‘Gen X are becoming Boomers’: Employees who work the register share their biggest entitled customer ‘flops'

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Sep 28, 2024 7:00 AM EDT

Why is it that there is always that one customer every single day that feels entitled to personal pleasantries from you? Like, Karen, please, I just found out my partner of 5 years has been cheating on me the entire time and now I'm here working for minimum wage. Can I please just scan your items and continue reevaluating my life? Maybe if this were the 80s I could call out of work and use it as a sick day or have an understanding boss. But not in today's society. If I called out I wouldn't get paid, would maybe even get a write up for calling out last minute, and thus risk being fired… Anyone who has worked in retail or the service industry know these kinds of customers all too well. They want you to pretend like you're excited to be doing work for them. It's annoying and employees have come to Reddit to add their two-cents on the subject. It would appear Gen X is starting to take over the Karen population… See for yourself below! 

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  • 01
    "You look like you don't want to be here" "Yeah, because I don't...' "
    via Unspalsh+ (and Getty Images)

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    I just couldn't do the fake nice yesterday. Also gen x are becoming boomers Title basically says it. I wasn't feeling great yesterday, but had to work, and I just didn't have the energy to be fake nice. So many gen x customers called me out on it. I'm used to it on senior day, but this was more gen x customers today. "You look tired. You look like you don't want to be here. Ect ect". It was so frustrating. Can't I just have one day to be a real human?
    via Ocelot_Amazing
  • 03
    For example, I was sanitizing my hands as I'm walking back into my register, and this guy (a regular) comes up and says, "looks like break time is over". I say "I wasn't on a break." And he says, "don't rush yourself for me, finish your break". Again I wasn't on a break, so I tell him to unload. He says "I seem like I don't want to help him" so he goes to a different register. Good luck buddy, she's even less nice than I am.
    via Ocelot_Amazing
  • 04
    Massive Goat9582 "You look like you don't want to help me" that's because I don't BGKY_Sparky "It's almost like they have to pay us to be here."
    via Massive_Goat9582
  • 05
    Marquisdelafayette89 We are short staffed and the majority disappear randomly and are completely incompetent, like I was supposed to be on my lunch and not a single person was on the floor for self checkouts or register.. the employee literally laughed when I said I just spent half my lunch break helping customers SHE was supposed to be helping out. I'm supposed to be doing rearranging the entire front side shelves/stocking/ and doing everything else.
    via Marquisdelafayette89
  • 06
    But two separate regulars were hilarious and said "don't work too hard "and actually meant it so I mean at least some are cool AF. The ones I have a problem with are the ones who argue over the price of everything and every single time have some issue like magically trying to conjure up fake discounts because they think they can haggle down. Like that's not how this works.
    via Marquisdelafayette89
  • 07
    Idolica I had a weird AF encounter the other day at my job as a gas station cashier. I was SLAMMED AF, coworker called out leaving me alone on our busiest day. Dude comes up to my register, I ask how can I help you. He is just standing there staring at me and trying not to laugh. Again I ask how can I help you sir? He says I have an emergency and I need your help! Again I say how can I help you Sir. At this point I'm fed the He looks at me and says There's an evil doll in my car and he just abou
    via Idolica
  • 08
    like and he's like oh come on, that was funny! It's almost Halloween! I said Sir I have a long line and I've asked you 3 times what I can help you with, either tell me or move along. So I ring him up and ask him he is leaving, he looks at me and says " Repent! Jesus is Lord!" And walks out the door. Me and the next customer were like just happened and laughed at the guy. But yeah, I deal with crazies and drunks all day long. I'm not waisting my energy on them, not for a single second.
    via Idolica
  • 09
    Jupichan Over the years, I had one of two people tell me that I looked like I didn't want to help them, as if it was supposed to be an insult or something. But really, I didn't want to help them.
    via Jupichan
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    mugwhyrt I had a customer one time who made some dumb joke (can't remember what it was). And I was just too tired to pretend so I tried to ignore it and she said "Oh c'mon, I just want to get a smile out of you!". I can't remember what I said in response, but it was just something along the lines of me not having the energy to care about this right now. She started to get sniffly and say "Oh well fine then, I guess I just won't even bother!". Then
    via mugwyrt
  • 11
    about an hour later I ended up getting called into the manager's office about a woman who called them in tears about a cashier who made her cry. Thankfully I hadn't actually said anything actively to her so they couldn't really pin anything on me for it. Still proud of myself for making her cry and ruining her day though.
    via mugwyrt
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    PsAkira My favorite after dealing with multiple weekend rushes and finally getting a breather, I'm sitting at the register staring at the wall for five seconds, "You look bored." Unloads all their with a huge grin like they're doing me a favor.
