The owners of a newly-revamped farm shop have apologised after a family complained they shouted in their young son’s face – for climbing on the play equipment.
Earlier this week, the Aberdeen family visited Marshalls, near Kintore, which has recently been expanded to include a play park, featuring an old tractor.
The mum, dad and two boys enjoyed breakfast before heading out to play.
Posting on social media, the mum said her two-year-old was on the tractor when their trip took a “horrendous” turn.
She claimed the owner of the business shouted at her two-year-old, tapped him on the shoulder and pointed at him in the face after spotting him climb from the tractor seat to the wheel arch.
Today, owner Kenneth Marshall said he and wife Moira are “very passionate” about their business – and take safety seriously.
‘Upset and shocked’
In the online post, the mum said before she or her husband had time to tell their son to come down, staff were yelling at him.
“By the time either of us had the chance to ask him to come down, a woman (one of the owners) came out shouting at us, telling us to get him down and how we need to teach our child to have some respect and that we clearly don’t parent him properly.”
She added that when she went to speak to Mrs Marshall afterwards, she found her talking to other customers about “how kids have absolutely no respect and that we clearly don’t parent our kids properly”.
She claimed Mr Marshall then reiterated the cost of the revamp and accused children of “vandalising and disrespecting” the property, while swearing in front of her two boys, aged two and five.
‘Can’t ignore a situation that we feel is hazardous’
Scores of people shared their surprise at the outburst, arguing that the tractor was in a play park so would inevitably be climbed on.
Now Marshall’s Farm Shop have issued an apology, admitting the incident had been handled “incorrectly”.
They say the “intention was solely the concern of the safety of the child on the tractor”, and that safety is the “priority”.
The post, attributed to The Marshall family, read: “We would firstly like to apologise for the situation one of our customers experienced yesterday in our play park.
“Our staff are expected to step in if they do feel a child is in danger and we feel as a business we need to carry on and can’t ignore a situation that we feel is hazardous.
“We have added a sign next to the tractor advising against sitting on the wings (as this is a way a child can get access onto the bonnet) or jumping on the bonnet from a safety perspective.
“The pedal tractors have been used very roughly since we opened the play park and unfortunately we don’t think they will stand up to this much longer.
“Therefore we are unsure these will be able to remain in the play park for the children to play on, on the tarred track we made especially.
“This is a shame as it has been a real joy to experience younger children especially enjoying these very much.”
‘Can’t treat families like this’
The family did not wish to comment when contacted by The Press and Journal, but said they considered the matter “closed, not resolved” in a further post on social media.
The mum wrote: “Our intentions are not that this business closes or this has any huge impact because of this incident, what we want is for the owners to realise their behaviour was out of line and realise that you can’t get away with treating other families like this.
“Moving forward, we now consider the matter closed, not resolved, we have e-mailed Marshalls directly. Hopefully, they can get their attitude sorted and learn from their wrongdoing so that families can enjoy their facilities.”
Speaking to The P&J, Mr Marshall said staff have had to consistently ask kids to “go careful” with the tractors in the park.
He described the park as a “gesture” for customers, but said repairs are required regularly – prompting them to introduce a small entry fee.
He also said it had been a very busy weekend when the family were in, with more than 200 covers for breakfast and lots of kids.
Conversation