Our culture is pretty obsessed with being young. We try to preserve our physical bodies from the signs of aging for as long as possible. We market everything based on whether young people like it or not. But there is one place where being young isa disadvantage– a boss’s position.
Bored Pandasought the expertise of organization development consultant and award winning author ofWork Jerks: How to Cope with Difficult Bosses and Colleagues, Louise Carnachan. She told us more about why young business owners get disrespected more often than their older counterparts, and what disadvantages they face in the entrepreneurial world. Read on and find her expert insights below!
More info:Louise Carnachan|LinkedIn|Facebook
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I ran and ice cream shop. I must have had to say “Actually, I am the manager” at least once a week.My favorite was this woman I eventually banned from the shop. She would come in with her husband and sy kids. Then she would try to order a large (three scoops) and ask me to put it in three single scoop cups, but only charge for the large.I said no. You either order three single scoops or you order a large. The difference in cost is quite a bit, but it’s fairly standard for companies to do it this way. I wasn’t having it. She got pissy that I wouldn’t do it. First she said “Well the manager let me do it last week.” “No I didn’t,” I told her flatly. “Well than whoever was working let me do it and they said they were the manager.““No they didn’t. I believe my workers over you.““Well I want to talk to the manager.““I am the manager. You are talking to me. I said no.““Fine!” And she and her little family stormed out without any ice cream. No skin off my back. She was rude to me and my workers, I wasn’t going to let her treat us that way. Then she proceeds to call the shop the next day, when I am working again (as the manager, I worked a lot.) She said “Hello, I need to speak to the manager.““Speaking. How can I help you?” “I was in there yesterday and some little bh lied and said she was the manager, but she wouldn’t let me get what I wanted…““That b**h was me. You’re banned from our location. Don’t come back.“Bonus justice boner: She tried to call corporate to report me. Corporate outsources complaints to the manager with the highest rating in the area. Which was me. So when she called corporate to complain about me, she also got me. I wrote up the details of the conversation and forwarded all of her messages to the district manager, and he agreed with my decision and allowed me to send her an email officially banning her from the store.
I used to work in the box office for an MLB team. The actual manager was usually extremely busy and couldn’t easily respond to issues at 15 different windows, so we frequently pretended to be each other’s managers. It was the easiest way to get back up when an annoying customer would not accept one of our policies.On one night I was helping a very drunk customer who refused to accept a policy (I don’t remember exactly what it was). He asked to speak to the manager, but he and everyone else around me were crazy busy. So I turned my back on the customer, turned back around, pretended to be a different person, and backed myself up. He accepted this without issue and went on his way.
Work relationship expert Louise Carnachan says that disrespecting young bosses and managers simply because they’re young isageism. “If you’re young (or appear to be younger than your years), there’s an assumption you don’t know much.““There seems to be a positive bias toward those in their mid-thirties to their fifties as the sweet spot for skill and wisdom. If you fall on either side of that, your competence is questioned. Of course, there are exceptions depending upon theprofessionand the person,” she adds.Carnachan says that it all comes down to appearing reliable. “The bottom line is that customers/clients want to know you are trustworthy and can solve their problem. If you appear confident and helpful, that goes a long way. Then you need to deliver results.”
Work relationship expert Louise Carnachan says that disrespecting young bosses and managers simply because they’re young isageism. “If you’re young (or appear to be younger than your years), there’s an assumption you don’t know much.”
“There seems to be a positive bias toward those in their mid-thirties to their fifties as the sweet spot for skill and wisdom. If you fall on either side of that, your competence is questioned. Of course, there are exceptions depending upon theprofessionand the person,” she adds.
Carnachan says that it all comes down to appearing reliable. “The bottom line is that customers/clients want to know you are trustworthy and can solve their problem. If you appear confident and helpful, that goes a long way. Then you need to deliver results.”
