There’s a certain kind of confidence that hits differently. It’s the kind where someone doesn’t need to raise their voice, flash a badge, or prove anything because they literally own the place. It’s the exact kind of moment that turns awkward situations into instant comedy and leaves everyone else rethinking their life choices.
From quiet power moves to perfectly timed one-liners, netizens shared stories packed with people who unknowingly picked the worst possible person to argue with. And honestly, there’s nothing more satisfying than watching someone realize, just a second too late, that they’ve been talking to the owner the whole time.
More info: Reddit
#1
I’m not sure it’s the same, but I was working in a store and a guy came in saying he was the owner’s brother and the owner said he could have free stuff.
I replied, “oh yeah? Funny I haven’t met you; I’m the owner’s son.”.
Image source: 314159265358979326, The Yuri Arcurs Collection
#2
I was in high school at a house party when this cop rolls up, looks pissed off to all hell, boldly starts opening the front door.
We’re trying to hold it closed, the hell with you pig, you have no probable cause, come back with a warrant.”* *”the hell with you, this is my darn house.”*
Was in fact his house, dudes dad was a local cop.
Image source: lubeskystalker, The Yuri Arcurs Collection
#3
This week, I was at a meeting where they might shut down the local branch of our community college. When the time for public comment ended, I witnessed this exchange between the meeting director an a man in a wheelchair:
*”I haven’t had a chance to speak.”*
*”Your name’s not on the list.”*
*”My name’s on the building.”*.
Image source: marsmedia, seventyfour
When someone suddenly realizes that a person they’ve been treating casually, or even critically, is actually the owner or boss, it’s more than just an awkward social moment, it’s a psychological event. Forbes explains that people perceive bosses not only through formal indicators like titles, roles, or offices but also through informal signals such as body language, decision-making style, and how others defer to them.
In other words, recognition of authority is a combination of visible status markers and subtle social cues, which makes the eventual revelation all the more striking when it contradicts our assumptions.
#4
I’m at a wedding in NY and there’s this kid literally running around the place doing everyone’s job. It’s at this amazing estate/venue easily worth $50 million plus. I’m watching everyone working at the event yelling at this kid all night. (He’s early 20’s). Everyone at the event is bossing this kid around. Even the groom is barking orders at him. This kid is just getting “beaten” all night. He literally didn’t stop moving for four hours. He was sweating the entire time. He did everything with a smile and a yes sir/ yes mam answer. I said to the owner, you got yourself a good employee with that one. He thanked me and said that the kid is a hard worker. At the end of the night I’m outside checking out the venues fleet of half a million dollar car(s). The kid sees me drooling over one of the cars and asks me if I want to check it out. He says one second and goes and comes back with the keys and opens the door. Tells me to hop in and he starts it up. I panic and ask him, “are you allowed to do this, I don’t want to get you in trouble with the boss”. He responded with “yes, it’s fine. My dad owns the place.” I just laugh and shrug. Turns out the boss who I complimented earlier was in fact his dad. And as the only son, the place was going to be his one day. From the way everyone treated him, I don’t think anyone had a clue. .
Image source: 1214, seventyfour
#5
Staycation at a Four Seasons resort. In the pool and get talking with a friendly guy about what we think of a neighboring Four Seasons. Proceed to tell the guy that we liked the other one more for various reasons. He straight up says “full disclosure I own this Four Seasons”, then offers to buy us drinks while we talked more. Cool and honest guy!
Image source: ninjameams, freepik
#6
As a reward for a job well done on a project, the entire company went out for a very expensive dinner along with +1s. Drinks and everything was included. We budgeted about $300 a person, which is no small change for a small business.
Boss sits down in front of one of the new employees and his wife, and they chat it up while waiting for our main courses.
The wife turns to him and says “you guys wanna share a bottle of wine? This one costs $800 a bottle. May as well stick it to the boss, right? Not our money!”
He just smiled and said “no but thanks for asking” and carried on with dinner while her husband turned white.
I really wonder what the conversation was like when they were on the way home.
Image source: MrGradySir, freepik
Leadership Circle adds that these moments often trigger cognitive dissonance and embarrassment. Suddenly, your self-image as confident, honest, or “not star-struck” collides with the reality that you’ve been rude, overly familiar, or dismissive to someone who holds ultimate power.
That clash creates a sudden mental and emotional crunch, forcing you to reconcile your past behavior with a new understanding of the hierarchy, a process that explains why these “I literally own the company” stories resonate so strongly.
