people who work there even have sample stations just like in grocery stores, except they hand out samples of food to the animals. It's so much fun.

Quite often I'll go there just to cheer myself up. I don't consider it a petting zoo, but it is fun looking at all the different animals available. Mine used to have birds, but I guess that stopped a few years ago.

[borzoimom]

That mother is a fool! I would never let my child get into a position they could get hurt- its hard enough to keep them safe when you are vigilant in their behaviors. You have a good manager. Too bad you didnt have another employee near you that could have gotten the manager when this happened while you stayed to stop the child.
Unfortunately= even if you tried to stop the child, if the child did get hurt, they could actually sue.. You were right to intervene. In the post office, we had what was called a incident report. You just write what happened incase later they do try to sue the company. Ask your manager about it. Also the manager has the right to tell the people not to return to such a situation, and maybe the manager to see if they come back in.. YOu have the right to protect the companies " property" which the animals are part of that..

[critter crazy]

This is why I cannot stand to work where I have to deal with people! I cannot tolerate behavior like this! Those poor kids, having a mother like that will get nowhere in life!!!

[Blue_Frog]

Wow! The joys of working in the kinds of stores that parents think are entertainment for little billy and co. Ohhh, do I EVER feel your pain!

I worked in a Toy store for 5 years - i completely understand. And often, its these kids being little s**ts because the parents are just plain fools! Kids throwing things, tantrums, destroyed packaging, climbing on shelves, you name it! Unfortunately, it comes back to bad parenting. I'd like to blame the kids, but its usually the way they were raised.

Here are 2 of my favourite bad-parent stories from the Toy Store ...

A customer came up to me and asked "Oh, do you see that woman over there" (pointing to a lady rapidly dragging her little kid from the store).
I'm like: "Yeah, what about her?"
Customer: "She just took a bin of plastic animals off the shelf and let the kid pee in them"
Me: *dumbfounded* What?!
... I go over to look, and sure enough .... pee in the bin of animals. Straight to the back room, and straight to the garbage. We had a bathroom, if she'd been desperate - ask - but to do that? What kind of parenting is that

My get-back-at-bad-parent story: We had parents that thought we were a free daycare -- drop off the kids while they go to Sears and the rest of the mall for a couple of hours. I'd -often- run across 3-4 year olds alone in the store, and more often than not they'd be sitting quietly playing with stuff, but still. I had a good working relationship with the security people, so i'd give them a call and have one come to the store.
We'd ask little billy "Hey kiddo, you want the super-cool special behind the scenes trip in the mall?" (i.e the trip to the security office), and he'd take the kid off.

A while later the parent would come to the store, walk around, walk around again more frantically and finally ask me "Have you seen a little boy/girl of description whatever?". "Sure" I'd say, "They left here with a guy in a suit" (meaning security) -- they'd run frantically to the info kiosk to report a missing kid(almost right outside our store), where security would come with the kid and SCREAM at the in front of the whole mall about child abandonment and responsibilitly. Mean? Sure. But hopefully it teaches them a little responsibility and not leaving a 3 year old unattended in public!


Unfortunately, working in a toy store for 5 years (plus working Chrismas rush!) has completely ruined any desire I had left to have kids of my own!

[BC_MoM]

I'm sure all the other customers felt the same as the one who said you did nothing wrong. And I agree with them. I can't STAND parents like that - who don't stop their children from doing idiotic things.

Congrats on controlling your temper so well! Can't say I would have been able to! lol

[GreyhoundGirl]

This is why I cannot stand to work where I have to deal with people! I cannot tolerate behavior like this! Those poor kids, having a mother like that will get nowhere in life!!!

We are one of mind.

It IS sort of like a petting zoo, people can bring in their little monsters and people can marvel at how stupid they both can be.

You did well, much better than I would have. And you have a good manager.

A customer came up to me and asked "Oh, do you see that woman over there" (pointing to a lady rapidly dragging her little kid from the store).
I'm like: "Yeah, what about her?"
Customer: "She just took a bin of plastic animals off the shelf and let the kid pee in them"
Me: *dumbfounded* What?!
... I go over to look, and sure enough .... pee in the bin of animals. Straight to the back room, and straight to the garbage. We had a bathroom, if she'd been desperate - ask - but to do that? What kind of parenting is that

WHAT ?!?!?!

RIP Poor little critters.

[Blue_Frog]

WHAT ?!?!?!
RIP Poor little critters.

OH SNAP! Sorry - that was badly explained! it was a Plastic Bin of Plastic animals (like 3-inch long tigers or something!) Oops!

[ramanth]

This is why I'm so glad I don't work in public service anymore.

*HUGS* Donna. Good on you for keeping your cool. I'm not sure if I could have.

Man Blue Frog... letting a kid pee in a toy store!?!? I just don't get some people.

[Zippy]

I can't believe that.You did a good job and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.I love to go to petco and look at all the pets and new products.I don't ever ask to hold or pet the animals inless I am planning to buy one.That mom is going to end up with her kid in jail someday.

[GreyhoundGirl]

OH SNAP! Sorry - that was badly explained! it was a Plastic Bin of Plastic animals (like 3-inch long tigers or something!) Oops!

PHEW ! I was thinking hampsters and ginea pigs. STOP SCARING ME!!!

[catnapper]

Donna, that is appalling!!!

I swear, some people do things like that just so they CAN sue. No matter the outcome -- either her kid falls and she sues or someone puts their hands on her child and she sues.

We have those doggy steps in our store as a center display. Or should I say we HAD them as a center display? People would let their kids climb up and down the doggy steps and leave them to do their shopping as if the doggy steps were a jungle gym! The floor is very slippery in the store and those steps would go sliding around while the kids were on it. The parents didn't care. Now the steps are on a shelf with another shelf just above it so that nobody can climb on them.

[moosmom]

Blue_Frog,

Wow! That 5 year old COULD have been abducted by some pedophile. Then you know what would've happened?? The parents would've sued the store. Some people, like all animals, need to be spayed or neutered. The stupidity of parents these days amazes me.

I've heard nightmare stories about people who just dump their kids off at toy stores to play while they shop. They are the ones that need to be in jail.

I hope I never see that family again.

On a lighter note...

I was putting new arrival mice in their tanks. First time since I've been there that I did that. I was kissing them and talking to them as I put them in. My manager was laughing so hard, she came over to me and said, "Donna, if you insist on doing that with every mouse that just arrived, you'll be here till next week!!" She walked away laughing and shaking her head. I told the guy who delivered them that I felt bad that they would become some snake's dinner. He told me, "Yeah, well in all my years in this business, I've never heard of a vegetarian snake."

Did I say how much I love this job???

[Blue_Frog]

Blue_Frog,
On a lighter note...

I was putting new arrival mice in their tanks. First time since I've been there that I did that. I was kissing them and talking to them as I put them in. My manager was laughing so hard, she came over to me and said, "Donna, if you insist on doing that with every mouse that just arrived, you'll be here till next week!!" She walked away laughing and shaking her head. I told the guy who delivered them that I felt bad that they would become some snake's dinner. He told me, "Yeah, well in all my years in this business, I've never heard of a vegetarian snake."

Did I say how much I love this job???

*lol* thats cute It sounds like you've got yourself a great job (except for the occasional crazy customer ), and your manager sounds like a good guy to work for too! I'd love to spend my work day with animals too ... maybe i can smuggle the ferrets in under my desk!