I don’t have a particularly great story about it, but I owned a popular neighborhood coffeeshop for several years. I’d occasionally work behind the bar pulling shots and making drinks, and I lost count of the number of people who’d come in demanding free coffee or whatever because they “knew the owner and he always gives me free coffee”.It always went down the same way: “I know the owner.““No, you don’t.““How would you know?““Because I don’t know you. That’ll be $2.50.”.
Thework relationshipexpert tells Bored Panda that sometimes young people might think they’re being disrespected because of their age, but it can be just because the customer thinks they’re not doing their job right. “If a customer challenges your ability because they aren’t satisfied with your service, that’s a different issue than being challenged because you’re young.““If it’s the former, then make it right. If it’s the latter, rather than snapping at them, here are some things you could say (with a smile):I’ve had experience with similar issues, let me help you.I realize I appear youthful, but I do have experience.Yes, I’m fortunate to have been able to open my own business. How can I help you?Appearing young runs in my family. (And it does, everyone was young once!)
Thework relationshipexpert tells Bored Panda that sometimes young people might think they’re being disrespected because of their age, but it can be just because the customer thinks they’re not doing their job right. “If a customer challenges your ability because they aren’t satisfied with your service, that’s a different issue than being challenged because you’re young.”
“If it’s the former, then make it right. If it’s the latter, rather than snapping at them, here are some things you could say (with a smile):
Louise Carnachan says that it may be harder for young people to be taken seriously when they start a business. “Young entrepreneursdo have a disadvantage when it comes to obtaining investors. You may be highly skilled and have a wonderful business idea, but possessing skills is not the same as being able to demonstrate a track record.““As Will Rogers said, ‘Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.’ Investors want to know your judgment is sound, so be very thoughtful about how you propose your business plan.““It’s worth noting that being young is an advantage in some industries (i.e., pretty much anything technical),” she notes. “And the bias is actually in your favor. In the end, being or appearing young is a time-limited issue.”
Louise Carnachan says that it may be harder for young people to be taken seriously when they start a business. “Young entrepreneursdo have a disadvantage when it comes to obtaining investors. You may be highly skilled and have a wonderful business idea, but possessing skills is not the same as being able to demonstrate a track record.”
“As Will Rogers said, ‘Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.’ Investors want to know your judgment is sound, so be very thoughtful about how you propose your business plan.”
“It’s worth noting that being young is an advantage in some industries (i.e., pretty much anything technical),” she notes. “And the bias is actually in your favor. In the end, being or appearing young is a time-limited issue.”
I’m 21 and started a construction company about 4 months ago. I work in tract housing, and I work alongside other sub contractor for the same builder. I was asked to go into a house to fix another contractors mistake. The electrician, who was in the house when I went in, thought I had made the mistake and basically called me an idiot, saying the house next door was much better built/straighter/cleaner and that my boss shouldn’t accept my work. I gladly told him that I was the boss, and I was the one who built the house next door. We both laughed it off, not trying to make enemies with other trades I have to work alongside of.
I run a small woodshop that takes commissions from locals. One guy came in looking to order something as I’m planing a piece of stock. I stop and ask him if he needs anything, the same thing I ask all my customers, and he says, “You can’t help me boy, let me talk to the owner.” Keep in mind, I started this company when I was 17, and that’s probably how old I was at the time. I also had hair down to my shoulder blades and a beard that hadn’t fully developed a mustache yet, so he was quite right in his assumption that I wasn’t an adult yet, but he left soon after I told him that, “Sir, I do indeed own this building along with everything inside it, and if you don’t think i’d be capable in helping you, you are free to leave.” He left.