#7
Not the biggest story, but I was working at a small chain restaurant as a dishwasher when I saw this tall man walk into the back. I politely told him that this is the back of house and restrooms were the other way. He introduced himself and I told him nice to meet you, welcome to the restaurant and the restroom is still down the hall. My kitchen manager comes out and tells me that’s the guy who owns the chain, who then praises me for being polite and still working as I tried to direct him.
Image source: smoothbrother16, freepik
#8
My family runs a small butcher shop. I am the second generation steward.
I always introduce myself as simply the manager. Had someone try to get a discount on our wholesale price, saying the owner agreed to it to close on the sale. Told them to wait a minute while I checked. Walked into the freezer and immediately walked back out. Extended my hand and said “hello, I am the owner’s son, who are you?”
Made the employees laugh so it was worth it.
Image source: SleepyLi, minervastudio
#9
I was doing some drum heads for Pink’s Misunastood tour. My brief was to go down the rehearsal studio, wait for break and go in to get the drum heads that I would paint.
So I get there, find the room, and it seems quiet, but the: “In session” light over the door was still lit, so I was unsure what to do.
I see a group of people hanging out around a table, so I go ask them if they knew if Pink was on break and I would be okay going in.
One of women at the table says: “It should be okay” and I was like: “Are you sure?”
…and she says: “Of course I am. It’s my band”.
Image source: squirtloaf, Apple Music
The psychological impact can go even deeper. The British Psychological Society notes that realizing someone has ultimate power over you, whether a boss, partner, parent, or institution, tends to trigger heightened anxiety, self-questioning, and shifts in identity or autonomy.
How intense this reaction is depends on how absolute the authority feels, how it is exercised, and how much room you have to push back or remove yourself from the situation. These factors help explain why even casual encounters with authority figures can feel so sudden, intense, and unforgettable.
#10
I was on a work trip to a factory in Asia with a new colleague, and after reviewing some changes we needed on a product he turned to the nearest Asian guy and said “yeah, you can go do that now.” Nearest Asian guy happened to be the CEO of this multi-million dollar factory, which also has branches in several other countries. This guy didn’t last long.
Image source: Whippity, katemangostar
#11
I got into a heated argument with a client representative about getting access to the project schedule. She insisted that I didn’t need to know. I insisted that I wasn’t interested in her opinion. She turned to my (better dressed and British) colleague and said “John, you’re in charge, talk some sense into him”. John’s reply: “well actually he’s the CEO”. I got the schedule.
Image source: unlikely_arrangement, Drazen Zigic
#12
Well, I owned an ad agency with 20 employees. But we had some extra office space that I had available to rent out.
A guy came in who was a freelancer. He got word about my available space and wanted to come look.
So we were walking through. I was showing him the break room, the kitchen, etc.
Finally towards the end, he asked me, “What do you do here?”
I paused and said, “I just make the copies.”
Years later he admitted to me that he saw some people immediately afterwards and asked who I was. Everybody berated him because he didn’t know I was the president. But at least he said it was really graceful of me.
Image source: AnybodySeeMyKeys, tonodiaz
Science Focus further explores how people adapt, or sometimes get stuck, when navigating power imbalances. Many respond with compliance or appeasement, trying to be cooperative, grateful, or “good” to feel safer, even if the dynamic is unfair. At the same time, covert resentment, simmering anger, or fantasies of rebellion often bubble beneath the surface, even if they’re never acted upon.
In close relationships, like family, long-term partners, or caregiving roles, this imbalance can warp identity, causing people to define themselves largely by what the powerful person allows or expects. These reactions help illuminate the hilarity and tension in stories where someone realizes too late that they’ve been clashing with the person in charge.
#13
I have a close friend who owned a bar; he was young, still in his twenties. One night, we headed there and there were three guys standing outside. As we approached to go in, they stopped us and told us that we couldn’t go in because it was “not for us.” We kind of chuckled and said, “Yeah, right.”
Then they stepped in front of the door and said no, they were serious, and we had to leave. My buddy goes, “I own it.” They all started laughing and talking more dumb stuff. He then pulled out his keys, locked the door right in front of them, and said, “I said I OWN it.”
They immediately started apologizing profusely, and he told them to get lost.
Image source: SootandPoo, wavebreakmedia_micro
#14
Worked at a bar years ago and would regularly get people saying they knew the owner. 9/10 times they actually did and were just like where is this guy?
We would occasionally get some jerks who would try and swing free drinks but we’d shut them down because that’s not a thing here bud.
