I don't understand this customer

[Rubystars]

I thought I'd post this in fratching just on the off chance that this would be controversial.

As described in the article, this is what happened:

1. A mother and daughter were in a Panera restaurant, and the daughter's shoes were squeaking loudly and annoying the other customers

2. Some of the other customers complained to an employee about it and asked if they would speak to the mom about it.

3. The employee let the mom know the other people were complaining about it and asked if she could remove her daughter's shoes.

4. The mom informed the employee that her daughter had a disability and had to use those shoes because they were doctor prescribed shoes and so she couldn't take them off.

5. The employee relented and let the woman know that the Panera wouldn't want to lose her business and agreed that the shoes should stay on in that case.

6. The mother stewed about it and flipped out and went to local media and screamed discrimination and in general threw a hissy fit about it, probably getting the employee fired when they were just trying to do their job, making a giant unnecessary mess over it which basically looks like a big "look at me! Look at me, I'm special! I was asked to accommodate other people and I didn't like it!!!"

If the employee had said something along the lines of "Yeah, whatever I don't care, that squeaky noise still sucks and she should take them off" then I could see the mother's reaction being what it was, or saying that her daughter was discriminated against, etc. but that's not what happened. When the employee found out why the girl wore the shoes, the employee didn't ask for them to be taken off anymore and just let the woman know it was ok for the girl to continue to wear them and that they valued her business, which I think is a totally appropriate response.

The woman seems to be offended that she was asked about it at all, when how could the employee know why the girl was wearing the shoes? The alternative was for the employee to ignore the complaints from the other customers and not bring it up at all or ask about the shoes. The mom somehow expected this employee to be psychic and know they were special medical shoes, which is bullshit in my opinion. Now this employee probably lost their job because this woman decided to throw a self-entitled hissy fit.

http://www.today.com/news/restaurant...oes-2D11923852

[Gravekeeper]

Wow, what a drama queen. She left the store CRYING because the employee unknowingly asked about the kids shoes? If that's all it takes to give you a public meltdown, there are much more serious problems going on in your life than an unwitting store employee.

While little Emma didn’t notice the fracas caused by her shoes, her older sister did: Duke said that Ana asked her, "Mommy, why are they being mean to our family?"

Sure, she did.

She met with franchise officials a little over a week later, and says they gave her a formal apology and even offered to hold a fundraiser to help pay for Emma’s medical bills.

Duke says she is satisfied with the restaurant chain's response

I'm sure you are.

Duke adds that she wasn’t “trying to smear Panera’s name” by bringing her story to light, and only wanted to stand up for her daughter and other children who are disabled.

Yes! Stand up for all those children whose parents were faced with a simple misunderstanding! Run crying to the media over nothing until they give you money.

Ugh. >.>

[bainsidhe]

I don't think the store did anything wrong and while I understand her getting upset (who wants others to criticize their child, after all), putting the blame on Panera just makes her look bad.

I'd also like to know what type of "squeaking" the shoes made. From the comments, these shoes may be a brand of Pip Squeakers which give off the most maddening sound. There is nothing cute about shoes that make a sound like a dog toy with each step. Please please tell me this isn't a new fad like those wheelie-type shoes were. *cringe*

[Gravekeeper]

There is nothing cute about shoes that make a sound like a dog toy with each step.

I watched a news story on this, her shoes DO make a sound exactly like a dog toy with each step. In fact they're suppose to to encourage her to walk right. They make the noise when she walks properly from heel to toe.

In other words this isn't an accident, the shoes intentionally make a loud aggravating noise that while amusing to a 2 year old, not so much to adults in a public space. Upon hearing that noise, no one is going to guess "Oh she's disabled and those are special shoes". Especially given that there are regular shoes that do the same thing as a novelty.

There's literally no way the store employee or the customers complaining could possibly have known the annoying noise was for medical reasons. Furthermore, I can't see it garnering multiple complaints unless it was persistent. IE she was wandering or running about instead of sitting and eating as mom says. Mom says the employee quietly pulled her aside when she got up to get a coffee refill.

The father on the other hand has a different story, he claims they go there with squeaky shoes on all the time and all the employees are aware of his kid's disability. And that mom is friends with several of the employees. Which makes it all the worse, frankly.

Since that mean's that mom, who otherwise has a great and understanding relationship with this business, choose to go screaming to the media to slander it over the actions of one new employee put in a horribly awkward position. Then swear off the whole company. Instead of being a grown up and making use of the good relationship she has with the company to discuss the problem with a manager or other employee that she knows who is familiar with the situation, and thus could bring new employee up to speed.

