That's not to say that firemen don't have brains and more than one guy (e.g. 'Hey, you go check out the kid, I'll clear the store'). But it is an important distinction to make that the first alarm must be cleared and would take priority.

How hard is it to get your cell phone out and call 911 yourself? When the customer was asked this, they replied that their cell phone was in the car..uh, weren't you just out in the parking lot looking at the poor child?

By Beth Musgrave

bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

Police have charged a Bed, Bath & Beyond manager who refused to help a
Danville couple trying to contact police after discovering a child locked in
a hot van on Saturday.

Lexington police Officer Tommy Puckett said Thursday that Elizabeth A.
Miller, 34, of Richmond is charged with duty to report dependency, neglect
and abuse, a Class B misdemeanor which carries a maximum $1,000 fine.

Randy and Nancy Belcher were at the Bed, Bath & Beyond off of Nicholasville
Road on Saturday when Nancy Belcher noticed that there was a boy in the van
parked next to their vehicle. The boy did not respond to repeated knocks on
the van's windows.

Randy and Nancy Belcher then went into the housewares store and were
eventually referred to Miller, who told the Belchers that it was against
store policy to get involved with anything happening in the store's parking
lot. The Belchers said Miller would not let them use the phone or make an
announcement over the store's public address system to alert the mother or
parent that the child was in distress.

Eventually, police were called and they were able to remove Ryan Patel, 3,
from the van. He was treated at the scene for dehydration. His mother,
Tanuja Patel, was arraigned on Monday and pleaded not guilty to first-degree
wanton endangerment.

Patel's lawyer has said the mother thought the car was running when she left
the toddler in the car.

A spokesman for Bed, Bath & Beyond told the Herald-Leader on Monday that
there was no store policy that would have prevented Miller from calling
police and said they were disappointed that the situation was not handled
properly.

Um.... have YOU ever tried to break a car window !? All side windows are tempered glass, they shatter into a billion peices at even a moderate impact. A 10 year old can shatter a side window with a kick.

The best is to use a spring loaded transfer punch... fun stuff.

@jamesdenver: we can all understand individuals not having cell phones with them, but there was a whole bed bath and beyond store full of people and no one had a cell phone? (or perhaps they did, since the police were called eventually)

First of all, I want you to know that I understand and appreciate your position. We are ashamed at how the situation was handled.

The statement that we issued yesterday indicated that this situation was not handled the way we would have expected it to be handled. We have no policies that should have impeded our ability to respond in this case. And yes, we are using this unfortunate occurrence as an opportunity to re-train our associates nationwide. Like you, we do not want anything like this to happen again.

I understand your response but I hope that, in light of this, you'll reconsider. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me.

Hank Reinhart
Vice President, Customer Service
Bed Bath & Beyond "

I wrote to BB&B and actually got a personal response...

Mr. [Removed]:

First of all, I want you to know that I understand and appreciate your position. We are ashamed at how the situation was handled.

The most recent statement that we issued yesterday indicated that this situation was not handled the way we would have expected it to be handled. We have no policies that should have impeded our ability to respond in this case. And yes, we are using this unfortunate occurrence as an opportunity to re-train our associates nationwide. Like you, we do not want anything like this to happen again.

I hope that you'll understand that I cannot comment on personnel issues.

Thanks for your feedback and I hope that, in light of this, you'll reconsider. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me.

[Removed]
Vice President, Customer Service
Bed Bath & Beyond

@23221: Personally, I wish people would use more double entendres nowadays anyway! :)

spanky at 12:50 PM

Spanky, give it a rest. Double negatives do not count as correct English usage. Period.

And, no, I don't count Ebonics as a dialect or a "dialect".

How is BB&B dodging responsibility any different from many other corporations in America today?

Cheers!

My wife went to a grocery store once. Our 3 year old son was sleeping; his 10 year old sister was with him. Wife didn't want to wake the little guy so she left the truck running to keep the kids warm (it was winter time) and my daughter - who is legally old enough to babysit - locked the doors behind her.

My wife wasn't in the store 5 minutes. She bought 2 or 3 little things. Some bitch called 911 and reported "two infants left alone in a car" ... the officer arrived at the vehicle the same time my wife did and threatened to arrest her for child endangerment. So, it's perfectly legal if we let the 10 year old babysit her little brother for hours on end at home, but it's illegal if we leave them in a car together for 5 minutes. Apparently, yes, "Because she might try to drive the car." Uh, no, she won't. She's a very well behaved kid and she knows right from wrong.

