Mother thrown out of John Lewis because of toddler’s tantrum
STRUGGLING to stop young children making a scene in a public place is a familiar nightmare for many parents.
So one mother was astonished when she was thrown out of a John Lewis store because her 16-month-old daughter was having a tantrum.
Lindsay Robinson, 36, was shopping with daughter Heidi and a friend when the toddler started to cry.
As Mrs Robinson tried to calm her in the middle of the busy store she was approached by a member of staff.
‘He said to me, “I’m afraid we’ve had a complaint, you will have to leave”. I was shocked. It was very embarrassing,’ said Mrs Robinson, of Prestwich, Manchester. ‘Heidi has only just learned to walk, so I use a harness for her … I was carrying her and she started to lose the plot.
‘I was trying to put the harness back on and Heidi was loud and vocal. I was trying to do my best to calm her down, and get her harness on so she didn’t crawl off.’ Mrs Robinson, a designer, said she was made to feel like a ‘bad mother’ who couldn’t control her child.
She added: ‘Then I was asked to leave. I felt quite upset … this staff member escorted us out of the store. I said to my friend, “Did that really happen?”’
After the initial shock, Mrs Robinson was furious at the way she and her daughter had been treated and contacted the retailer as soon as she got home. The mother, who described herself as a ‘loyal customer’ of John Lewis prior to the incident, said she will not return to the store at Manchester’s Trafford Centre.
‘ I called customer services … They apologised and said the member of staff ’s behaviour was out of order. They said they would send a £20 voucher … I don’t think I will be going back to that store. I am not interested in any voucher or money.
‘My point is that when shops see a mother trying to deal with a child having a tantrum they should cut them a bit of slack. I was made to feel like a rubbish mum … It is a shame because I am a loyal customer. When I got married we had a wedding list of presents from there.’
The incident happened at noon on Saturday and involved a man who worked in the menswear department, Mrs Robinson said.
John Lewis said: ‘We are very sorry that Mrs Robinson was upset after visiting our shop. One of our managers spoke to her on Saturday to sincerely apologise and today our head of branch has written to Mrs Robinson to formally apologise again, and has also sent her flowers.
‘Although our partner didn’t escort Mrs Robinson out of the shop, he did ask her to leave in response to other customers’ complaints. We’re speaking to the partner about what happened, and how we could have been more sympathetic to Mrs Robinson and her daughter.’
‘Won’t be going back’