i've ranted about vanity dogs and their owners before. the folks that believe their beloved 'fifi' is actually a human offspring and not of the canine variety. every week someone ignores our clearly displayed "no pets" sign and saunters right in with their four legged friend.
"i'm sorry, but we can't have dogs in here." i always inform them. "but i'll be happy to bring your drink out to you when it's ready."
"but i'm HOLDING her!" the customer will say, as if that makes a difference.
"but i'm only going to be a second!" a different customer will protest.
"why isn't mr. peaches allowed in here? it's not like you serve food!" a truly clueless customer will reason.
usually we only have to go one round with the dog-loving customers, but of course there's ALWAYS an exception.
my bux's exception is named marcy.
marcy has a dog named max.
marcy loves max more than life itself. i know this because marcy tells us this everytime she brings max into the store.
usually we spot marcy in the parking lot and have her drink ready before she even makes it to the front door. other times, however, marcy and max make it into the store where they cause quite a fuss.
this past week's episode of 'the max and marcy show' was legendary.
"hi marcy, you know the rules - "
"don't give me that b.s.! you always tell me max can't be in the store so why is that guy in the corner allowed to have his dog?" marcy stuck her finger in perky assistant manager's face.
"marcy, only service animals are allowed inside." perky assistant manager didn't flinch.
"oh, so when it's someone you like you bend the rules, huh?" marcy raised her voice so the customer with the service dog could hear.
"no marcy," perky assistant manager sighed. "that's the law. health code says no animals unless it's a service animal."
"so how do you know he's a service animal, huh? did he tip you extra or something?" marcy was getting louder and max was starting to growl.
"um, the red vest with the words 'service animal' is how we can tell." perky assistant manager was getting angry.
"so, if i dress max up in a little red outfit, then he can stay?" marcy glared at my assistant manager.
"no marcy." perky assistant manager was having no more of max and marcy. "you know the rules. if you can't obey them then you can't come back here."
finally marcy and max left, but not before she bitched us out some more about not letting her beloved dog inside.
but here's the kicker:
today was my day off and i was running errands. i went to the bank and as i walked through the parking lot i saw marcy and max getting out of her car. sure, she was holding max in her arms but inside the car i could clearly see a toddler in a carseat! i didn't even know she had a friggen' kid! she locked her car and then took max into the bank with her while her child was left in his carseat. as soon as i got inside the bank i told the guard about marcy and her kid. he immediately walked over to her and told her that if she didn't get her child out from the backseat he'd call the police. marcy raised a huge fuss (are you surprised) but finally aquiesced.
it sickens me to know she cares more about a dog than the safety of a child. and it makes me nauseous to think that perhaps that poor kid has been left in the car when she brings max into my bux.
customer rant: when i ask for an americano with no room, don't ask me to repeat my order in spanish. are you kidding me?!? if you need your customers to speak your native tongue so that you can understand them, then maybe you shouldn't be working the register. i know how to order my drinks correctly. 'tall americano - no room' is quite clear, even if english isn't your first language.
37 comments:
So help me God, next time, I would call the police, actually just plain 911. The Fire Dept (at least here) just loooooves these morons. Actually they rather enjoy busting the windshield out of the car--yes, the WHOLE windshield, since any other window would just be too close to said toddler ;) Perhaps THAT would teach her a lesson...no doubt she will do it again, just as she will continue to try and bring the mutt with her.
Dude, that's pretty disgusting of her. It's just a freakin' dog! Does she order drinks for her dog, too?
That is sick she is one stupid bitch people like that should not be allowed kids at all!!!!
Next time, call your local auto repair shop. Work out a referral commission with them. Then call 911 and say there's a baby trapped in the car. When the firefighters smash the windows, you can bump into the driver, greet her, then offer her the name of a repair shop that does good work. Ka-ching!
