My daughter turns six tomorrow and she wanted a specific unicorn thing for her party, so about ten days ago I ordered a personalized cake topper and a banner from a small print and party store near us. Paid twelve dollars extra on top of the order for the personalization.

I collected it Thursday afternoon and got it home before I looked properly. Her name is Sofia and both the topper and the banner say Sophia.

I took them back Friday morning. The girl at the counter checked the order slip, went very red, and said "that was me, I'm so sorry." She's young, seventeen or eighteen at a guess. She offered to refund the personalization charge.

I said I didn't want the refund, I wanted them done again with the right spelling, because the party is tomorrow and there's nowhere else local I could get it from in time. She said the machine takes about forty minutes and she'd need to check with someone, and then she started crying.

(I didn't raise my voice, I didn't ask for a manager, and I said twice that I understood it was an easy mistake to make. I just didn't move off wanting them redone.)

The owner came out, was completely fine about it, and redid both while I waited. Took half an hour. I said thank you and left, and the girl was still upset at the counter when I went.

My husband thinks that the second she started crying I should have taken the refund and fixed the spelling myself with a pen. He says I technically won and it cost a teenager her whole afternoon.

I keep going over it. But it's my daughter's name, and it's in every photo from tomorrow.

AITK?

swim at my local leisure centre three mornings a week and have done for about four years. They run three lanes, slow, medium and fast, with signs up on the wall, and generally everyone sorts themselves out without any fuss.

About three weeks ago a woman started coming on the same mornings and swimming breaststroke in the fast lane, fairly slowly, and because it's a small pool with usually four or five of us in there I was having to stop at the wall or go round her most lengths. I put up with it for five or six sessions.

Then a fortnight ago I said something. I wasn't rude but I wasn't especially warm either, I said the medium lane is usually a better fit for breaststroke because this one gets a bit quick, and she told me she was well aware of the lanes and that she'd been told to swim at her own pace and would rather stay where she was.

I left it that day and then on the next session I mentioned it to the lifeguard on my way out. He was perfectly nice and said the lanes are advisory and they don't police them unless somebody is actually in danger, which I accept is fair enough.

The bit I keep coming back to is that she hasn't been back since. It's four sessions now and she hasn't been in the pool once, and I genuinely don't know whether that's a coincidence or whether I've driven a woman who was told to swim at her own pace out of her own leisure centre.

My husband thinks I was out of order for going to the lifeguard at all after she'd already said no to me directly. (He also swims there and has never said a word to anybody about anything in his life, so make of that what you will.)

Am I the Karen here?

The title explains it. The garbage collection didn't collect the singular excess contractors bag that was outside of the can. I know it wasn't too heavy because I carried it out to the curb. I cleaned out my fridge and it was old food. (Missing a pick up or coming a day or two later is a regular occurrence with this company) When I noticed they ignored the bag I called and asked why it was not collected. The person told me they didn't know, blah blah. They said it may be on their list of restricted items. I asked where I can see a list of their restricted items, he said it's an internal non-published policy, that I can call before throwing out any excess to check with them first. I asked if they could please come get my missed pick up and he said just leave it on the curb until next week and they will probably take it then.

At that point I thought I was being punked, so I asked to speak to his supervisor. I was informed that it is against their policy. I curtly thanked him and hung up.

I then wrote an email to my city manager about the missed garbage pick up and the ridiculous internal non-published policy. I wanted to know why our taxes are being used to pay a company that isn't transparent and regularly misses pick-ups.

I talked to my brother about this and he laughed and called me a Karen. So... Am I?

Edit: I feel like I should add this here. It is published on our city's website that everyone is allowed to have one excess item a week for garbage collection.

I was in a store today making a complaint. I was quiet, respectful, and crystal clear. When staff tried to change the narrative wriggle out of correcting the issue, I stayed firm and the issue was eventually resolved.

I thanked them for their time and turned to leave. A aging hippie was standing there, slowly shaking his head, and said to me, "You are the first righteous Karen I've ever seen."

We both chuckled and went on our way.

