Teach Soap

The folks next to me at the craft fair this past weekend were selling girly hair bows and headbands. The morning was a bit slow so we had time to chat. Neither of us had been to that particular fair before, but I live local and a few people I saw told me it didn't seem to have the crowd it usually does. In the afternoon, the crowd picked up and me and my neighbor both had spurts of being busy.

During one of the busy times I saw a teen girl walking through the crowd with a box strapped around her neck with a big sign that said "Hair bows for Sale". She stood in front of my neighbors tent for a moment then kept walking. I pointed her out to my daughter and we were talking about how we had never seen people walking around with their goods when she came back again to stand in front of my neighbors tent. She was trying to stop people who were going to look at the hair bows at my neighbors tent, and those customers no doubt thought she was from the tent she was in front of.

I leaned over to my neighbor and said "You might want to go chase that girl away, she's selling hair bows right in front of your tent". The girl probably heard me, because she turned around and looked at me and walked away. I was mad that someone would purposely try to steal someone else's customers away. My neighbor was the "turn the other cheek" type, and said she has learned not to get mad about the stupid things people do at craft fairs. Me, I'm not a nice person like that, I would have given that girl a verbal lashing then asked what tent her parents were at so they could get theirs too.

So my neighbor has done fairs for years, and this is really my first year doing a lot. Does this type of thing happen often? Should I start bringing bail money just in case it happens to me? <just kidding...maybe>

She should have been reported to the fair manager. I'm sure she had no business being there, nor had the proper paperwork. I would have reported her and maybe even took her pic while she wasn't looking. Fair people are hard working people. She did not belong there.

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I believe she was from another fair booth. The fair consisted of 3 streets, and around the corner from us was another hair bow booth. I had customers shopping at the time and so did my vendor neighbor, the girl disappeared into the crowd. I wanted to go walk past that other booth again and see if she was from there, but I never got the chance between the wind and sales. I guess I should write to the fair coordinator even though it's over and done now, maybe they can watch out for that sort of thing next year.

Yes, write to the fair coordinator so they are aware of the situation.

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Any fair or market that I've ever been to wouldn't allow vendors to walk around selling their products. You're given a spot to sell your products, that's where you sell them. If she was with an adult who was selling the bows at their booth, I'm assuming they only paid to sell at that booth, not all throughout the fair.
Plus it's just plain rude.

_________________
Genny

I agree, rude and just a downright nasty thing to do. Haven't seen it anywhere else, thank goodness.