One night, said owner is covering a bartending shift on a Friday, full house, pints all night. Some guy starts telling him a whole story about how he went to college with the “new owner” and was apparently on his tab, what with the special visit and all.
The boss just kinda stopped for a second, shook his head, said, “I’ve never seen you before,” and continued serving everyone else around him. The guy sat there for a solid five minutes before he clued in.
Just zero time for nonesense and on with the show.
Image source: subtxtcan, Drazen Zigic
#15
I used to work at a place with an employees sports league on Wednesdays after work.
New guy from my department on his first day decides to join us as a way of getting to know more people outside of just our team.
He’s going around talking to people and making friendly small talk when he gets to our CEO (who’s on the younger side and wearing a tshirt, shorts, and Nikes).
New guy asks the CEO ‘so what do you do’
My CEO pauses and amusedly says ‘I’m in management’ the changes the topic. He was a pretty cool guy so he wasn’t fussed and actually found it funny, but our boss gave my colleague so much grief the next day for it.
Image source: aeronauticalingrid, shevchukandrey
At the heart of these “I literally own the company” moments, the magic isn’t just in the flex, it’s in the timing, confidence, and sheer audacity. These stories remind us that sometimes, the most unforgettable power moves aren’t loud or flashy, they’re subtle, perfectly executed, and leave everyone else scrambling to catch up.
Whether it’s a well-timed correction, a casual reminder of authority, or an unexpected display of ownership, these moments show that knowing your place, and owning it, never goes out of style. These stories give us a hilarious glimpse into what happens when someone holds all the cards, and reminds us that sometimes, the best power move is simply being in the right seat at the right time.
#16
Literally happened to me this past week. I attended an informal cookout the evening before a training summit. The cookout was located behind the building of a couple different vendors that were hosting the summit of whom I’ve met very few of.
Anyways, a guy comes up to me and introduces himself, now mind you I’m pretty terrible remembering names just said to me. After a few mins of talking, I ask him which vendor he’s with: ‘x’ or ‘so and so’, he replies ‘so and so’ and at that point my brain makes the connection that that the dude’s name is one half of ‘so and so’, and is plastered on the side of the darn building.
Immediately I say, “ohhh! Are you *the* ‘so’??”
He replies: “Ah, one of many but yeah, I’m the president of ‘so and so’
Never felt more like an idiot than I did in that moment 🤦🏻♂️.
Image source: 6r1n3i19, freepik
#17
Worked at a brewery and the head brewer left early then came back in different clothes to do something. I had just clocked out and was having a beer he came in and one of the new bartenders asked him what he wanted and he said ” I don’t know ” so she started describing all the beers to him, and he chose one and she looks real proud of herself That’s when I looked at her and said yeah that’s the head brewer she was so embarrassed. He got huge kick out of it.
Image source: amazinbp17, fxquadro
#18
Not the owner of the company. But when I worked in a factory, we had a new general foreman who i hadn’t met yet. We were trying out a new process and I went storming into the office “who’s dumb idea was this?!”. He looked up from his desk, straightened his tie and said “That would be me.” I laughed and said “well, it’s still stupid” We got along well after that.
Image source: Fixerr59, Drazen Zigic
#19
Was at a concert with my brother and about a dozen of his friends almost 10 years ago. Got a wee bit saucy and had to sit down (this was at an amphitheater so literally right behind everyone standing up). While I’m catching my breath, this guy who kind of looked like a friend of mine, wearing jeans and no shirt, boogied my way over and starts trying to chat with me. Once I figured out that this guy was not someone I knew, I signaled to my brother to get him away from me.
My brother asks this guy to leave me alone pretty politely. Dude goes “oh, don’t worry, I know her like a sister”
My brother responded “she IS my sister and you’ve gotta go”
10 years later we still joke about it, he’s had plenty of opportunities to be protective over the years but this one took the cake.
Image source: maybetooenthusiastic, damerfie
#20
I work for a big family owned company. We were showing the chairman some prototype products and were discussing the cost of a product improvement as been too high, would push profitability of the product lower costing millions every year.
He literally said “it’s my money just go and do it”. Huge decision and it was like nothing to him.
Image source: Brenduke, The Yuri Arcurs Collection
#21
Not me but my BFF. He was a newly minted attorney and was doing the long hour grinds as an associate attorney at a prestigious Law Firm. He had a colleague that was doing the same as him, but came in at 8:00 a.m. Left at 5:00 p.m., played video games, and very little was expected of him. My friend got an additional workload that was sending him over the top and he was exhausted. He suggested that colleague X be given some of the overage, he was told that colleague X, was the son of a partner, so they were to be deferent to him, nothing was expected from colleague X.
