Saturday, August 6, 2011

Very impressed with Adam.....

Picture the scene: it's Friday afternoon, you're in Walmart with the children, (trying to look like you've never been there before), one of which is firmly strapped into the kindly provided sharping card (see previous post), the other is following close behind, hanging on your every word and generally behaving like an angel....



OR SO YOU IMAGINE....

I'm going down the next aisle, you inform him as he pauses to check out an eye-level  Toy Story 3 toybox display. Next second, you do your bi-minutely casual glance to check the position of all offspring only to find that the one that isn't strapped in has disappeared.  After fruitlessly calling his name a few times, then swallowing your pride and yelling it, you start to panic. Passing shoppers cast pitiying glances in your direction but NOBODY stops to offer help.


Time to take action.

Do you work here? You (unintentionally) rudely ask a lady with a badge on. I've lost my son. What should I do?

And despite your rudeness, an amazing chain of events unfurls, the likes of which you have never seen before (or hope to again, to be honest).

You are whisked off to the changing rooms, where the lady at the desk has a phone. She writes down a detailed description of the missing child and rings the store manager. He arrives on the scene at a run and, while you are being removed to the Customer Service area, he issues a PA announcement, giving the child's description. The young gentleman tasked with escorting the Mother, who is undecided as to whether she should be swearing or weeping, explains in detail what is happening. A Code Adam is put into place, which means that every person who is working in that store at that time is now tasked with finding the lost child. The doors are closed and EVERY SINGLE STAFF MEMBER is now looking for Finn.

Oh, the responsibility.

Please bear in mind that this is a Walmart, the size of several football pitches, and every person in that shop has just heard a description of Finn - his hair and eye color, his glasses, the colour of his clothes....

So, when five minutes later the PA announces that the Code Adam has been stood down and the Mother has almost decided on tears being the appropriate action, a small boy, escorted by two members of staff is marched round the corner.

Is he hysterical? Is he weeping with fear? No.

He was cross at having been disturbed from his shopping. "But Mummy, he said, I just found the Cars toys...."

Thank you so much Walmart for all your help and the absolute professionalism of a well rehearsed procedure for finding lost kids - even if they don't want to be found - the lady who found him said, "Come on, we'll help you find your Mommy" and he replied. "I don't need any help". God love him. And bless all the people in the store who had a good long look and a smug grin to themselves when they recognised Finn from his broadcast description, and felt pleased that they hadn't carelessly lost their children that day....

I pointed out to him that he was very lucky that the people in the store were protecting him from danger (but also mentioned that when we got home there would be no-one there to protect him from me.......)