I hate it when...

You're painting at a school function (voluntarily) and despite the fact you've snarled and done everything but dribble urine on your kit to mark it, some gidget mother thinks it's "okay" to reach ACROSS the table and land her paws on one of your brushes that just happen to be conveniently positioned right in front of you.

I hate it when, despite the fact that they wouldn't know what the heck to do with it if you gave it to them, another volunteer mom asks if she can use your "pink or purple, or whatever" and then goes all nasty banshee on you when you smile politely and say "I'm sorry, I can't share my paints". I mean, we all brought our own kits...so, why is it my problem that you've discovered that your $3 liquid paint pots bite?

I hate it when the same mother who balked and declared my 1-sponge per child method a waste of money and time gets bent out of shape when I decline her offers to "set the bases" for the faces I'm to paint....

I hate it when people are mean to me because I child whines about wanting me to paint their face. I already feel bad because of it, but there's no need to make comments about how I paint and how I'm just trying to kiss the director's butt... I don't even know that director. ....

Okay... your turn...

Kill 'em with kindness! Smile, smile, smile!

I hate it when...

Parents ignore the signs I have posted that say
"Face Painting is for Three Years and older ONLY" , signs which are on my display, in my book, on my a-frame sign, on my table, taped to my tool box... in other words - there's no way they didn't see them.

They get into line, wait for hours, then get mad at ME when I won't paint their oblivious, drooling, ga-ga-ing, bottle sucking, diaper wearing baby.

I just don't get the draw to have your baby's face painted! They sit in the line for hours while jr. is just obliviously being a baby without a care. They do it for themselves, not for the child! What baby is going to sit there and let you paint on his face without grabbing the paintbrush, grabbing his face and squirming.

I've always said there should be a parenting manual...of course, there's no guarantees they'd be able to read it as it would probably have more words in it than your sign and they couldn't comprehend THAT!

Story from Legoland where I worked some years back:

For some of the rides there is a minimum height declared at the entrance (and in the brochures) with a big sign with a mark saying if you are smaller than this, you can not use the ride.
One of my colleagues was on the way back from brake when she saw a dad running directly into the sign! She meet the dad (and his too small child) after they had be in line, where the dad claimed that he had not seen any sign *lol*

People would really tell the most silly things like the child was allowed last year (at rides that was there the first year) or they would take the responsibility. Like they would, if the child fell of...
Others got angry, a few have even been hit by a mad parent!

LoneWolf wrote:a few have even been hit by a mad parent!

I can empathize there.

I hate it went drunk parents don't pay attention to my line ending sign on the table, on the banner, and in my book, or my quarter-hour announcements letting everyone in line know that the child in my chair at "X" p.m. is the last child to be painted; continue to harass me once I announce that the current child is the last child; come INTO my booth and stand by my table harassing me; pick up my supplies and start throwing them at me; then run away with some of my supplies.

Yeah, I hate that. []

Good Gawd... that happened to you?

I hate it when a parent yells at me after I've been working for 8 hours straight because I've closed the line... and then has the nerve to tell me that I don't love children because if I did I would do their child and then tells their kid that I'm evil and mean.

I hate it when a parent yells at me because I closed the line and then proceeds to stand there and complain loudly and then starts to yell expletives at me and then tries to block my way when I try to walk away and then threatens to hit me while I am standing there crying...

yea that sucks butt.

Aww, you're making me cry with you!!!! That's SO awful! I'm sorry that happened to you!
Anyway--I hate it when...
I get hired for a birthday party for a ONE year old. I go, paint every face there is in the room, and all the arms and cheeks of anything flesh colored that moves, tie balloon animals for EVERY one in the room, take pictures with the birthday girl, hold the birthday girl (even though she's afraid of me) and then get a call from my booking agent that I was NOT what they expected and did a horrible job as a clown....BITE ME LADY!
I'm enjoying venting at this time. Thank you!

In my younger days I was brazen enough to invite people to hit me, I even told one lady that if she was so hell bent on buying me a new car, then she was welcomed to strike me, so long as she understood that I intendend to get enough out the assault suit to buy a Lexus.

Now, I'm just to tired to be pushed around, I often just ignore them and walk away, I'm nobody's barbie doll and I dare some emotionally twisted parent to try to hold me back when I want to leave. I'm NOT a stable person...