Wow, people like her don't even deserve kids - I mean what the hell is she thinking? I wonder if her husband knows about this - if you ever see it again I'd skip the guard and contact the police/child services. Maybe have someone sneak out and check when she's at Starbucks. As a parent is really boils my blood and even as a person it makes me sick.
I hate stupid women and their stupid little dogs coming into the store as well. We don't have a 'no pets' sign and I wish we did. Hell the manager doesn't even say anything to them. I have animal-related allergies and those stupid mutts in the store really do a number on my sinuses.
So, here's the thing. i have no issue with people living in the US and not speaking English. This is, after all, a nation of immigrants whether people like it or choose not even acknowledge it. When people complain about other people not speaking English, there is an internal dialogue that doesn't even go through my head anymore, so often it's been repeated. However....if you are in a service job in a neighborhood where the customers speak English, you should probably learn the language so you can service them. And if you don't speak it, bad on the management.
I think part of the reason people complain about some people not learning English is because they've been in situations like this. Although hating all immigrants because one cashier messed up your order is a bit extreme too.
And who assigned this person to work the register if they can't communicate well enough?
Holy friggin' crap, I can't believe she left her kid in the car. Good for you for alerting the authorities. Who are these people???
And I'm an Americano drinker too!
Was the person kidding when they asked you to repeat the order in Spanish? That's nutty...
Nice work alerting the guard!
I have no problems with people who seem to care almost too much about their pets, as long as they follow the rules, by all means feel free to dress up you chihuahua in a pink sweater and call him Mr. Snuggles.
Being obsessive about your dog to the clear detriment of your own child is ridiculous and dangerous, and just enrages me to no end. The optimist in me hopes that this was a one time thing for Marcy...
I've long suspected it,and now it's official.
The depths of human ignorance knows no bounds!
Marcy and her spoiled little rat-dog both need to be sterilized.
I have long since stopped giving warnings to people who leave their kids in the car while they are off shopping or whatever. I used to tell them that I was going to call the police if they didn't get the kid out. Now I just call the police. I'm so tired of all these people bending the rules to suit them and then griping when someone else bends the rules. I mean seriously, this is how anarchy starts. If the sign says no pets, that means no pets. and yes, your dog qualifies as a pet even if it fits in your coat pocket. If the sign says no food or drinks, it means no food or drinks and yes, your bottle of water qualifies as a "drink".
Sorry for the rant. Just dealing with my own coworker issues right now. I hate pokey people . . .
My Pastor's brother (also a Pastor) likes to say that he loves dogs, at least, any dog he can drop-kick 50 yards.
People like this lady make me sick.
And as far as the Customer Rant goes, I think it's ridiculous that the situation even happened! If they can't understand Tall Americano - No Room, it makes one wonder how they got the job in the first place!
Good for you for notifying the bank guard. Wonder if Marcy was there to make a deposit into Junior's savings account...he will need that money for all the therapy he's going to need as an adult, to deal with his abandonment issues and pervasive feelings of worthlessness.
This is my first trip to your blog so I'm a little late, but just had to thank you for taking the time to say something about the child in the car. So many people look the other way and when I got to the part where you notified security, I felt such relief. I just hope someone's there to catch her the next time.
On a happier note, great blog and great writing.
i'm going to hazard a guess and say she was babysitting. most women that treat their dogs like she does are projecting love they would have for their child onto an animal. so i bet that kid wasn't hers.
luvpumpkins: That, if true, just makes it even worse!
Call 911 and turn that stupid woman in!
What a freaking bitch! Turn her in, end of...
Next time Marcy comes in, check and see if the kid is in the car. If so have someone run and call 911, and then fawn over Max. Talk about Max, love Max, get Max a bowl of water, and just plain stall Marcy until Officer Friendly arrives.
At the liquor store, we were a little more lax about dogs. Every once in a while, some woman would come in with this little dog she could carry. She asked nicely if she could bring him in, so I let it slide. I did, however, ask the dog for ID. It's the law in Florida, you know. Everyone in the store must be 21 (or 3 for dogs, I suppose).
