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The customer isn’t always right. Especially when they assume someone is an employee… at a store they don’t even work at. Of course, nearly everyone has mistaken a stranger for a staff member at least once, even though nobody likes to accept it. But it’s how you handle the next moments of the conversation that truly defines the level of embarrassment you’re about to feel.
One shopper, however, showed her true colors after she approached a fellow buyer, lashed out, and just couldn’t admit her fault. This scenario comes from Redditor RainbowSprinkles4, who recently shared her encounter with an “Old White Lady” radiating powerful Karen energy at Joann fabrics and crafts store. As she detailed in a post on the ‘I Don’t Work Here Lady’ subreddit, she was browsing the shelves on Halloween when she heard someone shouting at her.
The rude lady addressed her with an accosting “you work here?”, and you already know it’s gonna be good. She started bombarding the woman with commands to get her fabric cut, but the user picked the perfect weapon to respond — humor. Read on to find out how the situation unfolded, as well as our interview with the Redditor, and be sure to share what you think of the whole exchange in the comments!
Image credits: Kahyap Pictures (not the actual photo)
Image credits: RainbowSprinkles4
Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)
We got in touch with the author of the post who was kind enough to chat with us about the encounter. RainbowSprinkles4 explained that her boyfriend, who’s really into Reddit, inspired her to share the post online. “I texted him the story as soon as I left the store because I was basically in shock. He mentioned this subreddit, and I had been lurking on the site for a while and decided to give sharing it a shot,” the Redditor told Bored Panda.
The ‘I Don’t Work Here Lady’ online community is the perfect space for stories like this one. The forum, which is essentially a “derivative of subreddits like Tales From Retail” was created 8 years ago to offer a platform for people to share “stories about folks that go into other businesses and have irate customers mistake them for employees.”
The woman was shocked to see the story blow up on the platform to the extent it did. “For the most part, everyone has been commiserating from their own Karen experiences and getting a good laugh out of it. I love making people laugh, so those responses are my favorite. There have been a few people who thought I made it up, but honestly, who could make this up?”
We were curious to learn how the situation unfolded, and RainbowSprinkles4 was more than happy to give us an update. “Basically she kinda snarled at me, I don’t know a better word for the sound she made. Just a loud, ‘ugh!’” After this confusing exchange, the lady stormed off, “literally just left her cart in the middle of the store. It was really anticlimactic, but I’m kinda glad it didn’t escalate.”
Still, the motivation behind the lady’s actions remains a mystery: “Who knows why anyone acts the way they do?” Redditor asked. “There have been a few people who have mentioned that it sounds like the effects of some kind of lapse in mental ability, and I hope it’s not that cause I would feel really bad for being so snarky.”
But the woman, who is currently working several jobs — “one as a teacher and one in food service” — has noticed a significant upswing in entitlement lately on all fronts. “I think we’re all feeling that rush and pressure, and it gets taken out on whoever causes that hiccup,” she added.
Emily Zitek, a professor at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, told us in a previous interview that researchers debate whether entitlement in our society is getting more severe. “Some people think the data indicates that entitlement is going up, and others think that entitlement is staying the same.”
But why do people behave this way? In essence, “entitled individuals view themselves as unique, and they believe that they should receive rewards and benefits, such as more money, better grades, or preferential treatment, regardless of their performance or effort in comparison with others,” Zitek explained.
Psychological entitlement makes people more selfish, follow instructions less often, and make them more likely to believe that things that are unpleasant for them are unfair. And as many of us know from personal experience, dealing with such individuals is challenging. “People who have to interact with entitled people report lower well-being and burnout.” So if you ever find yourself in such a situation, you “should remember that this person’s claims are not based on merit and that if [you] reject this person’s request, the person will likely get angry or upset.”
This seems to be exactly the case here, and the author of the story shared her biggest takeaway from the whole experience. “The best answer is a witty answer. Sure, cussing someone out is cathartic, but there’s no better feeling than being devastatingly clever.”
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Ieva is a writer at Bored Panda who graduated in Scandinavian studies from Vilnius University. After learning the Swedish language and getting completely lost in the world of Scandinavian mythology, she figured out that translating and writing is what she's passionate about. When not writing, Ieva enjoys making jewelry, going on hikes, reading and drinking coffee.
Mantas is a photo editor at Bored Panda. Also he is a student of Digital Contents, who was studying is South Korea and right now is taking a break from studies so he could get more experience and polish his craft.
He likes to get carried away by his own imagination and create something interesting, mostly in a visual form via drawing in Photoshop or on paper.
Once I mistook a customer for store employee(he was wearing same color tshirt) and asked him whether they have this(shirt or something)in M size. He started looking for it. There was a girl with him who started laughing and I realized he was shopping just like me. I apologized to him. I heard him saying to the girl that it would have been rude of him not to help me.