The officer decided not to arrest my wife, but did threaten her with such. She was told the reason she was not being arrested was because the officer was upset with the person who gave a false report of "two infants" when that was clearly not the case. Thankfully the officer used good judgment here but the fact that someone would call 911 and that there is actually a law that calls this child endangerment is bullshit.

I, however, would never - ever - leave a young child by himself, no matter the circumstances, not in a car nor a house nor anywhere else. That's just my position, but I don't think you (Scoobatz) were necessarily wrong to go into a gas station within sight of the running car with sleeping children. If the car is within view of your eyes at all times, I can't see a problem there. Doesn't seem any different to me from pumping gas, or getting out to get the mail, etc. No need to get children out for that!

When I was little (about 20 years ago), there was no issue with my parents leaving me in a car for a couple minutes while they went inside the store to pay for gas or something. No big deal. Granted, I was old enough to unlock my own dang door and open it if I was about to die of heat exhaustion.

Apparently times have changed.

Rather than typing a bunch of stuff that you won't read or understand, I'll just point you to the Wikipedia page on double negatives, which can provide you with many examples of double negatives in use in both English dialects and other languages.

spanky at 06:47 PM on 09/08/08:

Yes, spanky, I really am implying in some instances just that.

No "dialect" uses the double negative in English as correct standard usage. And if you can name a foreign dialect that does, I'd be interested to hear of it.

I'm both astounded, and at the same time not surprised, that some commenters managed to make this sound like it was somehow, to some extent, the fault of the person trying to report an emergency. And yes, by taking the focus off the people who actually did wrong and putting it on the ways the people who tried to help could have done "better", that's exactly what you're doing.

Sheesh.

The fact that BB&B corporate backed up their employee who was being a horrid human being? Is reprehensible. I kind of wish I ever shopped there so I could stop.

Oh well. There's six grandmas in my family, and I guarantee none of them will ever set foot in this store again once I tell them about this...that's something.

And that BB&B is staffed by incompetent tools. Way to nearly kill someone.

@KoW: Thank you. Someone had to play devil's advocate...just decided to see how long it took someone to say exactly what you did. Personally? I do not own a gun, and likely never will. Don't like 'em, but would never take one out of someone's hands if they wanted it (barring psychos and the like). I feel that there are very specific circumstances where leaving your child in a running car is acceptable. Losing sight of your car or being further away than it takes to pump gas are two instances in which I would not personally commit to as there are just too many crazies in the world. At the same time, for each of us it is a matter of choice and an acceptance of consequences of that choice we must reconcile.

I live in Louisville, about an hour and a half away, and this made our news this morning. Turns out, the local prosecutor in Lexington is working to determine if they need to charge the store or any employees of it for refusing assistance. So yes, it is illegal to refuse to allow emergency calls here in kentucky, apparantly.

@Rectilinear Propagation: That is an acute observation:

"I remember reading something a while back on CNN that said that the number of incidents of children being left in cars went up after they started telling parents they had to put baby seats in the back seat and should face backwards."

we have eliminated one failure mode - unrestained children killed in car crashes - which has resulted in a new unintended failure mode- children dying in car seats in locked vehicles.

And no, children shouldn't be left in running vehicles as they can move around and put the car in gear. While not as easy now with brake pedal/shifter interlock, it is still possible. while I was living in Chattanooga 10 years ago an incident happended. A baby sitter left 4 year old and 2 year old in her minivan in front of a grocery store. When she came out, van is gone. Cops called, local newsradio broadcasts alert (pre-Amber alert)everyone freaking out hunting for van. About 2 hours after the report, TV news people were on scene doing recording for evening news. One TV sound man gets to looking at the scene and walks across the parking lot to overgrown,wooded gully. He finds the van dhidden down in the gully with the children a little bumped up but ok! With the parking lot covered with cops, no one thought to have investigated the gully. Turns out the 4 year old had gotten into the drivers seat and put the older minivan in gear. No one even saw the van drive into the gully even at a busy food store parking lot- probably one of those lulls in business traffic.

BB&B is crazy in this instance. If someone approached me and said a kid was locked in a car, I would call 911 without hesitation.

