really rude checker at toys r us

May 17, 2007 5:22pm CST
my son has a cleft lip and palate. he is a newborn so he hasn't had surgery to correct it yet and it's pretty severe so it's very noticeable. a couple weeks ago I was at toys r us and the woman at the checkout said, "what is wrong with your baby?" i was totally shocked. at first, i said, "what do you mean?" cause i didn't realize what she was talking about...and then it hit me...she's talking about the way he looks. i was so apalled! i couldn't believe she just blurted that out like that. i'm glad he's too young to understand!
7 people like this
31 responses
@Gorgeous24 (1091)
• United States
17 May 07
What a rude & inconsiderate thing to say to someone who you dont even know, that lady should mind her own business! Why did she feel that was neccesary to say to a child who has no control of what he looks like? UGHHH!!!! Thats the problem with people now-a-days they dont think before they speak. Try not to let what she said bother you too much I know you wanna protect your child and thankfully he is indeed to young to know what she was saying, she is the one with the problem not your son.
2 people like this
@4cuteboys (4099)
• United States
17 May 07
Gosh that is SO RUDE, I can't even believe that. That woman shouldn't even be employed in the general public if she has hte nerve to act like that. I am glad your son didn't understand as well, and he has a good mommy that is looking out for him! I would still call the store, ask for a manager and describe the cashier to him. She deserves to be reprimanded big time for something like that!
2 people like this
@Michele21 (3093)
• United States
17 May 07
That is so terrible!! I can't believe people are so rude and insensitive!! I can't imagine being in a situation like that, next time you shoulds say, "nothing is wrong with him, he is a healthy happy little boy". Good luck if/when you have the surgery, that would be scary!!
2 people like this
@alilswt (388)
• United States
17 May 07
that is terrible
2 people like this
@golfproo (1839)
• Canada
17 May 07
That is extremely rude and thoughtless of that person. I think you have to chalk that one up to the ignorance of other people!
2 people like this
@latsmom (824)
17 May 07
People like that make me really angry! I have a little brother who has various disabilities and he has one eye blue whih as a small child stuck out from his head and I used to love as a young teenager taking him for walks and it made me mad the way people stared, to me he was and will always be my beuatiful little brother. I was lucky enough to give birth to perfectly healthy daughter 4 years ago but unfotunately last year she was savaged by a dog, and 2 days after her operation she wanted to go out, it's not like she is contagious or anything but people were staring at her, like she didn't ahve enough to deal with after what she had been through, one woman even said she shoudn't be out looking like that! I could have swung for her, but instead I smiled and said my little girl is braver than you could ever know and she has just as much right as anyone to be out and about. although she had to endure 3 operations and 60 stitches luckily surgery has come a long way now and the scar is only noticable in extreem cold or heat or if you look closely. I have a very good freind who has a son with a clef pallet, he has had the operation that your son is to go through soon and you would not even know, he is one of the best looking babies I have ever seen and always has been even before the operation. having a scar or deformity does not make you weird or ugly it makes you special. That woman was very ignorant. i bet your son is gorgeous adn everyone who knows him loves him.
• United States
18 May 07
I would have asked to see a manager. That is rude, crude, and socially unacceptable to speak to anyone that way, much less a customer. How awful that must have been.
1 person likes this
@Foxxee (3651)
• United States
18 May 07
That was rude. Was she a younger girl? Sometimes people just don't think before they speak. Also some of the young girls don't understand things and they always seem to ask personal questions. I would of went to the manager and just voiced you opinion about this situation. It was not very professional for her to ask you something like that. And by the way, congrats on the new baby!
1 person likes this
@vokey9472 (1486)
• United States
18 May 07
I am sure she didn't mean to be rude. Perhaps she had never seen a cleft lip and palate before and she just said the first thing that came into her mind without really meaning to. I live in the US and I have no idea where you live, but in my area you almost never see these things. So when you do, it can sometimes be a shock. Most people try really hard to not comment on things like that and that can sometimes be even worse. When people ask me what is wrong with my mother (she has a skin discoloration disorder) I just tell them about her disease. Most of the people are not trying to be mean or rude, they are just curious.
1 person likes this
@SheliaLee (2736)
• United States
18 May 07
I'm glad your son didn't understand either. Sometimes I think people speak before they use their head to think first. This lady should most definitely have kept her thoughts to herself. I would't blame you a bit for speaking to the store manager about her. If she did that to you there is always the possibility of her being rude to someone else.
@wachit14 (3595)
• United States
18 May 07
I'm not surprised. There are so many people in the world who are just plain rude. I take a class with a young man who has cerebal palsey. He not only walks with a brace, but he has some other issues as well. The teacher has asked him on more than one occasion what's wrong with him and this is a teacher who is doing this. I guess if it were my baby, I would have said, 'nothing's wrong with him, he's perfect'.
• United States
18 May 07
The nerve of some people! I can't believe she would blurt that out to you. That is sooooo rude! I would have probably had a very MEAN comeback but that's just me. Don't take what she has said to heart. I'm sure your son is gorgeous.
18 May 07
Well people these days. Noseie cow,my friend has a child who has a skin problem i mean real bad and every where she goes people are always looking at her, Anyway one day she was in a shop and she over heard the people behind her saying things that were not nice about her little girl well she was not happy she turned round to these people and shouted at them,well the whole shop was quite and they felt very small when she had finished with them. I think if people aint got nothink nice to say then they should keep their mouth shut.
1 person likes this
@KatieS (503)
• United States
18 May 07
You should notify the manager of that store. No one has a right to work in a place like that. That's just as bad as staring. It's not her business to know what's wrong with your son, but it's her job to be courteous. I'm sorry, that makes me feel so bad that there are actually people out there with no cooth!
1 person likes this
@kareng (53440)
• United States
18 May 07
I agree, that was very rude and uncalled for. I would call the manager and tell him how rude she was and that it really upset you. If this would have been said to an older child, it would have been emotionally destroying for the child.
1 person likes this
@sunshine4 (8703)
• United States
17 May 07
That is unacceptable. I would have gotten her name and reported her to the manager. Someone working at a store for children should be a bit more compassionate.
1 person likes this
• United States
18 May 07
oh my god.that woman had no couth or manners whatsoever. that was just plain rude to say. i don't know what she was thinking.
@bgreen8 (266)
• United States
18 May 07
I have worked in retail for over 10 years and worked with just about every type of person. Some people just don't realize what they said is wrong, or maybe they didn't mean for it to sound the way that it did. If she was that curious, she could've worded her question a little better! I would've definitely told her manager. That comment was completely uncalled for.
1 person likes this
• United States
17 May 07
People surprise me of their rudeness all too often.
1 person likes this
• United States
18 May 07
I think I would be mad too.My daughter had problems with ears but nobody ever made fun of her.I wouldn't have put up with it.