Sweets by the till in Next

[OpportunityKnocks]

Popped into Next earlier.

A woman was having a right go at a member of staff behind the till because of the placement of sweets by the queue and how awful it is for parents because of the temptation for kids.

This is all whilst buying said sweets because her child (dd2 maybe 3yo) is having a massive meltdown.

Obviously mum was having a hard day, but I lost sympathy for her for taking it out on a member of staff.

Aibu for thinking it's her own fault if she gives in to the meltdowns?

I feel for her having to deal with the meltdown, and agree it's not the staff's fault, but I really wish stores wouldn't do this. I like what Lidl have done - cheap water, nuts, dried fruit etc. If you chuck something in the basket it neither breaks the bank nor the waistband. You'd expect some little bits by the till with Next (socks/perfume/accessories) but stuff kiddos are likely to go for/pester for is really irritating IMO.

YANBU. It's not the retailer's problem. The whole world doesn't revolve around the fact that she's got stroppy toddlers.

Would she also expect WHSmith to hide the kids' comics in case her children suddenly decide they want one of those too? Or for toy shops to black out their windows in case one of toddlers spots something they fancy?

I don't think it's the staff or the stores problem. ALL toddlers have meltdowns, it's called the 'terrible twos' for a reason ffs.

It's the stores job to sell things, and the staff have to do what they're told, and it's the parents job to parent.

Or do people think we should pussyfoot around a toddlers tantrum ??

One Next I went into had pieces of paper for children to make into paper aeroplanes. I thought it was an awful waste of paper. Plus kids were chucking them round the shopping centre. A nice idea but not really one that's been thought through.

YANBU. She is blaming her inability to parent on the retailer.

What she needs to do is teach her kids that no means no and not give in to them, not pass the blame on to someone else.

It's up to the mother to control her child, not the staff working in the shop.

Parents need to learn to take responsibility for their own child's actions.

Some days you just can’t deal with the tantrum. I’d be questioning with next management. The yer e a clothing and home ware store, no need for sweets at the counter at all

Not the staffs fault. My kids always ask for those sweets when we go into Next. I just say no. If they kicked off it would still be no and they would get ignored.
She's going a grand job of teaching her kids that kicking off will get them what they want.

YANBU. It’s not the staff’s fault first of all, and saying ‘no’ and dealing with tantrums is just part of parenting - you can’t blame others because you struggle with that.

It's the same in Peacocks and my 3 year old has kicked off in there because I refuse to buy them. You just deal with it don't you. It isn't the staffs fault and I'm not going to buy him everything he asks for.

It's hard dealing with tantrums I really do empathise with any parent there.

However children can tantrum about anything parents can't expect shops to hide everything away. You just have to take a deep breath and deal with the fallout of saying no.

Some days you just can’t deal with the tantrum. I’d be questioning with next management. The yer e a clothing and home ware store, no need for sweets at the counter at all

HerRoyalNotness Those days you “can’t deal” with tantrums and give in to your tantrumming kid are the days that teach them they can just make as much noise as they want and you’re bound to give in in the end.

You need to stick firm, always.

No, there’s “no need” for sweets near the tills, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t going to do it. They sell well there, hence their placement, and they aren’t going to move it because you can’t control your kid.

We've all been 'that parent' of the kid having a meltdown. It's always by the tills in full view of everyone. Then there's working out how to deal with it appropriately and quieten down the kid asap - not easy. But never give in!

Matalan is the worst for this : sweets, those squeezie toys, and plastic and packaged tat. I've survived it with DC so far but I know it's only a matter of time!

Debenhams is dreadful too. Especially near Easter. You have to snake around 1000 oversized and overpriced Easter eggs to get to the till.

I don't think that clothes shops should be selling the overpriced sweets in their shops. Why would anyone buy them there as Poundland is probably around the corner or there will be a supermarket near by?

I don't think that clothes shops should be selling the overpriced sweets in their shops. Why would anyone buy them there

Kpo58 Convenience, for one. Last minute additions, for another. But the point is that people do buy them there, and they sell well, hence why so many shops do it.

I imagine she wasn’t thinking rationally. Harassing staff because of their company’s policy is uncalled for in any context.

Before people judge this parent too harshly - It does sound like a stressful situation. Who knows what other challenges she had faced that day? This could have been the straw that broke the camels back.

I actually think it’s a fair point about sweets at tills.Obviously they are placed there to encourage adults to make impulse purchases, but store designers are aware of the “pester power” of young consumers too.

Not Next's problem that she can't control a 3 year old child.

If the child had a meltdown,that’s really hard for mum having a child with autism.
Otherwise it was a tantrum ,much easier to deal with ,as no autism involved

Before people judge this parent too harshly - It does sound like a stressful situation. Who knows what other challenges she had faced that day? This could have been the straw that broke the camels back.

Of course...that's true. But what about the member of staff. They could also have been having an awful day. When customers 'have a go' it's just horrible and can be pretty upsetting. There's never any excuse for being rude to till staff over something that they have absolutely no control over.

I work in retail where we have sweets at the tills, i was got shouted at in my face by a fully grown woman (i was 17 at the time) for personally promoting and enabling obesity, i did try to explain i am not personally responsible for what the company tells me to put on me till but she continued shouting.. it's really embarrassing being shouted at for only doing your job

I agree she shouldn’t have shouted st the staff member, but not that many years ago supermarkets used to do this, and it got changed, because of impulse buying/children pestering if I remember rightly. Perhaps it is something Next need to consider.

Yes yes, she's a shit mum and you aren't.

I guess a whole heap of you aren't old enough to remember back when the campaign to move sweets from the till in supermarkets happened. And I'm sure you are all absolutely fine when TV advertisers target kids.

If this is the fifteenth meltdown her kid has had today, maybe she just doesn't have the strength to deal with another. Or, maybe she knows if her kid had a meltdown and she didn't give in, you would all be judging her for her terrible parenting, letting her kid scream and shout like that.

Stop judging FFS.

I personally think it's wrong to have sweets at the check out. Supermarkets stopped doing it a few years ago. To be fair to the mother in next, their sweets are not cheap. Imagine a screaming toddler who's already got the £3.50 bag of sweets in their hands at checkout, its extra hassle that could have been easily avoided if they placed them away from the tills.