Also, leaving your kids in a car while it's running and the keys are in it? Bad idea, I worked with someone who had gotten arrested for stealing cars. They way they did it was to watch people at gas stations and wait for them to leave their keys in the car, then they would take to car. This was in a small town with little crime, too.

BB&B's response to this defies all sane and rational thought. In what bizarro universe does a business say that they're pleased with an employee refusing to let someone call 911?

@All "Why ask for the BB&B phone": Doesn't it make more sense to ask for a phone you know for sure exists than to ask a bunch of random people hoping they'll have a cell phone? I would think (at least before reading this I would have) that if anyone is going to have a phone and let you use it in an emergency it'd be the store.

@All "Who/how did the 911 call get made?" According to the video the couple who asked BB&B for help "ran back to their car to find a cell phone". I'm guessing that they were closer to the store than their own car when they say the one with the kid in it.

I agree that its a hard decision to have to wake kids to do errands. Many many times I've forgone coffee and snacks because my kids were asleep and I didn't want to wake them to get them out of the car to run into the store. Or, I look for drive-thru places. I swear drive-thrus must have been invented by a mother of young kids, they are such a convenience when you have sleeping kids. Hear that Starbucks in PA, you could get more of my business if you had more drive-thrus.

@Dyscord: "One thing to ask though....isn't 911 a free call from a payphone?"

There are no more payphones since they don't make money for the stores due to cell phones. I too remember there used to be banks of phones in front of stores, but no more.

Agreed, on all counts.

No doubt. If I didn't have my own cell, I'd be hounding every single person walking by. Every customer inside the store. Everyone I laid my eyes on until I found someone who DID have a cell phone.

The BB&B statement contradicts with the one described in the below story:
[www.kentucky.com]

@fisherstudios:
1. Through visual inspection.
2. Not when they are turned off and parked.
3. You worry me.

Any company large or small has a responsibility to the community they do business in. I would hope the local chamber of commerce or city council would have something to say to the boneheaded management of that store.

Wasn't there a recent story about a drug store chain where an elderly woman collapsed from a diabetic seizure in their store then the manager had the audacity to charge the customers who came to her aid for the supplies they needed to save her life?

Corporate retail America sucks.

One thing to ask though....isn't 911 a free call from a payphone?

Here's my question: I know BB&B was being sucky, but did NO ONE present at the time have a cell phone capable of dialing 911? Why the dire need to use the store's phone?

Out here, it is MUCH quicker to call from landline, and, as some have mentioned, it is easier to locate the caller's address on landline. Just a thought.

At least they didn't say they take it very seriously?

That being said, I don't know if one should head straight to window-smashing in this case unless it is very hot outside and/or the child is in visible distress. Forcefully breaking through a pane of glass could hurt both you and the child. I certainly wouldn't condemn anyone who looked for an alternate course first.

One morning I was putting my shoes on getting ready for work when I heard a load "crump crump" I looked out my window and saw some guy standing on the hood of a tow truck beating the windsheild out.I called 911 and was told this is not an emergency. 10 minutes later 3 guys, 1 was the guy beating the windsheld, were beating the gas station attendant up and had dragged him into the street., at that time I recalled 911 and was told they would send someone right away. The police never showed up and the owner of the gas station came to my duplex that evening and wanted to know why the police we'nt called. All I could say is the PD doesn't really care.

BB&B should thank their lucky stars there are no lawyers present.

Had a police officer stopped in, he could have cited you both for child endangerment and for a motor vehicle/environmental issue.

@savvy999: Wait... if the car was running with the A/C on, and the doors were locked, how did you get back in it?

Simple. I rolled down the window so I could reach in with my hand to lock the door from the outside. Actually, I used a valet key that I keep on my key chain.

To everyone else that provided candid feedback on my situation, thank you very much. I asked for it, and I can't disagree, now looking back. I will add, however, that my situation was a one time event. And, I will admit that I remembered feeling a lot of anxiety even though the whole ordeal took only a couple of minutes and I figured the risk of anything harmful happening was fairly remote. Before your feedback, my wife made it clear a long time ago this wouldn't happen again!

Getting back to the OP's story, I find it interesting that outside of this side discussion, nobody else made any comments about the child's safety -- only his health. I can't imagine leaving a young kid in a department store parking lot by himself, regardless of the temperature outside.

The funny thing is, I never knew if the safety-oriented things I did would get me an award or a disciplinary write-up. It was split about 50/50.

