Causing A Scene
Raise your hand if you have ever had the privilege of working in the service industry. If you have ever worked in retail, food service, or customer service at all, then you are going to know exactly how “Bonnie” felt when “Karen” walked in and spoiled the day with her entitlement. You have probably come across plenty of Karens even if you haven’t worked in service. But when you have to deal with them day-in and day-out, it can get overwhelming. And sometimes, you just snap.
There are always those select customers who act as if they are better than everyone else. They walk around as if they are on their own red carpet, looking down on the civilians around them. Let me tell you a secret. When someone acts like this, they leave an impression on the employees they treated poorly. They remember the customers who caused a scene, threw a tantrum, and acted like a four-year-old when they couldn’t get what they wanted. Whether they let on or not, the employee remembers. It is better to be a customer that employees forget if it means you are not acting a fool. It seems like it is asking too much for people to just act like decent human beings. But then we wouldn’t have the great stories of Karens and their privileged attitudes.
There’s almost nothing more terrible than a good day ruined by someone demanding things and putting themselves on a pedestal. Some are worse than others, Karens are usually the most egregious offenders as we all know. Beware, because the server you didn’t tip or the employee you threatened, might just have a taste for revenge.
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She Knows Some Things
Bonnie has done it all. She worked as a “baby sitter, landscape artist, daycare worker, waitress, cook, dishwasher, prepper, cashier, retail, host, hairstylist, direct personal care worker,” and more. She has plenty of direct experience with the public, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Every age group, every socioeconomic status. It’s safe to say she has seen some things!
She even grew up with parents who “raised five kids on a waitress’s and self-taught mechanic’s income.” The service industry is something she has known her whole life. She grew up hearing the stories from her mom of all the Karens and she knew how to deal with them before she was even in the workforce herself. If you are having trouble dealing with entitled people, Bonnie is a great person to look to for advice! And if you happen to be a Karen, maybe it is time to reform.
She remembers all of the people who have come in acting like they own the place. And when she recognized a certain entitled customer pop in one day she was not about to give in. Some people can tell if someone is nice or not when they talk to them. Bonnie can tell if a customer is going to be difficult almost immediately. It might be “their face, their clothes, their kids or even their voice.” And this lady fit the bill. “Her face was harsh but her voice equaled nails on a chalkboard.”
It had been a good day so far, so of course, it had to be ruined. She had the best shift, the 9:00-5:00 which everyone envies. It was the easiest too once she got past the lunch rush. She could handle the whole steakhouse alone before the dinner shift started and she headed out. It was usually peaceful and went by quickly. She would spend those few hours doing all the busy work needed for the night. And on this day she had had a “small rush of seniors come through,” which was a breeze. They were “quiet and easy to please customers.” And it was after they were all settled when she saw “a small woman standing with her arms crossed and looking at the huge menu hanging above the line.” This was where things went south.
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You Get What You Get
Bonnie left the plates she was carrying on a nearby table to go help the woman. She was standing alone and had an attitude dripping off her. She was going to be “Karen” for reasons Bonnie knew would become obvious. She just knew this woman was trouble, prepared herself, and went to greet her.
Bonnie grabbed utensils and a tray and started, “Hi! Wel-”
Karen immediately interrupted her and said, “I’m looking! I am NOT ready to order.”
It was then, Bonnie remembered this woman had been here before and had been just as arrogant. Her voice was enough to convince Bonnie to give the woman a taste of her own medicine. But then she interrupted her, in the middle of just greeting her. There was no way Bonnie would let this woman ruin her day for free. She didn’t let on she was annoyed or affected at all. She just decided to take the tray and utensils to the other side of the line and Karen had to walk all the way over. She took her sweet time, already looking annoyed.
When she finally made it to where Bonnie was she started saying, “I want a-”
Bonnie quickly smiled and asked, “Are you adding a buffet or salad with your meal?”
Karen threw her arms up and said, “No! I am not!”
Bonnie had Karen right where she wanted. It was too easy to make her mad. Maybe she should have been less of a Karen earlier and things would have been different. But She had messed with Bonnie and that was a bad choice.
Karen began to raise her voice just a bit saying, “Okay! Now I want a-”
Bonnie was not going to let her attitude go unchecked, so she talked a bit louder too, interrupting with, “What would you like to drink?”
She was still smiling, her customer service act was perfection. Karen was surprised, her eyebrows raised at Bonnie’s interjections. She was not happy.
“Sweet tea!” the woman stated exacerbated.
