Karens and Kevins present businesses with an enormous challenge. Their presence can damage a brand, cause physical harm to employees and even cost money to operate their business.
Instead of giving into their demands, it’s crucial that businesses devise plans to effectively deal with Karens and Kevins. Here are some business strategies for dealing with Karens and Kevins: 1. Remain Calm
1. Listen to Their Complaints
Karen or Kevin can be intimidating customers who seek to disrupt your business and cause disruption, often by persuading you into providing discounts or services without pay for free. Their persistence may prove challenging; so it is wise to remain calm and polite with these individuals.
Giving in to their demands could cause more problems in the future and sends a bad signal to other customers who witness it.
“Karen” has gained widespread use, particularly amid the coronavirus pandemic and rising movement for racial justice. White women in viral videos have been labeled Karens for engaging in racist or selfish behaviors; examples include Montana department store employees accusing couples of shoplifting; Kroger store patrons blocking black families from leaving parking lots; and “Central Park Karen” making false allegations against Black individuals who walk their dogs on leashes in Manhattan parks.
Bionic conducted a recent study that looked into the names of people most likely to complain, and determined that men named John are most likely to become Karens. But this wasn’t only gender related – all ages and races were represented amongst the top 20 names most likely to become Karens.
Never give into Karen or Kevin’s demands; listen and validate their concerns instead. This will enable you to form a plan to address their needs while remaining true to reality.
2. Be Patient
Recently, Karens have made headlines for their actions against waiters and clerks of color – specifically minorities. A quick Google search will bring up many incidents involving Karens.
Some have speculated that the Karen phenomenon stems from misogyny; after all, most Karen calls out are female. It should be noted, though, that American society holds women to higher standards than men when it comes to social behavior; hence more female school dress code policies or workplace discrimination cases are seen than when applied equally across men.
No matter who it may be, when dealing with Karen or Kevin it’s essential that you remain calm and professional. Shouting back or losing your composure will only escalate the situation and harm your reputation; rather inform them that you are available to listen to their side of the story and offer solutions; but cannot assist if their behavior remains abusive or threatening.
As soon as it is possible, ask customers to step away from the cash register so that other customers may complete their purchases uninterrupted. If your store offers another space that could serve as a checkout area, redirecting customers there would also help ensure smooth operations.
An effective situation management can build brand and customer loyalty while poorly executed incidents will rapidly spread on social media, harming your business. Be sure to train and equip your staff members so that they are ready for even the toughest customers.
3. Remind Them of Your Policy
Experienced customer service workers know all too well the unwelcome presence of Karen: these entitled, rude customers can be an enormous source of annoyance in any type of business, capitalizing on any ambiguities or lack of clarity within policies and procedures to demand free services or discounted pricing from you. Therefore, having clear policies and procedures in place is vitally important to success for companies.
One way to avoid Karens is to have clients sign contracts before booking services with you. This helps set expectations on both sides, remind them of their responsibilities and pricing when scheduling an appointment and, should she make any disruptions at checkout or office locations, you can whip out her signed agreement and point it out as evidence against any claims of harassment by Karens.
One way to deter Karens is to have your cancellation policy clearly listed on your website and marketing materials, with an all-in-one scheduling software such as PocketSuite capable of automatically charging cancellation fees when clients cancel late or no show, this should serve as an effective deterrent against many who seek to take advantage of your business.
4. Don’t Take it Personal
COVID-19 pandemic-ravaged America seems to experience daily videos featuring Karen (or Kevin), defiantly refusing to wear a mask, maintaining social distance, or otherwise behaving bizarrely. While the “Karen” archetype has existed for some time now, its prevalence has greatly expanded thanks to social media platforms like TikTok and Twitter. [Image via twitpic]
As a result of YouTube shows such as Beek and Bell’s popularity, Karens have come into public consciousness, often through bizarre behavior they display. Although at first sight Karens may seem intimidating or frightening, remember they don’t represent all forms of evil and many may just be trying to make the world better places.
Implementing clear company policies is key for dealing with Karens. By having an agreement in place that clearly details your pricing, responsibilities and cancellation policy, you can simply refer back to this document when Karen attempts to pressure you into giving her discounts or services she’s entitled to. Furthermore, having this policy also serves as a deterrent against Karens since they will know they will incur fees if cancelations requests come in at the last minute or no-shows occur.
However, while many Karens may just be trying to help, it can still be challenging separating wheat from chaff when dealing with Karens in business settings. That’s why having an effective reputation management strategy in place can be key – by creating positive experiences for your most loyal customers, you can weed out negative reviews left by Karens who leave unfavorable reviews online and make sure their wrath doesn’t have an irreparable effect on your company.
5. Be Honest
As is widely acknowledged, honesty is generally considered the best policy. Unfortunately, however, our desire to be truthful can sometimes lead us down dangerous paths; especially when our honesty requires lying – such as when telling your boss something that may or may not be entirely factual.
Karen has become a derogatory term used by middle-aged white suburban women who abuse their societal privilege to harass waiters and clerks, particularly minorities. A simple Google search of “Karen would like to speak with your manager” yields millions of results; some claim this slur stems from misogyny; however, America has long held women to higher standards than men from school dress codes to workplace sexism.
While it might be tempting to give in to Karen or Kevin’s demands, doing so would be a mistake. Doing so gives the impression that you don’t care about their concerns while potentially making other customers uneasy and opening yourself up to potential repeat incidents.
Bionic, the business comparison company, conducted an investigation into this phenomenon. They looked at Trustpilot user complaints worldwide; Louise was identified as being responsible for 4.8% of them while Ann and Jane took second and third places respectively.
But it wasn’t just women who were the biggest complainers; bionic also looked at which countries and states had the highest concentrations of Louises and Karens – with the U.S. topping both lists.
