Archived Should I keep quiet about M rated games?

[Kaitii]

So working in electronics I've started seeing more and more kids having their parents buy M rated games. Not like teen kids, like 10 and under kids. I usually don't say anything because I don't want the parents to be like "don't tell me how to raise my kid" and all that. But last night a ~6 yr old with his dad asked me to open the case to get an Assassin's Creed game. Without thinking I kind of just blurted out "Is that for him?" and the dad was a lil confused and was like "Yeah, why?" so I explained the game was rated M and what is involved in the game and his face was kinda like 'holy shit' so he went to talk to the kid's mom who was also like "holy shit no my boy will not be playing those kinds of games" and he ended up buying a sports game. They also asked me what other kinds of games have that rating so I named a few of the common ones and well long story short kid is probably going to have a lot of his games taken away.

So based on that I guess some parents just don't do research as to what the kids buy, kids just ask and they buy. What I'm wondering is, if a young child is requesting an M rated game, should I give a polite "hey parent just so you know this game is rated M because of this, is that alright with you?"

 

[PassinTime]

I think you handled it well!

 

[tgtguy]

Sounds like you handled it well like @PassinTime stated .

 

[Ajax11]

You can always use the age prompt at the register as a way to bring it up: "Can I have your date of birth please, this game is age locked due to the mature themes that are present in this game"

 

[IHeartCarts]

OP just ruined the life of a 6 year old.

 

[MobileMythbuster]

I usually just give a "Just verifying that you know this is Rated M for violence and sexual content. Correct?" They generally say yes and I drop it. Occasionally they will ask for clarification, and I have been known to Google specifics for parents who don't mind violence but don't want sex, or vice versa.

 

[Kaitii]

OP just ruined the life of a 6 year old.

It's a good thing I don't like kids anyways

I usually just give a "Just verifying that you know this is Rated M for violence and sexual content. Correct?" They generally say yes and I drop it. Occasionally they will ask for clarification, and I have been known to Google specifics for parents who don't mind violence but don't want sex, or vice versa.

Oh I like this, that's a great idea. I'll start doing this for sure, thanks

 

[daemon]

Only once have I really rung up an M rated game for someone of young age, and in the instance the mom was purchasing it for their 9-10 year old. It was GTA5 and I did bring up the fact that it was full of violence, swearing, and even sex and they were all like "oh its nothing he hasn't seen already". FML

 

[dannyy315]

I personally don't say anything. It's the parent's responsibility, same with rated r movies. If a parent wants to get their 10 year old kid gears of war, that's their choice. Now of course I wouldn't do that if it were my own kid, but I don't like telling parents how to parent.

 

[Longshanks]

I will never forget when Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 came out in 2011. Towards the end of my shift, a preteen came in to buy the game. I told him that I could not sell the game to him as it had a Mature rating. He proceeded to call me an asshole and how he needed the game. I then told him he "needed" to leave.

 

[BeelzeBecky]

I'm usually prompted by the register for an ID. I scan it and if the person is of age, I sell it.
I'm not the parenting police. I can't refuse a sale based upon perceived intent. I can't make that judgment.

Again, not the parenting police. I'm too busy busting trans folk in the bathrooms.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[redeye58]

You forgot the sarcasm font.

 

[Lazy]

If a parent wants to buy a game I sell it. I grew up playing gta and it didn't affect me at all with the exception of wanting to kill certain guest . If they ask me to describe the game and I know it I tell them. I have been asked point blank if I would buy said game for my child and I tell them yes.

 

[Life201]

Doesn't Target doesn't train cashiers on how to handle the sales of merchandise like this?

In a perfect world, every parent would make sure they investigate all the details of games & movies their children beg them to buy & not ever be caught off guard.

It's not a question of telling parents how they should raise their own children - it is a question of making sure parents are making informed decisions & good customer service.

 

[Lazy]

Doesn't Target doesn't train cashiers on how to handle the sales of merchandise like this?

