The Starbucks Karen Who Had TikTok Laughing

The restaurant industry is famously stressful for its workers. These employees face a host of challenges, including low wages, few benefits, and job insecurity, explains Civil Eats. Another hurdle many service workers face on a near daily basis is the difficult customer. Of the many U.S. workers who quit their jobs in 2021 during what was dubbed "the Great Resignation," according to the Pew Research Center, 57% reported that feeling disrespected in the workplace was part of why they left. Oftentimes, these disrespectful customers fall under the Karen umbrella.

Social media has brought an interesting light to these entitled customers by making their mistreatment of employees — who have no choice but to grin and bear abuse over things they often have no control over — crystal clear on video. It's easy for an incredulous bystander to catch a quick video of somebody screaming at a service worker over relatively nothing, and these clips typically go viral. If you hang around any social media platform long enough, you'll likely find a Karen, such as one at Starbucks who recently had TikTok laughing.

A Starbucks Karen recently went viral thanks to a TikTok posted by @meltingpoint960.8c. The woman in question was taped screaming at two barista standings behind the store's espresso machine, but much of what she said was rendered unintelligible by the sheer volume and pitch of her voice. One thing she clearly stated, however, was that "it's not illegal to yell in here," before continuing her very loud rant. The employees at the receiving end of her vitriol seemed to take it in stride, giggling at the irate woman before attempting to calm the situation. The woman concluded by screaming that she had tried asking her original question quietly, then repeatedly beating the espresso machine and storming out, with the other customers in the store shouting at her to leave.

The comments section was mostly amused and confused by the woman's antics, calling out her wildly inappropriate behavior while trying to figure out what she was saying at all, with one commenter writing, "she's so loud but I can't hear a single word that's coming out of her mouth." Another "loved" all the other customers "laughing in her face." One commenter pointed out the sad truth of the exchange, saying, "As someone who works in customer service I would have laughed but then cried later on...it's so dehumanizing dealing with these kinds of people." Unfortunately, it seems that almost every service worker has a horror story like this one.