Okay sooo this happened literally yesterday and I can’t stop replaying it in my head like… did I go too far?? 🫠 I (35F) was doing my weekly grocery run, minding my business, vibing with my list like a responsible adult. Store’s packed, everyone’s a little cranky (it’s hot, the carts are squeaky, y’all know the vibe).
Anyway. I’m in line behind this woman, probs mid-50s, who’s got serious “Karen having a bad day” energy. The cashier? A teenage girl, couldn’t have been more than 17, and clearly super new. She was trying!! Like yeah, she fumbled a bit, scanned something twice, had to call a supervisor — we’ve all been there. Whatever. No big deal.
But this woman?? Starts huffing like a cartoon villain, rolling her eyes, muttering sh*t under her breath, doing that dramatic sighing thing. THEN she just goes off. Saying crap like “Is this really that hard?” “They just let anyone work here now?” and I’m standing there like… is she fr?? 😐
The poor girl’s hands were shaking, and I saw her eyes start to well up and I just SNAPPED. I said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “You don’t get to treat people like that. She made a tiny mistake. You ever work a job like this?? Try surviving five minutes without losing it.”
She looks at me like I slapped her. Says I should “mind my business” and I’m like, “Nah, it is my business when you’re bullying a kid over your frozen peas.”
Supervisor showed up around then and took over. Lady stormed off, still muttering like a Disney villain. The cashier thanked me, literally looked like she was about to cry for real this time (but like, the relieved kind). BUT a couple people behind me gave me that judgy little eyebrow raise like I was being dramatic????
Now I’m spiraling, AITAH?
Comments
NTA and thank you (if this is even real). I’m sure you brightened that cashiers day. I had a similar situation once where the store was packed, some people had called out, a lone young woman was trying her damn best and the guy in front of me started going off on her and I went off on him in return like what the hell do you expect her to do? She can’t magic more cashiers for you. She’s one person ffs.
I can’t stand people who take their frustrations out on employees who are just trying to do their best with the situation they were given.
Sure you did
The only AH here is the woman who made a teen cry over groceries.
NTA, and you DID speak up to defend someone from a genuine asshole.
NTA THAT’S SUCH BADDIE BEHAVIOR THE CASHIER WOULD APPRECIATE
And the whole class clapped
lmao someone said sure you did
NTA – I’ve been that cashier and I’ve had that customer & I couldn’t say anything so I love that you did 🙂
NTA but you sure those people gave you the dramatic look? I would think they gave you the approval look. Of couse i cant see what you saw
Muttering
Cool story ChatGPT
Don’t. NTA.
Karen can kick rocks.
Go get’em. Age is not a license to terrorize a young lady trying to learn the system.
Thank You for slapping the Karen down.
Ive done it as well. You did the world a service TY. It doesn’t have to be my daughter to protect someone.
No thank you for sticking up for this poor girl. One thing I hate is when cashiers or waiters or any service person apologizes for small mistakes that they immediately correct. Like I won’t perish if I need to wait an extra minute or two but people treat service workers like garbage.
We lost our humanity
NTA. You made that girl’s day a bit better for having stood up to a bully.
T
NTA- your a hero, the world needs more you and less Karen
They were just watching the drama. Nbd
I mean NTA as written but if the people behind you in the line were giving you side eye it’s possible that you’ve downplayed the cashiers incompetence in this post and picked the wrong side.
Unless everyone was a “mid 50s Karen” that is, a description of the “baddie” that is sure to make everyone side with you, if ever I heard one.
Geez, who cares what they think? You grew a backbone today, keep it my friend.
only needed to read the title to know you were definitely NTA, and the rest just confirmed it.
You did right by that girl. Retail is tough, and so many young people are just trying to earn a bit of money for school or hobbies while juggling the stress of graduation. Dealing with entitled customers like that on top of everything else is exhausting. I hope this awful woman thinks twice next time before acting like an entitled witch and bullying a teenager.
