rude worker in whsmith upset my 8yr old d

[pastapestofor6]

my dd 8 has been saving up to buy some hsm magazine, she has got the required 3.50 so today was the happy day for the long anticipated purchase to take place,
she went into smiths, I sat on bench directly i mean DIRECTLY outside with 2 younger ds's, she entered shop and the shop assistant[who i might add i dont know] said 'where is your mum?'
dd says 'just outside on the bench', woman then says 'what you doing in here' dd replies'just looking around', woman says 'do you have any money?' dd replies 'yes £3.50' to which woman replies'well you wont get anything in here for that' at which point dd fled the shop white as a sheet and shaking
I made to go in the shop and give her what for, but dd begged me to leave it, considering her upset i did so, very reluctantly i might add!
but aibu for letting her go into shop on her own [she is nearly 9]
and if not , then what should i do?

Go in (without your daughter) and ask to speak to the manager.

No wonder WH Smiths is going down the pan. It keeps emplying shit staff.

What a cow. Why are some people like that.

Assuming Smiths is quietish, not enormous, and there's no other way out, I'd happily let a nearly 9 year old in there on her own. You know your daughter best.

i think this was a great way for you to let her do something on her own.

she saved that money all by herself and you were letting her go into shop by herself (well, as far as she's concerned you were outside so that would be classed as by herself)

what on earth was that shop assistant thinking. mean witch.

i'd complain. specially since you were in view of the whole situation!

That is completely out of order, what a seriously unpleasant woman.

Please complain to the manager. Your dd could have had a really good time shopping for herself & this cow spoiled that for her for no good reason.

YANBU. THat is really appalling. THey can't just assume every child is a shoplifter. You should have gone back in but totally understand why you didn't.

At 9 she is perfectly old enough to go into a shop on her own. DS is 4.11 and goes into the local Post Office to get stuff with me outside, fair enough they know him so its different but he's a lot younger. YOu should write a letter of complaint to the manager about that member of staff. THey should be disciplined for that. THere is also plenty you can buy in WH Smiths for that amount, they sell sweets FGS.

Yes I agree you should make a complaint to the manager. A lot of shop assistants seem to think that all children are just going to steal from them and don't seem to appreciate that this is an important part of learning responsibility for their money.

Your child's first experience at buying something alone and she gets crushed. For what? What a vile woman.

Most normal people would have really played up to serving the child, making sure they had the right change, a bag etc. Building up the kid's confidence and sense of achievement.

You must go in with your DD, get her to secretly ID which person it was and then go in again without your DD to complain to the manager. The member of staff won't know who, what or when. And the manager should know. It's future generations of customers they're investing in.

And basic courtesy is a given whether in a retail situation or not.

Please take your DD somewhere to buy something special and where she won't be made to feel horrible.

(Had three glasses of wine - sorry for rambling)

complain what a disgusting way to treat a young person

Of course yanbu. Your dd needs to gain her independence. I have a ds of 10, so know exactly how it is. If I were you I would phone the shop tomorrow and complain to the manager. Threaten to go to the papers if they do not apologise in writing to your dd. WHSmith are well-respected chain and do not need this kind of publicity, so they will listen. Don't tell your dd until the apology letter arrives. That's what I would do. Oh, and if they don't comply, I would contact my local paper.

That's outrageous! Regardless of whether she had money or not and regardless of her age, she had no right to speak to your dd like that fgs. I'm so for you and your dd. I'd certainly be in there in the morning to make a formal complaint.

i would be fuming. can you set your dd up with someone you know in a shop so she has a better expierience? it could put her off shopping for life.
phone the store manager.

Oh that is so mean. I remember dd1 going into bakers at the top of our road to buy a bun and they just ignored her time after time, people just kept pushing in front of her and they never served her, and I felt so sad for her. We havent been back since. Mean people

yanbu - definitely see the manager

Your poor dd. What a horrid rude woman. agree with what others have said.

I let DS buy things in our Tesco Express by himself - he's 5 (mind you, 99% of the staff know him)

She needs a complaint made against her... bloody stupid woman

As everyone else says, please go and see the manager- this kind of demonising of all children mustn't be left unchallenged. It makes me so cross.

yep....deffo needs dealing with
your poor dd

how r they going to learn, unless putt into a situationm? They won't!

Complain!

I remember, when I was about your dd's age, I was at the cinema and my older sister (10 years older) gave me the money to buy an ice cream. I picked up the ice cream off the vendors tray and profferred the money. "This isn't self service love" the woman said sarcastically " Sheltons [a crappy shop in Peterborough] is next door". I was crushed!Blimey I remembered that for months.

Your poor dd. She didn't deserve to be dealt with by such a churlish woman. Do make sure you take this further

Agree, you need to do something - apart from anything else the silly bitch clearly doesn't know the stock, as last time I checked there were plenty of things in WHSmiths for less than £3.50!

She obviously needs some serious re-training.

That is a sad story. Funnily enough I remember my mum having a big to-do with a shop assistant in WH Smith when I was about 9 for something much the same! Something to do with a Crunchie bar and its price coming up incorrectly on the till, I had the right money and knew it but the girl made out I was lying (as if a Crunchie cost 56p back then, or even now!!!) it was so clearly a fault with the till the stupid cow). She more or less told me not to touch what I clearly couldn't afford!

I remember cringing with embarassment as my mum absolutely did not hold back and once she had finished with the girl on the till she moved on to the manager.

Definately complain. Nobody puts your baby in the corner!!

I bet you were quite pleased that your mum stood up for you though babyelephant (temporary embarrassment not withstanding)

foul behaviour by shop assistant. Complain to local store and to HQ.

Well HMC... yes because I knew I had been unfairly treated, also nobody ever got the better of my mum when she was on the warpath (and I don't mean because she was agressive, or rude, or swore or anything like that - she just wiped the floor with whoever had done a wrong with a stream of acidic well-chosen words!) It is reassuring to see your parent is not intimidated by anybody.

On the other hand no, because it also meant she had no qualms about giving me a dressing-down in public either! None of this "Wait til I get you home" in a hushed whisper.