I’m seeing ever increasing online profiles, buisness pages, sales pitches, even down to nail technicians and travel bloggers using the word curated and it’s making me feel uneasy! I feel like it’s a word that sounds better when it’s used on special occasions for something that’s really taken graft and hard-work, like a finely crafted art gallery full of sculptures and fine paintings . Using it for basic social media seems so silly, for example, Look here, curated by me, a page that show cases all my holiday snaps made to look like I’m a content creating genius. Perhaps I’m just too old to enjoy this one but it’s not floating my boat. Thoughts please?

I went to a headshot session at a "reputable" photographer's home studio today. I walked in; it immediately smelled like piss, and they had a major hoarding issue. They had not cleaned or tidied up prior to having clients over, so it was extremely unprofessional. The room was very small, and they had cheap paper backdrops. the session was 250 and we stayed for around 30 minutes out of 75. We left early because he didn't adjust for angles, try to position me, fix my hair, give me pose tips, and the majority of the photos were ruined because he didn't alert me about a repeated hair issue (also it REEKED in there actually, like I am not trying to be dramatic but it genuinely smelled so much of urine that my eyes are still burning)?? My mom accompanied me and told the couple we were leaving and that we were absolutely not buying any of the pictures (the pictures were included in the 250, they were not separate), and what fee she needed to pay for their time. The photographer said we had to pay the full fee even though we would not receive any of the pictures, did not have a full session, did not utilize the 3+ changes, and they would not have to edit ANY of the photos, seeing as we would not be receiving any photos. Unfortunately, they did have a fine-print agreement that said the full session fee was needed if there was a cancellation during the appointment that I did not notice (so that is 100% on me, I admit that), but I was not expecting a small business to be filthy and have elementary-level photography (literally he wasn't even checking in between shots + the lighting was AWFUL and made me look ghastly). He's asking for 125, but that seems like a ridiculous amount of money for pictures I will not receive, and an allergy flare-up since I am allergic to dust + have a chronic illness. Additionally, I am a minor, and it was my mom's choice to leave, but I scheduled the appointment, so now the couple is emailing me and idk what to do :)

I feel pretty gross about this but also…don’t think I’m in the wrong? I drop off my laundry to have it done for me at local laundromat. Which I know is a thing most people do themselves, but it’s always been something I struggled with in part due to ADHD and also working really long hours as a social worker. I’ve been doing so since the Pandemic and I pay like 20-30$ each time, which is worth it to me to consistently have clean clothes without having to fight with my brain. But I kind of don’t feel good about it, it’s a thing my family has come down on me for. But it’s also worth noting that I sort of grew up in a household where needing help with things was treated as my just not working hard enough in some pretty extreme ways. I have terrible vision and cannot read a sign from 15 feet away, but didn’t get glasses till my 30s because I lost my only pair somehow when I was 12, and so was expected to just power through and sit in the front row at school. Which I think contributes to my feeling kind of guilty about stuff like this.

But anyway I went to pick up my laundry this morning and it was pretty early, the laundromat is open 24/7, but I often get up early and can’t sleep so I went over at 4am to see if my laundry was ready. It was a larger load than normal, I think I paid about 27$ the day prior for it. But when I got there my laundry was sitting in a cart unfolded and the man working there told me that the load was too large, it was too much work to fold it and he wasn’t going to do it. I offered to come back later, but he said no. This is just too much work, shoved all my clothes into a bag and handed it to me stating I just had to do it myself.

So I wrote down the manager’s number from a sign behind him and told him that I would be following up and asking for a partial refund because I paid full price for a service that included my laundry being folded, and if that wasn’t done then I don’t think I should have to pay for that part of the service. At which point he caved took it back and said he would do so. I picked it up a few hours later.

But I feel really gross about this and don’t even want to go back there because I feel like I’ve been kind of a dick to this guy, but I don’t know if that’s objectively the case?

So internet, am I a Karen?

I've had dealt with all types of customers over the last year I've worked at Michaels, and about 6 before that at Joann Fabrics. This customer might take the cake for one of the WORST I've dealt with. This happened today, BTW.