Worked in retail, specifically a specialist bra fitting shop. One day I was working the change room desk upstairs, taking bookings for fittings and helping the 10 or so customers in the rooms for people who didn’t need a fitting but needed me to just quickly check things sometimes and fetch different sizes etc. It was busy, and a woman came in on the lunch rush and demanded a fitting.I politely told her that I was very sorry but all the fitters were booked and with other customers for the next hour or so, so I could help her a bit but can’t give 1-1 attention as I’m helping all the other rooms too, so if she wants the full thing she would need to pop back tomorrow or later.She flew off the handle, telling me how busy and important she was, that she made a special trip, she can’t come back tomorrow, I should help her etc. She was really rude, aggressive and mean. I just politely repeated that I was very sorry but I couldn’t help her for the reasons above, we just had no free staff, she ranted a while but then left.A few minutes after she went downstairs I got a call from one of the till girls saying a customer was complaining about the young girl on the fitting desk who refused to help her even though she could see spaces on the list, and had been rude and had been swearing at her and wanted to see the manager about it. It should be noted I was about 24 at the time, but looked really young - maybe 18. She clearly had no idea I was the manager. I told the desk girl I would be down shortly.I walked down those steps so slowly with a huge grin to let the horrible woman slowly recognise who I was. When she saw it was me her face was just a picture. I played along asking for a description of the “girl” who was so rude, as that is very much outside our standards I am shocked to hear such a thing happened, I was upstairs at the time and certainly would have intervened if I had heard such a thing etc.She had caused such a scene that all the people in the shop were staring at us. So she either had to admit she had been lying and trying to get what she though was some poor shop girl fired, or she had to make up a description with me obviously going to be saying things like “hmm, no one here looks anything like that - try again”.She just was at a loss for words, her mouth agape gasping for air, bright red, not making eye contact. I forget if she said anything at all but she stood there for a long while, and just left.I have never felt such satisfaction as I did walking down those stairs knowing what was about to happen.
Judging whether a person is a good manager or boss based on their age would be inaccurate. “Age is a poor metric for assessing someone’s leadership skill,” Carnachan says. “Those with a gift for understanding people may demonstrate this early in their lives.
Growing up my mom owned a business. She did the majority of administrative and behind the scenes work while my father and a family friend worked the front end. Occasionally if my father was off, a customer would come in and ask for the boss only to be surprised/annoyed when she said she was the boss. One time this happened she was just over it and walked back into the office put on a jacket my dad bought her as a joke that said “The boss lady” and went back to the customer to say “now do you believe I’m the boss?”.
My dad owns a roofing warehouse, i help run it. Well one day a guy comes in looking for something he asks for the price. He doesnt like it and gets a cocky attitude talking about how he knows the boss and how he’ll get me fired. Just an overall karen attitude. I Fire back with " i dont think he would Fire his own daughter.” His face dropped and he got outta there quickly.
“A good boss or manager is able to treat everyone fairly while paying individual attention to the needs of their staff through stretch assignments and motivating them. They are clear communicators and care about their employees. While we can train people to be decent managers in leadership classes, those who excel at leadership usually come in already wired that way,” the work relationship expert explains.
I’m the assistant manager of a makeup store. on one occasion a lady had came in and wanted to buy the whole store. Our company has policies on purchases over a certain number of items/dollars to resist people reselling. Anyway I explain that we need her to fill out a form to approve the large transaction which required her credit card to match her ID. The name on her credit card was a man’s name and not hers. I refused the sale because it’s money related st and I will definitely get fired if I allowed payment on that credit card (even if she knew the pin, which was her argument). Needless to say she left the store screaming every profanity possible at me and said she would report me to head office and make sure I get fired. This is after she demanded to see someone “that has the power to make me happy”. I smiled as hard as I could and said “I am the manager, and there is nothing on my end to make you happy. This is credit card fraud” I happily handed over my business card and said have a nice day! A few weeks later, a man walks in asking for the manager on duty, which happened to be me again. He asks if I knew someone named blahblah come in buying something with a certain bank’s MasterCard. I said yes (because we write reports to flag customers). To my surprise, he says “oh god that’s my soon to be ex-wife. That b*h ran off with my credit card and is trying to make me bankrupt”
I’m 20 years old and started a small business earlier this year when I was 19 making art from trash I find on the beach. When we sell the art it helps fund an artificial oyster bed sculpture we’re attempting to make and install in the water to help filter pollution from the water. It’s called Cilly Sells Sea Shells after a nickname I got when I was younger.So about a month ago, I met a guy at an event in a gallery I had pieces hanging in (this place hangs a lot of different artists and host music events pretty often). We started talking and mentioned our majors (I’m environmental science, he’s marine biology) and he goes “oh you’re gonna love this.” He brings me over to MY OWN WORK and starts talking about it. Apparently his friend who worked there had told him about my work.I didn’t know what to say, so I just didn’t say anything while he talked about it. He said he loved how the pieces looked like glass and that they use stuff from the beach. Dude was clearly super into marine bio and talked about the science behind oyster filtration and all that. He had apparently been super interested in my project for like 2 months before he came to this and really knew his stuff.He picked up the big UV lamp that was underneath it and proceeds to show me how all of it glows in the dark. I pointed to my SELF PORTRAIT and said I liked how it glowed differently than the others. He looked closer and said nothing. At that point I had to walk away to greet an event organizer.Ten minutes later, a worker came up to me and said someone would like to meet me. Brought me up to the guy I was talking with earlier. His reaction was priceless.