Edit: this was 2007.
Image source: Plus-Implement, pressfoto
#22
Actually happened this morning. I had a new neighbor move in across the street a few weeks ago but hadn’t had the chance to meet them yet. As I left for work, she was also leaving, so we exchanged pleasantries, and we talked about what the street was like, who the other neighbors are, etc, etc. Eventually, the subject turns to work, she asks what I do for work, I reply that I work within the forestry industry. I ask the same to her, and she says that she works for the local council handling the complaints. At some point, she leaves for work. My father turns to me and says. “I think I know who that is. She’s the mayor…”.
Image source: yaboiMcblu, The Yuri Arcurs Collection
#23
Actually had something like this happen at my last job. CEO walks into our open office area around 2pm on a friday wearing flip flops and a t-shirt, grabs a beer from the mini fridge and sits down at an empty desk. New intern starts going off about how he can’t just take company property and needs to get back to work
The whole room went silent while this kid is lecturing the guy who signs everyone’s paychecks about work ethic and company policy. CEO just calmly sipped his beer and said “thanks for the feedback” then walked back to his office. Intern lasted maybe another week before they “restructured his position”
Still makes me cringe thinking about it but you gotta respect the CEO for keeping his cool instead of just firing him on the spot.
Image source: No_Answer_8407, freepic.diller
#24
I was in a laundromat where there are rolling carts which are shared by all the customers. One lady put her empt laundry bins in 2 carts while her clothes were being washed. I politely asked her to use one to transfer my clothes from the washer to dryer and even told her I would bring it back. She refused.
I had been going to this laundromat for years at this point and always made friendly small talk with the owner. He saw the interaction, took her bin out of one cart and handed me the cart to use. The woman immediately starting fuming and demanded to speak with the manager because he gave away “her cart.”
He simply said “I’m the owner, they are all *MY* carts, and if you don’t like sharing you can leave.”
The pissed off and confused look on the lady’s face was priceless.
Image source: yesidoes, pressfoto
#25
In high school I worked at an arcade, and the owner often took shifts when it was busy. One dude had an issue and tried to escalate to a manager with her. I only heard part of the conversation, but I did hear her say that she was infact the owner and that she would help him.
He replied with owners don’t work the front til or something like that.
From the other end of the prize counter where I was I said “hey boss this guy giving you a hard time?” I’m a fairly large dude, and my boss a small woman. He seemed to buy it and had her actually help him.
Pretty sure it was the intimidating tie-dye shirt we all wore.
Image source: MTAlphawolf, freepik
#26
Not exactly the same but my old boss got told off by the quiet IT guy in a meeting and it turned out IT guy was the founders nephew. the SILENCE that followed was incredible.
Image source: No-Biscotti-1596, pressfoto
#27
Years ago I worked at a regional credit union at our HQ that also had a small retail branch attached to it. I was in the branch getting a check printed for a mortgage funding.
A customer comes into to our HQ branch and our VP of Operations happens to be behind the teller line for some reason or another.
Customer is in a bad mood about something and starts ripping into the teller. Telling her she was an idiot and the whole credit union was terrible and stealing his money. Head teller came over and tried to quickly deescalate but he started calling her a dumb cow and other choice words.
The VP walked up to a teller station and logged into the system and tells the man to come over. He yells at the VP like “what are you going to about it?”
She calmly and politely handed him a check for all the funds he had in his accounts. She said that clearly this is not the right bank for him and all of his accounts were now closed and he was not invited to bank here again.
Image source: Temporary_Solid_5869, Drazen Zigic
#28
Worked at a small tech startup in SEA and this new manager kept trying to restructure everything week one. moved people around, cancelled team lunch fridays, tried to change the slack channels. the quiet dude who sat in the corner wearing flip flops every day just went “yeah im gonna need you to undo all of that by tomorrow”
turns out flip flop guy was the founder and majority shareholder lol. new manager lasted two more weeks. flip flop guy went back to eating his laksa in peace.
Image source: jollyrojak, nappy
#29
In med school, one of my classmates got in an argument with a biochem professor about why a particular protein was named the way it was. The prof eventually shut him down with “I discovered it”.
