Bridal Shop Employee Maliciously Complies To Karen’s Request To “Just Let Us Shop And Leave Us Alone”
Interview
Here comes the bride, here comes the bride– Quick, lock the doors! She’s a Karen!
Planning a wedding can be incredibly stressful. There are so many details to work out, and there is usually a great amount of pressure riding on the occasion to make sure it runs as smoothly as possible and can be remembered as one of the best days of the bride and groom’s lives. But getting engaged does not give the happy couple a free pass to be rude and entitled. And planning the special day is probably much more enjoyable when the bride and groom treat everyone around them with respect and a positive attitude.
One bridal consultant recently shared a story on the Malicious Compliance subreddit detailing an experience she had with a rude customer and her mother. Below, you can find the full story that might remind you to always use your best manners, as well as an interview with the bridal consultant, and some of the responses from readers. Then let us know in the comments how you feel about this bride’s behavior.
If you’ve ever worked as a bridal consultant, we would love to hear any interesting stories you have from the job, and then if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda article featuring an entitled bride-to-be, look no further than right here!
This bridal consultant hopped online to detail how she maliciously complied to a rude customer’s demands
Image credits: Adrien Olichon (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Nameless-and-quiet
Now, I’m not a fan of the term “bridezilla” or anyone who tries to make women out as villains when they’re simply trying to plan the wedding of their dreams. It’s understandable that anyone in charge of a big event might be a bit stressed, and might not be acting on their best behavior 100% of the time. However, once a person is rude to an innocent customer service employee who is only trying her best to help them out, that crosses the line. Planning a wedding is something most of us only do once in our lives, so we tend to be way out of our element in doing so.
No matter how much research a bride has done about the various styles of wedding dresses and what looks best on her body type with her complexion, she is likely not an expert. That’s why the bridal consultant is there in the first place! To have a professional who is an expert on wedding dresses work with brides to find the perfect gown that fits in their budget, their timeline, is appropriate for the type of wedding they are having and who will assist them with the literal act of getting wedding dresses on and off (as that can be extremely challenging with the long trains, rows of buttons and massive zippers).
To gain more insight on this situation, we reached out to the bridal consultant who shared this story on Reddit, Nameless-and-quiet. We were curious if she typically has pleasant and polite customers and if dealing with a bride like this is a rare occurrence. “Dress shopping is usually the part of wedding planning that everyone is most excited for. That means I’m usually dealing with happy, excited brides,” she explained. “It’s much more common for moms to be a ‘Karen’, but even that is once in a while. I have several ‘Karen’ stories, but that’s because I’ve been working in the industry for 10 years now.”
She later responded to some of the readers, clarifying details and echoing their sentiments
We also asked Nameless-and-quiet how much help she typically provides for each customer. “I am normally with the bride the whole way through,” she told Bored Panda. “I gather info about her needs and expectations at the beginning, and then help her pull dresses that fit those needs. Then I help them try on gowns and decide which direction they want to go in. If we find a gown, I will measure her, order it and do a quality check when it arrives. I also help them set up alterations. Sometimes I am working with a bride for over 6 months.”
Nameless-and-quiet also wanted to assure brides and their friends or family members who attend their appointments that they’re in good hands. “I’m sure there are some consultants who don’t care about the brides they help,” she added. “But in my experience those are few and far between. I truly give it my best effort and am just trying to make dress shopping and fun, enjoyable experience for the bride, her family and hopefully me. So just trust me! I’ve got you.”
Finally, we were curious what her favorite part of being a bridal consultant is. “My favorite days are when I have a bride come in that is obviously unsure of herself but leaves with her heads held high, feeling beautiful, confident and strong,” she told Bored Panda. “ALL brides have insecurities. But I love when I pull a dress and she puts it on and I see the change. She looks at herself differently. She starts smiling at the mirror because she loves what she sees. She loves herself. That is a good day at work for me. That is way I love my job. I get to help people see themselves as beautiful and strong.”
We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments down below. How would you have responded to this rude bride? And if you’ve ever worked as a bridal consultant, feel free to share any fascinating stories you have from the job too. Then, if you want to read another Bored Panda article centered around a bride who’s made questionable decisions, check out this story next.
Many people joined in on the conversation, applauding the bridal consultant and shaming the bride for her behavior
I like the old white woman that came into our groom shop and told us that she wanted her Min Schnauzer trimmed with a standard cut for that breed. Then she looks up and sees we have a black woman for one of our groomers. She leans over and says "I don't want that black girl touching my dog." I said loudly "That's a shame. Because that black woman has 20 years experience in the business including grooming Schnauzers for shows. Everyone in the area knows she's the go to person for Schnauzer cuts. You must be new." The woman huffed, took her dog and left. I called the owner of the shop and told her what happened. She said "No problem. We don't need her business. Let her complain to her friends."
That's horribly sad for the pup. Meaning less possible trauma and mishandling to it. I'm sure your the lady in your store was just as happy as the old biddy was ugly about not working with her. You don't need that negative energy. Good for you and your boss!
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I don't like hovering salespeople- and I say this as a salesperson. But if I specifically make an appointment with someone... I'm not going to get mad when that person comes and greets me and tells me I'm the one they made an appointment with. It doesn't even matter if its a bridal shop or a bank or anywhere. I made an appointment, I have no reason to rude when someone talks to me...