@SkokieGuy: That's a remarkable story. I have a hard time imagining some low-paid store employee taking the initiative to patrol a parking lot. I hope HD recognized their employees' actions.

Maybe it's time for these 'fire' alarms to be renamed "Emergency Alarms" and become more useful?

It still doesn't mean that most people would break a window. If they do, I hope they have the foresight to break the driver's side window to unlock the car, rather than break the window near the baby.

Yeah, it's just like that. GTFO.

Oh, and I work for a school district. Yah, we really care about our people here.

(sorry nothing more clever than that at the moment...)

Certain dialects of English do use the double negative for emphasis.

I really hope you aren't implying that people who speak certain dialects are more liable to leave their children in hot cars.

Did someone that gets paid for making BBB statements write that? I hope not. "We are pleased in the manner that our employee's manners, was mannerized, and that the manner was resolved in a timely manner"

The fact that the sales personnel said "you cannot call no one" tells me that in all likelihood they come from the demographic that would be apt to lock their toddlers in overheated cars themselves, thus no one here should be overly surprised at their reaction, n'est ce pas?

A study once found that less than 1/8 of the shots taken by police officers in the field, in real combant situations, actually hit their target. And these are trained handgun users, with maintained equipment and hundreds of hours at the firing range.

And they still can't hit for shit. Adrenaline or not, you're far more likely to put a bullet in something you weren't aiming at, than what you were aiming at.

In normal situations, the employees are instructed that it's not their job to do anything outside the store's physical plant. You don't shovel walks, or clean up trash, or help someone jump start their car. It's a safety issue and also a scheduling concern - they want their employees safely working where the job needs to get done, and within the walls that the insurance covers and the employees are trained to work. So, that's what the asst manager was going on.

But no, every crap job I've worked at, you were allowed to call 911 if there was an emergency in the parking lot. You just don't go out there and handle anything yourself. Those stories you hear about workers fishing ducklings out of sewer grates? The workers probably got in trouble, you just didn't hear about it.

"Be assured that, at Bed Bath & Beyond, we take matters such as these very seriously," said Hank Reinhart, vice president of customer service.

@IHaveAFreezeRay: There was another article online I found with a little more detail. It said the child could be seen profusely sweating, wearing a long sleeve shirt, was partially covered with a blanket, the child did not wake up when they knocked on the windows, and it could not be determined whether the child was breathing. I had that information before posting which is why I said people should take action on their own. Without that extra information you would think, as you stated, that the situation might not call for smashing of windows. With that info, I'm sure you would agree action was probably immediately necessary.

I don't think it's wrong to not want to call 911 because someone comes in and says there is an emergency. If you call 911 and there is no emergency, the person who called 911 can get in trouble, and there are many cities that are cracking down on 911 false alarm calls. What is wrong is that BB&B could have let the the person call 911 from their phone, and consequently take any of the blame for fraudulently calling 911 (if that was a concern on the part of BB&B).
I used to work in a gas station and had a woman come in running and screaming to "call 911! There's a handicapped guy across the street who's going to get run over! Call 911! Call 911, you twit! Call 911!". I looked across the street and there was a handicapped gentleman getting into his car, which was parked on an incline. He was doing just fine getting into his car. I said "I'm not calling 911 for a non-emergency. You can call them from my phone. Or even better yet, why don't you go across the street and help him if you're so concerned. I'm sure you'd get there quicker than the police/EMS/Fire Dept or whoever 911 sends would." I looked over again and the guy had managed to already get into his car and was pulling his wheelchair in. So, apparently it was not an emergency and had I called in, I could have gotten myself in trouble for a false alarm.

I'm a little slow and had to have this lesson reinforced for me on a night in the middle of a tropical storm when a truck driver came in for a tarp and an extension ladder. His truck had been damaged and he had to cover it so his load wouldn't get ruined. I helped him out with the ladder (which I was allowed to do) as an excuse to foot the ladder for him while he climbed up in the wind to deploy the tarp.

After I was written up it was explained to me that if he had been blown off the ladder while he worked alone, that was not Home Depot's fault, but if it had happened while I was out there helping him they would be sued.

I tried to point out that if it had happened while he was alone no one would have known, but if it had happened while I was out there I could have called 911 for him. This, to management, was proof of just how stupid I really am. And maybe I am.

@Scoobatz: I've got 7-year old twins, so I went through the mental wrangling of making the "do I wake them" decision many times. So to be clear, I'm not scolding here--you asked for advice, and that's what I'm giving.

