Employees are a great resource when someone is shopping and needs help finding something. Most of the time, they're always happy to do so and will assist the customer in any way they can. The only time they won't help a shopper is when they're not even an employee themselves! Unfortunately, that does not stop some people from getting what they want.
Customers on Reddit share the infuriating time when a 'Karen' mistook them for an employee. Content has been edited for clarity.
Hard To Know What’s In Your Section When It’s Not Your Section
“I was a promoter for a company with a wide range of products My job was to promote their products in another company’s store. I am usually near the front of the store pitching whatever new products my company has to people as they pass by.
So the amount of times people coming in and asking me for help is STAGGERING. But most of the time I help, because I usually know more or less where everything in the store is or I know where to find someone who does. One day, I was standing in front of the brushware and cleaning section promoting a spin bucket mop when a manager walked up to me with this confused looking old man trailing behind.
Manager: ‘Where is the laminate floor cleaner?’
Me: ‘Sorry, I have no clue.’ (I was there for only a week so I really had no clue)
Manager: ‘WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T KNOW, THIS IS YOUR SECTION!’
Me: ‘But I work for a different company as a promoter, not in this actual store.'(I was really taken aback by this sudden tirade, so I replied super quietly)
Manager: ‘YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT’S IN YOUR SECTION!’
She then looks back at the customer, SIGHS DRAMATICALLY, and walks into the aisle to check for herself.
How the heck can she be so rude to a customer like that? This poor old man follows her like Karen’s unloved toddler while she looks through all the cleaning products. Not finding what she’s looking for, she tells him she will find someone to assist him then storms off. I’m left with this poor old man looking around all confused checking back to his shopping list like it will tell him where to go.
Five minutes pass, and I realized that help was not coming from the manager. This poor guy was well and truly abandoned. I found a promoter for another company and asked him to help since he worked there for a month already and was friends with the employees. He called someone to come help, and within seconds, the old man was being led off to another section by an employee.
I later founded out the manager worked at a desk, and has zero clues about how the rest of the store works. I never knew a manager could be a ‘Karen’ until that day.”
She Just Wanted A Washing Machine, Okay?
“I was wearing a blue button-down with khakis and needed to buy a vacuum. I headed over to Best Buy, and in between the front door and vacuums are the headphones. I stopped to look at the new models of headphones when I hear a woman speak up.
‘Is anyone going to help us with the washing machines?’ I turn around to a woman in her late 50s or early 60s.
‘Excuse me?’ I said, confused.
She raised her voice. ‘Someone said they would meet us at the washing machines 15 minutes ago and we’re still waiting!’
‘Ok… What do you want me to do about it?’ I asked, still confused.
‘I want you to sell me a washing machine!’ she all but screamed.
I look over at the washing machines and see a man standing there scowling at me, clearly the husband.
‘Umm… I don’t work here,’ I mumbled.
She didn’t even apologize, just huffed, and walked away. I bought the vacuum, but not the headphones.”
She Could Have Found Everything Instead Of Asking Him
“I live in the UK, I’m male, in my 40s, six feet tall, broad shoulders, boxer’s hands. This happened a few years ago. I was in the local Tesco with my shopping basket, picking up a few odd and ends – milk, bread, etc – when I am approached by a ‘Karen.’ I’m not an employee of that shop, or indeed any supermarket, but I’m fairly smartly dressed.
Karen, assuming that I’m an employee, started asking me if I have chicken tenders. I looked at her in confusion for a few seconds before the penny drops, and a wicked idea forms in my mind…
‘No, I don’t,’ I say.
I don’t mention that I don’t work there, at least not immediately. This is important. She complains that she can usually find it and that I’m not looking for it, and how I could look out the back in the stockroom. I simply reiterate that I don’t have any. As she and I go through this routine with five or six other products, I’m slowly edging my way towards the checkout.
‘So you have…?’ she would ask, about some random product.
‘No, I don’t,’ I would reply with a smirk.
This little song and dance continued until she happened to ask about one of the items in my basket.
‘Oh, yes. I do. I have one right here,’ I said.
‘Finally!’ she said in annoyance. ‘Can I have it?’
‘Heck no! It’s in my basket. I’m buying it,’ I told her.
Karen opens her mouth to complain, then realizes that I’m a customer, I had been wasting her time quite deliberately, and I clearly didn’t care how she felt about it. Her face turned bright red from anger and rage.
I just smiled, paid for my food, and sodded off.”
Legend Has It, She’s Still Waiting
“After work one day, I stopped by Walmart to pick up some food for the week. My work outfit was pretty generic: blue polo type shirt, black pants, but no company ID at all.