Meanwhile, the new employee in question is being shit on for discrimination. When all they did was get shoved into the absolute worst catch 22 situation possible. They can't ignore customer complaints, but they have no clue that the squeaky shoes are not the novelty toy kind either. What was that employee suppose to do?

[bainsidhe]

Could someone perhaps educate me, in a way so I don't feel like a horrible, evil human being, why a disability would give anyone a free pass to annoy the hell out of other patrons? While the shoes may be prescribed by a doctor, this woman is intentionally inflicting that sound on others and takes immediate offense when someone is bothered by it. I'm not saying to exclude her child from outside activities, but she should have compassion for others, just as she demands compassion for her child.

Seriously, that sound is awful and makes me want to hit something.

[Gravekeeper]

Seriously, that sound is awful and makes me want to hit something.

No idea. I can see how an affirmative noise would help the child, but there's no reason for the affirmative noise to be that aggravating.

This is the sound they make for reference. Picture it in a small enclosed restaurant for any length of time.

[anakhouri]

That's what I was wondering, if the shoes make a sound with each step, how many steps did the kid take? You go in, order, sit down. Since the child is young, I assume the adult went up to pick up their orders and carry it to the table. If it was really irritating people, I figure the kid was up and wandering around the restaurant, which is not good manners and shouldn't be tolerated by parents.

Yeesh, what a drama llama.

[HYHYBT]

It must have been pretty awful to get a restaurant employee to ask a customer to take off their shoes, given that they're generally required to enter.

[Rubystars]

It's interesting to see the discussion here. I'm glad that other people here can see it the way I did. I don't think that the mom has a right to inflict that noise on others for a long period of time. If they had entered, sat down, and ate, and then left, the squeaking wouldn't have gone on long enough to bother people more than likely. Now everyone at that Panera and anywhere else this crazy woman goes has to tolerate the noise while she lets her child run rampant.

I've seen a lot of people like her when I used to do more customer service and basically they feel they are a cut above other people. They're not rich, not by a long shot, but they often have an upper middle class pay rate and convince themselves that they're rich and important and other people have to treat them like royalty or they'll cry or sue.

[lordlundar]

They make the noise when she walks properly from heel to toe.

You know, I find this interesting. For me, unless I'm wearing footwear that makes it impossible to, I don't walk heel->toe. Instead I walk in the traditional hunter method of walking on the balls of my foot. It's a much quieter method and I find much more stable. Never really understood why the heel->toe method is considered "proper".

[bara]

I think the mom wanted someone to say something just cause she wanted to start something.

[Andara Bledin]

You know, I find this interesting. For me, unless I'm wearing footwear that makes it impossible to, I don't walk heel->toe. Instead I walk in the traditional hunter method of walking on the balls of my foot. It's a much quieter method and I find much more stable. Never really understood why the heel->toe method is considered "proper".

There are only a few mammals that walk like we do, and it appears to be designed for efficiency. You, walking on the balls of your feet, take half again more energy to do so than you would walking heel to toe. If you were to walk toe first, you'd up that expenditure to over 80% more than walking typically.

[Kheldarson]

^ This.

Also, shoes are designed with heel-toe strides in mind (unless you get barefoot style shoes). So you're literally defeating the support system of the shoe and putting more strain on your body, particularly in knees, hips, and back.

[Ginger Tea]

Perhaps the squeak feature should have been implemented when walking incorrectly instead of acting as an audible reward for walking right.

As they have been described as a dog's squeaky toy, I lost track of how many toys were 'damaged' by either the other dog or my dad just to shut it up.
One time our old mother daughter pair got into a tug of war with one toy that I think the daughter had until a large enough hole was punctured and the bone was silenced.
She still chewed on the toy but was a bit glum about the lack of sound, the mother I think was getting to that stage in life where anything was pissing her off.

My dad even muted a new toy before giving it to them a few times, it saved a lot of headache and dogs don't care if it's the middle of the night.

[anakhouri]

I feel like making a big deal about ths kid's disability is not doing her any favors either. There's a little girl in our library storytime who comes with a brace on her leg. I thought she'd sprained her ankle or something until I overhead another parent ask about it and her mother said she has (relatively mild, I guess) cerebral palsy. She said she has only recently gained a limited use of her right hand. Before then I had never noticed the girl holds her right hand clenched in a fist most of the time. Her mother has never treated her specially as far as I can tell, the kid is loud and interrupts a lot and her mother disciplines her like any other parent. Since she never made a big deal out of it, I never noticed there was anything different about her. That's doing it right, IMO.