'I saw the boss's face turn red': Karen customer threatens to switch companies, boss lets her, she comes back begging

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jan 10, 2024 2:00 PM EST

One would think that doing a little research would be necessary before threatening to change companies for an important service, but the Karens of the world are not always inclined to think before they speak.

This kind of behavior takes me back to my early days in the workforce when I was working in a freelance, client-based position and would have to deal with the occasional difficult client who enjoyed picking fights and threatening to work with someone else. The truth is it did not take long for me to prefer not working with this customer at all than bending over backward for her and being absolutely miserable as a result. It turns out that this Redditor's boss felt similarly, and as soon as his Karen customer threatened to switch companies, he quickly agreed and hung up on her. Then, when she actually did her research and saw that OP's services were exponentially cheaper and more comprehensive, she tried to walk back her accusations. Too late, Karen!

Keep scrolling below for the full story. When you're done, check out this post about ridiculous customer requests.

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  • 01
    "[Karen] decided to drop her 'threat' to change companies"
    via Icons8 Team
  • 02
    r/r/MaliciousCompliance Posted by u/Controlled01 If you want to change companies, don't let the door hit your on the way out. M OC I work at a small company delivering potable water to people who don't have access to either city water or a private well. So we deliver to the same customers pretty much every week. Some customers are great and go out of their way to make deliveries easier or at least make sure that they don't make them any more difficult than they have to be. A few customers just d
    via u/Controlled01
  • 03
    Recently one customer over the last couple of years had made several changes to their property that made making deliveries significantly more difficult. I'd spoken to my boss about them and he laid out the conditions that would need to be met before he would consider dropping a paying customer. And they were literally just barely with the limits. And to their credit they did keep up with their bills...
    via u/Controlled01
  • 04
    I dreaded seeing their name on the delivery list every other week, then they changed to wanting deliveries every week because their children were moving into the house as well. After that payments started being more sporadic. The checks we were getting changed names from the home owner to their daughter. My boss only takes cash or check, not credit cards as he feels no compulsion to give any money to CC companies or to increase prices and pass the cost on to the customer.
    via u/Controlled01
  • 05
    One day while I was in the office doing some end of day tasks the phone rang, caller ID was this problem customer. Boss answered and I eves dropped. It was the daughter, she wanted to to start paying by credit card. Boss said no. Then she decided to drop her "threat" to change companies.
    via u/Controlled01
  • 06
    Such hope in my heart as I saw the boss' face turn red. He HATES bullies and being bullied. Boss immediately agrees that that would be best and hangs up on her. Walks over to the delivery schedule calendar and crosses their name off of the list.
    via u/Controlled01
  • 07
    Two days later I got called into the office to hear a message left by the daughter begging us to make deliveries again she apologized and everything. Turns out she had discovered that we were by far the cheapest option for them. One of the things that made them frustrating to deliver to was not just the physical difficulty of the delivery but they only have a 350 gal holding tank. It was a lot of work and time to deliver such a small amount of water. And we have the lowest minimum delivery rate
    via u/Controlled01
  • 08
    The boss and I shared a chuckle over the call, I don't believe he bothered with calling her back. 168 Comments
    via u/Controlled01
  • 09
    Defiant_Chapter_3299 Shouldn't mess with parents delivery services anyways. Bet mom and dad ripped her a new one, and now even more mad because they now have to she'll put extra money for her ignorance and being an AH. 723 Reply Share
    via u/Controlled01
  • 10
    Controlled01 OP. If nothing else it was the daughter paying for her arrogance, instead of her parents paying the bill 304 Reply Share
    via u/Controlled01
  • 11
    Stabbmaster. While they may or may not have thought of themselves as "problematic" (they rarely do) if you can't handle the consequences of a decision not going the way you want, don't make the threat. Most people don't realize that a fairly sizable number of businesses don't really need yours in particular, weak spines in retail management is teaching people the wrong lessons. 282 Reply Share
    via u/Controlled01
  • 12
    Klyco I love when they do threats, because they never expect you to call their bluff and then they are stuck with the problem. 177 Reply Share
    via u/Controlled01
  • 13
    Newbosterone. As Granny said, "Don't let it hit ya where the good Lord split ya!" 94 Reply Share ...
    via u/Controlled01
  • 14
    Controlled01 OP. Granny sounds like one of the real ones lol
    via u/Controlled01
  • 15
    Low-decibel. ¨, we get water delivered at my house, i go out of my way making sure the owner has it easy, pushing snow to the tank fill, cash payment when he arrived, for Christmas time gift card of 25 to timmies. Never ...... with essentials
    via u/Controlled01
  • 16
    Zoreb1 Looks like her defiance tanked.
    via u/Controlled01
  • 17
    Controlled01 OP. Water you thinking? That I wouldn't see what what you did there? Cause I do.
    via u/Controlled01
  • 18
    sphynxzyz People need to learn, if you're going to use leaving to a competitor as a threat you should do the research before hand.
    via u/Controlled01
  • 19
    StrangeMazel Ok not totally relevant BUT I did misread potable as potato for a second and did a double take on potato water
    via u/Controlled01

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workplace-stories work stories job malicious compliance karen-customer work malicious-compliance-reddit reddit thread Reddit company job interview interview karen
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