The internet is full of stories from customer-facing employees who have to deal with the worst of humanity. But sometimes, there is that perfect opportunity where a worker can flip the script and get some well-deserved revenge on a rude client.

An internet user shared one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments where they could truly tell someone “Don’t you know who I am?” They described a customer as being particularly pushy, demanding a free part because they had worked out some deal with the boss. When the employee resisted, they were told that they just didn’t know their boss that well. The issue? The employee was the boss’s kid.
More info: Reddit

When trying to bully or trick a worker by invoking their boss, it’s best to actually know who is in charge

Image credits: Oxana Melis (not the actual photo)

An employee shared the time they were able to justifiably use “Don’t you know who I am?” to shut up an aggressive customer

Image credits: Clay Banks (not the actual photo)

Image credits: eightballwitch

Family businesses have some unexpected benefits, as this story shows

Image credits: Alev Takil (not the actual photo)

Knowing that upper management is generally going to be on your side is just one of the benefits of a family business. While this term does often invoke the image of a literal mom-and-pop shop, the reality is that 44% of the richest Americans got their fortunes from being part of or associated with a family business. Part of this is blatant nepotism, but there are some advantages of employing family in key roles. They can be more trustworthy than a stranger and it can be a way to keep greedy venture capitalists out. Though the vast majority of small businesses tend to not need protection from hostile takeovers.

The other, less studied but equally important benefit is the ability to access the manager. Or at least invoke the manager. The stereotypical “Karen,” who can just as easily be a man generally will try to escalate by bringing in the employee’s boss. It’s important to note that “Karan” can and has been used to describe men, for example, a scientist that called Elon Musk a “Space Karen” over his remarks regarding COVID-19 testing. Alternatives for men also include “Ken” and “Kevin,” though neither has the mainstream recognition of “Karen.” The effectiveness of this strategy will differ from company to company, but this story demonstrates one of those golden opportunities that many retail workers hope will fall into their lap.

Karens can come in all shapes and sizes

Image credits: Siavash Ghanbari (not the actual photo)

The term “Karen,” to the dismay of people actually named Karen, has become thoroughly mainstream. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors, for example, introduced the Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-Emergencies Act, which was sometimes referred to by its acronym, CAREN. While it’s not a perfect match name-wise, the legislation was directly inspired by real “Karens,” as it sought to limit racially motivated 911 calls, where actual Karens tried to sic the police on minorities. Legislators noted that the meme helped draw attention to the issue and allowed a solution to be formulated at a governmental level. Enhanced protection for retail works is, unfortunately, not being discussed.

In fact, to the dismay of many customer service representatives, Karen’s might be unionizing. Sort of. Karens for Hire is an organization where people can lodge complaints and more combative representatives will then go “fight” the company responsible. Despite the somewhat questionable name, the goal isn’t to attack consumer-facing workers but to hold companies more accountable. It’s not exactly a secret that customer service representatives exist to take heat off of the upper management that actually makes the decisions, so consumers need to innovate in how they complain. Or just get a bit more aggressive.

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Readers shared their enjoyment of the story and OP gave a few more examples of similar customers

Others shared their own stories of people who thought they could try some sort of power play to get what they wanted

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