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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think this was terrible service

139 replies

Armadilloboss · 31/08/2019 16:22

Sorry in advance for the long post

My DS took DN’s (4 and 5) to get their back to school stationary yesterday. DN (4) is starting reception and was super excited for this as she feels grown up like her big sister.
Upon entering paperchase, a nasty little girl stuck her foot out and tripped my niece over. Poor thing didn’t see it coming and went straight into the glass display table, splitting her mouth open.
The girls mother ran over and grabbed the girl shouted ‘what have you done now?’ And swiftly left the store, making me think this girl has form for this sort of thing.
DN was bleeding from her mouth. It was all over her, the floor and my sister, and as you can imaging she was screaming in both pain and shock. Sister shouted the girl at the till for help and the girl responded ‘I’m busy serving’. She then shouted over for a wipe or something to stop the bleeding. The girl huffed, pulled a toilet roll from behind the till and ripped some off for her. Luckily enough my sisters friend walked past and seen sister (they were at the first display as you walk in, this happened within seconds of them entering the store) she went in to help and again approached the girl at the till and said ‘are you not going to help the little girl over there?’ Again she was told they were too busy. SF asked if they had a first aider of first aid kit on site and was met with ‘no, we dont’
After DN had calmed a bit my sister went over and said ‘do you need to put this in an accident report (we have both worked in retail for 15 years so know the procedure for this type of thing)’ again the girl was unphased and replied ‘no we don’t have one of them’ my sister again queried this and said ‘a 4 year old has just smashed her face against your glass display, there is blood all over your floor, and you don’t need to document this?’ The girl responded ‘yeah but was she running around mad?’ At which point my sister just walked out the store.
She immediately emailed paperchase to complain and has yet to receive a response (this was 10am yesterday morning).
AIBU to think this is appalling and the safety of people in their store should come before serving a customer?

OP posts:
Finfintytint · 31/08/2019 16:26

YANBU. At the very least they should have handed you a first aid kit. It is probably just a one off from an inexperienced worker who was pretty clueless.

ViaSacra · 31/08/2019 16:26

It's obviously not ideal, but what would you have done if your daughter had fallen over or tripped up outside, rather than in a shop? What was a young person with no medical training realistically going to be able to do to help?

Original poster
Armadilloboss · 31/08/2019 16:30

But she didn’t trip up outside, she tripped up and banged her face on THEIR display, blood was on THEIR floor. So surely have a responsibility to provide first aid and report is as an accident (pretty sure this is a legal requirement of the RIDDOR act) and regardless of having no first aid training, that is no excuse for a bad attitude and no compassion.

OP posts:
NinetySixer · 31/08/2019 16:33

YABU. What would you expect a ‘young girl’ to do. Also, in this era of litany offering first aid when not trained opens up a host of issues and a small shop will not be required to have a trained first aider on site.

She gave you something to clear the blood up.

I feel for your DN it’s sounds like a horrid situation but I think you are showing anger at the wrong person and should be focusing it on the child who intentionally hurt her and the mother who bolted.

GertrudeCB · 31/08/2019 16:34

Terrible customer service. How is your DN today?

Finfintytint · 31/08/2019 16:35

If you are not first aid trained surely you would offer the kit to the mother?
Small shop or not they’d surely have a kit available.

Original poster
Armadilloboss · 31/08/2019 16:37

@NinetySixer I get that, but as Iv said above, no first aid training is not an excuse for a bad attitude and any accidents should surely be reported?

OP posts:
Original poster
Armadilloboss · 31/08/2019 16:38

@GertrudeCB she’s feeling better and thankfully still excited for her stationary

OP posts:
HeadintheiClouds · 31/08/2019 16:39

Of course they should have dealt with it. By law, they should have recorded it in the accident book. In fact, they should have got bratty’s mother to sign it too, but I appreciate it’s a lot to put on a young person on minimum wage.
How is her mouth?

Passthecherrycoke · 31/08/2019 16:41

Sounds like the young girl was left alone in the store and couldn’t stop serving at the till (well obv she could but I can see why she felt she couldn’t)

Original poster
Armadilloboss · 31/08/2019 16:41

@headintheiclouds she’s better today thanks. Her lips still swollen and bruised but not still point her gabbing away! 😂

OP posts:
jaseyraex · 31/08/2019 16:42

I worked in retail all my teenage years and even as a "young girl" I knew wtf to do in these situations. Every shop I've ever worked in had accident books and paperchase isn't exactly a small independent store. At the very least the girl could have got her manager/senior member of staff to find out how to deal with it. She should have some sort of basic training for accidents, even if it is just 'get the manager'. YANBU op. I'd complain via twitter, companies tend to respond a hell of a lot faster when its public.