I made the mistake of wearing a red t-shirt into Target early in the morning when most of the people there are staff frantically restocking things.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
I am making 90 dollars an hour working from home. I never imagined that it was honest to goodness yet my closest companion is earning $16,000 a month by working on a laptop, that was truly astounding for me, she prescribed for me to attempt it simply. Everybody must try this job now by just using this website.. www.Profit97.com
I have been threatened to have them “get/call my manager” in so many places that I had never worked in. Now, I never wear a red shirt or jacket in Target, a blue one in Walmart, a tropical one in Trader Joe’s, a green polo ANYWHERE that has plants in it or a shirt with a logo on it in any store. If confronted, I act deaf and can’t speak english.
Do you have Resting Employee Face?
I do! I’ve been asked if I work here in just about every place I frequent.
“confronted, I act deaf and can’t speak english” well of course you can Jaguarundi, you’re a wild cat. 🙄
I’m tall and people in stores ask me to get stuff off of top shelves sometimes. They know I don’t work there I think, But they know I can reach! I have had a few elderly ladies ask if I “work here?”, I say no, can I help you though? Ha ha…like what I am going to be able to help with?? Oh yeah..the stuff on the top shelf….
Okay, okay… I’ve been guilty of this! I’m a shortie, so on a couple of occasions I’ve asked a kindly tall person to reach something on a tall shelf. On behalf of short people everywhere, we thank you for your tall stature and help! ☺️
yeah. I’m short. I’ve totally done this. … after I’ve looked around for a step ladder though. so… thank you to all the tall people!
Yup!
I have to do this all the time. Thank you for your service. Anything I can get you off the bottom shelf?
I’m a fan of trying to get things myself to absolutely deny that I’m short, but I was putting up flyers at my college once and the only available spot on the flyer board at the Student center was kinda high up, and as I’m standing there trying to figure out how to get the flyer up, I hear a male voice go “Oh, do you want some help?” And I turned to look and 3 attractive tall guys were standing there, and I was like “polite, attractive tall guys want to help me? Yes please!” XD Only other time I ask taller people to get things is if I’m at home and don’t feel like getting the step-ladder or climbing on a counter. XD
Once I mistook a customer for store employee(he was wearing same color tshirt) and asked him whether they have this(shirt or something)in M size. He started looking for it. There was a girl with him who started laughing and I realized he was shopping just like me. I apologized to him. I heard him saying to the girl that it would have been rude of him not to help me.
I made the mistake of wearing a red t-shirt into Target early in the morning when most of the people there are staff frantically restocking things.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
I am making 90 dollars an hour working from home. I never imagined that it was honest to goodness yet my closest companion is earning $16,000 a month by working on a laptop, that was truly astounding for me, she prescribed for me to attempt it simply. Everybody must try this job now by just using this website.. www.Profit97.com
I have been threatened to have them “get/call my manager” in so many places that I had never worked in. Now, I never wear a red shirt or jacket in Target, a blue one in Walmart, a tropical one in Trader Joe’s, a green polo ANYWHERE that has plants in it or a shirt with a logo on it in any store. If confronted, I act deaf and can’t speak english.
Do you have Resting Employee Face?
I do! I’ve been asked if I work here in just about every place I frequent.
“confronted, I act deaf and can’t speak english” well of course you can Jaguarundi, you’re a wild cat. 🙄
I’m tall and people in stores ask me to get stuff off of top shelves sometimes. They know I don’t work there I think, But they know I can reach! I have had a few elderly ladies ask if I “work here?”, I say no, can I help you though? Ha ha…like what I am going to be able to help with?? Oh yeah..the stuff on the top shelf….
Okay, okay… I’ve been guilty of this! I’m a shortie, so on a couple of occasions I’ve asked a kindly tall person to reach something on a tall shelf. On behalf of short people everywhere, we thank you for your tall stature and help! ☺️
yeah. I’m short. I’ve totally done this. … after I’ve looked around for a step ladder though. so… thank you to all the tall people!
Yup!
I have to do this all the time. Thank you for your service. Anything I can get you off the bottom shelf?
I’m a fan of trying to get things myself to absolutely deny that I’m short, but I was putting up flyers at my college once and the only available spot on the flyer board at the Student center was kinda high up, and as I’m standing there trying to figure out how to get the flyer up, I hear a male voice go “Oh, do you want some help?” And I turned to look and 3 attractive tall guys were standing there, and I was like “polite, attractive tall guys want to help me? Yes please!” XD Only other time I ask taller people to get things is if I’m at home and don’t feel like getting the step-ladder or climbing on a counter. XD
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