'Not my problem, now leave': Retail manager puts Karen in her place when she blames him for her cancelled and unpaid cell service

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Feb 13, 2024 7:00 AM EST

At certain times in your life—particularly when things have gone sideways—it's important to take ownership of the fact that your own actions and decisions are the things that got you there.

Unfortunately, most of us struggle with this and, as a matter of self-preservation, will seek to displace blame towards anyone or anything that we can point a finger at. Sometimes, this displacement is plausible, reasonable even, but at other times, it can get unreasonably ridiculous… Tell me again, Carl, about how you crashed your car because [insert politician here] did [insert unrelated thing you don't like]?

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  • This, too, translates to customer service staff who repeatedly find themselves to blame for something that was completely the customer's fault. We're talking about things like complaining that the helmet you sold them doesn't fit or is too uncomfortable—only to find that they've been wearing it backward.

    Similar things happen all the time to retail workers, and when you work for a company that provides a service in exchange for monthly payments, well, it would be just silly to expect to keep receiving that service despite repeatedly not paying for it—right? Yet, this happens all the time, and customers are more than happy to make their problem your problem, even though there's really nothing you can do about it.

    This story describes one such situation when this cellphone carrier retail manager was faced with a red-faced Karen who was insistent that he reinstated the cell service that she hadn't been paying for—and that he didn't even have the power to reinstate.

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    BRENTELL
    via Paul Hanaoka
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    r/ r/Entitled People • 2 hr. ago BigDaddyShaxx-9 Karen calls me stupid for her bill not being paid. L Hey everyone, hopefully you guys enjoy my story here. Also, sorry if the format is weird I'm writing this on a phone. So a bit of back story, I work as a manager for a major cellphone carrier. The amount of times we see customers who don't pay their bill and get mad that their service is shut off is crazy, like yeah we aren't going to continue to provide you service if you don't pay what you owe
    via BigDaddyShaxx-9
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    So recently I had a Karen show up to my store in a huff, when I see customers looking angry or annoyed come in I take them instead of giving them to one of my reps because I feel like ultimately I'll get asked to help anyways. So I see her walk in with her kid and I look towards here and smile. Me: Hello, how are you guys doing today? Karen: Not so good Me: Oh I'm sorry to hear that, what seems to be wrong?
    via BigDaddyShaxx-9
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    Karen: well you guys cut off my service and I'm mad cause I talked to your customer service yesterday and they said that I should be fine with service until I can make my payment next week. Now when it comes to situations like this all I can do at the store is have her pay her bill to restart her service, when customer service(CS) makes promises like this (which happens a lot and customers can have the extension due to a promise to pay service) we can try to contact CS and have them turn their p
    via BigDaddyShaxx-9
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    Karen: what do you mean you can't restart my service or contact CS? It's your guys fault that my service is shut off. Me: It's not that I can't it's that it will be difficult to get someone on the line due to your account status. I'm just setting the right expectations. Karen rolls her eyes: Just get my service running again So I guide her to my stores phone and call the number we have to call CS, on the phone I chose the options to speak with a CS rep and the automated machine asks for the numb
    via BigDaddyShaxx-9
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    Karen: That's the message that i get when I call them Me: Yes, like I said before this will be the only department you'll be able to contact due to your account status. Karen: well use your direct CS number Me: this is that number, if you want we can call back and try another option but I think it will lead us back here. Karen agrees, so I hang up and call again. I try this time to reach a different CS department beside the general department that we call, but again as soon as the system recogni
    via BigDaddyShaxx-9
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    Me: Ma'am please no swearing in the store Karen: I'll say what I want, you can't tell me what to do Me: you're absolutely right but I can have you leave with no resolution to your problem Karen: well then use someone else's number to get someone to answer Me: like I mentioned before I won't be doing that, I won't get my store in trouble for doing that Karen: you have to listen to me. Now use your own number to get someone
    via BigDaddyShaxx-9
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    Me: I'm not using my number. I've done all that I can do for you, If you want to use someone else's number then you can call CS from a different phone Karen: then give me their number Me: Gladly I start walking to the back to write down the number for her, as soon as I open the door to the ack room I hear her say "that guy is an idiot", I stop in my tracks and walk right back to her. Me: you can leave now, I understand you're mad about your service being shut off but that doesn't give you the ri
    via BigDaddyShaxx-9
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    Me: no you can google it Karen: how am I suppose to do that? My service is shut off Me: not my problem, now leave Karen after she notices that im not going to budge for her picks up her stuff, grabs her kid and marches towards the exit. She says as shes almost to the door "you're an ", which one of my reps reply "well at least he pays his bill". Probably not the major melt down most people expect from retail stories but I felt like it was good to share.
    via BigDaddyShaxx-9
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    JustanOld BabyBoomer 2h ago Entitled IDIOT probably hasn't been paying her phone bill for months which is probably why it got bricked. Ⓒ ↑ 61 ↓ Reply 29 ↓ Share BigDaddyShaxx-9 OP 2h ago I think she was 2 months late at the time she came in Reply ↑ Share
    via BigDaddyShaxx-9
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    Fluffy_Ad_9433 • 1h ago She's definitely out of order, but I must say the CS setup of your company must cause you headaches. The lack of ability for even staff to speak directly with an agent is not helpful. Reply ↑ Share ↑ 12 12 Big DaddyShaxx-9 OP 50m ago ● It's a massive headache when we have to deal with CS mess-ups. I can say that at least once a day I say "I don't know why CS sent you here for that" or "That's an issue that only CS can handle" ↑ 3 ↓ Reply ↑ Share
    via BigDaddyShaxx-9
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    SheiB123 58m ago The rep deserves a raise or at least a high five!! © ↑ 4 ↓ Reply Share ● Baileythenerd. 17m ago This is cellular retail they'll have to make due with their district manager taking credit for every positive action they've ever taken in their lives. ↑ 1 Reply 1 Share
    via BigDaddyShaxx-9
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    tryintobgood. 53m ago It's CS fault my service is suspended. Checks account status. Sure Karen, It's totally our fault you didn't pay your bill. Now politely off ↑4 ↓ Reply ↑ Share
    via BigDaddyShaxx-9
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    itsalwaysfurniture Never argue with stupid people. It's like trying to play chess with a pigeon; he'll just kick over all the pieces, all over the board, and then strut around like he won. - ↑ 3 ↓ StuntFriar 32m ago Reply ↑ Share 10m ago I'll be damned. I'll use that tactic the next time I play chess! 42 ↓ Reply Share
    via BigDaddyShaxx-9
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    Cant BelieveThisIsTru 30m ago It's amazing how people with not enough money to pay their own bills feel superior to working class people, and feel entitled enough to put them down and insult them. Sorry you encounter this in your job! I have had the same number with the same carrier for literally decades, and the only reason I need to go into a store is to get a new phone on my service when my old phone is not working like it used to. ↑ 2 ↓ Reply ↑ Share
    via BigDaddyShaxx-9
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    Z4-Driver.29m ago There would have been a very easy and simple solution: If she would just have paid what she owed your company, her service would have been unlocked in no time, wouldn't it? But why do it easy, if you can do it difficult? Reply ↑ Share 2 B
    via BigDaddyShaxx-9

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customer support customer service karens workplace-stories talesfromretail entitled parents job retail karen-customer work customers karen-customers customer karens in the wild workplace entitled tales-from-retail karen entitled people
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