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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/wakeangel2001 on 2023-10-02 02:09:02.

This is my first post on this thread, but as a former toysrus employee I have my fair share of stories, and this one is pretty inoffensive but amusing, so hopefully it’ll make a good first post.

I worked in the electronics department, which in my store was right next to the bikes, so I would often help people find and deal with minor bike issues. One family came in with their REALLY young daughter, like 2 or 3, claiming that her bike was defective. The bike was tiny, so I was able to pick it up and turn the pedals with my hand easily, and it worked fine, no issues whatsoever, but they insisted the wheels kept locking up. So I asked them to get their little girl on the bike so I could see what was going on. The little girl mounted up, started pedaling, got 1/4 turn in and then pushed back with her other leg, setting off the brakes. (For those not in the know, small children’s bikes don’t have hand brakes, the brakes are activated by simply pedaling backwards.) It took me several minutes to explain that the issue was nothing to do with the bike, but the fact that the child needed to learn how to pedal. I had to explain it to them like THEY were five because for some reason they couldn’t comprehend it. I even had to get out another copy of the bike they bought so they could see the same thing happen and prove there was nothing wrong with the bike itself. It was all I could do to keep from laughing in their faces because come on, the issue was obvious. I can’t believe they wasted a trip back to the store for that.