Dear Prudence,
I love my parents, but since they retired three years ago, it is as though their brains have drained out of their ears. I am not talking about their opinions on politics, but just basic common sense.
I saw my parents actually ask grocery workers putting out fresh fried chicken if the birds were from last night, and get offended when told no and that it would be a health department violation. They won’t call and make reservations, and then they will not stop complaining because the restaurant is busy with a long wait time. Anything that requires a coupon or QR code gets ignored because they think they can get the special price without it. I watched my father get in a shouting match with a teenage manager over his deserving to get the senior citizen discount every time, despite the fact that he was standing right next to a sign that said it was only on select days. If they ask a question, it takes me repeating the answer several times because they will straight up ignore me the first time.
Last time I visited, I was subjected to an hour-long rant because the local bakery refused to have an employee stay an hour on the phone while my mother dithered over what kind of cake to get for a party, and she was told to look online. I pointed out to my mother that the place was a small business and didn’t have the largest staff. They don’t have that kind of manpower and need to get to the actual business of baking cakes. It just didn’t compute for my mother, and she was a retail manager her entire life. It has gotten to the point that I don’t want to be caught out in public with them because of how many scenes they have caused over the most trivial crap. What do I do here? I love my parents, but they don’t see anything wrong with their behavior.
—Public Embarrassment