As I’m passing by an aisle near the electronics section, I heard a woman yelling up a storm. I peeked down the aisle, and see some middle-aged hag chewing out what looks like a 20-year-old kinda Goth looking girl. The girl isn’t saying a word, just staring at the bag. I kind of ease on by because I’m nosey, and I wanted to eavesdrop! Apparently, this girl was lazy, rude, disrespectful, and a horrible employee who should be fired! But as I pass, the hag turns to me.
‘Are you her boss?’ she huffed at me.
‘Ma’am?’ I replied, completely confused.
‘You need to discipline your employees! This one refused to help me! She’s rude and lazy!’ barked the old woman.
I looked at this poor girl, and he just looks really confused more than anything else. Of course, she looked very upset.
‘Okay ma’am, If you’ll please wait right here. I’ll be back in a few minutes,’ I told the crazy lady,
‘Come with me,’ I said as I turned to look at the girl.
The Hag seriously just folded her arms in a gotcha now stance.
I wave the girl to follow me, and she does.
‘I don’t work here,’ the girl began. ‘I tried to tell her that, but she told me to get something out of the back. I didn’t think you would want some random customer in your stockroom. I just want to get these headphones and leave.’
She seems like she’s about to cry.
‘I know,’ I told her. ‘I don’t work here either.’
She looked stunned.
‘I thought you were a manager here or something,’ she said in shock. ‘I thought I was in some kind of trouble!’
‘Nope, I was just passing by.’ I said
So I walked her up to the registers and waited for her to buy her headphones. Then walked her out. She thanked me and drove off. I didn’t even look for whatever it was I had gone there for, I didn’t feel like seeing the woman again and certainly didn’t feel like hiking the 10 miles back through the store.
As far as I know, the woman is still waiting for me to come back.”
Karen Didn’t Get What She Wanted
“I’ve been really careful going to the grocery store – mask, gloves, full-length clothing, the works. Back in April-May, our local QFC used to have workers spray and wipe down carts, but after a few months, they stopped. Now, there are self-serve wipes available for all customers to disinfect their cart if they want. Well, apparently some people didn’t get the memo.
Multiple times now, someone has mistaken me for an employee while I’m wiping my cart.
‘Can you do this one next?’ or ‘Are these clean?’ someone will say.
Then, the person will look closer at me and apologize. Usually, I brush it off with a laugh (living in a predominantly white neighborhood as a PoC gives you thick skin). Until today.
First, while I’m wiping down, there’s a sudden yank on the cart and it hits my arm. I look up to see a middle-aged lady trying to pull away with my cart. The mask was below her chin. Out of instinct, I grab the other side and pull back. This surprises her and she looks up… but doesn’t let go.
Me: ‘Excuse me, what are you doing?’
Karen: (no response. Yanks again.)
Me: ‘Let go please’
Karen: (no more yanking but doesn’t let go either)
After a 10-second staring contest, Karen finally says something to me.
Karen (whiny high-pitched): ‘I need a clean cart’
Me: ‘Then get one yourself!’
Karen: ‘I’m in a hurry.’
Me: ‘There are wipes right behind you.’
Karen:’Well can’t you clean another one?’
Me: ‘I don’t work here!’
K: ‘I need this one NOW!’
At this point, the cart is no longer clean, I don’t care. At this point, it’s the principle of the thing. Years of ‘letting it go’ were bubbling to the top now as I stared into the face of this entitled woman who has likely gotten her way all her life. Not this time.
Me: ‘Get bent lady. Step away from my cart and go get your own. And put that mask back on!’
She finally lets go by pushing the cart back towards me. She grabs another one and loudly complains all the way into the store. Later, I see her getting stopped by the manager and arguing about keeping her mask on.
As a conflict-averse person, I felt really proud of standing my ground.”
She Really Wanted Her Pizza
“A long time ago, I went to visit a friend at Dominoes and give him a ride home. When I walked into the store, I was wearing khakis and a blue shirt since I worked at Food Lion and was called in.
It was a Saturday night, so it was crazy busy. This was before the advent of constant online ordering, so the employees were stuck to the phone. My friend had to stay a little late to finish some things, and I had to use the bathroom. So, the manager let me in the back to use it.
While I was walking to the front, a lady that was waiting in the front walked up and said to me, ‘Where is my stupid pizza? Do you know how long I have been waiting?’
‘Woah lady, that was uncalled for, but they will check on it for you,’ I said, a little taken aback.
This was the wrong thing to say, apparently.
‘I’ve been waiting for over 30 minutes, and you guys still have not made my freaking pizza!’ she all but screeched at me.
‘Look lady, I know you are upset but I don’t work here either way I am not going to let you yell at me about a pizza,’ I snapped back, not willing to put up with this behavior.
She continued to fuss about why I was near the back then, and about how something was wrong with the business and she was going to report them. The manager just said they will give her the money back at this point because now she is yelling.
I ended up walking past her, and the manager threatened to call the cops, so she left right behind me. She was still fussing at this point going to her car.”
