7-year-old girl licks condiment dispensers at Costco, parents yell at woman who reported it to the employees: 'They said I must hate children'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Jun 3, 2024 8:00 PM EDT

Over the past five years, the term Karen has grown from being a niche internet joke to an archetype that even offline grandmas know about. The archetypal Karen is a woman who berates and verbally harasses service workers and the public at large. While busybody behavior is often unacceptable, there are times when you really need to speak to the manager. This is one of those instances.

A woman was at the Costco food court with her husband and noticed a little girl licking the condiment dispensers. She decided to report it to the employee so unknowing customers wouldn't get their ketchup with a loogie inside. The employee confronted the family about the licking, told them that this woman specifically reported it, and all heck broke loose. The family started going in on her for telling the employees instead of going to them directly, even though she didn't intend to turn this into a confrontation. 

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  • 01
    BURMAN'S Classic YELLOW MUSTARD " GRADE NET WT 2002 (1 LB 402) 567 3 PACK HEINZ TOMATO KETCHUP SIMPLY NO ARTIFICIAL SWEETHE WICKLES RELISH WEIR ORIGINAL
    via Debby Hudson
  • 02
    AITA for reporting a child licking the sauce dispensers at Costco?
    via u/Hefty-Quote8462
  • 03
    I went to Costco and bought a hotdog for myself and my husband. After waiting in line, I went to the sauce dispensers to get some mustard. I saw a child licking her fingers, eating the sauce off them, and then proceeding to wipe them on the sauce dispensers (where the sauce comes out), repeating the same thing several times with all three sauce dispensers.
    via u/Hefty-Quote8462
  • 04
    I decided not to confront the child or say anything to her family to avoid causing drama and embarrassing the child. Instead, I told the staff about the incident. A staff member came out and asked who did it, and I pointed at the child. Probably should've kept quiet, but oh well.
    via u/Hefty-Quote8462
  • 05
    The staff member confronted the family, which was a big group with two women and their children of various ages. The child who did this was about 6-7 years old (I saw her licking everything around her and even her mother asked her to stop). The family then confronted me, asking why I didn't tell them directly and went straight to the staff. I politely explained that my concern was food safety and that's all, so I wasn't looking to confront anyone.
    via u/Hefty-Quote8462
  • 06
    They didn't believe me, said I must hate children, and spent the next few minutes talking over me and not letting me put a word in. I reiterated that my concern was only food safety and that I don't want other people's saliva in my sauces. The staff member then told them they could easily check the CCTV, which seemed to calm the family down.
    via u/Hefty-Quote8462
  • 07
    I'm still frustrated due to the whole incident. I hate arguing with people in public and wonder if I am in the wrong here. AITA? Edit1: just wanted to highlight that I told staff to get them to clean the dispensers, that was the reason.
    via u/Hefty-Quote8462
  • 08
    ScoobaChick28.23 hr. ago NTA the staff needed to know so that they could clean the dispensers. It's also not your job to parent that child or to confront the parents, you did the right thing. I'm also curious as to why the parents knew that it was you that reported this? The staff should've handled this very discreetly so that nobody knew who it was that reported their child, that would've saved a confrontation altogether
    via u/ScoobaChick28
  • 09
    Hefty-Quote8462 OP. 23 hr. ago The staff member pointed straight at me when they asked who complained. It all happened very quickly, the staff member came out from their work area, asked me who did this, I pointed to the child sitting with her family and pretty much the first thing I heard the family say was "who complained?", I didn't even get a chance to sit down. I don't think the family cared about anything else apart from who told the staff.
    via u/Hefty-Quote8462
  • 10
    dxlliris 23 hr. ago The staff member was also a dumbass
    via u/dxlliris
  • 11
    Hefty-Quote8462 OP. 23 hr. ago Thinking about it now I totally agree that the staff member shouldn't have said it was me who complained. I was so stressed and felt like I need to defend myself because the women just all started talking at the same time and going off at me.
    via u/Hefty-Quote8462
  • 12
    ConsistentCheesecake. 22 hr. ago The staff member handled it terribly and I would complain about them to management.
    via u/ConsistentCheesecake
  • 13
    SaharaDesertSands. 20 hr. ago NTA I work in a library. Sometimes patrons come in and use our computers in an inappropriate manner to view content that definitely goes against community standards. Often, another patron will notice and report it. WE then address the issue. We always wait several minutes so it is not obvious who complained. The
    via u/SaharaDesertSands
  • 14
    offending patron gets his pc shut down from the reference desk. We hop he gets the hint...but they never do...they restart it and do it again. Then we have to walk over and tell him (Always a HIM) that he is misusing public resources and must leave.
    via u/SaharaDesertSands
  • 15
    No-Archer8974 - 21 hr. ago They should be apologizing for the child's behavior instead of complaining to you. They probably saw her doing and didn't care
    via u/No-Archer8974
  • 16
    Antique_Wafer8605. 21 hr. ago edited 19 hr. ago They accused you of hating kids? I would have smiled and told her no, I didn't like parents who let their kids play with condiment dispensers.
    via u/Antique_Wafer8605
  • 17
    barnfodder 23 hr. ago Yep. Should have just cleaned the nozzles in an obnoxiously obvious way.
    via u/barnfodder
  • 18
    nettlesmithy - 22 hr. ago They should have brought out new, unsullied dispensers, thrown out the tainted condiments, and THEN cleaned and sanitized the licked dispensers.
    via u/nettlesmithy
  • 19
    Life-Growth3946 21 hr. ago No. Not in any sense of the word. That employee knew exactly what they were doing. The employee saw that they were about to get railed for daring to embarrass someone over their poorly mannered child and decided to pass the buck. If the women are too busy screeching at op, they won't say anything to the employee.
    via u/Life-Growth3946

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mustard aita child kids crazy things parents say gross lick reddit story condiments little kids gross food licking ketchup parent Reddit parents children
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