ethics and the lack of

[alxone]

so at the show this weekend i had a fella with his 2 teenage sons come up to the table . while i was talking to the dad his brat kids were playing with my stuff (40mm chalk round ,inert(pinged ) . so you guessed it the one kid drops its and chalk goes everywhere . then they all look at me with a what do we do now face .so i said that will be 15 bucks . kid only has 8 so his dad says give him 8 and they walk away without another word ??? WTF , the damn things cost me 12 bucks and the price is 15 not 8 and he walked away ! so im very pissed at this point,leave my table and go ask him for the rest . he tells me no and i say something like great example of accountability you teaching your kids . he looks me in the face and says well thats your opinion (very smugly) . it was everything i could do to put my hands in my pockets and walk away before i smacked the crap out of him . i go back to my table fuming so my neighbor says look you have 3 choices .1 get the rest of cash ,2 have them thrown out of the show , 3 have them taken out in cuffs . so i get it together and go ask him for 4 bucks to cover the cost not the 7 he owes or he can leave the show . he gets all huff and puff and says well then you better find security then . so i go get a security guard and approach the guy again and say give me the 4 bucks to cover my cost or go home . so this guy says well my son only had 8 bucks so thats it . so i say your kid is under 18 so you pay the money . he gets a shitty look on his face and looks at the guard and grudgingly gives me the 4 bucks to cover cost . i get money and walk away .he and the guard have a long talk and i guess after an hour of back and fourth between them the guy finely realized he was wrong .

what really gets me is not the money but the fact that this asshat is teaching his kids some bad habits of accountability


sorry for the rant but im still pissed that someone would teach there kids to be like that and i just had to get it out [Mad]

[Ah Pook]

Sounds like a fun weekend.


I just don't understand people sometimes.

[kidicarus13]

Pretty shitty, pretty typical. That's why I prefer to deal with the quality people we have here on COAR. I agree with your decision but it's too bad it came down to that for $4.

[alxone]

nothing like being forced into being an asshole over 4 fricking bucks

[rutz777]

I completely agree with you man. It was never about the $4. Man, I wish I would have been there

[alxone]

it was the principle not the money

[Fmedges]

You sir are a better person than me. I would of had him thrown out. No matter what. +1 for holding him accountable though. This world is unfortunately filled with asshats like this guy.

[Fentonite]

Sounds to me like you were actually generous to the guy - you coulda demanded the full price. Glad you called him out and held him accountable. You were the only one teaching his kids anything worthwhile.

[lifeon2]

You are definitely a better man than me I would have got the full price and had them launched.

[asmo]

Eggh. That would have sent me over the edge.

People, in general, suck.

[Ronin13]

Eggh. That would have sent me over the edge.

People, in general, suck.

I tend to agree with this way too often... We're truly headed down the wrong path. What happened to the days when a kid broke something, the parent paid for it, and then the kid didn't get an allowance until it was paid off? That's the way we did it in my family at least. Good thing you kept your cool Alex, I would have had a really hard time...

[aahorn]

wow what a dick.

he had the cash in his wallet too and he acted like it was possible to pay you?

what a man he is

[alxone]

if you have ever talked to me for more than 5min you would know i hate bringing in outsiders in my affairs . i just hope his kids learned something .

[JohnTRourke]

You are definitely a better man than me I would have got the full price and had them launched.

me too

Reason #876532 why we're doomed
you break it, you bought it, that's the rules, everyone knows that. (or apparently not anymore)

[BPTactical]

When you become a parent you have the obligation to teach your children morals and integrity.
Some do, some don't...
What happened Alex was not entirely the kids fault.

We were headed back from my parents in Montrose and I see a bicycle laying in the road, obviously had just fallen off a car a way down the road with its flashers on.
I pick up the bike and toss it in the back of the truck.
Now I have a choice: drive past the stopped car and have a nice bike.
Pull over and return the bike to the rightful owner.

No choice really, I gave the people the bike.
A little later my youngest asks why I gave them back the bike.
"its the right thing to do"

A while later he says "you know daddy, it was the right thing to do"

[alxone]

im not blaming the kid for anything other than breaking something (it happens ,no big deal) . im blaming the father for not covering his kids end and later have a talk with him . maybe like ridge said extra chores . my beef was never with the kids and i never spoke to them after they left the table , it was between me and the father only .

[Ranger]

I'm not sure the context of the confrontation, but it sounds pretty crummy to me. Isn't it universally known "you break it, you buy it"? Sad.

[Mazin]

Sounds to me the Father failed from the start by letting his kids mess around with things they shouldn't have been touching in the first place. My mom use to tell me when we went shopping "Don't touch anything!", first time was a smack on the hands, second was a pop to the mouth, lets just say there was no third time.

Guuys seems like a total douche for not paying for it up front and making you hunt him down, thats bs.....I hate people.

[Inconel710]

Good on you for sticking up for principles. I'd have held out for $15 - assholes get to pay retail.