“Entrepreneurs of any age may or may not be good leaders,” Carnachan adds. “Typically, a start-up entrepreneur attracts employees who are enthusiastic about the product and service. When the business is new and small, the shared vision is compelling. However, as a business grows and matures, an entrepreneur may not be able to make the leap into successfully leading others.”
I used to own a store.One day I’m at the register, watching tv when a woman comes up and asks for a refund. My policy was no refunds unless defective or something like that. She wanted to return a $200 item for her cash back. Told her sorry, but I wont be able to make a return and told her why.She got all huffy puffy and said “Listen, I know the owner of this store, do not make me call him”. I gave her his “new number” (which was just mine) and made an apologetic gesture, telling her he’d tell her the same thing.She actually called the number. I pick up on my cell and tell her that we dont make refunds unless the product is defective.She looks at me with wide eyes and I tell her “Ma’am, I am the owner, I opened this shop a couple years ago”.She walks out muttering about reporting me to Yelp.
Many years ago I was managing a chain pet store. I was in my early 20s and had long hair. I didn’t “look” like a manager. We offered samples of dog and cat food at the cash register and some woman gave me a real snarky answer when I asked if she wanted some free samples of cat food for the cat she was buying toys for. She said she feeds her cat from her plate and doesn’t give it cat food. She said it like I was an asshole for asking if she wanted free samples. I nicely said that cats have a specific digestive system and cat food is specifically formulated for cats. She angrily said “Garfield eats lasagna, my cat eats what I feed him too.” I just said “Ok, have a nice night.” and walked away.About an hour later one of my employees tells me there is a woman on the phone who wants to speak to the manager. So I grab the phone and ask how I can help her. She goes on to tell me about the rude “long hair kid” who told her she was a bad owner for feeding her cat human food. That never happened. Then she goes on to tell me that the same “long hair kid” threw one of the ferrets into the ferret bin from 5 feet away and said “I’m playing ferret basketball.” That ABSOLUTELY did not happen.I let her go on and on, trying not to laugh. I finally said “Ma’am, I am that long hair kid, and none of what she just told me actually happened.” she started to cut me off “….furthermore you are no longer welcome in my store.” She huffed and hung up. Never saw her again.
Not really a ‘manager’ but more of a supervisor/lead of a department in a retail store. I’m female and I worked in the tools department so I got looked down at a lot.The best story I have, is when a guy walked in and tried to return something and I had to tell him no. He got pissed and demanded a manager, the only one available was the one who knew nothing about the area I worked in. She literally came over, listened to him, looked at me and asked “so, what’s the policy?”The guy then realized that I was not just some employee. When I told her what the policy was, she turned to him, shrugged and said “she knows more than I do back here.” And walked away. He was not too happy with the outcome.
Became a supervisor for a welding contractor when i was 19. Had an engineer ask to talk to my boss out on a job site that i was the only one at (5am was the first one there).Me: “He’s out at the truck”get out to the truck and swap out to my white hard hatAlso me: “are you the one to blame for these s****y f@#$ing blueprints?”.
