Did a high end invitation only show this weekend. Great setting (
Governors Mansion and Capitol Building grounds) free food for all and
special VIP breakfast for invited participants. Lots of fancy dress and Ky
Derby Hats on the women and all the usual Ky Derby hoopla. The general
public was invited to a buffet breakfast and to see and buy from the vendors
(only 36 vendors invited) I had one family with three little girls come by
and the oldest kid about 10 yr old threw up in front of my booth, causing an
awkward moment. Every thing else went fine, decent sales, nice customers
most on the upper scale of income. Toward the end of the show I had a mother
and daughter come in to the booth, both clean but not "well dressed", kid
wanted every thing in the booth. She finally settled on two items one $6
and one $8. The mother gently let the kid know that she couldn't afford the
$8 toy but could get the $6 toy, if they didn't buy anything else at the
show and skipped some other treat of the day. (This was done quietly while
I was with another customer so I wouldn't know.) What should I have done?


What I did was offer the mother a "slightly damaged" $8 toy for $6 and when
she agreed (much to the little girl"s delight) and I had made the
transaction I knelt beside the little girl (in the mother's sight and
hearing) and slipped the $6 dollar toy in her pocket and told her it was
because she was such a delightful and cute child. I got a hug from the girl
a smile from the mother and a your a sucker look from SWMBO.

Tie in to wood they were wooden toys.