How Do You Handle Karen at Work Examples?

Karma for Karens
By Karma for Karens
10 Min Read

No matter the length or age of your business experience, chances are you have come across customers like Karen. These customers tend to cause disruptions while demanding money for seemingly minor reasons.

Karen jokes can be highly offensive to employees and may violate state and federal laws that prohibit discrimination. Employers could face lawsuits alleging the practice.

Keep Calm

Karen has become an iconic facet of online culture. She’s that middle-aged white woman with an asymmetrical bob who always asks for the manager. Karen can often come off as entitled and ignorant- even racist- in her approach.

While it might be tempting to give into her demands in order to end the situation, this approach may prove counterproductive. Not only could it damage your reputation and lead to repeated events, but you’ll open yourself up to complaints that might not even have been justified initially.

Remain calm and remind yourself that Karen or Kevin is just another customer making an attempt at creating chaos. While you should help genuine customers who may need assistance, such as Karens and Kevins who seek attention by stirring things up, remember to also provide assistance for genuine needs that need your attention as soon as possible.

One way to remain calm is to prioritize work-life balance. Allowing yourself time away from work for relaxation and unwinding will enable you to remain focused on your job without becoming an aggressive shouter like Karen did.

If possible, take Karen somewhere out of the way so other customers don’t become distracted while you deal with Karen – perhaps to the back of your business or in another location where she won’t disturb others – this will allow them to pay without being interrupted or forced to wait while you do this.

As it relates to these kinds of customers, it’s also crucial for employees to be open and honest when discussing your experiences with them – in a professional and respectful manner, of course!

At the same time, it’s essential that Karen recognize her privileges; otherwise she could find dealing with everyday challenges more challenging than someone who doesn’t enjoy as many benefits.

Listen to Her

Since you likely aren’t hiding under your bed for the last several years, chances are you’ve come across Karen at some point in your life. These entitled white women are known for their narrow-minded perspectives and overreacting to even minor inconveniences; not to mention their feeling of superiority and ability to bullying retail and restaurant workers into giving in to their demands.

Be it lurking in a supermarket checkout line or calling police on children selling lemonade stands, their goal is often to gain whatever they desire without consideration for anyone else’s rights or situations. They are quick to accuse others of acting racist or threatening even though it could very well be them who act this way themselves.

Since Karens have gone viral on social media, they’ve become the subjects of memes used to lighten serious social issues. Unfortunately, this reduces their behavior to comic relief while trivializing systemic racism’s impacts on communities of color.

Chicago may soon see change with their new law penalizing white women who make harassing, discriminatory 911 calls by making it a hate crime. While this ordinance can help, it must also go beyond simply punishing these women by name shaming.

Although its exact origins remain elusive, Karen may have originated in old Reddit posts or Mean Girls and could possibly even come from Dane Cook comedy special that aired in 2005. But its prevalence on social media platforms such as Twitter and Tik Tok shows no sign of abating.

If Karen appears at your workplace, ask her to step away from the register or accept payment elsewhere so you can address her concerns and ensure she understands there are other customers waiting in line as well. This gives you a chance to talk things over with her as well.

If she refuses to move, ask if you can speak to someone in charge of managing customer complaints and explain that she must respect others’ rights when seeking out what she needs. Do this before trying any more aggressive approaches in your attempt at getting what you want.

Reiterate That You Will Not Help

Karens can make or break a business. Their behavior can be so threatening and intimidating that businesses that strive for superior customer service should avoid them completely. While it may be tempting to give into their demands, remember that dealing with Karens requires reminding her that you will not help her until she calms down and stops shouting.

If the scene takes place at a cash register and other customers are waiting in line, ask Karen to move out of your line of sight or speak privately with you so you don’t have to listen to her ranting. It can be difficult to stay calm when faced with an aggressive customer, but doing so will allow those being harassed by Karen to feel safer and secure.

Notable also is that many internet memes featuring Karens act with an entitlement and superiority complex; therefore, some have suggested that her character represents misogyny or woman hatred.

The Karen meme seeks to draw attention to how certain white women act entitled and rude while expecting to be treated with dignity and respect. They can often be found bullying retail and restaurant employees or having public tantrums over minor inconveniences.

Although dealing with these customers may be challenging, businesses should remember that all customers must be treated equally. To accomplish this, education of employees on how to treat customers equitably is key and they should also be mindful of any factors which could negatively impact a customer experience such as language barriers, physical limitations or financial concerns that might impact customer interactions.

Remain Calm

Workplace stressors can make it challenging to remain composed. Tight deadlines, heavy workloads and demanding bosses can all create situations which strain our ability to remain calm; though these cannot always be avoided completely it’s essential that employees learn how to manage such instances as they arise so as not to hinder their performance on the job.

Karens can be particularly difficult customers. Their complaints go beyond your standard run-of-the-mill complaints and instead resemble more closely the middle seat on an international flight or humidity after washing your car. When faced with one, remember they only want what’s best for themselves! Whether they dump $800 worth of returns onto your cash wrap or complain their internet isn’t working; just stay calm and remember they may only want what is in their own best interests.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when dealing with a Karen is reacting to their insults. Their use of “Karen” is meant to be insulting and condescending, so instead take a deep breath before responding. Remaining calm allows you to objectively evaluate their comments and provide appropriate feedback which may help resolve their problem.

If possible, take steps to keep conversations private. If assisting Karen directly, have her come into your office or another private space so you can work on helping her without interrupting other customers. This will demonstrate your willingness to listen to their needs and find solutions that satisfy both parties involved.

If the conversation cannot be taken away from social media, inform Karen that your company has a strict no-bullying policy and she will no longer be allowed to act negatively. If she continues shouting or using profane language, remind her that no assistance will be offered until she calms down and explains what has occurred – in this instance you may need to call 911 for assistance; and be sure that witnesses are nearby should the Karen become violent or verbally aggressive.

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