Everytime an older (60+) customer comes into my yarn shop and my mother’s visiting the shop. Apparently, at 35 I’m too young to own a yarn shop. My mom (62) looks the part, so they all sidestep me to ask her.Even when I’m the one answering they still turn back to her with their questions.
My girlfriend got to turn down an MLM this way. “How would you like to be your own boss?“ “I am…”.
I was working in a start-up when I was 20 or something, and at the moment I, so happened was going through medical exams for the army, and one of the doctors asked me where I was working. I told her that I ditched the uni for my business, and she’d told me that I’m probably stupid and my business isn’t successful, as I’m sitting with her, in this c****y cabinet. So, the next thing she sees is an article with my photo, in a very respectable finance journal. This look on her face was priceless.
I co-own a clothing company and we do a lot of expos and booths. I don’t know how many times recruiters, printers, manufacturers, whatever have completely ignored me and have gone to my athletes that come to help for the day to ask if they could be our manufacturer or if we could be a part of their event.I’ve been asked how long I’ve been working for the company, if I can give their card to my “boss”, you name it. Even when the other athletes tell them I’m the one to talk to, they kind of talk to my athlete/ambassador or helpful friend instead of me especially if they’re male and white. I just toss their card into the trash.
I own a coffee shop. One time a lady came through and wanted to order a latte, with a bunch of add on ingredients, which all cost extra, because it costs us extra. When I told her this, she thought the idea was preposterous that double flavor, extra espresso, soy milk, etc would cost extra, and demanded to speak with the manager. So, of course I say I can actually have her speak to the owner, stuck my hand out and introduced myself and let her know I owned the place. She lost her s**t, but still comes back every day to do the same thing over and over to all of my employees. They’re all aware of her issues and just tell her if she doesn’t like our coffee and prices that she should go somewhere else, but she just keeps coming back.
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I [high schooler, F] am a manager at a local restaurant due to having worked there the longest and being very good at what I do. My coworkers are usually significantly older than me, so it’s hilarious when someone asks for a manger to a 50 y/o and they come and get ME. The most significant memory I have is some lady who laughed in my face and then left, but most of the time people drop the attitude right away.
I ran a small non-profit for a while. It ended up being a kind of big deal at a local level, which I’m super proud of.I had a sticker of the non-profit on my water bottle. At a party, a friend of a friend had the same sticker on her phone case. I pointed to her phone, then my water bottle, and gave her a thumbs up. She walked over and proceeded to tell me all about the organization and what she thought of it and how she got involved etc etc. She talked for a few minutes before asking how I’d heard of it. I told her that I suppose I’d first heard of the organization while sitting in my kitchen creating it.
I just And I mean JUST (since September) opened a nightclub with my husband and a few friends (we also rent movies but that’s beside the point) We have punk nights and EDM nights and rap nights - depending on the crowd I have had some really interesting interactionsOne was a guy who literally asked me “So do you come here often?” I kinda laughed and said “well I own the place so yeah I guess I do” (normally I wouldn’t be this brash but he was being creepy long before our “conversation”)
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Years ago I worked in retail and a customer asked for help finding a certain item, while I was sitting briefly at the fitting room desk. I said, “of course, let me get our expert in the area that will be able to help you.” She said, “um you could’ve just helped me,” while rolling her eyes. I said politely, “I apologize, I just wanted to give you the best help from our expert in the area.” The expert was standing there waiting to help the lady, as the lady continued to give me an evil eye. They walked away and found what she needed in five minutes (would’ve taken me far much more time to help her). Then while she was leaving the fitting room, she asked the expert if the store was hiring. The expert said, “she’s the manager, she would know best,” while pointing at me. The lady’s jaw dropped and she said she was so sorry for how she acted earlier. I said no worries and told her how to apply. She didn’t get the job. (I didn’t block her opportunity but no one would pass her on to second interviews after hearing from employees who witnessed how she treated the manager, me). Lesson learned: never treat receptionists or fitting room people, or anyone in general poorly, because you never know.
