To find this lady kicking off at nursery staff a bit much?

[ColonelHaiti]

My child goes to a good nursery. It's a chain. They have had issues, as we all have, with sickness and covid but kept going really well. Today I was waiting to be let in and one of the staff said they didn't have enough staff for the kids outside to come in and it would be 5 minutes. My little one was happy playing outside for 5 mins. Another mother royally kicked off though asking staff to close the blinds as its not fair her child sees other children playing while she's outside (said child didn't seem arsed), why is she paying ? Where are the staff etc?

I get she was pissed off but to kick off on the nursery staff who are there I thought was a bit steep. The nursery has kept open all through the pandemic with very little disruption.

@AnyFucker

For Gods sake, she sounds like a dick

And you folks with a “3 minute turnaround” who the fuck do you think you are ? The world does not revolve around your commute. Shit happens. We’ve all had to adjust our expectations slightly because of covid related staffing issues.

Too right - it’s up to individuals to build in some slack into their morning routine.

Unfortunately there is a minority of people who see themselves as customers regardless of the situation. You could trade the last place on a lifeboat for them and they would still find something to complain about.

I can only imagine that these people have very unhappy lives as happy people don’t got out of their way to make others miserable over minor issues.

And before anyone bleats on about expense, it’s usually the people with no money who are friendly and understanding and the people who are fairly well off who complain about prices and services.

@FateHasRedesignedMost

Some peoples expectations are ridiculous!

Is it ridiculous to expect a nursery to open on time?

You pay by hour for the sessions, often £60 a day.

5 minutes can easily turn into 10 or 15 while the staff get organised.

Appreciate there are rare times when delays are inevitable but I don’t think the woman was wrong to be upset. She may have been rushing to work, or to drop off another child at school, or had an appointment.

I work in a hospital, if I miss a train I get to work an hour late. So my team suffers, patients suffer, my managers aren’t happy and I miss handover. 5 minutes can have a domino effect on someone’s day.

But going by the post the nursery had opened on time they just couldn’t take any more children in due to staff ratio so to wait 5 minutes extra to ensure all the children are safe is essential.

As you say some delays are inevitable, People do get stuck in traffic, sleep in, have to drop their own children off at childcare , car breaks down, buses are late etc , all these things can cause a delay. The parent was being asked to wait 5 minutes.

If she had a problem go and speak to management who are paid to deal with these things, not the staff who are just trying to do their best .

Too right - it’s up to individuals to build in some slack into their morning routine

I’m sure people try to build some slack into their morning routine. But for some it would mean not working, or working reduced hours, or being redeployed closer to nursery when many businesses are on the verge of collapse, and some NHS wards and clinics functioning on skeleton staff.

Someone could have been running late or needed the loo etc so a bit ott. It's symptomatic of a wider issue in society though, isn't it, where we expect everyone to be perfect all the time with no exceptions ever and no compassion shown. The poor staff member. Probably already harassed and then got shouted at.

She’s precious! Of course it’s annoying to be made to wait but five minutes isn’t a lot. If the nursery staff are good enough to look after her kids then they deserve a bit of basic politeness. Swear under your breath as you walk off rather than venting in someone’s face

Well, as nurseries are quick to charge extra fees if parents are 5 minutes late, it’s not outrageous to be annoyed at being kept waiting for 5 minutes in the morning. My commute times were really tight - it would have been a huge deal to me.

Having said that, I wouldn’t have cared about the curtains being open or shut!

YANBU.
Some parents do behave terribly to nursery staff, who are often stretched thin enough as it is.

Speaking as someone who has worked in nurseries: yes, we know you have to get to work, but some things in the morning end up taking longer than we’d all like. Yes, we know the fees are expensive, but trust me, it’s not all going into the random staff’s pay, which is probably less than yours. And yelling at the staff who turn up when there’s a shortage is just really pointless.

@Hb12

I'd never be rude to people (was she rude?) but equally it must have sounded very odd, keeping kids waiting outside because there weren't the staff to let them in yet.

Why do you think that's 'odd'?

@Hb12

@gogohm

If I was in a hurry, 5 mins could be the difference to getting to work on time, could mean missing a bus/train. Complaining her kid could see inside was ridiculous though

& how would kicking off at the nursery staff that are there help??

Yes it's annoying, but it's not their fault!!

It's probably not really the fault of those that aren't there either, what with covid & the public transport at the moment.

Shit happens, shouting very seldom helps the situation!

For Gods sake, she sounds like a dick

And you folks with a “3 minute turnaround” who the fuck do you think you are ? The world does not revolve around your commute. Shit happens. We’ve all had to adjust our expectations slightly because of covid related staffing issues.

I completely agree.
No one is daft enough to think that waiting 5 minutes is going to make them late for work and anyone who says otherwise is just attention seeking.

