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Original poster

Pass remarkable sales assistant??

392 replies

BitchinBlack · 20/07/2017 20:43

So I took 16month old DS for a pair of new shoes today to a local shop. The sales assistant seen fit to comment "what?? He's not walking yet? (With a shocked look on her face) He really should be at that age"
DS is sofa surfing and walking with support he just hasn't taken of independently yet. I am absolutely livid and I gave her a good dressing down, so was I unreasonable??

OP posts:
junerat · 20/07/2017 22:07

Wow, I think Mumsnet has its first time traveller!

Welcome, OP! Is it VERY different here than it was in the 1940s?

Better get off anyway; your husband will need his slippers that you bought him warmed in front of the fire soon.

thefutureisfemale · 20/07/2017 22:09

@seekingadistance
How about
The poster who uses the term haters is pass remarkable.

Does that work

TypicallyEnglishMustard · 20/07/2017 22:09

I used to work in Clarks. I had to go away for two day long training courses in shoe fitting, so yeah, you learn a lot about kids' feet, walking, and development in that time. I still get irritated when I see parents trying to fit their own kids shoes in other shops, and the kid is leaning back on a display, or worse, sitting down... you aren't getting an accurate fit like that!

Anyway, I've bought my husband shoes once. They were flip flops. Mostly because a) he wasn't there, b) we were booked to go to Vegas in the height of summer and he couldn't walk around the desert in his Converse, and c) none of my local shops stock his size in flip flops (UK size 15). So I just grabbed them in shock the second I saw them. Other than that, I think it's strange. Incidentally, he managed to go and buy two pairs of his own shoes today. I'll ask if he tipped.

Mulberry72 · 20/07/2017 22:12

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

peachgreen · 20/07/2017 22:13

@thefutureisfemale It's more behaviour that's pass remarkable than a person. So "she was being v pass remarkable there when she called her a hater" might work - although only if the behaviour you were describing was someone giving an opinion where it's not wanted or warranted.

YolandasFridge · 20/07/2017 22:14

This thread is brilliant! OP is a thousand times ruder than shop assistant of course.

Were they Clarks shoes sold in a local shop or an actual Clarks store? Chocolates thing v odd if it wasn't a local boutique type place?

Also I thought the owner served you but then the owner apologised for the sales assistant ?

I'm Scottish and use pass remarkable all the time, it's a great description!
My 12 year old daughter is extremely pass remarkable in public and unfortunately has a very loud voice.
I have to hiss "stop being so pass remarkable!" at her A LOT.

thefutureisfemale · 20/07/2017 22:15

@peachgreen thank you.

I just can't get it! Must be above my pay grade I think.Wink

Seeingadistance · 20/07/2017 22:15

How about
The poster who uses the term haters is pass remarkable.

@thefutureisfemale
That sounds passable.

AloeVeraSeeYaCilla · 20/07/2017 22:16

My DS1 had hip dysplasia and didn't walk until 22 months. I would have been annoyed but not given a 'dressing down.'

Funnyfarmer · 20/07/2017 22:16

I think we should all be tipping the shoe fitters since there pay and grade is so lowHmm
I find tipping so patronising. Here's a quid because I've got so much money and I know you will be eternally greatfull for it because your so poor.

Sparklingbrook · 20/07/2017 22:17

I have a feeling my two teens are 'pass-remarkable' I will use it on them tomorrow.

MerchantofVenice · 20/07/2017 22:17

Hmmm. I think it's all very well to say "you should just shrug/give this or that pleasant response/ grin and bear it'... That's certainly not bad advice. But isn't the better advice for people in general not to be potentially offensive/ upsetting? I've had this exact same argument on MN before, and it's a theme that comes up a bit in my life - because I simply don't understand the way people blurt out any old crap before spending just a nanosecond considering the impact of their words.

I am perhaps oversensitive- and I accept that. The plus side is that I think carefully about other people's feelings too, and the effect my words might have on them. I wouldn't dream of commenting negatively on anyone's child's development - and no one is paying me to be attentive! Surely a sales assistant should have a basic grounding in Not Being Offensive?? It's not as if she was providing helpful medical advice - she was just offering amateur, undisguised surprise. And 16 months is v much within the normal range for walking FFS.

SteppingOnToes · 20/07/2017 22:18

If your child isn't walking don't put them in shoes - its an idiot thing to do and can damage their feet and even a lowly shop assistant knows that...

GoldenFleck · 20/07/2017 22:18

above her pay grade

well, aren't you a lovely person. How is her pay relevant? You have a nasty vicious way of thinking.

Funnyfarmer · 20/07/2017 22:19

So basically all she said is "What he's not walking yet?"
Maybe she needed to ask as to assist you in the right type of shoe.
Or would you prefer her not to ask? Then push unsuitable shoes on you ?

Seeingadistance · 20/07/2017 22:19

Aha! Peachgreen knows about being pass remarkable. Good, good!

I've only known one person who used this phrase - always about his mother, as I remember. He would say that his mother was pass remarkable. I was baffled and had to ask what he meant. He said it was because his mother always had a strong opinion on everyone and everything and expressed those opinions at every opportunity.

I'm going to start using pass remarkable at every opportunity!

Popchyck · 20/07/2017 22:20

Ha. I knew the OP was Scottish.

"Pass remarkable" and "the sales assistant seen fit to comment" in the OP. Two dead giveaways - might as well bust out the shortbread there and then.

Pass remarkable is the kind of thing my dear mum used to say.

You'd make some innocent comment about something, and mum would say "Don't be so pass remarkable, Popchyck".

thefutureisfemale · 20/07/2017 22:20

Do you think the poster will come back or are we too lowly paid and pass remarkable to talk to? When our service is completed I'd quite like my tip.

Sparklingbrook · 20/07/2017 22:20

I think I vaguely remember buying pre walking shoes before DSs could walk to keep their feet warm in the buggy, as they would pull socks off.

I think I may still have them in the loft. Blush

Carouselfish · 20/07/2017 22:20

Are you one of those people who thinks customer service = serVANTS OP? Rather than just, say, a PhD student with a Saturday job doing their best to be polite through gritted teeth to someone who thinks they are actually 'always right' and close to royalty.

SnickersWasAHorse · 20/07/2017 22:21

Are you telling me that no one on her buys their husbands shoes?

No. Why would I? He is a grown up real man and can take his feet to shops all by himself.

PuppyMonkey · 20/07/2017 22:22

(I know I could google it, but it simply means 'passing a remark?' Is that it?)

Sparklingbrook · 20/07/2017 22:22

You could ask why the OP felt the need to tell the shop assistant how old the child was in the first place.

MerchantofVenice · 20/07/2017 22:23

steppingontoes they sell 'cruisers' in Clarks for babies who are not walking independently but still holding onto furniture etc.

MrsPringles · 20/07/2017 22:23

You tip them chocolate and wine?!
I've heard it all 😂

Also, my DS didn't walk until he was 22 months so you don't need to worry about your DS. He'll get there.

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