Bookstore Employee Shows What It's Like to Use the "Gentle Parenting" Technique on Entitled Customers

You don't have to be a customer service employee to feel the wrath of an entitled person—or as most people know them by, Karens. If you park in a spot that's totally legal and for anybody but Karen parked there yesterday, so HOW COULD YOU STEAL HER SPOT?! Or if you're a waiter and the tap water they ordered isn't sparkling enough… Or, as TikToker Juliet aka @_happy_dagger_ experience, if you work at a bookstore and the entitled Karen customer can't find the book they want so instead of asking for help they go straight for the closet employee's throat. 

Juliet, however, has seemed to find a technique in dealing with these customers that tends to work pretty well for her. If you've had the unfortunate experience of crossing paths with a Karen, then you know that there is no compromising. It's Karen's way or the highway. These entitled people act like total children in how they handle their emotions. They simply explode with now grip on their anger or frustrations and the closet person to them feels their chaotic wrath. It's not fun, productive, or healthy for anybody involved. 

This TikToker figured if they are going to explode with emotions like a toddler, then she is going to treat them as a toddler. The only thing is, as an employee in the customer service realm, you can't be obvious about it. If you treat them too obviously as a child, then that will just make things worse. Juliet found that the “gentle parenting” technique seems to go over the smoothest. 

You simply recognize and acknowledge their emotions, which are usually frustration and anger, and then you offer your help, instead of forcing it upon them. It won't work in every situation, but it may just help you get out of a heated Karen situation unharmed. 

The TikToker reenacts the scene, showing exactly what one of the outcomes can be if you use the gentle parenting technique on this entitled Karen customer. Children usually respond positively if done properly, then they can grow and learn how to recognize their own emotions and figure out how to handle them appropriately. Who knows when these entitled full grown adults missed that lesson as a child in their own life, but employees have had it with Karens and now they're taking on the burden of teaching them this lesson themselves. 

Bookseller vs Karen Customer