All That Sass For A Banana?
“I use to work for an eye doctor that rented space from Walmart. We had our own offices and bathroom, but we still had to take the trash to the same bin ‘in the back’ as the Walmart employees. I wore scrubs every day, along with my ID badge that clearly stated where I worked.
One day when it was my turn to dump the trash, I came out from the back to find a middle-aged lady struggling to reach a particular bunch of bananas near the top of the little pyramid display they usually put the bananas on. She turned to me, asking me to get them for her. I’m only 5’3, and definitely eye level with her. I gave it a try because I’m generally a kind person, and failed.
Upon seeing my failure, she asked me to try again, to which I jokingly replied, ‘I think we’re the same height!’
She didn’t appreciate that response.
She countered with, ‘Can’t you just climb up there? They won’t get mad at YOU!’
I told her that I didn’t actually work for Walmart, and pointed at my badge. She made a very loud, displeased grunt and DEMANDED that I call someone to help her. I pointed to an actual Walmart employee that looked to be over six feet tall and suggested she ask him for help. She then rammed me with her cart, called me some very rude names, and left. I didn’t know how to respond without losing my job or getting arrested, so I just walked away. Looking back, I wish I would’ve told her how I really felt.”
This Man Was Chased Out Of The Store
“This happened in the summer, and I was dressed in my usual T-shirt, shorts, and sandals I wear when I’m not at work.
I happened to stop by a grocery store I was passing by on the way home to see what might look good for dinner. After a few minutes of walking around, I ended up at the freezer section, which was the tall, upright freezers with glass doors. The store had stocked some items on top of these freezers, which were out of reach for most people. Now, I’m very tall, and I’m used to some people coming up to me asking me to help them get something. Usually, I’m fine with helping someone, because they asked politely.
But in this case, it was something different. I was standing there at one end of the freezer section, looking through the glass door at what they had to choose from when I hear this, ‘COME HERE AND GET THIS DOWN.’
I really didn’t pay much attention to it, as I was busy looking for something to eat.
After a few seconds of thought, I heard ‘I SAID COME HERE NOW, AND GET THIS DOWN FOR ME!’
I looked over, down the aisle at the other end of the freezer section, and saw some old woman was GLARING at me! I thought maybe someone was behind me, and I looked around, but it was only her and me in that aisle.
Seeing as I’m not a servant, slave, or a dog, I turned back to the freezer and continued to look at products. Just then, the lady SCREAMED at me in such a severe banshee tone, I thought the glass freezer doors would shatter.
‘I SAID COME OVER HERE AND GET THIS DOWN FOR ME NOW!’ the old woman screeched.
I turned and walked away, heading to the other side of the store. As I did, I heard her running after me screaming in that banshee tone, ‘COME BACK HERE, I SAID GET THAT DOWN FOR ME!’
No matter how many turns I made, or how many aisles I went down, she was behind me, chasing me! Luckily. I was much faster than she was.
After about two minutes of this, I just headed for the front of the store and left out the front door. All the while I was hearing her banshee screeches of, ‘GET BACK HERE AND GET THAT DOWN FOR ME!’
Lucky for her, I had reached the front doors before she reached me. At that point, I had already made peace with myself about jail, because if she reached me and grabbed me, I was going to put my fist through her face.”
This Was A Long Time
“I was in a local Red Big Box store just a couple of days ago. I was in a black short-sleeved collared shirt, black slacks, and nice shoes, as well as masked. As far as I know, I was not dressed like an employee uniform of a Red Big Box store.
So here I am, grabbing a few last-minute items my husband asked me to get for our Thanksgiving dinner. I’m in the grocery section, looking for a specific gravy that can NOT be substituted when the Call of Karen is heard, ‘Ex-cuuuse me!’
I turn to see someone who I had hoped and prayed I’d never come across again. It was my boss from my time working at a sub shop in a large truck stop gas station. She made my five months at that job a living nightmare, all because I refused to sleep with her. I quit, never giving her the satisfaction of firing me, which I heard ate at her.
‘Me’ is me, ‘OB’ is Old Boss/Karen
Me: sees maskless OB and roll my eyes and speaking without thinking ‘Oh god, it’s you.’
OB: ‘That is not how you speak to a paying customer!’
Me: ‘I am a paying customer too, not an employee. DUH.’
OB: ‘Nonsense! Now help me or I’ll get you fired!’
Me: anger and snark fully powered up and activated ‘Oh, you’d like that so much, you stupid woman! Wouldn’t you? Forget you, you’re the worst person I have ever met!’
OB: squints eyes ‘Who the heck do you think you are?’
Me: ‘I’m a customer. Looking for gravy.’
I will say that at this point, I see the gravy I need and grab it and put it in my cart, and turn to leave. But, of course, as taught by Karen U, OB isn’t having it. She reaches out, grabs my arm, squeezes tight, and tried to turn me to face her. I do turn, but under my own power to get my arm back, and she stumbles forward but catches herself on a shelf.
