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18 Times ‘Karens’ Were Shamed In Real Life By People Who Ran Out Of Patience
Article created by: Rugilė Žemaitytė
Being rude, obnoxious, and overly entitled is no way to go through life. It’s only common sense to be polite to other folks, whether they’re good acquaintances, coworkers, or complete strangers. Unfortunately, for some, kindness and basic social awareness aren’t the main way they operate.
After being prompted by u/Physical-Savings7412, the popular r/AskReddit online community recently spilled the tea about the most impressive moments they saw ‘Karens’ get called out. Scroll down for their stories. In pop culture, ‘Karens’ are known as extremely entitled, often very mean individuals. (And, no, the person doesn’t actually have to be female or named Karen, which is objectively an excellent name.)
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#1
Worked at a pizza shop as a delivery driver when I was younger. Shop was owned by 3 (extremely polite, professional, and hard-working) Russian men, 2 brothers and a cousin. Took a delivery right down the street, I’m talking a tenth of a mile. Guy comes out hot about how they shouldn’t have someone with such a heavy accent taking orders because “nobody can understand what the f**k he’s saying and he just wants his order correct.” I let him know that I’ll pass on the message. I go back and tell the owner that took the order about this guy’s complaint. Owner immediately calls him, tells him that if he doesn’t like the way he speaks that he can f**k off and order from somewhere else since he was too lazy to drive 30 seconds to place the order in person. Ended it with “do you understand my English now?”.
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#2
I was in line about the fourth person back and this old lady was holding up the line at a Bed, bath, and beyond because she had a bunch of coupons that were expired and was demanding that they give them to her. Not recently expired, like expired over a year ago and she said she "didn't notice".
Guy behind her with a thick New England does this:
Guy: Just show em' yer special privileges card...
Old Lady: I don't have a special privilege's card
Guy: why don't you have one?
Old Lady: I don't know
Guy: do you think that's because you don't have special privilege's?
Old Lady: Blank stare
Everyone else in line just started busting out laughing, when the lady finally figured out that the guy behind her insulted her, and there isn't a goddamn thing she can do about it, she just walked out.
Guy proceeds to put his stuff down and the cashier told him that she was going to give him 50% off on the sheet set he was buying.
Dude was a legend...
#3
My brother held the door for a pair of older women walking into a store behind us. One of them screamed at him not to hold the door just because she was a woman. He replied, "I'm not. I'm holding it because of your age.".
#4
About twelve years back, I had a cow-orker who was former military. He did a couple of tours in the sandbox, lost his leg to an IED, and mustered out of the service. When we worked together he had a prosthetic leg, though it fit him well enough that he only rarely had to walk with a cane for balance. He didn't have a handicapped plate on his car, he had a placard that you hung on your rearview mirror.
Anyway, we were going to lunch offsite one afternoon. We pulled up at the deli and parked in a handicapped parking spot (as one does). He was in the middle of saying "Virtual Adept, could you go in my glove compartment and get my placard?" when a woman walked up to his side of the car, banged on the window, and began berating him for using a handicapped parking space, what do you think you're doing, don't you know there are crippled people in wheelchairs who need that (yes, she said that)...
I wasn't sure what to do, I was sitting there with my hand in the glovebox wondering what he was going to do. My cow-orker sat there for a good, long while, listening to this woman yell at him. Three, maybe four minutes at the outside. Total poker face, like he was carved out of stone.
He rolled his window down. He pulled his pant leg up. He popped his prosthetic leg off and he handed it to her.
#5
An aunt who’s always been critical of my weight since childhood said to me after not seeing for 5 years “How did you get so fat? You had such a great figure and you’ve really just…let yourself go.”
I’d just had a kid.
Me: “Gee, Auntie. You’ve gotten so old. Has life been hard? You used to look so average. Now you just look so…haggard.”.
#6
When I was in long line for a new roller coaster, a group of guys probably 16 years old cut in front of us.. a bit later they even complained how long the line was.. I waited until we were almost to the ride and then when we passed a worker, I told them these guys cut in line… they were removed and waited for nothing. 🙂.
#7
I had to slam on my brakes one time at a crosswalk because a family started to walk across that I didn't see on the sidewalk obscured by a bush. The family didn't even react to my tires screeching because I stopped well before they were in the road. The woman behind me saw how hard I braked and after the crosswalk she drove next to me and was yelling out her window and pointing her finger at me while she was driving... then she hit the car in front of her as we came up to a stop sign because she was so busy yelling and looking at me in the lane next to her instead of ahead of her at the stopped car.
#8
Was a male Karen. He would constantly call and berate us for perceived issues with network speed (it wasn't us, it was his equipment). Then he escalated to pretending to cc newspapers in support emails, but since he was incompetent they weren't valid. One day my boss sees one, they get into a brief back and forth with him telling him to stop being rude to staff, then finally my boss just sends a final message "Your account is £45 every three months, we do not need your business and so I've canceled your contract. Good riddance". He copied the entire support team on that one, there was a cheer in the office.
I miss working for that guy, he was one of the best bosses I've ever had.
#9
Very much enjoy the "I demand to speak to the manager!!" walk off for 10 minutes to make them wait and then come back and go "Good news! You were already talking to the manager... And now I'm going to ask you to leave please...bye bye".
Only happened a couple of times, I haven't been back in the hospitality game very long,, but it's good fun.
#10
When I worked retail, I was the guy that would go outside and bring the shopping carts in. One particularly busy day, as I'm bringing a round of carts in, I notice a little woman in her mid 40's or so standing next to the area where the shopping carts are stored. I didn't really think anything of it and just started putting the carts away.
