If you saw an unruly child and disrespectful mother berate a salesperson in a store, what would you do? If you saw the child throw merchandise on the floor and laugh, would you say something? If you saw a mother ignore her child’s obnoxious behavior while consumed with a phone call, would you step in?
That’s exactly what ABC’s What Would You Do, the popular hidden camera TV show featuring ethical dilemmas, wanted to find out. They chose my children’s store in Westport, Groove, to be their set for an upcoming episode. On October 1, engineers strategically set up approximately 10 hidden cameras around the store to capture the customers’ reactions to real-life scenarios, played out by ABC-hired actors.
The scenarios involved a mother and her daughter (both actors) shopping for clothes, during which the daughter acted disrespectfully to the salesperson (another actor), threw clothes on the ground and displayed entitled, obnoxious behavior. In several scenarios, the mother was also rude and disrespectful, while in other cases, she was consumed with a cell phone call and ignored her daughter’s behavior altogether.
In many cases, regular Groove customers and shoppers (who I know well) rolled their eyes, mouthed their horror to me or stared at the mother/ daughter duo in disbelief. Who would act this way? (Thankfully, this rarely happens in our store!) In some cases, the customer voiced their concern to the salespeople (both real and acting), while several others stepped in and approached the mother and/or the daughter, in order to defend the salesperson.
The show’s host, John Quinones, a veteran ABC correspondent, and show producers watched the feeds of hidden cameras in a makeshift control room in a van parked behind the store. When a shopper intervened, Quinones entered the store through the back door to interview the individual about why she chose to say something and how she was impacted by the scenario.
I tried to “act normally,” but as anyone can imagine, this was the toughest part. As I watched the unruly child and unhelpful mother disrespect the acting salesperson, I had to resist my urge to step in and try to control or alleviate the situation. I never let someone talk to my salespeople like that — but for this shoot, I had to let it play out. I also couldn’t tell my regular customers not to worry and that this child is just acting! I almost felt paralyzed, like I couldn’t say anything at all without ruining the shoot.
Thankfully, it was an extreme scenario that rarely happens at Groove. Our customers’ children wouldn’t behave that way — or get away with behaving that way! It was a good reminder of how we want our children to behave and act respectfully toward others. It was a fascinating case study!
I can’t wait for the show to air, so we can see it from the either side of the lens!
If this happened to you, what would you do?