Bonnie wasn’t even close to done with her though, this was the second time the woman had been rude, so she would get what she deserved.
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Seeing Red
Bonnie made Karen’s tea. Then she “took her tray, drink, and silverware all the back down to the very beginning of the line.” It was where they had started the whole ordeal. Karen would have to walk all the way back if she expected to eat there today. She would need to play by Bonnie’s rules.
Bonnie left the items there and went to the register waiting for Karen to realize. She did a double-take looking at the register and then back at her items at the beginning.
When she noticed, “pure rage filled her face.” Bonnie had not stopped smiling kindly the whole time. She was determined to see this through.
Karen walked all the way down the line to grab her items and back to the register. She was now ready to fully order and said, “Now! I want the New York Strip with-”
Bonnie noticed the tone in the woman’s voice and spoke with a similar venom saying, “How would you like it cooked?”
“Her eyes flickered with flames.”
Karen hissed, “I want it medium rare with a loaded baked potato.”
Bonnie was sad she couldn’t interrupt again, but she wrote the order down “at the speed of a snail.” Karen probably wanted to smack Bonnie or at least snatch the pen and paper and do the job herself.
Karen was “near her boiling point,” and Bonnie thought maybe it was time to be done.
Some people might say this was overboard. But this woman was about to earn every interruption and more.
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Where Did The Kid Come From?
Bonnie had had her laugh, but she figured it was time to let the woman have her food and eat. The need for justice struck again however when she noticed Karen was an even bigger snake than she thought. Shortly after checking the woman out, Bonnie glanced at the food bar and saw the entitled woman piling food onto a plate and a tray. Karen had most definitely NOT paid for the buffet! She specifically said she didn’t want it. So what the heck did she think she was doing? And where did she find the plate? Bonnie knew, “she stole the plate directly from a server’s station.”
‘Lying little thief,’ thought Bonnie.
She knew it was time to call in reinforcements. So Bonnie went to find her manager. She explained how she had recognized Karen from a previous visit and knew she was trouble. And Bonnie told him about Karen’s attitude. But she also admitted to him, she herself had taken a bit of attitude with the woman as well, but felt it was justified. The cooks agreed with her. “At this point, other servers had noticed this woman was up to no good too because her ticket showed a steak and nothing else on it but she was clearly stealing.” And suddenly there was a child sitting with her at her table. There was certainly no child when Bonnie was dealing with Karen upfront. Where did the kid come from?
The manager wanted to get a better idea of what was happening and went to visit Karen’s table. He found out “she actually snuck a kid in, sat him down, went to order, then stole the plate to feed her kid.” She was obviously a master at this deception. She had probably done this plenty of times.
Bonnie’s manager was going to make sure Karen knew she was in the wrong. He told Bonnie not to bother taking out the steak order for Karen, he would be hand delivering it to her, personally.
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All In A Days Work
Bonnie got as close to the table as she could without being too obvious. She wanted to know “see what was about to go down.” Through the window of the dish room, she saw it all play out.
The manager got to the table, looked at the kid, then at Karen, and back at the kid. And then he took a look at the receipt. It was dramatic, but perfect for the scene.
“Oh, our line girl didn’t charge you for your kid’s meal! I’ll fix it right now!” The manager stated, immediately calling her out just enough so she would know what he was referencing.
Karen was surprised but quickly recovered saying Bonnie had been rude and it made her not want to come again. She complained for a bit, but the manager had seen his fair share of rodeos and was not about to take any of her lies.
He told her he knew what she had done “and would call the cops if she didn’t pay for her and her kid’s entire meal.”
He also demanded to know where she had gotten the plate, but Karen was putting up a stony front and not saying anything.
The manager was unphased and decided to tell her to “enjoy her meal and he’d personally be waiting for her when she was done and ready to pay to let her know she is on thin ice.”
After a small fit and decision-making, Karen was finally leaving and gave the money to the boss instead of Bonnie at the table.
And then she was walking her entitled self out. And Bonnie was not going to leave things so simple and boring. She got into the direct sightline of Karen as she was leaving the restaurant. Bonnie “made a point to smile, wave, and making direct eye contact as she walked out the door too.” Karen mouthed some flavorful words that rhyme with ‘duck you.’ But Bonnie had been around the block, she knew how it worked, and unfortunately, this was way too common.
But Bonnie felt great after this encounter. She got justice and a great raise all in one day. Basically Bonnie said, “I won and it felt glorious.”
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