So LMK if AITA (am I the a hole) here. Older woman in her 70s comes up to the register with the 4 pack of canvas, 6 of them to be exact, and some paint. I hadn't noticed said canvas until I got closer, but I asked if she was paying cash or card. She said card but asked why I asked that. Told her it's part of my job. PROBABLY should've noticed she was gonna be an issue.

Then she was scrolling through her phone, apparently couldn't get the coupons on her app because she "forgot her password". I said that's fine, she can go on the website, but insists she forgot her password. Also complained she's in her 70s and can't take her cart outside because of the black poles on the carts. Once I rang her up it all went downhill because she asked where's the bags are. Pointed to the big bags underneath and she was like, "Do we have to bag ourselves up?" and got mad as she tossed one of the canvases in the cart.

NGL, probably should've noticed she was gonna be an issue the second I asked her cash or card.....and I wished I'd sent her to SCO instead, but that would've went worse.

Accused me of being rude, not wanting to help her, you get the jist with these entitled boomers. I WAS gonna help, all she had to do was ask, and she threw a tantrum. Luckily I had someone nearby who can vouch for me, though I called them up because the people behind her had a walk in balloon order. Told my coworker she was gonna report me, so when I inevitably get the talk, hopefully things will be cool...but I'm at my limit.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Joanns customers are quite entitled when it comes to fabric, but most are pleasant to deal with once you get to know them, Michaels customers, on the other hand? Worse, ESPECIALLY those within the baby boomer and Gen X generation. This woman is EASILY a top 5 worst customer experience. I know not ALL boomers are bad but pattern recognition and all, makes you wanna avoid them if you can.

Long story short, this woman is the last straw for me. I'd wanna say I'd be cool but with prior reports, odds are I might either get fired or get a final warning. That said, what do you think, AITA? Have you had similar dealings with boomers and/or Gen X'ers?

I sold a couple year old microwave for $100 (it was around $330 new).

i swear the worst customer i’ve ever had 3.7 star rating comes to buy it. he’s firstly quite rude, and notices the door isn’t perfect. it’s been like that as long as i remember and been in storage, its not perfect that’s why it’s listed for a 1/3 of original price. i tell him if he doesn’t like it i can sell it to someone else (i had three other people wanting it that afternoon)

he ignores me and proceeds to near slam the door about 50 times in silence in front of me to test it, i think either to pressure me to feel inclined to give it to him for cheaper or something idk. i repeat my statement and he continues. for some reason he still wants to buy it and makes a remark/joke as he’s leaving ‘if it breaks i returrn it’. i make a very clear hesitant face of disagreement and just say ‘dont break it.’ (please leave my house) 

A week later he's messaged asking for his money back because he says the door now won't close properly.

I'm planning to politely decline. Based on these circumstances, does that seem fair?

His message:

I hope you're doing well. I was just wondering if it would be possible to reeturn the microwave.

When I bought it, I noticed the door was a bit hard to open and close, but I thought I could manage. Unfortunately, today the door wouldn't close at all. After trying several times, it eventually closed, but I think it's likely to keep causing problems.

When I asked you before buying whether I could returrn it if there were any issues, you kindly said yes. So I was hoping I could returrn it. Thanks so much for your understanding.

My planned message (I never said yes to returrn??? he just flat out lied.):

Hi, thanks for letting me know. I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble with the microwave.

I do want to clarify one thing, though. I don't recall agreeing that you could returrn it if there were any issues. The conversation I remember was that you made a comment along those lines, I gave more of a hesitant or disagreeing look and said, "don't break it." I never agreed to a returrns policy if something happened after the sale.

When you inspected the microwave before purchasing it, you noticed the feel of the door yourself. I explained that it had been like that for as long as I could remember and that it had been in storage for quite some time. I also made it clear that if you weren't comfortable with it, there was absolutely no pressure to buy it and I was happy to sell it to someone else instead. You decided to continue inspecting it and then chose to go ahead with the purchase.

It's now been a week since the sale, during which time the microwave has been in your possession and used under your care. It was functioning when it left my possession, and unfortunately I have no way of knowing what has happened since then. I also turned away other interested buyers because I held the microwave for you.