    via PsAkira
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    MontyMontridge I don't know why people have to make comments like that at all! I'm even a freaking boomer and it never occurs to me to hassle employees I encounter when I shop. Don't wanna smile? Fine. Don't feel like being on the job? I feel you. I hate working with customers too. I'm going to be friendly/quiet and have my together so our short encounter is easy on both of us. As long as or mean to me we are golden. your not I'm not going to tell you my life story either.
    via MontyMountridge
  • 14
    This old broad (My age lol) kept wandering into the stock room today asking for differ things. Not only did she probably pass several staff members patroling the sales floor, she had to tell us in long drawn out detail what she needed each item for. The third time I was about ready to scream "Use your eyeballs, stop coming back where you don't belong, and most of all I don't give one flying eff what you want the item for! That's
    via MontyMountridge
  • 15
    your business not mine!" I wasn't feeling it today either. (Don't worry no customer was harmed and no sparkles taken. I was able to feign interest/help the first two times. Though I always reminded her that the sign said no customers past this point and it was for her safety. A younger co-worker took over the third time and even asked questions. Something I've learned NOT to do. I do the Charlie Harper 'I understand' if I'm required to reply at all.)
    via MontyMountridge
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    ssvveetleaf I couldn't hold it together one day after getting bad news and had just come back from crying. The VERY FIRST thing this dude says to me is "wow, you look really tired." Like my guy, just be cool please. Also similar to the break time comments, I used to be so annoyed by customers saying things like "I'll make it easy for you.. I'll get 'x.'" Yeah bro, you get that every time. Good thing you didn't also get 'y! You saved me a whole six steps. I couldn't help but reply, "I'm pretty co
    via ssvveetleaf
  • 17
    Xickysticky I had a gen x recently call my on a Sunday, we open 12-3. She very aggressively went "oh you guys open at 12 do you?" She sounded like somebody from our company so I went "yeah we do it feels really nice, better than opening at 10 like the other store" my fatal mistake. Loudly through the phone went "NO ITS NOT YOU GUYS DONT MAKE ENOUGH MONEY" like she has any idea what our budget is, and considering she spent the last 3 months in Queensland she wouldn't know anything about the Victo
    via XickySticky
  • 18
    LaurenDelarey i worked at a cafe for years that was understaffed, run by super shady or management, and on campus at a college, so it was pretty much always busy, and almost all the customers regulars. i wasn't brusque but i had a lot going on (two jobs + school + abusive relationship that i did get out of don't worry) and i was always tired.
    via LaurenDelarey
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    i had one girl come in most days that would tell me to "cheer up" at times and i managed not to snap somehow, but one day she put on this exaggerated concerned expression and said, "why always the long face?" soooo i smiled really big but without my eyes like jack nicholson, and made sure to plaster it on whenever i saw her coming. stopped badgering me about it lol she
    via LaurenDelarey
  • 20
    clearnebulous I often get people asking if I'm asleep behind the desk at work. No? I'm literally just looking at my phone (my boss allows it because we have massive slow periods in the day and I do my job). It's super annoying and it's always the older generations that ask me it. Like. I work the front desk at a hotel give me some peace Imao. At least I can do my homework there.
    via clearnebulous
  • 21
    Kind-Author-7463 I remember when I worked retail we opened for the first time on thanksgiving. We opened at like 8pm and we were going to be open till 10pm that Friday. So like 26 hours straight. The first several hours on thanksgiving we had multiple boomers and gen X tell us how we should be home with family and not open on thanksgiving. None of us were happy to be there but what can you do? All while we were helping them with product or ringing them up. I remember finally getting annoyed at o
    via Kind-Author-7463
  • 22
    Ocelot_Amazing OP • 4d ago • They also love to argue. A lot of boomers will go wander off in a huff when they are loosing an argument, or make up some excuse to end it, but gen x will just stay making up increasingly ridiculous arguments. I had this suburban mom woman, 46-48ish, who just wouldn't back down about cross-contamination from packaged raw chicken not existing. All I did was ask if she wanted a separate bag for her raw chicken. And that set her OFF. She was buying a bunch of body produ
    via Ocelot_Amazing
  • 23
    When I asked, she asked "Why?" The bagger and I just ?!). But I said, "A lot of looked at each other like ( customers prefer to have their packages of raw meat packed separate, in order to prevent contamination of diseases like salmonella. It's a part of our training to ask." And then she went off about how she's not scared of getting sick, how would it happen the chicken is sealed, ect ect ect. The worse part was she was trying so hard to get me to agree with her. She was getting so angry that
    via Ocelot_Amazing

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