I run a textbook rental store. A chick comes in with books so overdue that she has a $260 late fee. I wasn’t going to make her pay that, but the only way to pull that off without hardcore unbalancing my drawer was to have her pay the replacement fee so that she owned the books, then sell them back to the store. I knew the sell back prices, so I knew she’d get out of the store paying less than $40 as her late fee. However, when I suggested this plan, bh went ape st. She starts talking about how she didn’t know the due date (it’s on the receipt we give them, and I send out TWO reminder emails - if you didn’t get the email, sucks to be you), and that it’s not fair, not fair, not fair! When I pointed out to her that our store stickers were on her textbooks which would have been a reminder of where she got them and that there’s a due date, she asked to see the manager.I probably shouldn’t have, but I actually walked to the back of the store and then walked back up with a big, fake smile on and said “Hello, I’m the manager. What can I help you with?” She was livid. She tried to pull some “I manage a store too -” bullst but I cut her off and said “If you manage a store as well then you understand that this is a business. I have policy to follow. No one at this store is your mother, and you are a COLLEGE STUDENT. If you can’t remember due dates, you got problems girl.” Cue this ol' chestnut - “I am NEVER coming to this store again, none of my FRIENDS are EVER COMING HERE AGAIN!!” I told her good, go write a Yelp review. B**h.
I started my own cleaning service. I’m in my early 20’s so there’s NO WAY I’m the owner right? I do houses and cars. Well I got a call from an older lady asking for the owner. I obviously said I was the owner and we talked for a bit about what she wanted done. I do have a lower kind of raspy voice so I sound older than my age over the phone. I then went to the ladies house to assess everything and figure costs and before I could even get to her door she opened it asking if the owner was gonna be there. I said I’ll tell him to call you. I then took my phone and called her house phone. She went in to get it and when she picked up I said “hi I’m the owner of (insert company name) how may I help you today”. Needless to say she apologized. I definitely felt like a d**k for it but I am tired of older generations thinking a kid can’t own his own business.
I’m 28 and look 15 so when my mom helps me run my soap booths everyone asks her what’s in it. What are the scents, do you have anything for rosacea? And she just says I just work here, the owner is my daughter. The customers just look at me in horror as I answer all their questions and I get asked a lot how old I am to be owning a business.
I used to help at adoptions fairs through a local shelter at a local chain of pet shops (multiple shops in the same city) the owner dresses way more comfortably than anyone would expect.One time a lady was throwing a fit over the shelter’s policies (the shelter and the pet store chain are partnered but share no management) and the owner the of pet store chain came over to find out what the commotion was all about. He just quietly listened as she raved and ranted about complaining to corporate and how she was going to get him fired and everything. He just took down her info and never bothered to tell her that she was yelling at and being abusive to the owner. Honestly he’s kind of a cool dude.
This happens all the time for me, I’m a younger guy who owns a construction company specifically flipping houses. We also rent them etc. But every time I go over to a tenants house and fix something, or send the crew there its the same story.“I know you came here to fix this but your boss said you’d also do blah blah blah” Most the time I’ll just do it to keep people happy but there’s been a few times I’ve had to tell them I am the boss and that never happened.
I wasn’t running the business but I was employee #1 at the time and working all alone in the store (it’s very small) over the summer when I was 19. A guy comes in, asks if we’re open, and then asks when the boss gets back. I said “today you’re looking at her.”.
I am a 24 year old PhD student working in IT. I am commonly referred to as ~18. I and a partner own a small service business. I always enjoy people trying to pay me directly for my service rather than going through the business. I don’t always correct them, but the malicious ones always have a great look on their face when they realize I’m the owner they’re trying to screw.
