to think Waitrose customers are the least child-friendly on earth?

[adelaofblois]

Over the last few months I've been reprimanded there for 'peddling filth' (telling DS that not everyone had a Mummy and a Daddy, some people had just one of two of both); 'letting kids get under people's feet' (someone stood on DS2 and didn't even say sorry), and for 'treating the supermarket like a playground' (DS was entering my PIN, which he can do on his own, the queue was 1 person long). Tonight DS1 (3) had a tantrum about wanting a bacon bun and some old bat got up, grabbed him and told him he was ruining her cup of tea. Why she thought that would help is totally beyond me, just making my partner (who was with him at the time) feel shite by proxy. Evil bint.

Look, I know some of that sounds over indulgent, and that people always feel strongly about what goes on with kids when out-and-about, but why Waitrose only? Am I just unlucky, or are Lidl, Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Booth's, Morrison's folk just much sodding nicer?

what is all this about PIN? Surely it is Pin Number?

So you have a Personal Identification Number Number?

summertimeblews said
"'i wonder if its YOUR kids. no one has ever said this to me in any supermarket'.
me neither, i tend to think i wouldnt like to meet OP and family mid shopping either grin"

I agree.

I thought the N stood for number - Personal Identification Number (happy to be corrected)

Haven't been to Waitrose for about 2 years (and that was nonDC trip to get some cakes for DH to take to work)
Stopped going because apart from the distance to get there, their use by dates were ridiculously short on fresh foods.Even with raking to the back, there were 1-2 days to run on some.
And they had Mr Kipling cakes that were out of date the next day,reduced by 20p.(I would've expected 50% off )

DD used to like the little trollies but they only had 2, so sometimes we would wait, and she would wait patiently until one came back.

And yes, the other shoppers (wealthy outer London area) were extremely arsey by the fruit and veg aisle.

If I take ds into waitrose he uses the scan thing - keeps him occupied. Have never encountered rude customers but some of the staff are a bit weird. There's a guy who works on the biscuit aisle and he's quite possessive of his territory - he will come up after you and straighten the packs of biscuits if you've looked at something and put it back on the shelf and he is always there stocking the shelves with his massive trolley.

I don't have a problem with other people's children in the supermarket - and if one of them is acting up and giving their parents a hard time I will give them a sympathetic glance because I remember being in that position myself.

And obviously people do have to go to the supermarket with their children sometimes - life is just like that - but I do think it is fair to say that supermarket shopping is much easier without the children in tow - or at least that is my experience.

The head-twisting man was so far out of order that I can hardly find words for it. If he was genuinely concerned that the lad might get thwacked by a shopping basket why didn't he just ask the boy where his mum was and suggest he went back to her. No need to touch the child - and twisting his head round sounds OTT even if he did need to touch the child (not that he did imo). He could have taken the lad's shoulders and turned him round - that would have been slightly better.

the other day i saw a mum and dad shopping, with two girls (that horrible age girls go through between 3 and 18 about 10 yrs old, plus nanny and grandad, all following along after one trolley. Mum and Dad ignored girls, girls constantly and loudly kept saying grandad I need a Ipad and a Blackberry and some Converse trainers, Nanny you need to get me .... ad nauseum.

By the end of the trip (because they were going same speed as me) I felt murderous rage towards those dopey brats. Still, I guess its a nice family day out

Shopping is a chore, not a leisure activity. It is not meant to be enjoyable for anyone. So what if a child gets in your way or makes a loud noise from time to time in a supermarket? Just get in, get what you need, and get out again.

And does anyone else remember The Internationals? It sounds like a 60s TV spy series but in fact was a supermarket in Hertfordshire in the 70s.

My youngest son did a proper exorcist style vomit in our local waitrose a few years ago. I think he was as shocked at the price of their cakes as I was

But seriously, the staff and fellow customers could not have been more helpful!

We go shopping en famille on a saturday lunchtime. We do it 'cos we enjoy it...or so I thought. Now I realise that in between working, bringing up 4 kids, studying and running a home we are just dreadfully disoraganised and selfish

Delightful people at my waitrose, smile and chat to dcs and generally v friendly. Also staff have been especially good there, walking across the car park to help me cos they could see me struggling with getting 2 dcs in trolley, helping me to car with them when it was icy. Do you just live in a grumpy sort of area?

The people who bitched about tourists in Windermere (around pg3) annoyed me. If it weren't for us annoying tourists your area wouldn't be as affluent as it is, your house wouldn't be worth as much as it is.

So be quiet. Or go stay somewhere else during the season.

Hell, I'm a tourist and bitch about tourists at Windermere :o

I've never had any grief any where in the (almost) 11 years since ds was born; and he got karted about everywhere with me (SAHM, bored, made excuses to go to supermarkets and all manner of places).

He's not perfectly behaved by any stretch of the imagination. I also had a giant pram.

This is like those bf in public threads. I can't decide if I live in a paralell universe or just have a very thick skin

I find Waitrose less busy and more chilled out than any other supermarket. The staff are wonderful too, can't do enough for you.

Last time I went to waitrose I got given a bouquet of flowers because a pineapple packet leaked all over my DC and me. I only asked for some tissues