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?

[pastapestofor6]

Thanks awfully everyone, you have reassured me that we are doing the right thing in making a complaint,
and as for oldladyknowsnothing

[theyoungvisiter]

You absolutely should complain. I find it disgusting the way children are treated - just because a tiny minority behave badly people seem to think it's a license to assume all kids are thieving monsters and treat them as rudely as possible. I think there is a certain type of person that gets so pissed off with being polite and treating adult customers as "always right" that they really relish the chance to treat kids as always wrong, and wield a bit of power.

I can still remember the humiliation of being given a dressing down by a woman in a giftshop on a school trip for going up with 3 items and insufficient money - I must have been about 7 and she ticked me off in front of all my friends for trying to take stuff I could not afford (wtf? It's not like I was smuggling it out of the shop!) The item I had to put back was a present for my mum.

I went outside in tears and a teacher later noticed that one of the items had been wrongly priced by the shop so according to the shelf price I had added it up correctly and had the right money. 23 years on and I am still furious at the shop assistant's attitude.

Oldlady - you are quite bonkers. I am 30 and would still feel upset if someone treated me so rudely without provocation. Pasta's daughter is 8 for god's sake!

[TheMagnificent7]

In the Oldlady post, she asks if the OP's child has SEN. This means special educational needs, so it's an even more rotten thing to say. She must be the witch behind the counter

Happy to boycott Smiths

[WendyWeber]

She hasn't, mmj, it was Daisy Ashford

[sunnytimes]

Message withdrawn

[LilRedWhiskGersingles]

Please do complain to the manager. Your DD should not have been treated in this way. Oh, and ignore OldWoman (I suspect she works in WHSmiths).

[WendyWeber]

(forgot to put it on the end of previous post!)

[handlemecarefully]

I suspect oldwoman leaves under a bridge actually

[cheltenhamgal]

definately complain, my dd would have been crushed too.

[pastapestofor6]

hello all
have complained, phoned head office as thought the old cow would get more of a telling off that way, waiting for them to call me back now
will let you know what happens!

[forevercleaning]

Anyway where has oldlady gone...couldn't handle our response? Perhaps she has run off like the little girl in the shop.

See, not nice to be on the receiving end is it!

[branflake81]

I can remember as a child going to the library on my own and trying to queue up to return my books. Everyone kept pushing in front of me and librarians just ignored me. I felt too scared to speak up. Your dd has my sympathy.

[Sim43]

How awful. She should be sacked! It is the most horrible thing watching your children get humiliated. How dare she treat your child like that, of course she is old enough to be in a shop on her own AND she told the cow you were outside. I would go in and give her a piece of your mind, make sure the shop is nice and full at the time, she will be so embarrased

[taipo]

My dd is 8 and goes into shops to buy stuff on her own. She is always really chuffed and hates it if I'm hovering too near. However, she would be crushed if someone spoke to her like that, so you dd has my sympathy too.

[thumbwitch]

i hope WHS take it seriously - peeing off small children now loses them future customers, something they would do well to remember!

[Sim43]

To Oldladyknowsnothing. Are you serious you silly old cow. My DS has very little experience in purchasing goods and he is 8. I have only just started letting him go up to shop counters with his money. It did not occur to me to start doing this before. My DS would definately have been shaking and crying if a complete stranger had spoken to him like that in WHS. He is very sensitive and a nice little boy who is well mannered and I hope to god he never talks to a child like that when he is older. Some kids are easily upset, you are the one that needs to get a life!

[WilyWombat]

We live in a village and all of the shops here say "1 child only from X school in the shop at a time" because they have had such a problem with the children misbehaving when they go in together.

I think maybe the woman was a little harsh but also your daughter needs to be a little more assertive "£3.50 wont get you anything" "YES IT WILL I HAVE BEEN SAVING FOR ...."

Perhaps would be worth mentioning it to Smiths though that whilst you appreciate they do have cause to be vigillant that by being so harsh they are actually alienating genuine customers. It wont be many years until she decides where to shop and if she is anything like me this will stay in her memory"

I remember an assistant in a clothes shop in London telling me I "you look like a tourist because you and your friend are wearing the same clothes" (we were wearing similar colours but my t-shirt had a logo on it) I know its illogical but ive never been in to any branch of that shop since

[itati]

YANBU to let her go in alone. You could see her.

You should, however, make a severe complaint to the store manager.

[Bumperlicious]

Did you get the woman's name? That would be more helpful. For future reference if you have a real beef against WHS and really want something done write to Kate Swan Chief Exec.

[itati]

Which branch was it and the staff memeber's name? We could all go in and give her what for.

[hertsnessex]

pasta, definitely complain. i would go back there now and get dd to point out the lady.

as for old lady - why don't you FO you old trout.

[WilyWombat]

Ahh I resisted the urge to say that (not really my style) I just thought "how rude"

But you can tell that the tide wasnt going in her direction on this one

[pastapestofor6]

hello all
have complained, phoned head office as thought the old cow would get more of a telling off that way, waiting for them to call me back now
will let you know what happens!