‘Nice work bro!’: Entitled homeowner ruins 30% of new flooring, so contractor secretly hides a fish in the wall causing over $10,000 in rework at homeowner's expense

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
May 21, 2025 1:00 PM EDT

If you have never had to work for a Karen in your life, consider yourself lucky. They find their way into every field of work and are basically unavoidable. As someone who worked in the service industry all of college, I have faced my fair share of Karens. But it's not just in restaurants and bars that attracts Karens, blue collar services has a lure for entitled folks too. 

 

Take this homeowner, for instance—it's clear this woman has a lot of money and oozes with entitlement. Are the two related? …No comment. Anyway, she decided that she was entitled to ruin all of the flooring work JUST done by the trades and contractor because of a reason that she 100% signed off on but now, all of a sudden, doesn't like it. So instead of calling the contractor and talking it out, she created more work for the flooring tradies… 

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  • The flooring contractor was livid. Us normal folk who know to treat everyone like human beings know it's not a good idea to mess with people who have control over certain things like what you're about to eat or where you are about to live. Karens can't seem to see that the workers actually hold the power. Because, you know what? This contractor got such good revenge that she not only had to dish out tens of thousands of more dollars, she had to live with a horrid stench and maggots. You get what you deserve, Karen. 

  • Cheezburger Image 10507983360
    via Unsplash+ (and Rachel B.)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.
    Man with fish - Unsplash+ & Curated Lifestyle

  • "Entitled homeowner"

    I was working as a cabinet installer years ago on an island in the Puget sound, one of the more expensive Islands.
    via wabanero
  • I was the only guy there besides the flooring crew who were finishing up their work which consisted of hardwood Maple flooring pretty much throughout the house. 10 or so minutes after flooring guys left the woman who everyone was
    via wabanero
  • working for came in and started looking very closely. at the floor. She seemed to be kind of motoring under her breath but I honestly. wasn't paying attention to her too much at this time. She went out to her car I assume and came back
    via wabanero
  • with the largest sharpie I'd ever seen, proceeded to mark big xes on any part of the maple floor that had even the tiniest of sap pockets or figuring. At this time I interrupted her and said I think it would be better if you call the
    via wabanero
  • flooring contractor before you did that to the whole floor, and she didn't so much as acknowledge she heard anything. So I walked out to my car and made a call to the general contractor because I didn't have the flooring contractors contact info.
    via wabanero
  • Flooring contractor arrived 20 minutes after the homeowner left, he was livid. He said multiple times that they had discussed this issue and that the homeowner had acknowledged there would be some variations in wood grain and signed off on it.
    via wabanero
  • There were black check marks on probably 30% of the floor and the flooring contractor was as mad as I've seen anyone on a construction site on the phone with the contractor screeching. I pretty much went about my own business and he left. About 45
    via wabanero
  • minutes later as I was packing up my tools he showed back up with a very large fish. That very large fish was then wrapped in a number of heavy duty contractor garbage bags and duct taped from tip to tail. He then took the fish
    via wabanero
  • Cheezburger Image 10507983872
    via Unsplash+ (and Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • up to a bathroom that had a change order and was still under construction and shoved it between two studs behind the shower which was going to be covered up with tile. I minded my own business,
    via wabanero
  • didn't ask anything about why he would do that and what the purpose would be but through the grapevine I found out later that it wound up rotting and then exploding, causing tens of thousands of dollars in rework that the homeowner had to pay for. Although I
    via wabanero
  • never did I always wanted to get a hold of that guy and say nice work bro.
    via wabanero
  • Paix Jour In awe. Starstruck. of water trick. fish out • • • The best!
    via PaixJour
  • Goldnugget2 I had a cousin that did remodeling, any time a customer was a pain in the a he would hit in a used paint bucket and leave it for the customer to find later.
    via Goldnugget2
  • Weary-Living-3198 Remember one like this with raw chicken pushed down a vent opening in the kitchen bc payment wasn't made. Also concrete in every toilet in an apartment building when the plumber was stiffed. Best was glass in a chimney when the mason wasn't paid.
    via Weary-Living-3198
  • TheAnti-Karen I mean I would have had to fight myself not to find out what his number was and congratulate him on that type of petty revenge, cuz I saw what we were going when you said there was a large fish being wrapped up. 3
    via TheAnti-Karen

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