OB: ‘You tried to make me fall, you lousy know nothing! I’m going to call the police and press charges!’
Me: ‘No, I made you let me go. And please, do it. Call the police! CALL ‘EM!’
Well, OB didn’t take kindly to that and slapped me, hard enough that it made my head ring. Not a good idea on her part, since I acted before my brain kicked back into gear, and I decked her with a left hook. She fell into the shelves, looking shocked. My brain kicked in as she rolled on her back as she hit the floor. I was shaking while I looked at my hand.
Manager and Security showed up a few minutes later and asked what happened. I told them my part, as well as pointed to the cameras to back me up. The employee verified that she heard the back and forth from the aisle over, and came when she heard me say I was getting out of OB’s grip. OB finally stood up, and was slapping the employee’s hands away, screaming that I attacked her and she wanted me arrested.
Well, after footage reviews and an ambulance called (cops arrived as well), OB got awarded a ban from the store for attacking a fellow customer. I decided not to press charges, because the punch was 21 years in the making, and felt good to be honest. Cops asked if I was sure, but let it go when they saw the look on my face as I declined.
The Manager gave me their discount at checkout, I refused to allow them to give it all to me for free, and apologized for the whole thing.”
She Wasn’t Being Rude, She Literally Wasn’t An Employee
“So a bit of backstory: this happened about two years back when I was still in high school, and it was summer break. Wanting to enjoy the beautiful summer evening, a few friends, my uncle, and I went out for ice cream at one of our local shops. We were celebrating an invitation I had received to a very prestigious military school here in the States that I’ll just refer to as ‘WP.’ Since it was summer, there was a pretty long line at this tiny place, and they only had outdoor seating. Being that we were a pretty big group, I had my friends go save us a table. To make things easier, I made a list on my phone with my friends and my uncle’s orders so only one of us had to wait in the line. As I turned to head into the line, I heard it; you know that noise someone makes when they think they’re high and might? That condescending clearing of the throat.
Now mind you, I’m pretty weirdly built for a female. I’m pretty short like under five feet, but I’m bulky from being a wrestler and doing weight lifting. At the time, I think I just had some standard jean shorts and a random shirt with my school’s logo on it, nothing that would have made me seem like an employee at the shop. Not that the actual workers ever would have come outside to take orders or anything. At first, I kind of tried to ignore the lady and keep heading towards the line. As I was doing so, she made her throat-clearing noise again, and being me I decided to see what she wanted. Now I really didn’t want to say anything to some random lady, so I sort of just made eye contact and raised my eyebrows at her. She had that pretty stereotypical ‘Karen’ look, in the mid-30s with that short haircut, fake blonde hair, and tacky acrylic nails. When she realized I acknowledged her, she huffed before talking to me.
‘Well, it took you long enough! I want to order!’ this ‘Karen’ shouted.
Before I said one word to her, I knew this woman was going to be loud and really irritating, but I wanted to keep my cool and just explain the situation.
‘Miss, I don’t work here. I’m just grabbing what my group and I want so we don’t have to stand in-‘ I began.
‘I don’t care if you want to help your friends first! I watched you write down their order! You work here and now you will help me as well!’ she screamed at me.
Okay so clearly, I was dealing with a crazy lady. Great, that’s just what I wanted.
‘Miss I just told you, I don’t work here. I’m just doing my group’s order,’ I told her, hoping it would end everything.
After that, I turned to walk away to pick up my order. Turns out that apparently like most Karens, sudden movement upsets them. As I turn, I felt those fake acrylic press into my wrist. This woman actually decided to grab me! I quickly rip my arm from her grip as I turn around to face her. The mere fact that she had the audacity to grab me made me enraged. Even if I was an employee, there is no reason for her to place her hands on someone.
‘Look, lady! Even if I worked here, WHICH. I. DON’T. you have absolutely no reason to ever lay your freaking hands on me!’ I screamed at her.
Through this shouting match, my Uncle grabbed the manager to come to help me out. They came out just to see me wrench my wrist from this Karen’s grasp.
‘What the heck are you doing to my niece?’ my uncle roared, furious the crazy woman had gone so far as to touch me.
He grabbed my arm to check over my wrist. I knew I was bleeding a bit from when she dug her nails in, but I didn’t really notice it too much. The manager was trying to ask the Karen about what happened as Karen ranted about how I was rude, didn’t want to take her order, and how I assaulted her. Now obviously she didn’t have any marks on her while I was the one with nail marks on my wrist. The manager calmly explained that I didn’t work there nor do the workers come around to take orders. My uncle told the manager while I was okay the lady needed to go. Needless to say, I got my ice cream and had a pretty nice time after that.”