I run a retail business with my other half. I’m a 26 year old female but I look around 15/16 and often get mistaken as the student part-timer.One customer told me I looked 15. When I told her I owned the place he said, “Wow, you’re so successful for being so young!” Had to break the news I was 26, not 15.Another time, a woman stormed in with a complaint about the delivery she just ordered. I explained the issue she had wasn’t ours to fix (driver problem, they’re not our drivers) and she cut me off with, “Can I speak to your manager.” I deadpan, “I am the manager.” She sizes me up, huffs, crosses her arms and asks what I’m going to do about her problem, then.I also remember a guy who started with, “So where’s the boss today? The guy that runs it?” I pass the guys drink over and say, “Oh, you mean my husband?” He flustered for a bit and followed up telling me he knew I was also a manager and that that “guy” was my husband. Sure, dude.Oh, but my favourite one is the Asian lady who was unbelievably surprised I ran the shop we do (it’s Asian based, my other half is Chinese) because “you’re white, I didn’t think you’d know what you’re doing.”.
A guy at the library asked me if I was studying and I told him I was working on my online business. We chat, but he hints at me making a mistake for not having a “regular job”. He now works for me :).
Working night shifts at a gas station, My coworkers sister came into the store trying to buy cigarettes without an id. I didn’t say anything about it. He rejected the sale just cause he could. Using the excuse " the manager may chew my ass out”, she responded with something along the lines of “how would he know?” I chime in Cooley with “I’m the manager”.
Just today actually, and it wasn’t even a bad one! I [27F] took over a small used bookstore in my town about a year ago (full year on the 26th, go me!). This place had been in town already for about eight years, and passed through one other person before me since the original owner, who I had actually worked for about five years ago. That said, this lady is in, wandering around and checking things out, making conversation, the usual. She mentions that her son brought her in, and last she heard the woman running it had a kid. I just laughed and answered that she was speaking of the previous owner, and that I was the new one and had been for a year. To which she seemed properly astonished, and then complimented the store- we have christmas decorations up, and a lot of them are handmade papercrafts because the decoration budget was nil.
M- me BM- big Momma.Me and my buddy ran a little hole in the wall bakery, and we once had this woman (let me rephrase, a 300 pound, ready to devour our shop woman) come in and she sat down and ordered a donut and coffee .So i bring it out and walked back to the kitchen and 30 seconds later I hear a loud thump that sounded like a fall. So I ran out, and she had slammed her fist down on the countertop and knocked a few if our displays down.She starts yelling “my donut was not good enough, I demand a new one right now"M- “sorry ma’am, unless your donut was under baked, or something foreign was in it, it’s against our policy “BM - " I want to see the manager!!“M- " I am the manager ma’am, and I’m telling you, we cant do that"BM- “then let me talk to the person above you “By this point i was so fed up, I decided that I was gonna make her so mad she’d just leave.So I walk to the kitchen, yell my own name and I walked back out. She asked where the owner was, and I said “Oh, your looking at him, and now I think you should leave, thankyou for your business and come again soon"She stomped out and I had to deal with the broken jar and fallen picture frames, but I was just releaved she was gone.Thankyou for readingEdit: omg thank you for my first silver.
Me and a colleague, let’s call him Michael, had a customer complain about something that was clearly stated in our Terms of service. Further more, the request simply was not possible. Michael is a very friendly guy, but has also a line that he is not willing to cross. So this guy keeps arguing and discussing and at some point tells Michael that he now wants to speak to the manager. Michael looks him dead in the eye and answers: “Oh, then you are lucky. On Saturdays I am the manager. How may I be of help? “The guy froze and left with an angry face. Story is still legendary around the other colleagues.
When I was 23 I has just started a roofing company, put about 40 roofs in this neighborhood. Went to pick up a check for one of sales reps and got a very suprised look when I introduced my self as the owner.
I’ll take my boyfriend to yearly conferences and when at booths or when I’m getting supplies or reading material the people running booths will usually talk to him first, thinking he’s the one in the field I’m in.
All of them. Literally all of them. They jaw drop, the mystified look when they hear it, the stutter, the “oh s**t I f****d up” realization…. I relish each and every moment it happens.
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