Don't worry about my kid reaching in your tip jar, he's only playing.

Until recently I worked at a job where I was allowed to keep a tip jar on the counter. I was very good at this job, friendly, and established a great rapport with my customers, so this tip jar was usually very full of ones, fives, and coins. One morning I'm messing around cleaning and chatting to regulars, and in comes a very well-dressed and affluent looking extended family. They approach the counter, the little boy who is with them loudly exclaims "I want chocolate milk and cookies!" while grabbing at the (admittedly enticing) selection of baked goods. Mother ignores him, but this is foreshadowing. She curtly places an order for some things we don't carry, and I regretfully inform her of this, but also that I know a great breakfast place around the corner that does. She asks for directions, and I'm in the process of giving them when I hear her child exclaim "Money!" and see a little hand go in my tip jar.

This has happened before with little kids. I understand they're still firming up their grip of what ownership is, and don't mean anything by it, but I work hard for my money and need it badly. It's really not a big deal to have a little grabber, but it's an embarrassing interaction for everyone involved so without breaking my speech I slide the tip jar back so the kid can't reach it. With the 5% of my brainpower I used in making that decision I figured it would make the problem vanish. WRONG.

Customer: He's just playing. He wouldn't take your money.

Me: Oh, I know. It's just a gut reaction when someone is reaching into my tip jar.

Customer: Yeah, (loudly, so all my customers hear) A RUDE ONE. My son isn't a thief. I can't believe you'd do that.

Me: I'm sure he isn't! I've just had kids snag from there before, so...

I look down and see her son still reaching for the jar, now out of reach. It was sort of helpful to my case and I think I raised my eyebrows without meaning to. This pissed her off more.

Customer: He's just playing! You've made it interesting to him by making a big deal out of this, if you'd just left it there he wouldn't care.

I got a little flustered and said some generic customer service things, which she wasn't having at all. It was at this point I remembered she wasn't buying anything from me and wished her a nice afternoon. I consider myself an assertive person but I was red-faced and shaking by the time this was over.

On their way out the door I heard bitch mommy exclaim "Where did you get that?!" and her son respond "The jar mommy..." And she pulled a quarter out of his hand. To her credit, she came up to the counter and returned it, but she also told me he was only playing one last time.

This is a rambling story and you're probably thinking "Seriously, all that rage just for a quarter??" but this obviously very affluent woman thinking it was her child's right to "play" with the money my paycheck-to-paycheck broke student self worked hard for really set me off. I mean, that was her argument to make me a bitch for pulling the jar away - that he was only playing.