I hope this young girl always remembers the way you stood up for her. Not all heroes wear capes , sometimes they just shut down a Karen.
Oh hexx no. You’re a hero!
As someone who has worked customer service jobs for 20 years, I wholeheartedly encourage calling out and shaming people being nasty to any employee, but ESPECIALLY a teenager who is obviously new. Most of the time they see service workers as someone to bully either because they can’t call out the behavior, or they see them as lesser. Push back from another shopper usually works better.
NTA at all, I did something similar to a guy who was being mean to an elderly female customer who was paying with change (she dropped some). He did not answer me back, just collected his stuff in a huff and left. The cashier thanked me. Why are people so mean? 😭
Thanks for stepping up and putting the witch back on her broom and outta there. Poor kid. Just what you need when you’re learning, a cranky old hag.
NTA. That woman deserved to be chewed out.
Good for you for calling out such nasty behavior!
You are the hero here. The only AH is the nasty woman.
NTA. You did a good thing for that kid. She’ll remember it for the rest of her life.
NTA AND THANK YOU FOR CARING!!!
NTA
I hate people who act like this because I am 99.9% sure they never have worked a day in customer service
I call people out on their bullshit all the time; bullies are not safe from my mouth.
Don’t spiral. You were an angel in disguise. The cashier’s tears of gratitude are your get-out-of-purgatory-free card to show those eyebrow raisers.
Bravo! Well done!
NTA, sounds like you stood up for someone getting bullied.
NTA
And I never understand what people like this they’re accomplishing by being one. Say the girl is stupid, as she implies. As if stupid people react any better to being demeaned than anyone else.
Not at all! Good for you standing up for her; borderline child abuse. When I was a manager and a customer treated my crew like that they were told to take their business elsewhere.
You’re bad ass in my book! My first job was a cashier at a grocery store. People were nuts sometimes! I know that girl thanks you as well!
I’m old, and I would do the same. ‘Mind your own business.’ ‘I wouldn’t need to if you’d been a decent human being.’ Maybe you were getting side-eye because those people would behave the same as Karen and they knew it.
NTA Well done! I applaud you!
definitely not the AH here, that woman clearly hasnt worked a day in retail and it shows
NTA but Disney Villain sure the heck is, I hate when ppl treat ppl badly just because they are in the service industry. That lady sucks and you rock for standing up for that girl.
NTA and you’re totally right. I mean, I was a cashier for years, and even when I was experienced, I sometimes double-scanned things. It’s an easy mistake to make, and going off on a young, newbie cashier over it is ridiculous. Honestly, even if it had been a major fuck up, it costs you nothing to treat people nicely.
NTA and you did the right thing
Fuck them
You are my hero. NTA
If that old bat thinks it’s so easy why isn’t she at self check-out? NTA.
A lot of people have decided their time is worth more than every one else’s, and those people can go fuck themselves.
NTA. And thank you for sticking up for a new employee who is learning. I stopped at a supermarket recently in a different town from my own and it took a a little longer than usual. I could clearly see the checker was brand new. No one terrorized her thankfully but I could see she was very nervous. I get where you are coming from. We all need to show a little patience.
NTA- you probably restored faith in that girl. You instilled self confidence and that there are people on her side. She will remember this moment in a happy way because of you.
You did a good deed. Im a boomer and what i like to do in a situation like that is ask the cashier if they are new to the job. When they say yes i say loudly “don’t worry, everyone has a first day. It is a process” then turn to make eye contact with the rest of the line who by now are nodding in agreement. The karen looks like an idiot. the rest of the line is glaring at her and shooting sympathetic glances at the cashier who relaxes.
Unless you live in a town with like 500 people, I’d say who gives a flying f about strangers being judgy. Not like you’ll ever see them again, so what’s there to spiral about?
Ever since someone pointed out that AI chatbots love to say “muttered”, I can’t help but noticing it in plenty of seemingly fake stories.
