‘I need fuel and my car collected’: Customer demands petrol cashier retrieve car from down the road, tries to get cashier fired for refusing, gets banned by HR manager

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
May 11, 2023 1:00 PM EDT

Employees working minimum wage jobs are remarkably gifted at identifying customer Karens from a mile away; their posture, the way they present themselves, and the superior tone in their voice as they begin a sentence with an entitled demand. These customers don't go on hiatus, they do not take breaks in their dedicated work to ruin people's day. In this case, a Karen entered a petrol station, eyed the other customers in line, decided her request ranked worthiest, and passed them all, strutting right up to the cashier, demanding a 'fuel refill along with my car collected'.

It's not that Karen was unaware that she had come to the wrong place, but rather that any working human being with a name tag sewed or clipped into a half-formal-looking uniform top looked good enough to her. The cashier, OP, explained that the petrol station did not offer recovery services, nor was OP obligated to abandon her work, waddle down the road with a bucket of fuel and fill Karen's car.

Karen did not take kindly to being told that her request was not within OP's job description, created a scene, and told OP she would not be willing to pay for the fuel that OP wasn't even willing to fill her car with. The situation became so dramatic that other customers began to shoo her away. OP was certain they didn't hear the last of it, and they were right. Karen wrote a long, angry letter to HR, telling them to fire OP.

HR banned Karen instead. Scroll down to read the full, detailed account of events. For more, here is a clever manager who got back at a Karen customer for demanding he fires an employee for delivering the wrong item.

