Intermittant comments to this old post "I owe that guy an apology"

Almost a year ago I put up a post about my kids riding in the carts at Home Depot.  For some reason, I keep getting comments to the old post, about once a month.  Interesting.  I wonder what search engine entry keeps bringing people to that post.  Here's a copy of it:

I owe that guy an apology

I was at Home Depot the other night with my 6 year old daughter and, as usual, she was riding on the cart.  She loves going to Home Depot with me because riding on the cart is fun.  I like having her with me because she's fun, and she's interested, and of course, because I love her. 

Then the well-trained Home Depot guy comes up to me and says she needs to get off the cart.  And I say back to him "It's all right.  She can ride."  And he says, "No, sir, she really has to get off the cart."  Firm, but polite.  Not rude in any way.

And that's when I went off on the guy.  Not sure what all I said, but I do remember saying "Weren't you ever a kid?", and "I don't care about Home Depot's lawyers!"  I wasn't, remarkably, profane, but I  was pissed and I think I had some Bill Cowher style spittle flying there for a minute.  I shouldn't have been quite so forceful with the guy, who was just doing his job, but really!

• I am the DAD.  I will decide what level of safety is appropriate for my children.
• If I say it's OK, then it's OK.  Back off, quickly.
• There are way too many lawyers and they need to be ignored and defied more.
• There are too many risk managers and we've given them too much power.  Take it back.
• You might get hurt in life -- this does not give you any kind of legal standing whatsoever.

If I see that guy today when I go to get some ogee baseboard to replace the termite-eaten baseboard in my bedroom I'll apologize to him.  I'll also tell him to tell his manager to back off on this one -- when we go back to Home Depot my daughter will be riding in the cart whether they like it or not.

Little did I realize the controversy I was stirring up.  Invariably, the comments I receive are much like this most recent one:

You are the dad so ACT like one! you should be helping to prevent your kid from getting injured. Not a very pleasant site [sic] for your daughter to be going to prom some years later with a huge scar on her lip or missing an eye. grow up and act like the adult rather than letting your child go wild. ESPECIALLY at home depot of all places!!! you types piss me off when I go in there and you pay no mind to your children especially since they have no concept on [sic] danger. I was a kid once and got hurt plenty of times but not under my dad's supervision.

Hmmm.  These people, always men so far, always miss the point -- It's up to me to set the standards for my children, not Home Depot, its lawyers or its risk management department.  And it's not up to them, either.  Hey, I'm a law & order kind of guy, but respect for excessive authority can be taken too far.  All these would-be principals will suck the all the fun out of life, if we let them.

And besides, how dangerous is riding in a cart, anyway?  Is it more dangerous than riding a bike or a scooter or a skate board or snow boarding or surfing?  Is it more dangerous than riding in a car on US 19?  Or climbing a tree?  What is wrong with you people?  How do you plan to teach your kids courage and joi de vie if you never let them do anything that might scratch their beautiful little faces?

Mind your own business.

UPDATE: a picture of my daughter after last night's zip line accident, which had her flopped on her back in 8" of decomosing seaweed goo.  She was not a happy camper.

I was at Home Depot the other night with my 6 year old daughter and, as usual, she was riding on the cart.  She loves going to Home Depot with me because riding on the cart is fun.  I like having her with me because she's fun, and she's interested, and of course, because I love her. 

Then the well-trained Home Depot guy comes up to me and says she needs to get off the cart.  And I say back to him "It's all right.  She can ride."  And he says, "No, sir, she really has to get off the cart."  Firm, but polite.  Not rude in any way.

And that's when I went off on the guy.  Not sure what all I said, but I do remember saying "Weren't you ever a kid?", and "I don't care about Home Depot's lawyers!"  I wasn't, remarkably, profane, but I  was pissed and I think I had some Bill Cowher style spittle flying there for a minute.  I shouldn't have been quite so forceful with the guy, who was just doing his job, but really!

• I am the DAD.  I will decide what level of safety is appropriate for my children.
• If I say it's OK, then it's OK.  Back off, quickly.
• There are way too many lawyers and they need to be ignored and defied more.
• There are too many risk managers and we've given them too much power.  Take it back.
• You might get hurt in life -- this does not give you any kind of legal standing whatsoever.

Comments

[Nancy]

I agree with you! Let kids be kids as long as no major harm can come from it. I'm sure you were pushing the cart while she was on it, and if it happened to tip over, you could catch it before it fell anyways. And how much damage can a freaking shopping cart do to a kid anyways? A few scratches and scrapes, maybe in the very worst case senario a sprained ankle or something. Anyway, some people just don't remember when they were kids!

[b]

I think you are missing the point. The store is running a business and has various operational expenses including insurance, and payroll. Every accident costs the store dearly in terms of insurance premiums, compensation claims, and paryoll for those involved handling the incident who could otherwise be helping customers. Once medical claim for an injured customer costs the store 10s of thousands of dollars. It is bad for business to have an unsafe operation and OSHA dosn't let them, not just corporate.

Home Depot takes safety very seriously because it is a wharehouse and if they don't people get hurt and sometimes killed. It isn't about taking away your authority as Dad, it is their store ... and guests in the store need to act accordingly.

As a dad you should be leading by example, teaching manners, respect for others, and proper behavior when visiting other people's homes and places of business! Go play at the park and not where others are trying to earn a living and support a family.

[pedro]

B, it's not that I don't understand your point. I do. But I must not have made mine clearly.
Yes, Home Depot and the like need to protect themselves against claims. BUT THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE TO!
We should be responsible for ourselves. If my kid falls off the cart under my supervision, then I should be the responsible party, NOT Home Depot.

[b]

You are right ...

Home Depot shouldn't have to protect themselves against claims for injury on the property that is clearly the fault of the visitors.

But unfortunately that is not the world we live in. For every one of you who sees that risk management is a problem there are many more willing to cash in on a company with deep pockets. So how do you propose reforming personal injury lawsuits? By disregarding the rules and making life difficult for the associates who are required to enforce the store policies?

Even if you remove the safety issue from the policy of not riding on carts, it is still poor manners as a guest of the store. Just as those who let their kids rummage through everything and leave a mess behind you are taking associates away from helping customers who need assistance.

You are still a guest in any business you visit, act with some manners and work for lawsuit reform where it counts.

You'll probably get better service in the store too. And if not you, then the single mom who doesn't know a hammer from a screwdriver, but needs to fix something, might be able to get help from the associate who is not tied up enforcing store policies or cleaning up after messy guests.

I appoligize if it seems I am being pointed here but everywhere I go I see customers who are rude and disrespectful of the businesses they frequent. They seem to think the old saying "The customer is always right" is true. It isn't. Customers are frequently wrong but smart businesses know when to let customer's have their way (even when they are rude) and when not to.

[mercurial soccer cleats]

Your article is very appealing to me.

[Cheap Onitsuka Tiger]

A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.