Warning: This story is long, but there is a point to all the details.
So for the past 10+ years I've been a very sporadic attendee of the gym 24 hr Fitness. As you can imagine I've been feeling a bit chunky as of late so I've decided to try and rev it up and hit the gym a bit more. They have a Kids' Club that Reese is able to go into while I work out. Most of the babysitters in there are super sweet and call me and Reese by name and always act excited to see us. The usual routine is I drop Reese off, she starts to cry then one of the babysitters comes over and comforts her then she is calmed down in a matter of 2-3 minutes. All the babysitters do this except for one young lady who we'll call Maria...because that's her name. I've never noticed a completely set pattern for who's babysitting in there so I never know who I'm going to get. But I dread when I walk through those doors and I see Maria's face. She couldn't look any less thrilled to see us and practically sighs with annoyance. Today was no different. (I've told some of you about her before. She's the one who wore the super slutty bee costume in the Kids' Club during Halloween--the super short tu-tu type skirt and thigh high stalkings all while her cleavage was hanging out.) We walked in and not a single word came out of her mouth. I took Reese over to distract her with toys and as soon as I started to walk away she started crying. Maria of course just sat there at the desk and continued talking to a friend of hers all the while ignoring us.
About a half hour later they called my name over the intercom to go to the Kids' Club. The only reason they've ever called me in is because Reese is poopy and needs to be changed. But there stood Maria at the desk saying, "She's not doing well today." I look over to see little Reese by herself doing the gasping for air cry. I tried to calm her down but saw that that wasn't going to happen so I decided I'd have to cut my work-out short and leave. Which is a huge bummer because I live about 20 minutes away.
I was fed up with dealing with this particular babysitter so I decided to go talk to the manager about seeing some sort of schedule to who babysits when. I had to wait to talk to him because there was already another lady holding her child talking to him. Turns out she was complaining about Maria too. After she talked to him she came up to me and said that she was in there with her little boy and saw Reese laying over in the corner bawling and Maria was just completely ignoring her. The lady said that it literally brought her to tears seeing Reese cry and not being helped so she went over to soothe her herself. Very sweet of this lady, but that completely ticked me off about Maria.
I asked the manager if he had a schedule of the babysitters and then kind of explained my predicament. I was nice about it and just said that I would try and come at the times Maria wasn't in there because her and Reese just don't do well together. He was absolutely no help and just kind of stared at me blankly. (There's an asst. manager who's awesome that will be there tomorrow that I will be talking to.)
But here's the real kicker: About 30 minutes later I was at Target and I saw another lady who had been working out at the gym with her kids. We didn't really say anything to each other at first, but as I was getting in my car to leave she came running up to me, introduced herself then asked me if I had a hard time with Kids' Club today. I told her yes and then she asked me if my daughter's name was Reese. She then proceeded to tell me that her 7 year old daughter who has never been in the Kids' Club until today told her after they left that the babysitter in there was really mean and kept repeatedly saying, "Seriously Reese, just shut-up!" and then would just let Reese lay there and cry. Thankfully this lady immediately called to complain even before she had talked to me because it upset her so much.
So needless to say, my blood is really boiling now! First off, I'm paying a separate fee for them to specifically take care of my daughter. Secondly, I'm not saying that Reese is a perfect angel and that she's never upset, but I am saying that you better not even dare treat my child or ANY child like that! And you can bet that I will do everything in my power to at the very LEAST get that girl's skinny little butt (not the actual word going through my mind) out of the Kids' Club.
I can tell you one thing for sure, you mess with my baby...and my claws WILL come out!!!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Don't Mess With Mama Bear!!!
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20 comments:
Good for you. I would be calling that asst. manager ASAP. There is no excuse for that. Glad those other Mom's were also willing to speak up.
Maria sounds like a B@$#%!!!!
I would defintely take it up with whoever you can! And I would yell at the manager again as well! I don't know how you kept your cool so well. I would have marched back to the gym from Target and let that girl and the manager have it. Then I would have taken it up with the club owner and threatened them on every possible level. Then I probably would have set someone on fire.