In a perfect world, every parent would make sure they investigate all the details of games & movies their children beg them to buy & not ever be caught off guard.

It's not a question of telling parents how they should raise their own children - it is a question of making sure parents are making informed decisions & good customer service.

And while you may think that your helping them make informed decisions they might take it as you telling them how to parent and start complaining and making a scene. Which is why I just sell and answer questions if asked.

 

[BeelzeBecky]

Doesn't Target doesn't train cashiers on how to handle the sales of merchandise like this?

In a perfect world, every parent would make sure they investigate all the details of games & movies their children beg them to buy & not ever be caught off guard.

It's not a question of telling parents how they should raise their own children - it is a question of making sure parents are making informed decisions & good customer service.

It's not our job to teach parents make informed decisions.
Hell, they might be informed and just don't care if little Junior shoots up ho's.

I don't have time to raise parents AND their kids. Besides, speed scores are more important and how can I be fast while schooling a guest on their bad parenting skills?

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Sometimes kids will trick their parents into getting m rated game, because another kid has the game. I had a parent got mad at their kid even asking for it. The parent did thank me for stopping the sale.
You can put it in case, when the kid says I need to get my mom over in grocery...

 

[Kaitii]

Yeah see it is kind of a mixed bag. Some will appreciate it and some won't, so I wonder if it's even worth it for those that do.

 

[redeye58]

I'd just do the M rating thing like a PSA.
You can't make parents care.

 

[SFSFun]

Yeah don't do it. I know in this case it worked out, but I suspect most parents won't care or will even get mad at you for suggesting they are parenting wrong.

It's not worth it and it's not your job to care.

 

[MrBucket]

I usually don't say anything until the register asks for a birthday, and 99% of the time the parents are cool with it since games like Call of Duty are mostly just friends playing around online (now if they knew about the kind of smack talk people said during the game, that'd be a whole different story). Is it your job to inform the parent? No, not necessarily. You can, but that's the point of the register just asking for a birthday.

 

[MobileMythbuster]

I've never had a parent get even mildly irritated about it. At worst they might try to justify and I'll just laugh. "As long as you know what you've got it doesn't bother me." It smooths it over and life goes on.

 

[Phoenix26]

As long as someone over 18 is paying for it, its not your responsibility to question who the guest is buying it for. If a parent wants to buy for a child that is there responsibility. there is nothing illegal about them giving it to their child. Our Job at Target is strictly to verify the age of the person making the purchase. After that we are not responsible or liable for who they choose to give it to, same goes for any other age restricted item, whether its spray paint, Nyquil, or Alcohol. If I ever saw one of my guests questioning a guest like they OP did, I would be passing it on to the LOD and they would def be getting a corrective action as they are not only opening up the store to liability, but also breaking policy when it comes to age restricted items that states we can only ID the person physically paying for the item.

 

[LUR99]

I will never forget when Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 came out in 2011. Towards the end of my shift, a preteen came in to buy the game. I told him that I could not sell the game to him as it had a Mature rating. He proceeded to call me an asshole and how he needed the game. I then told him he "needed" to leave.

Had a mom and her son come to the service desk to return an opened and used game. It's was the kids game, he was maybe 10 years old. I explained to the mom that I could not return the game because it had been opened and I could only exchange for the same title. Same thing is stated on the reciept. Mom was ok with it and didn't put up a fight but the kid did. He developed a bad attitude and said, I don't understand what the problem is. I have returned opened games here before bla bla. He wouldn't take no for an answer. Mom didn't say anything and kid wouldn't shut up. I have kids around the same age as this kid and I could not believe his attitude. I wasn't going to argue with a 10 year old so I just repeated again about not being able to return and only doing an exchange for the same item and moved on to the next guest. Kid left huffing and puffing all pissed off lol. It was just so weird, mom was so quiet and nice and the kid seemed to be in charge.

 

[daemon]

Phoenix, Informing the guest about the m rating and the contents is not against any rule what so ever. Making sure the guest is informed IS my job.