Today I decided to do something I don’t do very often…take my kids grocery shopping with me. Any mom knows how frustrating and difficult it is to take their kids grocery shopping. Mine are constantly bugging me to get this and get that or they get bored (which I can’t blame them) and they start chasing each other. But I took a chance today. I needed to get some things at the store before heading out to the beach tomorrow and I didn’t really want to do it this evening after they were in bed. So off to Meijers we went.
We were standing in the produce aisle and everything was going really well. No one was hanging from the weight scale while the other one yelled what number they got to and I was calm as a cucumber. Until we got to the tomato section. I grabbed a bag and began feeling the tomatoes. I am making a super yummy cucumber and tomato salad tomorrow and I wanted firmer tomatoes for the salad. My kids immediately began helping me. Normally that would stress me out, but they were being so good. Picking up a tomato to hand to me, asking me if this one was OK…if I said no, they set it down and grabbed another one. I made sure I wasn’t holding anyone up by letting them help and I just went with it. Again, they were being so good.
I noticed an older man staring at us so I looked over to him, smiled and then told my kids we had enough tomatoes and was about to move on when the old dude started talking…no more like he started growling, at me.
Old Dude: “So how many d*&# tomatoes are you going to let them poke holes in before you make them stop”
Me (as I look at the tomatoes to make sure they weren’t poking holes): “Sir they aren’t poking holes in them”
Old Dude (yelling now): “Yes they are. I saw them. That’s whats wrong with children these days. They have parents like you that don’t know how to train them”
Me (thoroughly pissed, but still rather calm): “Well sir, I am watching them and they were just helping me. Thank you for your concern, but I can take care of my children just fine thank you”
Old Dude (yelling): “No you can’t. Stupid b*&^%”
Me (really pissed and louder, firmer voice): “Sir you need to watch your mouth right now. I do not appreciate you speaking to me like that in front of my children”.
Old Dude (yelling): “You f-ing a-hole. Don’t tell me to watch my mouth. You can’t even train those children”
Me (screaming): “I said to watch your mouth. I don’t know who you think you are, but you do not have the right to stand here and yell obscenities at me in front of my children”
At this point, employees began showing up and the manager came over and told the old dude that he will not speak to any customer like that in his store and while the old dude went on and on about how my unruly children poked holes in the tomatoes, the manager told him that the tomatoes belong to Meijer and not him and it was not his concern. I was able to get my kids out of there (people had kind of blocked us in old school style…I was waiting for people to start chanting “Fight! Fight! Fight!”) and we walked away. I was shaking. I could tell my kids were scared and I was pissed that that had happened in front of them. I was proud that no obscenities came out of my mouth, but sad that I was treated like that when my kids were actually pretty darn perfect in that store. I kept telling them that over and over again that they were behaving so good and to not listen to what that man was saying. They were good kids.
We went down one aisle and I saw that old dude coming towards us. I turned us around and went the other way. As I finished my shopping, we started to head up the main aisle. Of course, we run right into the old dude. He again started yelling crap at us. I walked up to the front and demanded to see the manager. The manager immediately came out, I told him what was going on and he apologized profusely. We then see the old dude walk right out of the store. The manager, thankfully, waited up front for me to check out and then walked me out to my car in case the old dude was waiting for me outside. He wasn’t.
You want to know what the best quote of the entire ordeal was? My son saying:
“You’re going to totally blog about this, right mommy?”
He sure knows his mama!
What a horrible experience. I would have been so scared. No telling what was wrong with that guy.
Yeah he was weird. I’m wondering if he didn’t have the start of dementia our something. Or he was just an insane cranky old man.
Unstable much? Wow, I am so sorry you had to go through this. Even if your kids were poking holes, which I am sure they were not, it would still not have been an excuse for him to ever call you those names in front of your kids. I can’t believe the store did not make him leave when it first happened.
I was surprised they didn’t make him leave either. If I did it over I should have called the cops. In my city there is an ordinance that states you cannot publicly swear.
Wow, he must have had some major tomato trauma in his life to overreact like that, lol. I was worried he was going to wait outside, so I’m glad that didn’t happen!
That is terrible! Reading that makes me want to cry! I agree, he was unstable and that was his lack of medication talking.
From now on, your husband does the grocery shopping! You’ve had too much grocery-related trauma lately! Thank goodness the management here was more responsive than at Kroger.
I cannot believe the NERVE of some people! I’m glad the store manager was on his game and took care of the situation, though.