The only way this story would be more troubling if Marcy had ever complained that she couldn't leave Max in the car because it's dangerous to leave him alone in there. Either way, the negligence is astounding.
Wow. You're way too nice. Going out of your way to have her coffee ready before she gets to the door? I'd just tell her that her business isn't welcome until she learns to play by the rules and keep the dog outside.
(But I guess that might not fly at bux - too bad!)
My mom belongs to a grief-share group at her church. Most of the members are women whose husbands have died, a few lost children ... and one woman is still grieving her cat that died a year ago.
Oh my god! That poor kid! My jaw is on the floor!
OMG... I have a problem leaving my kid in the car just to run and pay at the gas station... He always comes in everywhere with me... I don't think you should leave ANY child in the car regardless of the age... Even 12 year olds get into trouble sometimes... Good for you alerting the guard... what a F$*#$ing idiot...
OK I am the biggest animal lover in the world. My two boys (cats) are my "babies" however, I cannot imagine what type of ignorant, stupid, self serving, etc person leaves a human child (theirs, anyone else, an elderly person who cannot move on their own, and so on) outside in the car to take a dog, who can stay home without her, into a place he doesn't even belong.
I am surprised that she even locked the car.
Oh my god.
I hate people who treat animals better than they treat people.
The level of the dog lady's argument is what I would have expected from maybe an eight year old.
Wow. I didn't think I could be any more appalled at humans than I already was. I was wrong. Again.
To the person who said "Marcy and her little rat-dog should both be sterilized" or whatever...
what gives? the dog didn't do anything.
plus who says people are any more worthful than dogs? i understand that some people have allergies, but come on.. i have allergies to pollen but should society tell me i shouldn't go outside? give me a break.
in any case, i'd get pissed about her leaving the kid in the car too (although i'd get equally as pissed about her leaving her dog in the car too ;)
Speaking as an English person, to whom English is the native tongue, what pray is a "Tall americano - no room" ? (Sounds like Mexican-English for a homeless cowboy, but I'm sure you'll inform me otherwise)
(heh heh heh)
My ten year old girl gets mad at me when I tell her to stay in the same aisle at the store as me.
Good Lord. Maybe Max will kidnap the baby and go start a life in the Bahamas.
i'm having Brat Withdrawl! i hope you're ok...you haven't been around in a while...
Oh. My. That poor kid.
So Brat, I've been lurking around your blog for about half a year now, and I absolutely love your writing. I don't want this to sound like an ad at all, but you and a few other bloggers inspired me to start a blog of my own about working at Victoria's Secret. I put you on my links list, and I'd be ecstatic if you did the same for me, but please understand you're under no obligation whatsoever--I'll still keep reading. :D I would be really happy if you checked it out, though. There's not much, but I promise it'll get a lot of updates within the next few days. :D
(Speaking of dogs, a woman in the midst of a divorce came into my store with her dog, which I have to admit was quite possibly the cutest dog I've ever seen. I was surprised that it was allowed, though.)
--Char/Sales Angel
anonymous: i understand that some people have allergies, but come on.. i have allergies to pollen but should society tell me i shouldn't go outside? give me a break.
Rules against bringing animals in stores have nothing to do with allergies. It's against health code to have pets in an establishment that serves food.
omg wtf, that's really sad
well i guess i'm really lucky :S my bux is in an islamic country and we can't have dogs roaming around because dogs are considered unpure to them
-fern
I knew this reminded me of something - there was someone arrested not too long ago for leaving her baby in the car, and taking her dog inside.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0509az-mother-arrested09-ON.html
Gardenia Zakrzewski-Johansson, of Arizona.
So Barista Brat, you don't happen to be in Arizona, do you?
my fave mini dog story is the man who put his teacup chihuahua(sp) on the hand-off plane and the barista on bar screamed b/c she thought he was throwing a rat at her.
Oh. My. Gawd.
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