An employee of Sonic in Boise, Idaho, became some sort of internet hero after telling off a rude customer. The staff shared a response to a clip that detailed the exchange between him and the disgruntled customer in a video posted on X. In the initial clip, the employee requested that the woman show him a receipt while holding what appeared to be her order in his hands. The customer noted that she did not have a receipt but demanded that he hand her the order anyway.
When he refused, she threatened to send the clip she was recording to the company’s corporate office when the staff refused to give it to her. Completely unfazed by that threat, the staff asked her to record him again when he stated that he did not care about that in expletive language. In response to the clip, the employee shared that although a lot expected that he would come online to air out the possible things the woman might have done, he was not interested in doing that. He shared that at some point in the exchange, he even tried to signal to the man who accompanied the customer, perhaps he would have intervened to de-escalate the matter, but he did not. The employee reemphasized that he did not care if the woman reported to corporate or not.
Public Support Raised For The Rude Employee
In no time, netizens stormed the comments with reactions to the entire exchange. Some users stood firmly behind the employee without mincing words, while a few highlighted the growing tension between service employees and customers. One user criticized the ethics of non-consensual filming, saying, “As soon as you start recording someone like that without their consent, you’ve already lost the right to a decent conversation. Employees aren’t your rodeo clown. She escalated her own situation with that.”
Another user supported the employee, adding that, “Some of y’all customers are lame and miserable and treat service workers poorly. She’s lame, and her man is even lamer for watching her act like this.” An individual echoed the employee’s dismissal of the woman’s threats: “You know, for once I agree with this. He’s right. She is threatening to call corporate, like anyone gives a [expletive]. Just call corporate, no need to announce it.” Another wrote sarcastically, “Oh no, I might lose my minimum wage, easily replaceable job? Heaven’s help me miss lol.”
Someone suggested that the community take active steps to support the employee because he was doing a good job dealing with “Backyard Recording Karen Vigilantes.” Although service employees are paid to make the customer’s experience of a place as pleasant as possible, it should not be taken as an opportunity to treat them badly.