Before I became a parent, I watched a close friend lose her children to foster care for 18 months over an incident no worse than what you did at the Wawa. By the time I became a parent myself, I had decided to follow the rule of thumb she created for herself after she finally got her children back: If you wouldn't do it while a police officer is standing beside you, don't do it at all.

Have I followed that rule perfectly? No. Twice I've found myself mid-action and realizing, "oh my God, what I'm doing is a risk to my children," and left myself wondering for months afterward how I ever got to the point where I had made the stupid decision in the first place. But the fact is, I made those two stupid decisions. Like you, I got lucky and my children weren't harmed, or even aware that they were at risk. But it doesn't change the fact that my actions were stupid.

And your actions were stupid too.

But I'm not saying that to insult you. It's only through recognizing our own faults that we learn from them. I'll make other parenting mistakes in the future, I'm certain. But hopefully, by acknowledging my own failings and learning from them, I won't make the same mistakes twice. I try hard never to let my pride be the factor that leads to putting my own children in harm's way. One of the ways I (and you) can do that is to just go ahead and admit internally that yeah, that was a stupid thing to do.

I hope you understand that I don't mean to hurt your feelings here. But whether it hurts or not, I hope you become a better parent by hearing it. None of us will ever be perfect parents, so let's help each other at least be better ones, a little each day.

Best regards,
Darnitol

I don't want to sound like I'm blaming the OP here, but why don't people ever take action on their own? You could get your own tire iron out of your car and break the window yourself in about 30 seconds, then worry about calling 911. Most state good Samaritan laws would cover you in case of any legal troubles.

"Authorities" do not replace common sense and good judgement.

If you use the phone to screw with somebody, that employee is on the hook.

Where is the incentive to help?

I was robbed at a Home Depot and they refused to call and help me as well.
You would think having a gun held to your head in a parking lot would warrant the use of your phone but no.
I refuse to shop there anymore.
They informed me that the parking lot is public property.
I am sure if I felt like hanging Lowe's signs in the lot, they would think otherwise.

@rellog: Firing at a person standing near a car with "my,your, or their" children in it causes one to be exceptionally accurate with their chosen weapon. Considering you will want to avoid ricochets, you are best aiming at and hitting a spot on the person you are shooting at that is likely to cause the bullet to:
1) stop in the meaty flesh or ricochet off a bone into other portions of their body, or
2) bounce off the dense bone structure of the persons brain, thereby scrambling said brain and killing the offender outright.

One need not be John McClane, one need only have a reason to have good aim.

@bagumpity: Have you ever tried to break a car window? I don't know the physical condition of the person from the story, but most people couldn't break a window without some heavy object, and even then it may be a challenge.

@linus: That's a cop-out. Frivilous lawsuits are buzz terms used by certain politicians to pass unfriendly to consumer legislation, or to justify poor corporate behavior.

DAMN, this takes corporate ass-hattery to a new level. BB&B, do you honestly believe that your PR bullshit isn't completely transparent? Up until the PR quote, I was willing to go with "just (a) stupid ass BB&B employee/employees" but now that they've put their foot into their stupid mouths, I'll have to expand that to the BB&B company as a whole.

Is the the human in immediate harm?
Will the person suffer(immediate) harm if emergency services are not rendered?
Is this life or death?

Then... LET THEM ACCESS 911 services.

Otherwise there is other phones about.

I am far from not letting someone using my phone. But if they say it is critical for emergency. It better very well be. Otherwise find another phone.

Did you take the keys/fob apart, or do you usually carry two separate sets of keys?

@Pithlit kind of nails the bigger issue-- to me it's not about kidnapping, the risk of which is quite low-- it's about the kids getting out of their seats and popping a running car into gear, etc. Or the car motor/battery/AC failing, and then creating a hot situation inside a closed vehicle.

Just my opinion, but the safer route would be to turn the car off, parked in plain view, roll all the windows down, and take your keys with you. The bottom line for endangerment is, are the kids safe in that environment? IMO, in that situation, yes they are, if it's only lasting a couple of minutes.

@Crymson_77: Gotta love these "cowboys" that think they're an action hero from some movie. First off, you can't keep your eye on your car at ALL times. You're distracted. Second, your aim is highly suspect and you're firing on a vehicle that contains your two children.... This isn't "Die Hard" and you ain't John McClane..

