Misogynistic Man Underestimates Woman, Keeps Mocking Her, Regrets It When She Cancels His $11k Deal
Interview With AuthorMisogyny disguised as humor is like a bad knock-knock joke – it’s not clever, it’s not funny, and it leaves everyone wishing they’d stayed home. Throw in a dose of male bravado, and suddenly, things get really uncomfortable.
That’s exactly what happened when one woman met a restaurant owner whose outdated views and cringey comments cost him an eye-watering $11,000. Let’s just say his attempts to impress didn’t land – unless you count landing himself in hot water. Now that’s what I call an expensive sense of humor.
More info: Reddit
When misogyny meets bad humor, it costs more than just pride
Image credits: Rachel Claire / Pexels (not the actual photo)
One woman was mocked and insulted by a misogynistic restaurant owner at a food tasting, making her back out of an $11k deal
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The woman and 3 male colleagues participated in a food tasting at an Indian restaurant where they were planning on organizing an event
Image credits: Drazen Zigic / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The restaurant owner insulted and mocked the woman the entire night, assuming she was one of the men’s wife, but she was actually the one holding the credit card
Image credits: ENTPoncrackenergy
The owner was shocked when he realized the woman he insulted was actually the decision maker, causing him to lose the $11k deal
Our protagonist, a quiet but clearly capable woman, was scoping out an Indian restaurant with her 3 male colleagues. Together, they were planning a professional event and attended a food tasting to see if the venue could fit the bill. That’s when they met the restaurant owner, who immediately decided that the men in the group were in charge, and our OP (original poster) was… well, an accessory.
From the moment they sat down, it was one misogynistic joke after another. First, he asked one of the OP’s male colleagues if she could cook, casually tossing in some commentary about her slim figure, because apparently, body type determines culinary skills. Bold strategy. But the OP didn’t respond, opting instead for the kind of stare that could make even the most confident uncle sweat bullets.
The owner’s next gem was the classic ageist one. This guy implied that “younger ones” like the OP might go wild with shots. For context: she’s a practicing Buddhist who doesn’t drink, a fact her friend clarified. But rather than taking the hint, the owner took a sharp turn into even murkier waters, speculating that her friends must surely be party animals; you know, girls gone wild. Classy dude, isn’t he?
Still, our OP kept her cool, letting her silent disapproval do the talking while her male colleagues squirmed in their seats. By the time the owner brought out the spreadsheet and card reader, he’d already crossed the line from charmingly awkward to outright offensive.
And just when you thought he might finally read the room, he capped things off with a “joke” about her paying the £500 (just over $600) deposit, complete with a laugh at his own audacity. Our OP sure is a classy lady, because I’d probably be throwing plates by now.
At this point, most people would’ve walked out, but our OP remained calm and professional. She politely declined the venue, citing valid reasons like capacity concerns and overlapping events. But let’s be real—the owner’s attitude was the nail in the coffin. And when he turned to her male colleague for confirmation, her friend delivered the ultimate mic drop line: “Well, it is her event.”
I wish I could have seen the look on the dude’s face when he realized the woman he had insulted the entire evening was the decision-maker. But the OP got to see it and it was probably priceless. That awkward “oh no” moment? Worth every penny of the $11,000 he lost.
Image credits: peoplecreations / Freepik (not the actual photo)
To find out more about the situation, we’ve reached out to the poster for some comments. She told Bored Panda that she hasn’t had any communication with the restaurant owner after the incident and that he never apologized for his comments. The poster also mentioned that situations like the one in this story, where someone underestimated her role or authority, are very rare and uncommon for her.
We’ve asked the poster what her colleagues’ reactions to the owner’s comments were. She said that they didn’t step in, but that’s because they know she prefers handling things on her own. The remarks were subtle, and her colleagues understand that she approaches these situations in her own way. She wouldn’t want anyone swooping in to “rescue” her or escalating things unnecessarily.
We wanted to know if the poster would have handled the situation differently if she got the chance to go back. She explained that “silence was definitely the perfect response. There’s this narrative that you have to ‘teach these people a lesson’- that is not my job, and I am not his mother. A 30-minute conversation with me is not going to undo the 60+ years of misogyny he has under his belt.”
The poster also wanted to add some personal thoughts. “I think I’d just like to add that majority of women work shoulder to shoulder with men and have been for decades. This is not a new development by any stretch of the imagination, so it doesn’t make sense to have this assumption that men are the sole breadwinners anymore.”
She also mentioned that this isn’t just a feminist perspective – it’s a fact, and people should take a moment to observe their own workplaces. At this point, it’s not just a gender issue—it’s a refusal to accept the reality that women have been building careers and earning money for decades.
What do you think of this story? Would you have handled things differently if you were in the OP’s shoes? Let us know in the comments!