Anything can happen on the commute - flat tire, stuck in traffic, child needing a wee just before leaving, child falling over and hurting themselves etc - all of which would easily take more than 3 minutes which is why you don’t leave yourself with such a short turn around, but no when the staff who are literally on their arses right now need a couple more minutes to sort something all of a sudden it’s unacceptable.

@FionnulaTheCooler

5 minutes isn't much in the grand scheme of things, but I would be annoyed to be kept waiting during time I was paying for childcare, especially if I was trying to get to work.

Would you prefer they closed the nursery?

I’d be more worried there wasn’t enough staff to look after the children correctly

She sounds a right self entitled thing.
Yeah delays can happen, but that's life!

Nurseries have every right to turn away children at the door if they drop staff and can no longer meet ratios, so waiting 5 minutes really isn’t a big deal.

Also chances are the person she’s shouting at isn’t at fault. How pathetic

Those saying about tight turnarounds, I am sorry but leave earlier so it's not so tight then if this happens you still have time to get to work. The early shift may have started at 6.45 getting breakfasts ready, setting the room up etc but not actually get paid until 7am when the nursery opens for example. Also, if you have to wait for your child to be taken or brought to you and you have to wait, another child may have vomited or had a nappy explosion literally seconds before you answer the door, who takes priority? Not you ringing the doorbell. Staff will probably be trying to get someone to cover their room so they can answer the door you just have to be patient.
Then there are the parents who don't want their child to have their dummy so you have to pacify a screaming child all day and when the parent comes to pick up, the first thing they do is stick a dummy in their child's mouth! The parent who wanted the blinds closing, words fail me.
Please appreciate everything your nursery does for your child, it's not an easy job at all. Sometimes 10 hour days with only a 30 minute break and still having to answer the door with a smile, no matter how shattered you are, having to work over with no notice, planning activities within the curriculum, observations, parents evenings that you might not get paid for or get time owed as it's contractual, potty training plus so much more. it's not all sitting and singing songs. And all this for minimum wage in a lot of nurseries. Sorry, rant over.

Unfortunately some parents kick off at nursery staff all the time. If your work time is that close then find a nursery that open earlier or a child minder. Don't blame the staff because you don't leave enough time to get to work.
I have had to wait for ages for my child to come out (20 minutes) I didn't kick off just asked them if it was possible for him to come out a bit earlier.
I've worked in nurseries so I'm always polite because I know it's a bloody hard job and yes fees are very high but please remember the member of staff you are shouting at is very likely on minimum wage or maybe slightly more.
Like teachers there is a shortage of nursery workers at the moment and looking at some of the responses on here, it's not hard to see why.

Maybe she was anxious about being late for work?

@SilkLabrador

Maybe she was anxious about being late for work?

That doesn't give you the right to shout at someone doing their job

She is BU at how she talked to the staff. But she is NBU because she is paying for the childcare and she might have to be somewhere such as work. They could at least text the parents to let them know that their children won’t be allowed in for a few minutes.

@FateHasRedesignedMost

Maybe she was in a hurry.

Nursery fees are expensive, I’d be irritated too if there weren’t enough staff to let me collect my child, and I had to wait outside in the cold until they sorted it out. People pay for staffing ratios, I’d expect them to use agency staff if some are off.

Maybe the agency staff were on their way. Maybe they had only just found out that one or more of their staff was ill. Maybe the agencies were in such demand due to covid that THEY didn't have enough staff either. Schools are having this problem - why be surprised about nurseries. 5 minutes. Jeez.

I work in a secondary school. I can tell you now she will be one of ‘those’ parents who teaches her child not an ounce of resilience and that the world revolves around them.

It’s the type of attitude I deal with all day from the same parents over and over, on repeat.

All the agency staff probably have covid.

Many nurseries and early years providers are closing due to funding and staffing issues. You'll miss them when they're gone.

There is never a good reason to kick off at the staff who are there, but I can understand the frustration when you have a tight turn around to get to work yourself.

This is somewhat naive or showing lack of awareness for the fact other people's circumstances might be different from yours. Too right - it’s up to individuals to build in some slack into their morning routine

If the Nursery doesn't open until X o'clock, then you can't "build slack" into your routine, if your train leaves a X.10am, or if the school you work at has registration at X.30, or your first patient is at X.30 etc. Where are you expecting them to get this 'slack' from ?

I’d expect them to use agency staff if some are off.

and quite possibly they were, but even agency staff can't instantly transport to just 'be' in the Nursery the minute the Nursery becomes aware they need to call them.

The issue seems to be none of the above though, the woman was bonkers wanting them to close the curtains and the reasons she was cross seem irrational.

If they don't have the staff they shouldn't be open. I'd be pissed too.