Anybody who has ever worked in retail has a million horror stories about difficult customers. The “Karen” has become a meme-able archetype for this; a demanding, self-important shopper who treats the whole experience like a battle to be won; and not through wit or charm or bartering skill, but through tantrums, volume, and confrontation. It’s enough to make anybody want to take a little petty revenge.
Hence this story that popped up, fittingly enough, on r/PettyRevenge:
Basically, Karen wanted a better price, and she probably could have got one, if she had just bothered to treat the employee like a person.
There’s a lesson to be learned here. Being a jerk might have the exact opposite effect you’re looking for.
Another user refers to this phenomenon as the “asshole tax.”
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Source: BelgianAles on Reddit
And unlike most taxes, this one has a lot of support.
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Source: spanishpeanut on Reddit
But is it truly effective if they never know?
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Source: 18Spears on Reddit
One could argue the net effect is 0.
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Source: [user deleted] on Reddit
But there may be no helping some people.
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Source: bmx13 on Reddit
Maybe everybody wins?
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Source: BigMacRedneck on Reddit
It’s just so difficult to have sympathy with someone who acts so ridiculous.
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Source: k1r0v_report1ng on Reddit
How does she find all her connections anyway?
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Source: Rhodin265 on Reddit
Of course, we could stop giggling for a minute and try to break down real human behavior.
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Source: Tokogawaruf on Reddit
But at the very least, we can take this as a cue to be nicer people, for everybody’s benefit.
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Source: merlinou on Reddit
So I guess that’s the real message here. The person working on the sales floor or behind the counter or in the kitchen is just trying to do their job, a job for which they are more than likely underpaid, and unless they’re actively antagonizing you, you owe them courtesy and respect. So give it, or pay the asshole tax.
Got any retail horror stories?
Let it out in the comments.
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