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  • 01
    Font - Posted by u/radeakins 16 hours ago 2 Karen runs out of gas, blames the cashier (aka me) and expects me to pay for it I have posted this story in another subreddit years ago but I think it would fit well here. So enjoy. Okay, this is going back to 2003. I'm working a minimum wage at a very busy gas station in the UK.
    via u/radeakins
  • 02
    Font - I had only been there a few months (thats outstanding considering the staff turnover for this place), I know the ropes of the place and its also (and still is) very busy. Lines of cars and trucks going down the highway and a line of customers going out the door and I'm working alone as usual. Hundreds of customers with places to be.
    via u/radeakins
  • 03
    Font - Cast: Me: the overworked 17 year old with a bright future of P D and other mental health goodness (next 15 years of bliss in this he'lhole) Karen: Old b* h missing her butler but still has a 10 yard pole up her... Customers: Everyone else
    via u/radeakins
  • 04
    Font - Karen got out of a taxi came up to the front of the line past 20 customers waiting patiently. Age 70+, shes dressed head to toe in a black velvet, a fur coat and wearing more platinum jewellery than I've ever seen. She also looked vaguely familiar (see at the end). She demands in a very snobby voice 'I need fuel'. Imagine Professor Magonigol from Harry Potter, but fatter. Me: 'I'm sorry but you have to wait your turn', as I served customers.
    via u/radeakins
  • 05
    Font - Karen: 'I need fuel and my car collected from down the road'. Me and a few customers give her a weird look. 'If you've broken down, I have the number for a recovery service and you can use our phone' and hand her a card with the number and the phone in between customers. She just looked at the card and phone as if I put de rats on the counter. 'Why can't you do it?'.
    via u/radeakins
  • 06
    Font - Me: 'I'm afraid to say I can't, its very busy today' while still serving customers. Karen: 'NO, why can't you go retrieve my car' Me wondering WTF, 'We're a petrol station, we don't other recovery services' Karen: 'NONSENSE, you will collect my car this instant!'
    via u/radeakins
  • 07
    Font - I'm getting annoyed by now, so are the other customers. She lets her car run out of fuel, leaves it on a now gridlocked highway, gets a taxi to my station and somehow its my fault and responsibility rectify the situation? 'How? I can't close the station, I'm here on my own, I don't own a car or even have a license. I will call the recovery company for you when I have a free moment. Just be aware that they will charge a fee and need payment in cash, there is an ATM outside'
    via u/radeakins
  • 08
    Font - She now gets red in the face. 'Are you stupid? Why should I pay? My car has run out of fuel. You have to deal with it!' I'm trying to keep cool, serve customers and finding an alternative to get her out the store at this point. 'In that case, there are fuel cans behind you that you can purchase and fill' Karen: 'Very well' she picks up a one gallon can and slams it on the counter, 'Go fill it!'
    via u/radeakins
  • 09
    Font - I quickly say sorry to next customer and scan the can. 'That will be £5.00 and another £3.50 to fill it. £8.50 all together' Karen: 'I'm not paying for that! It is YOUR responsibility to provide fuel. And your customer service is atrocious. I refuse to pay, you will pay for my recovery, my fuel and my taxi!" Me: 'Then you can leave!" and entire line of customers start chewing her out too, telling her get the f out, we're busy and stupid of old cow.
    via u/radeakins
  • 10
    Font - Karen: 'You'll will hearing from me about this and I will have your job for this insolence!' and she storms out and gets back into the taxi that was blocking my forecourt. We did hear back her about a week later. She had gone to customer complaints, reached the regional manager and the national HR, claiming that I was responsible for her car running out of
    via u/radeakins
  • 11
    Font - fuel, it being abandoned on a highway, refusing to pay for towing and refueling and being humiliated in front of other customers with demands of reimbursement and compensation for poor quality of service. Finally, a letter of apology written and signed by me with my letter of resignation.
    via u/radeakins
  • 12
    Font - A week after this, the manager pulls me aside. She knew all about it, she heard the story from me and a few of our regular customers as well as watched and heard it all on our security cameras. The Karen sounded crazy and looked liked she had just come from a funeral. She chalked it up as being emotionally drained, seility, mental health and said not to worry about it. She'd seen worse. Then she got the letters and phone calls from head office and that threw her theory out the window.
    via u/radeakins
  • 13
    Font - She handed me a copy of the response letter that was sent to Karen stating she was barred from all of our companies stations nationwide, informed that the company 'Is not a charity' and entering one of our stations or approaching our staff will result in removal by police. I read the name and realised she was my old principle from primary school. She was an old hellhound when I was 5 and looks like she just got worse as she got older. See you in hell Mrs M!
    via u/radeakins
  • 14
    Font - RoyallyOakie 16 hr. ago I guess it took her a week to get back to her car...lol Reply Share 336 radeakins OP. 15 hr. ago Maybe, I never saw her again, thankfully. 158 ♡ ... Reply Share
    via u/RoyallyOakie, u/radeakins
  • 15
    Font - Wolfgang Pelz . 15 hr. ago I get these idiots a lot, i love the mental gymnastics they need to do to believe they deserve free stuff and compensation. "Ever since you changed my brake pads, my radio doesn't work, fix it for free and refund me for all the maintenance of the past 5 years" 211 Reply Share
    via u/Wolfgang_Pelz
  • 16
    Font - Finegling 15 hr. ago Not as entitled, but I was waiting in a queue to pay for my fuel. I put about £10 in as I was a little tight for money. The guy ahead of me pays and is about to leave, I get to the til and I'm told it's £70. I was like no I'm pump 2 it should be £10. The cashier called to the guy who just left that he'd paid for my pump. He comes back angry and saying to her she's stupid, and that he's never coming here again. I pipe up
    via u/Finegling
  • 17
    Font - and say "hey mate she's not the one who gave the wrong pump number" (I was a little annoyed, no way you would top your car up and think it was a tenner) he just grunts and everyone else in the queue behind gave me a smile showing support. People are so entitled and rude. Reply Share 210
    via u/Finegling
  • 18
    Font - bewicked4fun123 - 13 hr. ago He was just mad he got caught trying to pull a fast one 138 Reply Share radeakins OP. 13 hr. ago Oh god yes. The number of people who did that, especially with new staff. Thats why I would catch them out by confirming their car and its colour. Catches them out. 77 ↓ Reply Share
    via u/bewicked4fun123, u/radeakins
  • 19
    Font - StinkyFeet205. 15 hr. ago What a letdown. I was waiting with baited breath for you to name a famous celebrity. 58 Reply Share radeakins OP. 13 hr. ago Oh you want celebs. I was in that job for 15 years and met a few celebrities. Frank Bruno (former WHW boxer), Vern Troyer, Timothy Spall, the old Top Gear crew, David Cameron and Roy Chubby Brown and Guy Martin were regulars. Reply Share 47
    via u/StinkyFeet205, u/radeakins

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Tags

management workplace-stories fired hr petty-revenge-reddit customer-karen customers revenge-stories terrible customers petty revenge petrol station cashier minimum wage car-fuel HR-manager
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