Oh no she DIDN'T!! Ohhhhhhh go get her Rachel. Go get her head on a platter. She has no right to be working with children. I am getting madder just thinking about it! Raise a stink. Raise a stink to high heaven and don't stop raising a stink until A) they have fired that chick, B) they have refunded every penny you have ever paid to that babysitting place. Do NOT be nice! Saying you'd come when a different sitter was there was all well and fine before you knew what you now know. But now you seriously need to get that girl FIRED! And I don't know what the laws are in CO, but when I worked at Pistol Pete's (shut up, it was only for a few months) I had to have a Sheriff's Card because I was working with children. If she has something like that, I would see that it is REVOKED! Ohhhhhhhhhh
get her, rachel. get her. i don't think you should mess with any mom, let alone a pregnant one. does maria not know the hormones that are raging in a pregnant woman's body?
if you need back up, give me the name and number of the manager and I'll have a few choice words for them. You mess with one of my friends, you mess with me.
I hope she's still not working at the Kid's Club next Halloween. But if she is, can I come to the party?
Oh, um, yeah, just kidding since Ashley reads this blog.
UGH I odn't even know what to say. I agree with you though. I would do everything i could to get that chick fired! For real!
Okay so I totally want to punch that lady. Seriously. I would be royally ticked off as well!!
I got all tense inside just reading the blog entry and I can't wait to hear the resolution!
BYW, did all your photos get lost when you dropped your camera? I'll definitely share photos with you....Trevor probably has some really good ones on his camera.
OMG! I can't believe that happened. That is so infuriating just to hear about so I can't even imagine how mad you are. I agree with everyone else- that girl better not be working there by the time you are done with them. No more Mrs. nice pregnant lady...you have every right to bring out the big guns!
On a different note...you deserve some serious credit for going to the gym while prego! Good job!
Good for you; I cannot believe that girl does not even try to console Reese. It would be one thing if she tried talking to her or cuddling her to try to calm her down, but to completely ignore her and then tell her to shut up- I would be furious too! She's getting paid to take care of the children, she should be better with them! You know it's bad when other parents and especially children are complaining. Good luck!
I can not believe it!!!!!! I am so glad that you had one mom agree with you on the bad sitter, and another mom with an older girl as a witness! You definitely will win in court, and I think this girl should be on trial with her managers and fired! She should not work there. I would be so outraged. Good luck.
I'm PO'd just reading your entry. Of anyone I know, I'm surprised YOU stayed so calm. You were definitely too nice! Go back there and get mean. I mean get mean! You have to tell them if they don't fire her and give your money back, you're going to go higher than that manager. You need to go corporate. And then if that doesn't work, you need to call someone in the city to get that sleeze out of there. I would really find out if you can get her Sheriff's card revoked like Cynthia said. She is psycho! (the girl, not Cynthia ;)
Remember when I made all those calls/e-mails about the "porn corner" down the street from me? I only made one call and one e-mail, and BAM!! Those magazine racks are a goner. And when new ones pop up, they don't last long because the city comes to wipe those out as well. Don't mess with a non-pregnant momma bear also. I don't need my boys having boobs staring them in the face while I'm just trying to get to Target! (hehe)
Good luck Rach! You need to update your blog about this "incident".
can't really add much more than what has been said. I am just flabergasted and sad for you. good luck "solving your problem with Maria."
When I worked in Daycare during high school there were some women there who seriously hated kids. They made me so mad with the way they talked about kids and how cold they could be. It sounds like most of the ladies are kid friendly, but someone like Maria should not be working with children. Maybe a bagger at a grocery store....
So sad, poor little Reese! You should get everyone you know to complain. Someone like that SHOULD NOT be working with kids!
I think that you need to print off all of the comments from this entry and send them to the manager. Which, you really should do something about the manager as well. While you're at it, just go ahead and save the world, and if you could get all that done before you have the baby.... j/k
That is seriously messed up!
I hope you fight about this, too, Rachel. I totally agree with Ginger - go above the manager's head. Did you get the numbers of the women/witnesses you talked to? You could totally give their statements to the person who is above the manager. That woman should not be working with the kids. Why can't they just put her at the front desk instead? It's obvious she does not want to be bothered with kids.
Sounds like she'll be out of there w/ all the complaints listed against her. Anyone would be crazy to keep her as an employee after knowing those things. Aren't you glad you found out about all that??? My goodness, it's no wonder she cries when she goes there. It probably takes her a minute to realize those times when Maria is not there and then she can calm. You go girl! You did the right thing.
Holy Crap!! I have been a preschool teacher/day care provider and have seen my share of crappy providers. there is NO excuse to have hired some one who does not get along with children. You need to see if all the babysitters have had background checks and classes to help them deal with children. I applied to a gym, before I got my credentials and they wouldn't hire me because I didn't have them. You should also check what criteria the gym has to hire people to babysit.
I am so SORRY! NO child should ever be treated like that. You have my support!
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