Deciding I hadn’t punished myself enough yet, we ventured out to the mall to go to another Stride Rite to look for shoes. This one is larger and had a better stock, so I thought we’d have better luck in finding shoes for an extra-wide, extra-tall toddler foot.
Apparently every other mom in a tri-county radius had the same thought as me. We signed in and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Cordy rearranged the shoes on the shelf in reach over and over in that obsessive habit toddlers have.
When it was our turn, I had four pairs ready to go, and I already knew her size. I thought I was saving the sales associate time. She still insisted on measuring Cordy’s foot. Cordy, in her usual manner, protested being messed with. The sales associate made a comment about Cordy’s chubby feet, then went back to find shoes.
After some time, she returned with two boxes. She explained that she didn’t think Cordy’s foot would fit in three of the styles I picked out, so she brought the fourth and another style she thought would work better. While I was a little disappointed that three of the styles were nixed before we even tried them, I trusted her expertise.
As we tried on shoes, Cordelia whined, cried, and occasionally kicked. When we would set her down to check the shoes, she’d try to run away. As we tried on the second pair, this exchange happened:
Me: Sorry, she’s being a brat today.
Sales Associate: (said with far too much enthusiasm) Why, yes she is!
Me: *blink* Wha?
SA: She does seem to be a cranky child. (then, to Cordy, who is still throwing a fit) Are you like this all the time?
Me: Uhm…we’ll just take these two pairs.
I wish I was making this up. Of course, after we had left the store I thought of all sorts of things I should have said back to that woman. Did I underreact? Should I have been more offended in the moment? I mean, I suppose she could have been joking, but there was no smile on her face as she said it. And I was too stunned to ask for clarification.
I told Aaron about it, and he wondered why I even bought the shoes. I bought them because I had been waiting forever, and she’s impossible to fit, and I wasn’t coming back out to go through all of this again for at least 3 months.
So, to everyone who works retail, I say: please don’t be honest. If a mom is having a bad day with her child, don’t confirm what she already knows. It only makes the mom feel even worse, and for those moms who aren’t as mild-mannered as I am, it could turn ugly for you. Real fast.
That lady was so rude and probably childless. I would have been the same way, on the ride home, going over in my head all of the things I should have said to her. Just breathe, and be thankful you will never have to see her again.
Sorry that happened to you 🙁
OMG…I’ve been in customer service for years and would go ballistic if I ever heard a staff member react like that! That was so inappropriate…..
oh that is just wrong!
Jerri Ann
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http://www.acracknlife.squarespace.com
I hear you. Bitches better step back. Psh. No excuse for that.
oh.my.god.she obviously doesn’t have kids. I wonder how old she was? I’m hoping she was in her early 20’s, that way at least you can say she was too stupid to know better. But if she was an older woman, that’s just idiotic. sorry that happened! 🙁
I cannot believe she talked to you & your daughter that way!!!! I so would not have bought the shoes! But I get why you did!
There’s no excuse for that. If you were feeling up to it, a call to her supervisor or to a regional manager might help her to refine her customer service skills.
Wow. That is awful. Just awful! I would have reacted the same way – got in the care and flipped out or burst into tears because I didn’t challenge her on the spot. The thing with women like this is that even if you do take her to task in the moment she wouldn’t get it. Obviously doesn’t have kids. Now you have 3 months to find somewhere else to shop.
Oh, I totally would have gone off on her…
She was probably fired from the Dillards because when women came out in their swimsuits saying,
“I dunno….I think it minght make me look fat”
She would belt out, “Yes it does! WOW! You are a cow!! Have you ever been to a gym?”
I would have left that store with a smile, and she woulda been digging extra wide/extra tall toddler shoes out of a very uncomfortable place.
I would have purchased the shoes because the kiddo needs them…BUT after my purchase I would ask to see another pair and them stick ’em down her throat. OK…maybe not down her throat, that would get me into trouble BUT I’d be her worst nightmare. I would not stop until she was fired!