BTW, from the link... "Lexington Police BUSTED the glass..." Who writes like that? I know they're hillbillies down there (j/k my Mom's from KY) but really....

As for BBB, shame on them, and I'd hope the store received a sizeable fine for such behavior.

Similar incident at a mall. The wife and her friend saw a child in a car and went into the nearest store to ask the manager to make the call. The manager returned to the parking lot, confirmed the problem and made the call to 911.

Why wait until the manager had seen the child in distress to make the call? Because the store is liable for filing false emergency calls and can be billed for the cost of the response.

@HalOfBorg: "I understand BB&B's point of view - if we call police and there is no problem with the kid we can get sued - or something like that."

But you can't get sued if you DON'T let someone call 911 and someone DIES?

@NotATool: care should be... car

@Scoobatz: The biggest thing I'd be worried about is that someone could smash your window and drive off with your kids, while you're perusing the candy bars. Second to that, I'd worry about the three year old waking up and deciding to try to put the car in gear. I'd also be worried about the air conditioner sucking in exhaust and making the kids breathe it (not lethal, but not exactly desirable either).

I personally would not be in favor of leaving kids in a running care.

I can't imagine not allowing a customer to call 911 since the employee didn't feel comfortable calling.
I'm starting to think that child belonged to one of the employees.

They can also crawl around in the car, kick the car into gear and crash. Not worth the risk. I know none of us are perfect as parents, and sometimes we do things that we look back on and realize they might not have been the best decision, so I don't want to sound judgmental. It's such a bad idea to leave children unattended like that, so I hope you rethink it before you decide to do it again. It's tough with small kids, but sometimes we have to schedule our errands around them. I've been there.

@bagumpity: You win the internet.

@andy966: Part of the issue is the cost of defending the case. It really is a no-win situation for BB&B. Even the threat of a lawsuit makes most companies pull back.

GOOD LORD!!! I don't know who was dumber, the store clerks or the customer. You see a kid in a locked car with rolled-up windows in summer. You don't know how long the kid has been in there.

Do you:
a) Discuss things rationally, come to a consensus, and take action?
b) Run into a store and (assuming they'll let you) call the authorities and hope they get there within, oh fifteen or twenty minutes?
c) Find a brick?

Correct answer: You find the brick. Then you smash the window. If no brick is available you sacrifice the bones in your hand/elbow/whatever. Then you make sure the kid is OK. Everything else is action after the fact.

@zentex: Hmm... I think I'll take some time to draft up a letter and send it out.

650 Liberty Avenue
Union, New Jersey 07083
908-688-0888

If the life of a toddler is potentially in danger and there's no phone nearby to use then there's no reason not to pull a nearby fire alarm. The whole purpose of fire alarms is to save lives, and you just might be doing that in this situation.

I agree also that 911 should be available to anyone. And by BB&B acknowledging the parking lot is the company parking lot, they're acknowledging that it's their property, no? Wouldn't they be liable for something happening on their property (I know, it's all leased).

And what if it was someone's grandmother having medical problems and they happen to be in the parking lot? If someone had come into BB&B asking for the phone, they would have said no? Shame.

It's also ridiculous that BB&B to spin this in a way to suggest that the customer was at fault.

But hey, at least he turned his life around, man.

This is a toughie...

It's obvious here that the person that the OP was dealing with is a horrible person. But the reason this is a toughie is that sometimes, things are not what they seem.

With our high levels of frivilous law suits, most people choose not to get involved because of the legal ramifications. For example, what if the toddler fell ill after he was rescued?

911 should always be available to anyone, regardless of situation. BB&B should have offered that. But somewhere, they have to protect themselves. I'll be honest and say I don't know where that point may be but it's probably somewhere many of us would still complain.

That's right, BBB. Make lemonade out of those almost-dead-baby lemons!

@timmus: Wow, you actually wrote "reprehensible", I dont even know if you spelled it correctly, I'd never have the balls to even attempt hit online.

/cheers

@manic pixie flackette: Don't be embarrassed, they are in every town in the US (and the rest of the world for that matter). Just be sad that Darwin isn't as right as we would all like him to be...

More on topic: our BBB is incredibly nice and helpful, and it's consequently one of my favorite places to shop locally. I have a hard time imagining they'd have done anything like this.

If they said no, I would have walked over to a register that no one was at, and picked up the phone myself.

