She Saw A Child Starting To Melt Down Over A Toy, So The Employee Came Up With A Clever Story That Helped His Mom Avoid A Scene
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Retail workers sometimes need more than register training to prevent a tiny customer meltdown.
One exhausted mother reached checkout with a preschooler clutching a firetruck she had no intention of buying.
When the usual disappearing-toy trick proved too obvious, the cashier prescribed a much more imaginative solution.
Check out how it went down.
Toys can get sick too!
I work at a large retail bookstore, but we sell books, toys, and games for all ages.
Today, I was on the cash register when a mom and her little boy walked up to make their purchases. The boy was holding a huge firetruck that made noise and lit up.
Mom had absolutely no intention of buying the firetruck, but her son grabbed it off the shelf and wouldn’t take no for an answer.
She was clearly having a rough day and even mentioned not coming back to the store because the toys distracted her son too much.
Rather than let the mom struggle, she stepped in to help.
Usually, when this happens, with the parents’ permission, I scan the toy, make it look like the toy is in the shopping bag, then void it from the transaction.
This works best with kids 3 years and under. However, this kid might have been 4 or 5 and was too smart for that trick.
So, I suggested to Mom that I be the “bad guy” and tell the kid the firetruck had to stay here.
Her eyes lit up at the suggestion, so I directed my attention to the little boy.
I said, “Mr. Firetruck is sick and needs to stay here with me until he feels better, but you can come back another day and take him home.”
The kid seemed to accept that answer.
He handed me the firetruck, and both he and his mom left with their other purchases without an outburst. I call that a win.
Wow! That sure is a win!
Let’s see how the folks over at Reddit feel about this situation.
This mom had her own way of dealing with it.
That’s actually a great suggestion.
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This must’ve been so cute to see.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a bank employee who immediately resigns after being denied a bonus.
Here’s another mom who takes photos.
OP convinced the little boy that Mr. Firetruck was sick and needed to remain at the store until he recovered.
The child surrendered it peacefully, his grateful mother escaped without a tantrum, and the checkout ended in a rare retail victory.
That firetruck received better bedside care than most adults.
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