Image source: balletrat, Wavebreak Media
#30
When I was 15 my friend and I won tickets to a big name concert that was held at an NBA arena. At one point I asked the family next to me if they “splurge on things like this often.” It was the owner of the NBA team.
Image source: anelephant_intheroom, freepik
#31
I have a friend whose last name literally is Eisner but who is no relation, who got lots of good discounts at Disney World.
Image source: ratbastid
#32
Worked at a bar where the owner was very well known and outgoing, knew everyone, main bartender like 5 nights a week. His son was super introverted and preferred to keep to himself and just wash dishes in the back. Occasionally he had to work barback or (god forbid) be doorguy if there was a busy night and needed extra muscle. He hated it
For Xmas the owners wife decorated the bar with Xmas stockings with the names of all the employees hung in a vertical line, with the owner up at the top and his son second, then lesser employees below.
One night the owners son was working his rare doorguy shift had to tell an unruly customer to leave, but being too unconfrontational he was reluctant to get in the guys face or be forceful with him. Unruly guy was like “who the hell are you? What’re you gonna do about it?” The son calmly walked over to the Xmas stockings hanging on the wall and was like “see that? That’s me up at the top. I’m kinda a big deal here. Get out”
Guy actually left, and I still laugh about his flex like 15 years later. .
Image source: DrF4rtB4rf
#33
Not exactly “I own this place”, but about 15 years ago, my startup was touring Japanese manufacturing companies, trying to pitch our industrial automation software prototype. One afternoon we had a meeting with a subsidiary of one of the biggest Japanese automakers (I think the biggest).
We showed up around lunchtime, 3 of us, and reception told us we had time to grab food at the cafeteria before the meeting.
So we head over, and immediately notice that everyone is dressed exactly the same: gray zip-up work suits with the company logo. We grab trays and get in line alongside people of all ages, from early 20s to seniors, all dressed identically. We eat, head back, no big deal.
Later, we’re taken to a conference room and asked to wait for the team. After a bit, a middle-aged guy walks in. He’s wearing the same work suit of course, and politely asks if we need water or coffee, and whether there are enough chairs. I recognized him from the cafeteria line earlier.
We count and say we might need one more chair. He nods and leaves.
A few minutes later, someone else brings in water and coffee. Then the rest of the team arrives, we exchange greetings etc. Then and that same guy walks back in, this time carrying a chair. He sets it down at the table.
At this point I’m thinking he’s maybe an office assistant or something.
Instead, he introduces himself, hands us his business card, and sits down on the chair he brought in.
He was the CEO…
Image source: stheotok
#34
This was more of a funny event than any kind of embarrassing event. I worked for a medical software company running the support department. One of my reps was dealing with a customer and they traced the problem to the customer’s network. He told the customer they had to contact their local IT. The customer then asked to speak with me which is what customers would do when they didn’t like the solution my rep was giving. My rep tried repeatedly to get them to understand that I was going to tell them the same thing, but the customer was very insistent about speaking to me directly.
My rep comes in, explains the whole thing to me, I laugh and tell them to transfer the call to me. I then proceeded to walk the customer through the changes they needed to make to their network to fix the issue. My rep looked confused because we absolutely never got involved with local IT issues. I had to explain that yes, except when I was the local IT for the customer.
Prior to me joining the company, I did contract work for some of their earliest customers installing their networks and getting them setup. I was the local IT for a handful of the customers that were grandfathered in from when the company offered full service installs.
Image source: DeaddyRuxpin
#35
Long story short: a friend of mine was going through a legal process, claiming lost wages. It went all the way through to a judge and it came down to the interpretation of a particular clause. Judge “the intention of the people who wrote this was X”. Friend: “I wrote the legislation. It was Y”. Friend was a government lawyer.
Image source: geeeking
#36
I work as a manager for a restaurant that is owned and operated by a husband & wife. We’re very small and reservations book on a 30 day basis, and the largest table we reserve is for 6. I got a call requesting a table for 12. I explained we couldn’t accommodate that and the response was “we are investors who are guaranteed reservations when requested”. When I explained we did not have investors, they hung up on me.
Image source: AnnoyingTypu
#37
I look like a 40+ year old homeless ex-con. Scruffy hair, tats, weird beard.
I work at a restaurant. I do a lot of helping out. Washing dishes, wiping tables, taking out trash.
Every few months I get a customer upset about XYZ and saying “I know the owner” or “ill call the owner” or “does the owner know” bla bla bla.
I’m the owner. I have a good time.
