This Chipotle Karen Has TikTok Rolling Its Eyes
Customers being rude to restaurant and retail employees is not a new story. Unfortunately, a barrage of "Karen" stories have recently been in the headlines, ranging from one TikTok featuring a customer at a Publix who became enraged when her spot in the checkout line wasn't held when she left to use the restroom, to another instance at Wendy's in which the manager had to use a bullhorn to repel an unruly customer.
It seems as if these employees are far from alone in their poor treatment, sadly. In a Quora forum that explores why "Karens" feel entitled to act the way they do, and why they even exist in society, one user proposed an answer, stating, "Because some people are [ignorant] and look down their noses at people in service industry jobs — I think things would improve if everyone spent a year doing one of those jobs."
Looks like the staff of a Chipotle were the latest victims of one customer's abuse when a man started to complain to employees about how long he had been waiting in line, blaming the delay on the influx of online orders — and the interaction was posted for all to see on TikTok.
This male 'Karen' is caught yelling at Chipotle employees
TikTok user @saintlucy_ posted the whole encounter on TikTok, and it has had 135,000-plus views as of publication. She added the caption, "Karens come in all shapes & sizes ... rude af." During the diatribe, the angry customer yelled, "Clearly you can't even manage your own lunch shift; that's why we're backed up half an hour ... Half an hour, everyone's waiting here, and then we can't even order what we want because of the online orders? That's why we're sitting here!" The man goes on with his complaints, continuously berating the Chipotle employees, until another customer steps in.
"Leave them alone!" the other customer, whom we don't see on screen, chimes in from behind the line. "This sh*t is dumb," the angry man replies. Then the superhero customer comes up with a radical idea, telling the man to "go someplace else next time." To which the male 'Karen' responds, "That's exactly what I'll do next f***ing time," and probably to the delight of all the staff and fellow customers alike who hopefully will never have to deal with him again.
TikTokers shared their thoughts in the comments section. "I don't understand how someone can act like this towards employees," wrote one person, while another posted, "As a [Chipotle] employee, we don't get payed enough for this bs." Though, as Daily Dot notes, some on the platform could see the angry customer's point, with many brands seemingly prioritizing online orders over people that come to a physical location. "It's true," one wrote. "People come in person and they wait while online orders get filled. It's all by design. They want to shift to online." Regardless though, everyone could agree the way the man handled his complaint was not appropriate. As one user said, "I see his point. Don't agree with the outburst. But online orders shouldn't take priority over people actually there."