Even if I did get barred from every BB&B store, I wouldn't have gone back after hearing that.

If the area was a dead coverage zone, I can see where the witness would not want to try using their phone to call out to 911. BB&B should be ashamed, from the bottom up, that employees which are wholly representative of the company refused to allow people to call 911 from their store.

BB&B should have simply stated it was an outrageous, but isolated incident and that they were looking into it. Issue an apology to the witness(es) that tried to do the right thing but were stone-walled by a bunch of retards. Then, fire those employees and replace them with more competent help.

@ARPRINCE: And my glock only takes less than a second to take your head off when fired from the doorway. Sure it would wake the kids, but you would have an awful hard time taking them if you are dead. Even without a gun, the person attempting to take my kids would find themselves short a few appendages during the attempt. And yes, I can move pretty damn fast.

@Scoobatz: The other customer was an asshole. It is far better to keep your eyes on your vehicle at all times, with it running, a/c blowing, than to wake up two children just so you can run into a store for 2 minutes. The ONLY time I would agree with the asshat that yelled at you is if your car was not fully visible at all times. I also have 2 children, one very little, and your actions were far less disturbing to the children (and consequently better for their health), than hauling them out just so you can buy a candy bar.

On the flip side, I don't necessary think it's (always) a crime to leave your kids in the car for a few minutes while you run into a store to get something quick.

Here was my situation. Any comments would be appreciated. I have a three year old and a one year old. I drove to our local Wawa (like a 7-11) in order to run in to get cash, a coffee, and a few snacks. Left the kids in the car. However, here are the circumstances. I parked right in front of the store - the car is clearly visible from anywhere inside Wawa. It was about 75-80 degrees outside, but I left the car running and the air conditioning cranked. The kids were shaded by the roof of the car and the CAR WAS LOCKED.

Round trip, the process of getting in and out of the store took less than 5 minutes. Both kids were in the back of the car ASLEEP and it would have been a major headache to get the double stroller out of the car, wake the kids up, get the kids out of their carseats and buckled into the stroller for such a quick trip. I considered my actions to be appropriate based on my situation -- but one of the other customers did not agree and gave me an earful.

I love that they may have charges pressed against them for trying to avoid doing something that might get them in legal trouble.

Yet another example of our fine legal system. There is no right and there is no wrong. You can only fail. Do not pass go do not collect $200.

Personally I would've just grabbed the phone and dialed. There are usually several phones throughout a store and 911 connects you right to the outside. Besides, what are they gonna do, grab the phone out of your hand?

The part I really don't understand is how does it become store policy not to get involved in responding to potential emergency situations? Are situations like this specifically covered during new employee training sessions? Unless an employee is directed otherwise, common sense would suggest the employee would provide a phone for the customer to call 911 -- without having to call 911 themselves.

On a separate note, kudos to the customers who did get involved and decided not to ignore it. Just last week, a three year old died in Atlantic City for being left alone in a car for 3 hours.

On a more serious note, this is a weird quote: ""Morally, I just can't believe that you would not call. What if that was your child out there?""

Obviously, that person wouldn't care.

"It is against company policy to get involved with anything that happens in the company parking lot."

Yeah, and if there were a bomb, earthquake or fire situation in in the parking lot??...I guess it would be just business as usual for the employees at BB& Beyond All Reason. They'd just keep on working, minding their own business.....

What people (especially in positions of management/authority, even minor) should understand, is that in an emergency, where time is of the essence, much can be forgiven/allowed, even by idiotic corporations, and you should do what is humanly decent and necessary to solve a developing situation. You will generally be praised than criticized for acting quickly.

@HalOfBorg:

I highly doubt someone who uses language like "You cannot call no one" is thinking about the legal liability of allowing someone to use the phone.

I actually just remembered a similar incident at Home Depot (warning - HD praise ahead).

I saw a child in a car seat, in a car with no adult around. I waited a few minutes, to see if the parent was about to return, perhaps loading purchases. When that didn't happen, I went inside to store security. They paged the mother and store staff went outside and kept the vehicle under constant survelliance (it was warm, but not very hot out and the child did not appear to be in distress). When the woman did not respond to the page (they gave her 5 minutes or so) they contacted the police. The police and the mother arrived at the car at the same time.

Say what you will, but bravo to HD in this instance. (Evanston, Illinois).

@zentex: This and their useless 20% off everything (except for everything) coupons.