Netizens applaud the woman for the way she treated the owner and for not engaging with him, some even sharing their own encounters with misogyny
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I'm a big Gay dude with facial tattoos. Went into a Nissan dealership to buy a truck, 1st sales rep comes up to me and makes a face, my Mom and I turn around and go to the Toyota dealership next door. As we pull into the dealership, our minivan literally dies in the parking space. We walk in, and a few sales reps are standing there looking at us like we're trash. A young woman was standing off to the side. I ask if she can sell cars, and she says she doesn't typically but can find me someone, I ask her if she was to sell me one would she get a commission and she says yes. I tell her I want her to help me and proceed to pay cash for a new truck. The sales reps (all men) were pissed.
Way back, when people in hardware stores knew what the tools they sold were used for and people collected leaflets with instructions instead of looking for a YouTube video (and yes, this was clearly the previous century), if my dad wasn't quite sure how to address a DIY, my parents tag teamed... my dad would approach the person in the hardware store with "could you explain to my wife how...?" or "My wife isn't sure why we need..." Ten out of ten, the person would go out of his way to explain mum how to tackle a project or how to use certain tools. The explanation was more often than not, in manly solidarity, better than what dad would have gotten, as you know he is a bloke and should just know these things while mum was thar harpy that would not trust her man. Of course, my dad kept his ears wide open...
Load More Replies...We were buying fencing products. My wife is the one who does the DIY and knows what she needs - I just drive and pay :) Anyway, she's looking at the options, but the bloke waits until I come back from collecting another piece and begins with "Now you're both here" and starts to talk through what's what. When buying a computer, though, the salesman kept ignoring my comments and focused entirely on my wife, possibly because he thought she was easier to sell to - I worked in data processing for 40 years and I do know what makes a machine work. We left without buying anything.
Urgh, I got some fat pack shelves delivered that I wanted for the garage. The guys that delivered them asked if my husband was home to carry the boxes inside - no he wasn't, he didn't even know I ordered them. I got them to just put them down and then I picked them up in front of them to take them in.
Load More Replies...This is why I love helping people buy cars. Early in my career I sold cars. When I bought cars they always did the song and dance for my then husband. We let them. Then we'd talk numbers and the ex would walk away. By this point in my career I was a Corp exec in technology and done lots of negotiating. I'd render those ahole salesmen down till I was paying under invoice. Always got a ton of respect from the finance pros when they saw I purchased under invoice (below the dealership's cost) every damn time.
I'm a big Gay dude with facial tattoos. Went into a Nissan dealership to buy a truck, 1st sales rep comes up to me and makes a face, my Mom and I turn around and go to the Toyota dealership next door. As we pull into the dealership, our minivan literally dies in the parking space. We walk in, and a few sales reps are standing there looking at us like we're trash. A young woman was standing off to the side. I ask if she can sell cars, and she says she doesn't typically but can find me someone, I ask her if she was to sell me one would she get a commission and she says yes. I tell her I want her to help me and proceed to pay cash for a new truck. The sales reps (all men) were pissed.
Way back, when people in hardware stores knew what the tools they sold were used for and people collected leaflets with instructions instead of looking for a YouTube video (and yes, this was clearly the previous century), if my dad wasn't quite sure how to address a DIY, my parents tag teamed... my dad would approach the person in the hardware store with "could you explain to my wife how...?" or "My wife isn't sure why we need..." Ten out of ten, the person would go out of his way to explain mum how to tackle a project or how to use certain tools. The explanation was more often than not, in manly solidarity, better than what dad would have gotten, as you know he is a bloke and should just know these things while mum was thar harpy that would not trust her man. Of course, my dad kept his ears wide open...
Load More Replies...We were buying fencing products. My wife is the one who does the DIY and knows what she needs - I just drive and pay :) Anyway, she's looking at the options, but the bloke waits until I come back from collecting another piece and begins with "Now you're both here" and starts to talk through what's what. When buying a computer, though, the salesman kept ignoring my comments and focused entirely on my wife, possibly because he thought she was easier to sell to - I worked in data processing for 40 years and I do know what makes a machine work. We left without buying anything.
Urgh, I got some fat pack shelves delivered that I wanted for the garage. The guys that delivered them asked if my husband was home to carry the boxes inside - no he wasn't, he didn't even know I ordered them. I got them to just put them down and then I picked them up in front of them to take them in.
Load More Replies...This is why I love helping people buy cars. Early in my career I sold cars. When I bought cars they always did the song and dance for my then husband. We let them. Then we'd talk numbers and the ex would walk away. By this point in my career I was a Corp exec in technology and done lots of negotiating. I'd render those ahole salesmen down till I was paying under invoice. Always got a ton of respect from the finance pros when they saw I purchased under invoice (below the dealership's cost) every damn time.
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