Working in Disney World, when I had a rude customer, I learned to take it and tell them to "Have a Magical day!" Ha...if only they knew what OUR connotation of magical was...

"Magical" covers curses and hexes, eh?!

Hmmmm....what EVER are you talking about Shannon?

Yeah the Mouse is a tough boss! If you have time to lean you have time to clean! And ALWAYS smile and preserve the Disney Magic. Even when you are asked for the bazillionth time "What time is the 3:00 parade?" Hmmm...And working till 4 am...ah the magical memories! Actually though, as rough as it was (rough enough that I had to leave the program early because I got sick), it was awesome too. Now OTHER customer service type jobs I've had don't get me started. "You put my apples and my peanut butter in the wrong baaaaaag. That's my fooooood. I'm going to eeeeeat it." Oh and the guy who literally came back for 3 cents I'd apparently shorted him...ah people! The joys!

And these are the reasons I want to be a psych nurse

OH here's another...when you are coaching swimming, or lifeguarding, and you find out too late that a child is not potty-trained (despite that being a SPECIFIED requirement that said child's parents have chosen to ignore). And it happened many times over.

ANd Heather I just read what you wrote and holy crap! I'm sorry that happened! Was that at your recent gig?

Or how about lifeguarding, going in for a DNS, and, after bringing up the parent and child who had obviously lost their footing coming off of the slide and ended up not coming up, getting told off because they were fine, and weren't drowning?

A local balloon twister here was telling me about one time where a mom (kids in tow) chased him across the street - insane!

I hate when you try to be nice and offer work to another company, who turns around and badmouths you to the very same client whom you've just sent their way.

Agree with you Kristal. Tried that where I had one with me on a job for a event company. She knew how much I charged, and then contacted them, offering to do it for less. And they are the kind of company that values prize more than quality. Well, that is their problem, but I still find her act tactless!

The parents haven't been too bad for me for the most part, but I had a kid last week that told me I was mean and he was going to steal all my balloons because I wouldn't let him climb all over my stuff and stick his fingers in my paint. Oh well, I guess I'm mean then.... why do vendors bring their 3 and 5 year old children to all day events? Does this not seem like a really dumb idea to anyone else? My extremely well behaved girls are 3 and 5 and I wouldn't dream of bringing them anywhere where they had to behave themselves all day in front of customers.

I hate it when a parent literally hovers over you, questioning your every brush stroke and color choice... as if in the blink of an eye you're going to turn their daughter's request for a pink and purple sparkly butterfly into a depiction of one of the devil's minions! Seriously? Do they think I'm that good or that fast?

Also, the parents who get squeamish when you dip your brush into the black paint. Something about black makes parents openly question the permanence of the paints you use.

colormyworld wrote:ANd Heather I just read what you wrote and holy crap! I'm sorry that happened! Was that at your recent gig?

Thanks for the sympathies, everyone.

And, no, it wasn't at the most recent gig. It's my face painting "war story." []

It actually happened the second year I was painting at one of the festivals in Ohio, for the group I painted for back in July. The event served alcohol, and I was painting for "free" (i.e. paid for by the event), and drunk parents always seem to be more entitled. ::sigh::

After that incident, I required that security be stationed at my tent for every other event.

Lady Jayde wrote:I hate it when a parent literally hovers over you, questioning your every brush stroke and color choice... as if in the blink of an eye you're going to turn their daughter's request for a pink and purple sparkly butterfly into a depiction of one of the devil's minions! Seriously? Do they think I'm that good or that fast?

Also, the parents who get squeamish when you dip your brush into the black paint. Something about black makes parents openly question the permanence of the paints you use.

Ditto!

Heather so sorry about that! I might have thrown something back at them and or would probably have tried chasing them down for my paints if they tried running off with it!

I had one mom ask me to make a butterfly outline 'barely seen' as she didn't want all that 'black' on her child's face. So I did...it turned out ok, but it definitely didn't have the same impact (beauty) as the normal ones do.

At least the parent (paying customer) was happy with it...though the daughter said she liked my picture of it the 'normal way' much better!

I usually outline my butterflies in dark purple or dark blue.

I do that sometimes for the youngest kids, but the dark purple or dark blue sometimes just doesn't cut it. Sometimes you need the black, ya know? Like here: