comes back to bite you..

A couple of days ago I was feeling pretty pleased with myself. I felt GOOD and kind and worthy.
I wrote a letter of praise to Connex, drawing to their attention the lovely service I have so appreciated from one of their staff members. I thought "Yeah, that's what everyone should do..Give thanks for little nice things" I also may have posted on my blog how much I would appreciate it if someone took the time to likewise thank me. After all, sometimes working in retail can leave you feeling a little drained and I always try my very best to give attentive and thoughtful service to my customers.
Well, yesterday I got a shellacking.
In the bookshop (which I might add is a business where you BUY things) we often have customers with their children who enjoy their time browsing happily, perhaps reading some books with the kiddies, perhaps buying gifts to give beloved little darlings. All good.
We also have customers who leave their kids to roam free amongst our products while they go for a coffee, chat on their phones or browse around in other sections of the shop. Sometimes the parents are close by, but distracted and sometimes they treat the shop like their personal toy library, handing a pram-bound toddler a plush toy or a book to suck on happily so that they can give their attention to the business of choosing something else.
Believe it or not, we don't receive a sample copy of every toy or book from the publishers or suppliers. And we don't have a magical tardis-like area out the back from which we can produce items that have never been touched by human hands. Our stock is out there, in the shop. It's there so you can see it, touch it (carefully), turn it over and read the contents. We spend all day, every day reshelving and sorting books so that you can find them and making sure they don't get damaged. Many books with interactive sounds or bits come with a plastic tab that is designed to be left in the book, protecting the batteries from wearing out until someone lucky gets it home to play with. (so people pull the tab out, press the buttons, then buy one which hasn't been pulled. I often pull the tab on ONE copy, put a DISPLAY COPY sign on it, and still they pull another tab!!) Lots of books are wrapped in clear cellophane protecting the delicate paper folds of pop-ups, so you can take it home and thrill at it's beauty for the first time. Those ones have lovely photos of the insides, on the back! Boxes of games have clear instructions detailing contents on the back. On the whole they don't need to be unwrapped or flicked through. The publishers realise that it is important for the product to remain pristine in order to get the sale.
Still, where possible we DO have some sample books, especially pop-ups, so that you can have a little experience whilst choosing.
The next bit of this rant stems from the fact that some people, recently some people with prams, have been stealing big expensive boxed toys and other stuff by plopping the box on the top of their pram, flinging a blankie or jacket on top, then blithely strolling out the elevator without paying.
What??!!??
These people don't have any identifying features such as big neon signs pointing to their guilt.
They look much like mums and dads with kids in a pram. They are.
So, yesterday, I notice a woman who shops in the store frequently. She always comes in with two kids in a double stroller. She smiles, she is quite beautiful and usually friendly. Her kids usually treat the store like their own private playgroup room, not in a horrible destructive way, just like kids who are familiar with a place and all the treasures within.
Last week I redirected her kids to our Thomas Train table to distract them from rolling the other toys across the floor. She got cross. "Are you addressing ME? What's the problem?" I tried to briefly explain that the toys strewn across the floor were for sale and she said "That wasn't MY children" I walked away, fuming a bit.
So yesterday I saw her. Another staff member approached her child who was scooting on the tiles sitting on a Shaun the Sheep plush toy (for sale) and asked whether mummy was planning to buy it. No. The mum made a purchase of someting else, then walked toward the lift. She had a kids book sitting on the top of her pram (maybe from the shop, maybe not) but didn't buy it. At the lift one staff member stood, in another direction, the store owner. It wasn't meant to be a showdown. It wasn't. But she did seem very flustered.
After she left the shop, she rang up to speak to the manager. She was livid. She directed most of her anger toward me and after two more abusive phone calls, announced that she would be writing a formal letter of complaint. And that she would be shopping at Borders in the future, where they are NICE to her.
Bye.