Never having had the "pleasure" of wedding dress shopping (just bought a long white cotton dress in the 70s and none of my children had a big wedding), I'm totally unaware of how buying a wedding dress works. I didn't realize that you couldn't purchase one off the rack. Is there a specific reason for this, even if the dress fits perfectly at the shop?
I think most bridal shops will only have one or two dresses of each type rather than an entire inventory of different sizes for each style. It saves a lot of money and space. If a shop bought, say, five of each gown style for their inventory, they probably wouldn't be able to sell all five of those gowns before the style changed or the dresses started to look bad from age and general wear-and-tear. Whereas if they only have one or two of each style of dress and then they order in the one you want in the size you want, they're throwing out or getting rid of only a couple of gowns in the end. Saves them money and trouble, and you also get to order a bridal gown that is exactly to your measurements instead of a pre-sized one that only kind of fits you.
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I went back to work a few months ago after not working for 18 years. I am in retail and love what I do. On this one day that was supposed to be my day off but I volunteered to come in because we were short staffed, there was this costumer that was not once but twice extremely rude to me. Not allowing me to speak, screaming for me to show her things, feeling like I’m nobody and she’s everything- I told my manager that I refuse service and explained what she’d done. I’m not nobody. I’m somebody. I’m trying to help you and I can’t get a word in. I volunteered to come in. Show some respect or leave
Great owner. They probably know that the issues that that bride would've brough with them would not been worth the sale revenue. They'd probably actually lose money.
These are really short stories dragged on to be as long as possible, just for a story post. Its a paragraph-long story dragged out to be a whole story post!
that's not how it works when you shop for wedding dresses though so you make no sense. She literally explained why she was there and what a consultant is for. You make the process even harder on yourself not taking advantage of the consultants help
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Karens come in all shapes, colors, ages and genders, Karen.
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Found the person that didn't read the story. Edited to add, I am not downvoting you. But you clearly missed the point, and I don't see where OP threw a fit.
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They were rude to the consultant from the start. There's no call for that.
Load More Replies... I like the old white woman that came into our groom shop and told us that she wanted her Min Schnauzer trimmed with a standard cut for that breed. Then she looks up and sees we have a black woman for one of our groomers. She leans over and says "I don't want that black girl touching my dog." I said loudly "That's a shame. Because that black woman has 20 years experience in the business including grooming Schnauzers for shows. Everyone in the area knows she's the go to person for Schnauzer cuts. You must be new." The woman huffed, took her dog and left. I called the owner of the shop and told her what happened. She said "No problem. We don't need her business. Let her complain to her friends."
That's horribly sad for the pup. Meaning less possible trauma and mishandling to it. I'm sure your the lady in your store was just as happy as the old biddy was ugly about not working with her. You don't need that negative energy. Good for you and your boss!
Load More Replies... I don't like hovering salespeople- and I say this as a salesperson. But if I specifically make an appointment with someone... I'm not going to get mad when that person comes and greets me and tells me I'm the one they made an appointment with. It doesn't even matter if its a bridal shop or a bank or anywhere. I made an appointment, I have no reason to rude when someone talks to me...
Never having had the "pleasure" of wedding dress shopping (just bought a long white cotton dress in the 70s and none of my children had a big wedding), I'm totally unaware of how buying a wedding dress works. I didn't realize that you couldn't purchase one off the rack. Is there a specific reason for this, even if the dress fits perfectly at the shop?
I think most bridal shops will only have one or two dresses of each type rather than an entire inventory of different sizes for each style. It saves a lot of money and space. If a shop bought, say, five of each gown style for their inventory, they probably wouldn't be able to sell all five of those gowns before the style changed or the dresses started to look bad from age and general wear-and-tear. Whereas if they only have one or two of each style of dress and then they order in the one you want in the size you want, they're throwing out or getting rid of only a couple of gowns in the end. Saves them money and trouble, and you also get to order a bridal gown that is exactly to your measurements instead of a pre-sized one that only kind of fits you.
Load More Replies... I went back to work a few months ago after not working for 18 years. I am in retail and love what I do. On this one day that was supposed to be my day off but I volunteered to come in because we were short staffed, there was this costumer that was not once but twice extremely rude to me. Not allowing me to speak, screaming for me to show her things, feeling like I’m nobody and she’s everything- I told my manager that I refuse service and explained what she’d done. I’m not nobody. I’m somebody. I’m trying to help you and I can’t get a word in. I volunteered to come in. Show some respect or leave
Great owner. They probably know that the issues that that bride would've brough with them would not been worth the sale revenue. They'd probably actually lose money.
These are really short stories dragged on to be as long as possible, just for a story post. Its a paragraph-long story dragged out to be a whole story post!
that's not how it works when you shop for wedding dresses though so you make no sense. She literally explained why she was there and what a consultant is for. You make the process even harder on yourself not taking advantage of the consultants help
Load More Replies... Karens come in all shapes, colors, ages and genders, Karen.
Load More Replies... Found the person that didn't read the story. Edited to add, I am not downvoting you. But you clearly missed the point, and I don't see where OP threw a fit.
Load More Replies... They were rude to the consultant from the start. There's no call for that.
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