[Ridge]

Damn, sorry I wasn't there with you, Al. I'd have been on him until he coughed up the cash. And I would have demanded full price!

[BlasterBob]

This is exactly why kids should keep their hands in their pockets while walking the aisles of the gun shows. Cardinal rule - - You break it - you bought it!!
Also, another reason everything on the tables should be priced. Don't want some Dad, saying after his kid broke something, that the item broken was probably only $10 (just my example price) but since my kid broke it, you jacked up the price on us. [Rant1]

[WETWRKS]

The longer he debated it the more I would have demanded for wasting my time. You break it you bought it. Your kid breaks it you bought it. You waste my time you pay double.

[SuperiorDG]

I guess this is one reason they don't let you carry at the show.

[sniper7]

sounds like a POS for a dad. too bad he couldn't man up and set a good example for his kids.

[airborneranger]

sounds like a POS for a dad. too bad he couldn't man up and set a good example for his kids.

Exactly

[cstone]

Integrity. Some people have it. Some people don't.

It's nothing new. People have been this way for all time, in all countries, and in all cultures.

You have a business and if you don't cover your cost, you will lose your business. Some people don't understand that. Some people don't care.

The money you pay for a table at the show is how what they use to pay for the security guard to be there. Never apologize for using something you have already paid for.

I hope the show was profitable for you [Beer]

[Chad4000]

I think I would have told security the full price.. but either way, good job getting more money out of him...

[buckeye4rnr]

Should've made him pay full price + the asshole tax + thrown him out.

[islandermyk]

should've added a "stupid tax" I kid...[ROFL1]

I applaud you for your patience and control over things.


I would've been a d*ck about it... but that would be another story [Coffee]

[BPTactical]

Damn, sorry I wasn't there with you, Al. I'd have been on him until he coughed up the cash. And I would have demanded full price!

Because "Cuddlecakes" are so intimidating[ROFL1][ROFL2]

[lpgasman]

You were in no way being an ass, I was in Mexico with the family and told the kids don't touch anything ( border towns sell a lot of glass products) well my son knocks over a couple of cups, I hear a guy at the register say SOLD! So I walk to the register, he says you have to pay for that, I said I'm an American that's what we do. I was swing an ass because I didn't feel he had to tell me that, I thought it was common sense. So I think most people would have paid no question asked. But there is always at least one ass in the crowd.

[sniper7]

Damn, sorry I wasn't there with you, Al. I'd have been on him until he coughed up the cash. And I would have demanded full price!

cept the kids would be fighting for a free ride on the guy in the pony costume[ROFL1]

[45XD]

I completely agree with you man. It was never about the $4. Man, I wish I would have been there
Agree with this... people surely do suck sometimes...

[ray1970]

I'm afraid that's the direction society is heading. I have a much better understanding of why older people are "ready to go" when death is inevitable. They look around at the way the world is compared to how it was and they just say "f**k it. I'm outta here."

[Coffee]

[theGinsue]

First off, let me say that I'm proud of you and think you handled things excellently (better than I would have. Please keep that in mind as you read my comments so you don't mis-construe what I'm saying.


You were the only one teaching his kids anything worthwhile.

Unfortunately, it sounds like the way dear old dad is teaching his kids, he probably ranted to the kids about seeing how petty people can be - nothing whatsoever about personal responsibility.


i just hope his kids learned something .

See my comment above. Dad will make sure that the only lesson those kids got is to high-tail it the next time it happens.


Sounds to me the Father failed from the start by letting his kids mess around with things they shouldn't have been touching in the first place. My mom use to tell me when we went shopping "Don't touch anything!", first time was a smack on the hands, second was a pop to the mouth, lets just say there was no third time.

Guuys seems like a total douche for not paying for it up front and making you hunt him down, thats bs.....I hate people.

+1 this. I was raised at gun shows. Hardly a month went by (often it was every couple of weeks) when either my dad, grandfather, or close family friends didn't have tables at a gun show. While it carried over to anyplace else we wnet, it was at the gunshows that my dad taught us "Keep your hands in your pockets and don't touch ANYTHING".

The few times in my youth where I was responsible for breaking something that wasn't our (and often times when things were ours, just not mine), my dad would pay for the item and I'd lose my allowance to the tune of about 150% of the cost of the item.

So, back to Alex's scenario, this dad is raising his kids to know nothing about being responsible for your actions and to feel free to take or break anything that their heart desires as it's the "have's" versus the "have not's". I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn that dear old daddy was actively involved in the Occupy (OWS) events.

[jackthewall81]

Pretty shitty, pretty typical. That's why I prefer to deal with the quality people we have here on COAR. I agree with your decision but it's too bad it came down to that for $4.

That dude might be a member for all we know. All of my interactions with members have been awesome, but I wish there was some sort of quality control so we could make sure scumbags are not members.

[roberth]

Sorry to hear that Al. Solid actions on your part. That guy was a sperm donor, not a father.

There are always dickheads at the shows, some drop stuff and walk away, others spill sodapop on guns, etc.