NTA
But that woman is. I was wondering if she ever had a customer service job? Probably not. I always treat people who are in one, like that cashier, with kindness as I’ve been there. You did good and the cashier will remember someone sticking up for her.
NTA. I am sure the cashier appreciated it and I thank you for sticking up for her.
ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS defend the cashiers. They feel STRESS seeing long lines during rushes and the nerves are killer. ESPECIALLY when auras of cranky Karens cause a disturbance in the force. (Adding to the stress is being new… and any little hiccup, majority of the times, DO need a supervisor/head cashier/manager to fix)
Did my time as cashier and always felt the need to defend the newbies. Bc customers smell the newbie-ness and already lose patience for no reason smh.
You are awesome, I tip my hat to you good human! 🤩
NTAH! We need more people like you in this world!
NTA. Good for you! The older I get (63F) the more intolerant I am of callous cruelty and willing to make a stand. So it took an extra two minutes! The woman was mean because she could be and to someone not in the same position as her.
My son has pretty bad ADD and had a horrible experience working at a coffee shop when he was a teen. Not the job for him, and he had to endure some pretty bad insults.
Goodness, that teenager is going to remember you for the rest of her life… so will the manager and everyone else who was on duty.
NTA
NTA, thank you. I had a new cashier yesterday at Wendy’s. Poor thing was so nervous! It didn’t take any more than an extra 30 seconds for her to find the correct buttons. I made sure she knew I was in no hurry and told her that she’s doing great.
NTA – I take SO much pleasure in out Karen-ing Karens because I never could when I had that job. Fuck her, I’m very glad you said something and you probably took what was going to be a very depressing spiral for the young lady and stopped that in its tracks.
NTA. And I’d bet good money that you misinterpreted the “eyebrow raising” in the heat of the moment. No sane person would disagree with what you did.
NTAH. The judgey people are.
NTA. I wish more people would call out shitty behaviour in the wild. I’ve been that cashier, it makes it really hard to learn or enjoy the job when you get old bats like that.
My daughter was a grocery store cashier in high school and college. You did the right thing. Thank you!
This exact same thing happened to me, except it was at an interactive children’s museum and the woman was ordering snacks. And my cashier didn’t get upset, she stood up for herself and I also said something to the lady. Who in turn told me to mind my business. Like lady, you made it my business being a bitch over a $1 bag of chips.
NTA – everyone should line up to defend people like this when people are being jerks. My daughter worked jobs like that when she was 16 and I was appalled at the stories she told me about how people treated her. Made me want to hang out nearby so I could go mama bear on their ass.
NTA, not even a little. As someone who worked a lot of retail, and who had been brought to tears by a nasty customer who was pissy just… because, thank you. She will remember you and talk about you for the rest of her life. Over two decades later I still remember the woman who came up to me when a “customer” (he was actually a thief) was screaming at me and said “you don’t have to take this, you should call security.”
I looked at her and said “you’re right, I think I will,” ABs picked up the phone. Mr scam got pissy, slammed his stuff on the counter and stormed out of the store never to be seen again.
I’ll always remember her. I was the keyholder on at the time, with no other employees, and at that moment I had no idea what to do.
NTA, but either way it’s done. Don’t obsess over what you can’t change.
How could you possibly think you are the AH if you stood up for a literal teen ager being verbally clocked by a Karen. What you said does not sound excessive or awful.
NTA
NTA
See something. Say something. PERIOD
nta when you’re screaming and making a scene in public, you make it everyone’s business
NTA at all, you stood up to a bully, if people were judging you it was probably because they felt guilty for being bystanders not saying something themselves
My pet peeve is people who take advantage of retail/grocery store workers. They are trying to earn an honest living and you bully them. Well, I turned my rage on and went right up behind a lady who was complaining at customer service and told them what really happened. I also told the cashier that I would stick up for her.