First time poster from the UK. Sorry it turned out long.

Backstory

I've been a Guider (Girl Scout leader) for many years and when I was 17 (1990's) I was helping with Brownies. We met at the local High school with both the Rainbows (Equivalent to Daisies in the USA) in one room and our Brownies in the other room. After our meeting the leaders were all going for a meal at a local pub across the road from the school where we meet.

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Many Guiders from the other local units were meeting at the school for parking reasons so we had had many leaders arrive by the time the Brownie meeting had finished. As we passed twenty three of our twenty four Brownies to their parent, we were aware that their was the usual Brownie without a parent. This parent was always late. Brown Owl had spoken to this EM every week about her timekeeping as she was usually about ten to fifteen minutes late. It never had an effect. Bear in mind that this Brownie was only seven and had not even finished her first term with us.

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Some of the Leaders decided to go over and hold our table as we were a large group, about twenty five leaders in total, while about eight of us waited for the parent. Leaders from the Brownie unit never leave before the Brownies have all gone home so that no one is alone with a child for safety reasons. To be honest we were all hanging out talking to the Brownie and making her happy while we made sure that everything was tidy and ready for the class that would be using the room the following morning.

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After an hour and a half EM enters with no apology or comment and starts to gather her Brownie and her things. Brown Owl is annoyed. At 17 even though Brown Owl is a family friend she still scares me when she gets stern, she was a head teacher at a local primary school and had one of those stern voices that has to be obeyed!

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Brown Owl : What time do you call this, we have discussed previously the time that Brownies finish and that you need to collect her on time.

EM (angry already): What are you complaining about you all get paid to do this!

Brown Owl: WHAT!! No we do not get paid to do this, we do this voluntarily and more often than not put our own money and time into making Guiding great for the girls.

She then turns to each leader and asks them how much time they were owed in pay.....

Through the laughter from the leaders we each gave our numbers of years service to Guiding including my 1 year (a number that is now 29 years) and then turns to EM.

Brown Owl: So we are owed 80 years of wages according to you. Would you like to pay us now??

EM: You are all lying. I pay my subs, that pays your wages.

Taking into consideration that subs only cover the rent of the room, our annual census (this covers insurance and our leaders getting a magazine with ideas in once a month) and badges that the girls earn as well as any equipment that we need for the weekly meeting. I can't remember what it was then but my Guides currently pay £30 (that just under $40 US) a term so its one of the cheapest clubs that you can do.

Brown Owl: No you don't. If you are late again collecting your child I will have no other alternative but to call social services, (this is a rule that we had, as it was before mobile phones and after half an hour that we had to call for the child's own safety.)

EM: You would not dare!

Guide leader steps forward: I think I need to step in, my job is to work in the child protection department of the police force and I can tell you that Brown Owl in perfectly within the law to do this and should have done this tonight. I will be logging this with social services in the morning and a record will be on Police files.

EM then grabs Brownie and runs from the building. We all head to the pub for our food and share the story with the other leaders who had kindly waited for us before ordering.

You would think that would be it but no. The following week at a Guiders training day we are all sat round and the Guide leader gets out her note book and states: I need to put my District commissioners hat on now (she looks after complaints and any issues for the local units and passes on information from the main Guiding offices), we have had a complaint.

We all look shocked, this is a) not how complaints are dealt with (never in public) and b) I never heard of one happening.

Guide leader : A parent has complained about you Brown Owl and me over stepping our boundaries and claiming that we are not paid.

EM had complained about every leader in the room including little me who had not even spoken to her. Not realizing that the person she was complaining to was the Guide leader. As you can guess her complained was dismissed, but her Brownie was still there every week until she turned ten and moved to Guides. EM was not seen as Nan collected and dropped her off as EM was too busy to do so.

EM did turn up the first week of Guides but scarpered when she saw the Guide leader arrive in full Police uniform as she had come straight from work. Nan was there at collection time and had to be be spoken to about how Brownie had been dropped without anyone filling in any paperwork for the her. Nan was very confused as this was not like EM according to her.

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This story is still used today at training and most people find it really funny.

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TLTR: EM thinks that Voluntary Guiding leaders are paid and being an hour late collecting her child is fine.