Entitled folks can be the worst. They seem to sail through life with the firm idea in their heads that the whole world owes them something, and if they don’t get satisfaction, they throw their toys out of the cot in the blink of an eye.
Staff at a small bakery were bewildered when a Karen stormed into their shop demanding they refund her for a partially devoured birthday cake. Amused, one of the bakers shared the story with an online community.
More info: Reddit
Entitled customers are a dime a dozen these days, but this one took the cake, quite literally
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
She’d previously ordered a birthday cake for her son, demanding all the bells and whistles, from extra frosting to fancy toppers
Image credits: v.ivash / Freepik (not the actual photo)
When it came to picking up the confection, she had no complaints, but barged back into the bakery the following afternoon with claims that the cake had been “stale”
Image credits: Prashant C / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Despite the dessert being half-devoured, the woman insisted on a refund, then threatened to “ruin” the bakery on social media if they refused
Image credits: Frequent_Cry664
The bakery staff held their ground, saying the cake couldn’t have been that bad if so much of it had been eaten, but shared the outrageous story with an online community
For OP, working in a cozy bakery meant dealing with all kinds of customers, some sweet, others that literally tried to take the cake. She recalls how one woman recently ordered a massive birthday masterpiece for her son: extra frosting, glittering toppers, the works. The staff poured their hearts into it, and not a word of complaint was heard at pickup.
The following day, though, the bakery doors flew open, and in came the woman, this time carrying a half-eaten cake. What remained was little more than crumbs and frosting smears, but she shoved the box across the counter anyway, loudly declaring the dessert was stale and had ruined the party mood. Then she actually demanded a full refund.
The staff politely explained to the woman that bakeries don’t typically refund cakes that look like they were joyfully devoured. When asked if anything had seemed off the day before, the woman rolled her eyes and insisted the bakery “take responsibility.” Half the cake may have been missing, but apparently, its freshness was still in question.
When it was suggested that her family seemed to have enjoyed it, she snapped that the bakery should be “grateful” for her feedback, but the manager backed the bakery staff, refusing a refund. Incensed, the woman then stormed out, threatening online vengeance as she left. Weeks later, no posts had surfaced, let alone gone viral, and the bakery quietly kept serving up happiness in the shape of cakes.
Image credits: Alina Matveycheva / Pexels (not the actual photo)
From what OP tells us in her post, it seems the woman wanted to have her cake and eat it, too. She’s just another example of an entitled customer trying to push their luck, something that’s sadly all too common in the service industry. You’ve probably come across the phrase “The customer is always right,” but should this always be the case?
In her article for Inc, Jessica Stillman writes that the classic approach to difficult customers is to grin and bear them, but according to new research out of the University of British Columbia posted on the Harvard Business Review website, this “the customer is always right” approach is actually a deeply problematic policy. Some Chicago bakeries are fighting back, putting customers in their place if they misbehave.
In her post for Budget and the Bees, Latrice Perez writes that, while customers are important, they aren’t infallible, and they shouldn’t be given a free pass to act however they please. She says respect should go both ways in any interaction, whether in retail, hospitality, or any service industry.
Perez warns that clinging to the “customer is always right” idea not only encourages customer entitlement but also leads to employee burnout, disrespects the expertise of workers, creates an unhealthy power dynamic, and undermines fair business practices.
What would you have done if you’d been in the bakery manager’s shoes? Do you think it’s time to put entitled Karens in their place? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!
In the comments, some readers shared their own horror stories of working in the service industry, while others slammed the Karen for her sheer audacity
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