SirJamesTalbotAndHisSpeculum · 31/08/2019 16:44

I agree with you that this was very poor customer service.

I hope Paperchase get back to your sister and apologise.

I imagine the girl at the till was very inexperienced but that doesn't excuse her poor attitude.

YANBU.

NinetySixer · 31/08/2019 16:48

@Armadilloboss

I’m just not sure what you expected from a ‘young girl’ working in a shop for minimum wage.

It would have been nice if she had offered help but realistically what help could she offer. I know from experience that dealing with customer injuries or medical incidents when you are the only person on the premises and have paying customers wanting service is incredibly stressful.

And if your DN didn’t require medical attention the One adult seeing to her is sufficient. This would be a different story if she required hospitalisation.

Yes it should have been recorded but if the store didn’t have a process in place then she what could she have done.

You’re angry your niece was hurt but that isn’t the stores fault it’s the child who intentionally hurt hers fault.

Original poster
Armadilloboss · 31/08/2019 16:55

Sorry, can I just say iv not once said ‘young girl’. I actually mean woman (I’m 31 and still call myself a girl) the girl/woman was mid twenties. Not a 16 year old with a summer job!
My main issue is the lack of procedure in place (if paperchase genuinely don’t have a procedure then they are breaking the law) and the girls attitude. The question ‘yeah but was she running around mad’ in particular. Like it was her own fault. Which it was not!

OP posts:
RainbowAlicorn · 31/08/2019 16:57

I work in retail and that is disgusting behaviour on their part. It shouldn't matter how 'young' she was, if she is old enough to work she is old enough to help. Was she the only member of staff there?

InterestingView · 31/08/2019 16:57

I would sue. Genuinely would as they've walked into a claim with this lack of response or reporting. As for what happened to your DN Flowers poor little thing.

Wehttam · 31/08/2019 16:59

Shameful behaviour from the member of staff. I would make a formal complaint, it’ll be on their cctv so they can review the incident.

dontfollowmeimlosttoo · 31/08/2019 16:59

It's appalling service .... she should have taken child into back room away from customers and if they had no first aid called the Centre customer services who should send a first aider . This absolutely should have gone into accident book. I would call and ask to speak to manager.

Chocolate35 · 31/08/2019 17:02

I find it appalling! YANBU. They should have a procedure for any accidents and every public place should have a first aid kit. She could have shown a bit of sympathy and at least offered to help. No human decency what so ever!

Bluntness100 · 31/08/2019 17:02

I don't really understand this. What benefit is there to it being recorded in some accident book?

And the child's mother was there. Why did the shop girl need to help? What could she do her own mother couldn't?

Theendofmyrope · 31/08/2019 17:03

@InterestingView
She was tripped over by another girl so not the fault of the shop. Sue on what grounds?

which1 · 31/08/2019 17:04

You'd sue?

That's crazy.

Whether or not the assistant noted it in the accident book doesn't make a difference, it really wasn't her fault nor the fault of the store.

It sounds like she was unsympathetic yes, but attempting any kind of pursuit of her or the store makes no sense at all.

HyacynthBucket · 31/08/2019 17:06

Whatever the age of the girl/woman behind the till, it sounds as though she was clueless - and therefore had not been trained in the right procedures. This is entirely the fault of her employer. It is irresponsible of them to put someone in their stores who is incapable of knowing how to react in any particular scenario. I wonder how many other shops get away with completely untrained people dealing with the public. Terrible, especially for the little girl who was hurt. What an irresponsible mother the bullying child had - to just leave.

Bluntness100 · 31/08/2019 17:06

she should have taken child into back room away from customers and if they had no first aid called the Centre customer services who should send a first aider

Eh? Where would this first aided come from? Why was rhe shop girl to take over and not the mother? What difference does it make if it goes in a book?

I'm completely dumbfounded by these responses. It's not a magic book. Nothing happens if she notes it down. And the mother is arguably more capable of cleaning her daughters mouth than the shop girl, or some random first aider that was going to appear from some location.

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