Duddy
AIL… This toon was based on an instance when I worked at the art/gift store… we had these “Groovie Girl” dolls… and Mom let her kid carry the doll all over the store… when it came time to leave… you can guess what Mom said… “okay, the Groovie Girl has to stay here now.” The doll was soaked from little kid slobber! GAH! Bad Parent, BAD!
Go ahead Midge! Slap the parent with the slobbery Duddy Dragon!
This sort of thing happens at my work all the time!
The joys of retail….
The Auld Grump
I never ran into that in our comic store, but if I had, well… I can be pretty forward about people accepting responsibility for their actions. And being as brash as I was back then (my mid-20s), I probably would have kept her and her kids out of the store. It’s amazing how much good rep you can pick up with other customers at the price of losing one inconsiderate (or oblivious) lookieloo.
oh people do this alll the time make me so darn mad
squid… with pooches, I imagine… dog slobber… which is worse? dog or kid slobber?
Grump… you can laugh, but not at the time.
Pete… you were most fortunate… that you were spared the slobbering. I also think that parents today are distracted and are caught up with whatever THEY are doing. Thus the phone in the strip here… this, I’ve seen, a bazillion time… parents texting and kids off doing whatever. Sigh.
vwolfe… welcome! … it makes me a bit peeved too…. thus the toon…. that’s how I deal with it. Awareness.
i’m glad I don’t work at a toy store. it’s situations like these that would get me fired from there quickly!
I wrote an article on the biggest comic convention peeves, and one of the entries was indeed about destructive children and apathetic parents.
I did a gallery show once in San Jose where a mother and her kid came over to my table; the mother took one of my zines and promptly left the room, leaving her bratty child to pester me while I drew other customers’ commissions. About twenty minutes later she returned with the zine; I asked her if she wanted to buy it (it was $2) and she said, “No, I already read the whole thing.” The child continued to stay at my table pestering me for another half an hour or so until mercifully they both left.
I think I can imagine why dad was out of the picture…
I think if I ran a small business I would post big ugly pics of the offenders at the door and say why they weren’t allowed. Don’t know if I could get away with it because things are so litigous today (yay, big word), but I’d sure as hell try! I hate buying clothes in stores after working in clothing sections, you would have nightmares if I told you. Needless, to say, nothing I buy to wear goes without a hot wash first!
That lady is lucky she wasn’t in the store I used to work at. THe conversation would have ended with me pointing at the sign which reads “YOU BREAK IT YOU BOUGHT IT!” and reminding her that drowning it in your kid’s slobber counts as breaking it.
Actually had a customer try to fight me on that rule. Even after I advised them that refusing to pay for the item their kid messed up would be considered shoplifting, even if they didn’t take the item with them. They called my bluff.
So I called the cops. 😀
I notice they had their wallet out before I dialed the last digit for the sheriff (I am not one of those jerks who calls 911 for non-emergencies, heh) and we solved it my way anyway. Was I afraid of what the boss would say? It was HIS policy and when I told him about it, he watched the surveillance feed and bought me a beer after work for handling it so politely!
Yeah, that job was the ONLY time I actually tolerated … liked? maybe? … working in retail.
Nice idea, GrayWolf. And if a charge of “shoplifting” doesn’t stick, maybe “vandalism” might?
Security cameras are a wonderful thing, though most aren’t as sharp and clear as they should be.
Wow… you guys are fearless, steadfast and ready to rumble. I like the idea of a who’s who of offenders posted on the wall… like a rap sheet… (or is it wrap sheet?) Anyhow…
Dada… thugs… you need some Con Thugs… people that rough up “those kinds of punk Con-goers”… Dark glasses, hairy knuckles, bulging muscles… Hey, don’t you know a Samantha?