Without moving, she yells at me (from about 30 feet away, standing next to multiple available carts) to bring her a cart. I figured I must have misheard her since she was standing next to so many available carts, so I just looked at her and waved
she looks shocked, yells "bring me a cart *right now,*" and *snaps her fingers at me*
I laughed at her and walked back outside to get more carts, and she immediately filed a complaint about "a very rude cart boy" lol.
#11
We were fly fishing in a park and a lady started harassing us despite the spot being perfectly legal to fish in. What she didn’t know was DNR was there doing license checks and stuff and when they came over to us she got cited for interfering with us.
#12
Pepper spraying some older woman because she thought spitting on me while talking was intimidating.
#13
About 25 years ago at an expensive steakhouse restaurant in Dallas, a couple of mid-age ladies were led to their table by a young waiter. The place was surprisingly almost empty at the time.
A few minutes after eyeing the menu, the waiter approached them to ask if they'd be ready to order. I don't know what led to a sudden yelling from one of the ladies, but ended up the waiter leaving while saying something along the lines of "I don't have to put up with your attitude", in a polite way.
Not even a minute later, a tall older man with a perfectly trimmed white beard and magnificently dressed in a cowboy outfit (with the hat included), approached the table to ask about the encounter. That guy looked like he meant business, his demeanor and the way he carried himself showed authority, he didn't need to speak to make himself present, you knew he was the owner.
He approached the table and immediately went into a squat position to be at the same eye level as these ladies (as if he was seating down), shortly after a small and quiet conversation, he stood up with authority but without breaking out eye contact. I was probably about 20 feet away, but until today, I do vividly remember hearing the man saying: "I'm going to bring the waiter back and you will apologize to him, loud and publicly, just like you were berating. If you decide not to do this, I will forcibly remove you myself from the premises".
Everyone, including me and my entire table, stopped in their tracks and turned around, it just felt like a good ol' western cowboy duel was about to go down. The lady couldn't believe this man was siding with the waiter, and even worse, everyone else was watching what she'd do next.
With a defeated and angry face, the lady slammed the towel napkin on the table and said: "fine!, bring him back!", as if trying to keep some sort of dignity. The waiter came back, and the lady complied. At no point the waiter showed any sense of pride or being haughty. The apology was accepted and business continued as usual.
Edit: misspellings, I'm on mobile.
#14
Worked at a DQ. Gave the wrong change, twice (oof) and the customer turned to his kid and said "see? That's what happens when you dont go to college".
Highlight of the week when the kid, maybe 9 year old, says "that was mean".
Now I know I'm not smart, and it's true I didn't go to college lmfao, but that s**t cut hella deep.
The dad did apologize to me and I give him props. Ain't easy to admit you f****d up. Really I think he was just trying to make a point to his kid and he didn't think about how it sounded. No hard feelings.
But yeah new core memory lol I'll never forget that feeling of overwhelming shame.
#15
Not too long ago, im in line at Subway, and the guy ahead of me is throwing a FIT, something about a coupon for a free sub.The manager insisted it was expired, he can't get a free sub. This man throws a huge fit, hes screaming, cops get called, he stomps out the front door, FINALLY, as I get to the register to pay.
The cashier gave me my sub for free for being chill about the whole scene.
#16
An older guy in a pizza shop was yelling at someone because they parked “too close” to the shop which meant he had to walk farther- like he was genuinely mad that someone who arrived before him got a parking space closer than him. The person was ignoring him for the most part until he started calling them names, then they looked at him and said “oh go make a Facebook post about it!”.
#17
A guy tried to cut in front of me as I was at the counter of a d**g store. He took my things and started pushing them off the counter and put his things in the cashier's hands. Cashier wasn't sure what to do but I told the guy to f**k off, what is he doing, etc and the guy loses it, says he was in front of me but he wasn't. He literally walked in front of me while I was at the head of the line.
It quickly escalates and the guy is close to yelling. Finally he says FINE I'LL SEE YOU OUTSIDE. I sigh, buy my things and I see out the front door the guy stomping around, doing a little tantrum like a toddler though he had a big bald spot (and a ponytail ha). I'm not sure what to do. I'm not going to back down but it's in the center of downtown in a very public area and I don't feel like going to jail just for defending myself.
In the time it took to get my things together and walk outside to begin whatever's going to happen, the guy is *gone.* I'm confused, walk out and look around and the guy is across the street, in cuffs and the cop is doing that watch-your-head thing as he gets him in the back of the cop car.
I don't really know what happened but I would guess he got so peeved off that I didn't let him cut in front of me he started a beef with a cop and got arrested for it.
#18
I used to have a coworker who was *strange*.
We used to go to the same BBQ joint every Friday, and without fail, my coworker would order a "wagon, no wheel".
The person working the register (usually someone different every week) never knew what he was talking about, so he'd have to explain that he wanted a Chuckwagon sandwich with no bun.
We went through this every week for probably a year.
One day, a new soda dispenser had been installed, and a guy was looking it over as we got our drinks.
The guy asked us how we liked the dispenser, we told him that it was nice, and he thanked us, and explained that he was the owner of the place.
My coworker immediately started ranting about how he needed to hire smarter people to work the register.
The owner wanted to know more, and coworker explained that the never knew what a "wagon, no wheel" was.
The manager asked, "What the hell is a 'wagon, no wheel?"
My coworker explained.
"Jesus Christ!" exclaimed the owner. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. What kind of idiot thinks he can make up names for things that aren't on the menu?"
Then he looked my coworker dead in the face and asked, "Are you some kind of moron, pal?"
Coworker stammered that he wasn't, and the owner said, "then quit saying stupid s**t to my staff. Order off the menu or get out."
We ate our lunches, and coworker never ordered a "wagon, no wheel" again.
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Rūta Zumbrickaitė
Rugilė Žemaitytė
Donata Ruzgaitė
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