@ViperBorg: You know...you make a very, very good point there! Even better is putting them in the glass room in the center of times square. Again, no ventilation. Would certainly make a statement!

Hell yes.

But I think it is reasonable for only the person who saw the incident to make the call, not that that is what the morons were technically saying if they told the customer "to make the call." 2ndhand reports of anything are not usually very useful, or at least not preferred to an actual witness.

On a side note, I'm curious to know, would it be within a private citizen's reasonable good samaritan rights/liability to smash the window of a hot car with a child locked in it?

I'll be damned if I'm going to wait for BB&B to grow a pair over their phone policy, and/or wait for the police to arrive. In an intense heat, seconds matter.

@Daemonstar: I don't mind being beaten to the punch on this one. Thanks D! Of course, we in Texas could have just pulled our concealed weapon and used the butt to break the window. Thanks go the Good Samaritan laws, the damage would be forgiven and the idiot mother would still be rotting in jail (I wish that jail were a car in the prison lot with the windows rolled up!).

no kidding! & even if you can find one, your odds are 1:100 that it works. once i ditched my car in a snowstorm (in a "dead zone" - so much for cell phones), so i walked 4 miles to the nearest payphone (center of a middle-of-nowhere town). i get there & some jerk had torn the receiver off the unit.

had to trudge around until i could find a house w/ lights on. not fun.

In most (all?) states, it does NOT expose you to any liabilty to call 911 to report a (suspected) crime. Only if you use 911 for knowingly false or malicious use could you ever expose yourself to any liability.

Obviously the person who asked the store to call didn't have a cell phone, or they would have used it.

If the citizen was unable to find an alternate phone and the child died, then BB&B COULD have been liabile, IMHO, for refusing to cooperate, when notified of a potential life-threatening situation.

To the employee who feels that things beyond their door is not their concern (if you are still employeed), a rapist / murderer / robber is in your parking lot about to enter your store. Would you like notification?

Bad parenting.
Poor employee training.
The disappearance of pay phones.

Sure, cell phones are great. But not everyone has them. And 911 operators can find your exact location faster if you're calling from a landline, whether it be from a pay phone or BBB phone.

No, you should be covered under the Good Samaritan Law, but I can see the employee getting hit with a low degree child endangerment charge. She was told of the situation, and decided to restrict the person from using a phone to get emergency services. Rather or not she'd get convicted, I don't know, but if I was the D.A., I sure as hell would, at least to send a message to the stores if nothing else. And yes, if it's in your parking lot, you're sure as hell liable. At least that's how it was when I did mall security. If it's in the parking lot in front of your store, it's your problem, too.

@timmus: "Holy shit -- did corporate actually write that? That's absolutely reprehensible."
Yeah, that blows my frackin' mind too.

@WisconsinDadof2: "So if the car was on fire, would they get involved?"
No, they would suggest you go to Sears for a sale on grills.

I never pass an opportunity to burn Sears.

Damn, I'm on a roll today.

The customer should have used his/her cell-phone. And failing that, BB&B shouldn't have engaged in douchebaggery.

Someone at Corporate needs to explain to the store manager that, where customer relations are concerned, there is such a thing as bad press.

When someone is declaring an emergency, that's not for anyone at BBB to decide. In fact, BBB is at greater risk of a lawsuit by interfering in an emergency than just being an intermediary in a false alarm situation. This is a classic case of asshole store management and an awful corporate response trying to back him up 100%.

@HalOfBorg: I really think ignoring a potentially dangerous situation would be a better way to get sued than calling emergency personnel to look into it, and I can't believe that BB&B training would state otherwise.

Bed, Bath, and Beyond our front door is not our concern.

@Git Em SteveDave is starlost: Ebonics?

Hmmm....toddler locked in a hot car....

Training opportunity!!!

This deserves some kind of George Orwell award.

Wow, what a way to spin a potentially deadly situation...

What a statement from the corporate office "We are pleased that the manner was addressed in a timely manner..." No thanks to the boneheaded and ill-advised actions of the employees in the store. So if the car was on fire, would they get involved? "Training opportunity", indeed.

Holy shit -- did corporate actually write that? That's absolutely reprehensible.

Of course, if I even had that thought flash through my head I'd have said screw that and called 911 myself.

@Wes_Sabi:

Obviously not. You wasted time writing that? Not everone has a cell phone on them every single moment of the day.

Awesome statement from BB&B...training all around!