Be considerate people!

Today has been rough. We've have been swamped, and we've had a crazy day with a busy shop and a TON of internet orders. We are psyched - we love it when it's like this! However, I had to just take a few minutes to sit down and vent about the following:

Parents of small children... please do not let your toddlers roam wild in the shop. Are you aware that our shop is not child proofed as your home should be? Does it worry you that the mannequin your child thinks he is dancing with, starts to teeter and totter and tip over? Where are you when I rescue your child from being crushed under that very heavy figure? Oh, that's right. You are looking for a pattern 2 rooms away, not paying any attention to your child. Do you hear me asking your child not to play with the mannequin because it is not safe for him, and I don't want him to get hurt? You DO hear me? Great! Why then, does your child do it another 2 times, while you are still paying no attention to him?

Did you just hear the big wooden smacking noise, followed by tears, and a nice young lady saying she's sorry? Do you know that your child was standing right inside our front door (out of sight from the outside) and a customer just came into the shop and opened the door right into your child? (Don't worry, I told the nice lady not to feel badly - it's not her fault, it's yours.) Now your child is screaming, most likely because you are paying no attention to him, and you are still looking for a pattern.

You know that bag of Sesame Pretzels that your daughter has been snacking on? Do you see that she is spilling hundreds of sesame seeds all over our floor? That may be okay at your house, but it's not okay here. Now those sticky little hands are touching so many different balls of yarn. Hmmm. Do YOU want to buy a ball of yarn that has been touched by sticky sesame hands? I sure don't. Do you realize that every ball of yarn we find, when straightening and restocking yarn, that has been manhandled by your children, or snot-dripped upon, must be taken out of stock?

Great, now your daughter is dancing with the mannequin. Wasn't she standing right there when I was reprimanding your son? Oh sorry! I forgot. You wouldn't know. You weren't paying attention.

You know those beautiful shawl pins that we have at the counter? Did you realize those aren't chew toys for your kids? The nice display with the marbles that houses those shawl pins? Not a game of Pick Up Sticks. Our customers do not enjoy jarring, crashing sounds as your daughter knocks over the entire bowl of glass marbles, because she didn't like it when we asked her not to play with them. Nor do they enjoy tripping over the marbles, as they shop.

Those Brittany double pointed needles we sell? Those size 0's, 1's and 2's are pretty small, aren't they? Does your child have to test them to see if they will break? Let me save him some time. YES. They break. And since you don't want to pay for a broken needle, I guess we'll just have to put it with all the sticky and snotty yarn we've already pulled from the shelves.

You know, we're not just trying to look after your children because you aren't doing it yourself. We actually have a job to do here, and it's not daycare provider. We're actually really concerned for their safety and for our inventory. You know that if that mannequin fell on top of your child, even though you were in the other room not paying attention, you would blame us. You know that if your child opened our basement door and fell down the steps, again it would be our fault somehow.

And for those of you who are starting to feel the stress of the holidays, hear this. Please understand that we are only here to help you. When you come in with a really bad attitude, we are still going to smile and treat you like all of the nice people who have preceeded you. But if you don't let up on the attitude, we fully reserve the right to politely remind you that there's no reason to be rude to us.

When the UPS truck is backed into the driveway at 4pm, and there's rush hour traffic on Pearl Street, do NOT pull in and block him. Do you really think you have enough time to come in and make an exchange? Do you not realize that he is on a schedule? Do you not see that you have parked your car next to a sign that says "Please Do Not Block Driveway?" Do you see that now there is another customer behind the UPS truck, waiting to get out, all because you will not move your car? I am aware of your dirty looks and snotty attitude when I tell you I cannot help you until you move your car. The other customers in the shop are also aware, and when you finally go to move your car, they have nothing but raised eyebrows about your behavior.

Okay, rant over. Have a good weekend.