Karens can be intimidating. They love to yell at people and demand their way. If you find yourself in an encounter with one, take these steps to deal with the situation:
First and foremost, contracts should be created. This will deter Karens from trying to take advantage of you while also making clear they understand your policies and pricing before beginning work.
1. Calm down.
As more people discover this meme, more are sharing their experience dealing with Karens online. A Karen is an unfavorably-described white female employee who exhibits entitled behavior such as complaining constantly or demanding to speak to her manager. With its popularity growing exponentially, more people are sharing their encounters with Karens online.
Experts have identified Karens as being middle-aged women who feel entitled to be rude or angry and don’t like being told what they should be doing. Additionally, these people tend to see everything through a narrow lens of themselves – which makes their behavior extremely frustrating and understandably disliked by many people.
Karens often face similar criticism to angry black women; however, this comparison misses the mark. Both Karens and angry black women occupy positions of privilege that enable them to express their critical voices through violence but their responses to their outbursts vary significantly.
Unleashing an angry Karen may be challenging, but there are steps you can take to diffuse the situation and defuse tensions. First and foremost, take some deep breaths before setting clear boundaries for encounters or conflicts. Thirdly and lastly, work to end confrontations as quickly as possible.
Make sure your cancellation policy is clearly written to help deter Karens from prolonging the encounter and costing you money. PocketSuite’s smart campaigns feature can even send happy clients links to your Google business page with instructions to leave reviews; this should help keep your business out of sight of a wild Karen.
2. Listen.
Karens tend to expect the world to revolve around them. When something goes wrong, they quickly assign blame on customer service staff – for instance if a barista gives full cream milk instead of skinny, or checkout worker misplaces their receipt, full Karens will often demand to speak to a manager immediately and may even write one-state Google reviews about it.
Though this stereotype can be distasteful, it does hold merit. It’s essential to acknowledge that Karen represents an insecure, downwardly mobile white middle class who feels their privileges are diminishing; thus making her an apt symbol for a time when twin crises of public health and racial social justice have brought on a climate of uncertainty and vulnerability.
No matter your feelings toward Karen, it is crucial that you listen to their concerns and offer assistance – this is especially relevant when dealing with business clients who do not fully grasp your company’s policies or services.
Dani Weller, Bionic’s team leader for customer service, advises remaining calm and keeping emotions under control to prevent being triggered.
One strategy for dealing with Karens is ensuring your company policies are clearly stated and understood by customers – this can reduce the chance of disputes, which could escalate into long arguments between Karen and your staff.
As an example, having a clear cancellation policy in place will ensure customers understand that last minute cancelations fees or no call/no show appointments will incur charges and may help deter some customers from abusing your business and potentially save you from having to refund their money later.
3. Let it go.
People often think they can’t let something go, when in reality they simply don’t know how. The first step towards learning to let go is realizing you have no control over others or events happening around you; all you can control is how much of your time and attention you devote them. Negative feelings can weigh heavy on us all, draining energy that could otherwise be spent elsewhere; taking over our thoughts and taking away from living a peaceful, joyful life – learning how to let them go can bring peace back into life.
One reason a Karen meltdown can be so shocking is her unbridled rage. Though it may appear irrational at times, remember that Karen can only see things from her perspective and cannot empathize with anyone other than herself.
The Karen meme has become an international cultural touchstone by perfectly depicting the irrational, self-serving behavior of certain classes of white women. It joins an established lineage of memes and slang such as Becky and white tears tropes in challenging the image of an innocent white woman oblivious to her privilege.
This meme illustrates the power that angry white women wield when using their privilege to use against others. Therefore, it’s essential to realize that fighting back with Karen won’t lead anywhere, just escalates her anger and only leads to more confrontation from both parties involved. Instead, end the encounter immediately and send her away so the tension doesn’t build further.
4. Don’t take it personally.
Karens can become angry over many things. While this is no one’s fault, Karen needs to learn how to relax herself and understand that what’s bothering her may not necessarily have anything to do with you. While these women can be difficult to deal with, many have endured difficult childhoods or felt neglected, taking out their frustration on someone like yourself is never fair; if you can’t talk through their issues yourself or find another counselor to assist, that might be best.
Karens can be difficult to spot, but when you recognize their signs it becomes easier. Setting out an explicit cancellation policy and making it visible can deter these people from trying to take advantage of you.
As for how to deal with them, it’s essential to remain calm and listen to both sides of their story before responding. According to Dani Weller, customer service team leader at Bionic. you should strive for understanding and be courteous regardless of any disagreement between yourself and them.
“The key to maintaining calmness, speaking clearly and confidently and not taking their negativity personally,” notes Karens. She suggests being honest with clients about your policies; often Karens may ask for things which violate them, so never cave to them. If the conversation cannot be resolved quickly then end it as soon as possible – eventually they’ll tire themselves out and give up.
5. End the confrontation as soon as possible.
Every customer-facing industry worker has encountered Karens. These irritable customers have long been present, but thanks to social media and TikTok they’re now more prevalent than ever – often making outrageous requests that cause business owners a great deal of distress.
Even though Karens may have negative associations, it’s important to recognize that not all Karens are racists. While racial tension may play a part in their behavior, experts suggest it could also stem from emotional control issues and excessive attention they garner through their actions (or at least experts believe so). Therefore it is crucial for service professionals to remain calm when facing confrontation with Karens; don’t succumb to demands but instead gently remind them that such conduct is unacceptable and inappropriate.
An important part of being patient during a confrontation is ending it quickly and conclusively. Karens may attempt to drag out meetings until you’ve been worn down enough so they can win; to prevent this from happening, set an explicit timeframe when your meeting will conclude and stick to it.
As with any confrontation, it’s advisable to bring in a colleague or trusted friend when meeting with Karen to help moderate and de-escalate the situation. Furthermore, always listen to your intuition; if the issue cannot be peacefully solved and feels unsafe then don’t be afraid to leave the situation immediately.
