Free Sample Hell: Vitamins are not candy, and I didn't touch you
From the_sungoddess, Tales From Retail:
I worked at a large warehouse store as a the person who gives out the free samples. I no longer work there, but it was always filled with colorful people.
During this shift, I was giving out gummy vitamins. We usually give out eight or nine different types (calcium, children's, vitamin B, multivitamins, etc.) and have them sit on the same tray. We are required to limit how many vitamins someone can take because we don't want someone overdoing on vitamins, meaning you could take one or two different kinds before we stopped you.
In the middle of my shift, a family passes by. It's a father (F) with three kids, probably between the ages of five and ten. I offer them vitamins, but not only does the father not acknowledge me at all, he grabs the whole tray off my cart (which is not allowed for sanitation reasons), and grabs several to his kids.
Me: Sir I need you to give me the tray back.
F: No! They get the candy!
Me: That's vitamins, they can't eat all of those, please give me the tray.
By this point I've gone to the front of my cart to get close to him and maybeintimidate him enough to get it back. At that time I wasn't used to giving sass, so I did my best to not get him mad. Sadly, he just got more mad. He starts to curse me out in another language, practically gets in my face as I try to go back to the comfort of my cart. Meanwhile his kids are STILL eating all the vitamins.
Luckily, a manager (M) had heard the yelling and come over to investigate.
M: What's the problem here?
F: She's not letting my children eat candy! She pushed me to get back the tray! Fire her! Check the cameras!
Me: I didn't touch you...
M: They can't eat that! Oh my god!
She forcefully takes the tray from the kids and sets it back on my cart.
M: Take your kids to their doctor, make sure they didn't eat too many vitamins. Leave the store now, or I will revoke your membership.
He then preceded to go into one of those 'I'm a valuable customer, I've been shopping here for years' monologues, both in English and their other language. Thankfully he did leave right after, but it was one of the worst experiences I've had at that job. While she wasn't my manager, she did thankfully believe me when I said that I didn't touch him. My actual manager was a little less convinced, but the tapes did prove me innocent.
Posted by Freddy on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 | Permalink
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Comments (8)
OK, I understand English may not be his first language, but that's NO excuse for what he did. And thinking the vitamins were candy? Holy smoke.
Posted by: Misty Meanor | Tuesday, September 19, 2017 at 09:23 PM
I guarantee that guy still has no clue that those could harm the kids and never took them to the doctor. This is why when something can poison you, it shouldn't be made in food form like candy that kids will scarf down.
Posted by: Jofur | Wednesday, September 20, 2017 at 05:05 AM
Why on Earth are you giving out vitamin samples? Why would you sample out any medication of any sort? And on a tray? Where idiots can snag handfuls?
This entire thing is messed up from beginning to end.
Posted by: Molly_Mog | Wednesday, September 20, 2017 at 07:21 AM
Molly, at my work they had a health day and vitamins were being handed out in small cups. Kids can develop a taste for medicines especially if they taste good. My teacher's daughter almost OD on Dimetap because of the grape taste. She didn't die and my teacher was glad! I hope this Father's kids don't get sick from the vitamins!
Posted by: BH | Wednesday, September 20, 2017 at 07:02 PM
The point of making vitamins similar to candy is kids hate pills, but like candy. Remember 'Flinstone Chewable Vitamins'? (At least in the US) Making them fun means they're more likely to take them, but you do have to be careful.
Actually TAKING vitamins is pointless, though. If you need them, you're not eating the right food, and if you are eating the right food, they're unnecessary. Despite legend and propaganda, massive amounts of C does not prevent or shorten colds, and most of the other stuff you don't usually need.
Posted by: TechTyger | Thursday, September 21, 2017 at 04:42 AM
Yeah, we have chewable vitamins, we got them for the youngest for a little while because his diet was limited due to sensitivities but they were always, and I mean always, treated as medicine, not as something handed out as samples. That seems like an actionable situation if ever I saw one.
Otherwise we never gave the kids supplements, even when a health visitor tried telling me that mother's milk didn't contain any vitamins at all.
Posted by: Molly_Mog | Thursday, September 21, 2017 at 07:04 AM
"If you need them, you're not eating the right food"
You're half right TT - I, and presumably other people with whatever my digestive problem is (we really have no clue, we just know what treatments to toss at it through trial and error) can eat all the right things in all the right amounts and still come up extremely deficient on necessary vitamins. I will have to supplement for probably the rest of my life no matter what I eat. Annoying as hell, tbh.
Posted by: Kai Lowell | Thursday, September 21, 2017 at 09:13 PM
@TechTyger: It's untrue that vitamins are unnecessary unless you're not eating right. I take iron supplements because I donate blood. I have o- blood, so I feel the need to donate in case I ever need to receive a transfusion. However, as a woman who bloods a far quantity of blood on a monthly basis, I have a really hard time keeping my iron count up, no matter how much meat I eat.
Posted by: Zealith Arionoth | Thursday, September 21, 2017 at 09:48 PM