Male Karen customer demands for data to be deleted and to receive free chargers, employee maliciously complies: 'A shame I no longer [could] send him those chargers'

Author image for Ben Weiss
Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jul 10, 2024 8:00 AM EDT

There is a fine line between a wronged customer advocating for themselves and an entitled one demanding special treatment. If you're a self-aware human, every so often you will find yourself in situations when you come up against the "system" and have to demand to be treated fairly. As you stand up for yourself, you may feel your body contorting into that of a Karen, but if this is a rare occurrence for you, then you're probably not like this customer.

This dude thought he could call up the customer service hotline demanding free chargers since he must have heard that this phone brand will occasionally offer them to long-standing customers. However, in the same breath, he demanded that all data regarding his customer profile be deleted, including any and all contact information (paranoid much?). Well, unfortunately for him, that information included his address and other vital information customer service representatives would need to grant him his wish for free chargers. That's what you get for asking for far more than you deserve, sir!

Keep scrolling below for the full story and for the best reactions from folks in the comments section. When you're done, here's a post about some entitled teenagers getting their comeuppance.

Advertisement
  • 01
    2500 1.51 Sec 2,500 4,567 2,315 7,325 Convertas S S "Send me free chargers and delete all my data! Ok"
    via Carlos Muza
  • 02
    Ok, so some background. I worked with tech support from a phone brand some years ago and we would sometimes send people free chargers and some other things as goodwill. It was nothing that we were forced to do, we could just do it at our own discretion. We would also log calls and ask customers for contact information and product information to do so.
    via u/HatHattington
  • 03
    One day I received a call from a customer who just excreted toxic energy from the get go. He was mad that apparently someone had promised him a couple of free chargers for his trouble
    via u/HatHattington
  • 04
    but he had yet to receive them so he demanded that I sent them to him. I asked for his phone number and email so that I could look it up but he refused stating that he doesn't want us to save any of his data and demanded that I would
    via u/HatHattington
  • 05
    delete all the data we had of him in accordance with GDPR. I answered "But sir, I can't look up and see that we've promised you a charger and I can't process any data deletion of data I don't have". He started cussing a bit, calling me unprofessional. He then gave me his name and address which I noted down
    via u/HatHattington
  • 06
    in a temporary document I created as he didn't want any information in our system. (For some reason he was okay with this and I didn't find anything in our systems with that information. He then demanded that I send him the chargers for free and that I deleted all his information right after the call. I just happily agreed,
    via u/HatHattington
  • 07
    we hung up and in compliance to what we discussed I deleted all the information from my document. A shame I no longer had his name or address and that I could't send him those chargers. :)
    via u/HatHattington
  • 08
    A bit anticlimactic as I never heard from him again, so he likely called different places to demand free stuff. I, however, still smile when I think about this past interaction
    via u/HatHattington
  • 09
    PN_Guin 4 hr. ago He didn't think this through. Also you may have a colleague with a similar thought process. At least that would explain why you couldn't find anything on the previous interaction.
    via u/HatHattington
  • 10
    FFFortissimo 3 hr. ago Just like those scammers who mail many local governments and want to know for what reasons their data is stored and used and it had to be removed. You had to reply within a certain period or the sender would get a monetairy compensation by law.
    via u/HatHattington
  • 11
    I'd dealt with that kind of messages before. This person wasn't found in any system at all. In my reply I stated that his data wasn't in our systems prior to his request. As we were obliged to keep that request on record and even archive it, his data had now been registered with us and couldn't be lawfully removed.
    via u/HatHattington
  • 12
    wielandmc 4 hr. ago We get people that demand we delete their data under gdpr. The funny thing is my team then tells them that they just need to make a record of their name and contact details so we can record that we deleted their details under gdpr, so that if we ever have to restore data from a backup we make sure we re-delete their data again. So in effect we just move their details from one system to another one. You have to love gdpr.
    via u/HatHattington
  • 13
    TheFluffiestRedditor 3 hr. ago I'd been hoping you'd been able to delete his phone account as well, as that would have been truly complying with his request.
    via u/HatHattington
  • 14
    HatHattington OP 1 hr. ago . I wish I would be able to, but it was tech support/RMA/Foru m management for a rather large phone manufacturer (Don't want to name the brand name for obvious reasons). We didn't deal with orders or accounts except for some brand deals with influencers and some promotions now and then.
    via u/HatHattington
  • 15
    DynkoFromTheNorth ⚫ 2 hr. ago He sort of scammed himself. Quite remarkable!
    via u/HatHattington
  • 16
    microcoffee 2 hr. ago Can I call you and get a free charger- specifically a car one? Lol. Jkg. I bet customer service can be .Commend you for your patience.I know there was one time I 'may' of gotten over board a tad. I was justified in being upset/mad but in retrospect, I took it a bit too far. It was with one of the 'Home' depot type stores.
    via u/HatHattington

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

customer service workplace-stories work stories malicious compliance work reddit thread Reddit company workplace malicious compliance karen customer
Scroll Down For The Next Article