It’s one thing to set a bad example, but it’s another to teach kids that stealing is okay.

A sharp-eyed employee spotted a family trying to pull a fast one, and she wasn’t about to let it slide.

You’ll want to read on for the full story of how one retail employee singlehandedly stopped a theft at her aquarium!

“Hurry up, kids, they’re watching us”

I work at an Aquarium, and we have a couple of gift stores.

Every few months, we’ll encounter parents that encourage their children to lie and steal.

We have a woman who works in the store, and she’s kind of like the grandma of the department.

She grew up in El Salvador and has been living in the States for the past 30-ish years. We’ll call her A.

One day, A notices something unusual during her shift.

One day, she was walking around one of the stores, restocking and fixing the displays.

A family of four caught her eye.

The parents were holding a large amount of merchandise, and the kids were wearing a bunch of clothes we sold in the store (hats, shirt, sweatshirt, etc.).

The parents were exhibiting some seriously sketchy behavior, so she tries to engage with them.

She noticed the parents were acting oddly—nervous, avoiding eye contact, etc.—so she approached them.

A: Hi, would you like any help finding anything?

Of course, the parents try to throw her off her tracks.

Father: nervously No, we’re fine.

A: If you’d like, I can hold that merchandise at the register while you shop, so you don’t have to carry it around.

Father: No, I said we’re fine.

Then, the parents try to make a break for it.

The father then turns to his two kids and whispers, in Spanish, “Hurry up, grab what you want, they’re watching us—we need to leave.”

A, again, grew up in a Spanish-speaking country, and two of her best qualities are how honest and outspoken she is. So… that didn’t blow over well.

So she calls them out in front of the whole store.

A: Sir, you should be ashamed of yourself! What kind of father teaches their children to steal? What kind of example are you setting for them?!

She demanded they hand over the toys, stuffed animals, clothes, etc., and kicked them out of the Aquarium, admonishing the parents the whole way.

Love you, A 🙂

She went above and beyond doing her job that day!

What did Reddit think of this tale of retail heroism?

It’s the best when you can speak a language others don’t expect you to understand.

This commenter thinks A must have had a great manager to want to stick up for the store like this.

This commenter can’t help but feel sad for these kids.

These kids likely won’t be able to return, all because of their parents’ bad decisions.

And for the parents, they really should be ashamed of themselves.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.