Image source: illbedeadbydawn
#38
Old guy sits at a restaurant bar on top of a building overlooking the city smoking a cigar. Some gal starts complaining to the bartender how smoking inside is illegal and the bartender pulled her over and said everything you see out that window he owns it all, if you don’t like it you can leave. It is a very iconic company and everyone has heard of before and the old guy was in his 90’s.
Image source: Kcboom1
#39
I worked in my parents grocery store growing up. More than once someone would either come up and try to act like they were friends with the owners or get pissed about a discount I wouldn’t give them and demand to speak to the owner or manager.
Me on the phone: Dad, customer at 1 says they’re a friend and would like to talk to you. (My dad looking down from the office window: Who??)
Me on the overhead: M, we need an MOD at 2. MOD at 2. Hey, M, did mom or dad say we’re taking checks today or…?
Sometimes, though, customers would say “the owner told me” and they’d be referencing my older brother who was NOT an owner but thought he should be so called himself one.
Image source: girlwhoweighted
#40
Not “company” but something similar.
One car was parked right in the middle of the entry/exit gate of the building next to mine. (It was the big iron gate kinda thing). I had to step down from the footpath and go around the car to continue where I was going.
Out of frustration I go “ugh, I just wanna scratch this car for parking like an idiot”. Just as I say this, a dude is walking to the driver’s side and asks what’s wrong. I said “you could park better. What if someone is trying to get in to the building to the dentist office on the ground floor”
“I am the dentist. I own the building. Nobody’s coming”.
Image source: PermanentHuSir
#41
My company contracts out our front desk position, because we are the only facility with tenants, but we are a secured facility so we need a reception person (every other site is just our company).
We had a girl we liked and she liked the job, but the corpos were too cheap to give her a real offer (“Because no one else has a receptionist”) so she left when the contract expired, so they went back to temporarily staffing it with people on our staff who are a little underemployed, while the contractor found a replacement.
One of these is a process engineer who runs a less busy machine in our basement. He’s an older dude. Gonna retire soon so just doesn’t care to rock the boat when asked to do stuff like this.
Anyway, I am like 3 levels above this guy and I report to a director, who reports to our GM, who reports to off-site corpo dude.
Off-site corpo dude was visiting for an all day mgmt meeting, which basement guy didn’t know nor did he care. I was at the front desk talking to him when off-site corpo dude came down to return his facility badge. Basement guy didn’t check corpo dude in. That was our safety officer on the morning.
Corpo dude just walks behind the secure desk and basement guy says, “Excuse me sir, you can’t come back here.” And corpo guy goes, “I assure you I can,” and doesn’t stop what he’s doing.
Basement guy stands up, kind of shocked, like who is this guy. We are a speciality engineering firm, nothing public facing. Our security software flagged my husband visiting me because I put “NA” for what company he was with and that is a terrorist group apparently. All of our visitors make Initech employees look like the Real Housewives. So this is out of left field.
Luckily safety girl came around and fixed it, but it was pretty funny. Made basement guy look good in front of the corpos I guess. I just laughed with him later about it. “You tried to bounce everybody’s boss’ boss.” 🙃.
Image source: nonnewtonianfluids
#42
Customer is in the shop, angry at the CSR and wanting to cancel and refund an ongoing Calendar Printing job. They were apparently demanding for a partial delivery for their Christmas Party which is a few days earlier than the agreed upon due date. CSR offered to fast-tract the prod and release a partial delivery in time for their Christmas Party as long as they fully pay upon pick-up because our company policy prohibits partial deliveries unless fully paid as the customer doesn’t have approved credit with us. They are insisting that since they have already partially paid (50%), they are entitled to receive the already finished products. They do not want to fully pay in order for us to release the already finished calendars. The customer is screaming at the front office and it caught my attention.
So I went out and intervened, attempting to deescalate the situation. Now I’m a small guy and kinda young, and this customer is like huge and in his 60s. I was inviting him to my office to talk it out privately but he screams at me and tells me that he doesn’t want to speak to a *derogatory words in our language* and wants to speak with the big boss. I muster all my patience and I calmly tell him that I am the owner (even if I was technically not…yet. But I essentially was the general manager). And that we should better talk in my office. He followed me to my office still visibly angry and I offered him a cold drink. Then after allowing for a few seconds of silence while he drank, we calmly recapped his predicament. In the end, we compromised that he can issue a post-dated check for the remaining balance, dated a day after the final due date. He didn’t apologize and didn’t look at the CSR on the way out.
Image source: blue49
Follow Us