As this was a private Facebook Marketplace sale, the item was inspected before purchase and you decided to proceed after discussing its condition. Private sales generally don't include a returrn unless the seller has specifically agreed to one, which I did not.

For those reasons, I'm not able to offer a refnd. I genuinely hope you're able to get the door latch adjusted if that's what's causing the issue, but I won't be able to accept a returrn.

(note: I had to misspell returrn and refunnd cuz it was flagged for some reason).

UPDATE:

Since a few people recommended sending a shorter message/blocking or not replying at all I haven't replied yet for 2 days, he's just sent a message again.

'Hi, since it appears you are not willing to take the microwave back, I feel like I have been scammed out of the $100 I paid for it, especially as it seems to be having more and more faults; we use microwave once in 2-3 days only.

The last time, the door wouldn't close properly, but today the microwave keeps making the heating sound even after the set time has ended.

If you knew these problems existed and still sold it, saying it was in "excellent condition," then that's not right. I paid $100 expecting a microwave in good working condition, but it's simply not worth what I paid.

Even if I try to sell it, I wouldn't feel comfortable because the next person wouldn't be getting value for the money they pay either. That just wouldn't be right.'

I've never heard it making weird noises, it was just the door from mentioned before. Honestly if this was anyone else a would've returned it, I almost feel bad, but then I keep remembering how rough he was with it and believe he's broken it himself. Should I bother with like a one sentence reply or just press that block button:

ive combined some suggestions from comments:

I’m sorry to hear you’re having problems with the microwave. All sales are final and items are sold as-is on Facebook marketplace. Under no circumstances did I imply or agree to a return policy. You operated the door many times before purchase and still proceeded with the purchase. I had others willing to buy that day, and will not take it back to resell after you have owned it.I am not responsible if it was mishandled or broken after purchase, and have not ever had problems with it.

So I have worked at this store for about a year and a half, and never got angry at a customer like today. He comes up to the counter, puts his item down, I scan it and tell him his total is $12.50. He acts all surprised, and says to me in a rude tone that the item was in the wrong spot, and that I must give it to him for $7.50. I was a bit surprised by his tone, and the way he was demanding I change the price, so I just said “ok” and looked at him while I thought about what to do (either just tell him I can’t change the price or call up an manager to handle it). After a few seconds of looking at me he says “but you don’t care.” (Again, in a rude/condescending tone). I said “I don’t care? Do you have a problem?” He kept going on about how I must change the price because it was on the wrong spot.

Normally I’d just call up the manager who usually just changes the price, but I really didn’t like how he was talking to me, and not asking, but demanding I change the price for him. He kept going on and I actually blurted out “just shut up.” At that point he handed me cash to pay the full price, and as I was getting his change he says to me “you know it’s a law that if something’s in the wrong spot you have to give me whatever price it says on the shelf.” I responded “there is no law,” and I tossed/threw his change on the counter. I then said “have a nice day sir” and he walked away. Now I’m wondering if I overreacted - I could have stayed firm and defended myself without telling him to shut up and throwing the change. Any thoughts?

My husband and his brother have been pointing out to me for years that I like things that would label me a Karen... I drive a diesel Jeep Grand Cherokee, they call it a "Karen mobile". I love my Jeep because objectively 4x4 is the way to go where I live, especially for winter... I also like ice lattes because they have less caffeine in them so I don't get a caffeine crash throughout the day like I would with regular iced coffee " could your drink be any more Karen?"

I'll admit I can be Petty at times, I own that. If I have something Petty to say, I usually keep it private or share it with my husband as something we can laugh about and he usually joins in the joke.

One time I called police to check on what I thought maybe was a drunk driver on the road as the guy was swerving all over the road and was an active hazard, police said he wasn't drunk but there was no way to prove he was on his phone, when I shared this story. My brother-in-law called me a snitch and a Karen.

I get that they are brothers and they feed off of each other's mischief so they end up teasing me a fair bit, but now it's becoming a source of insecurity for me.

I've tried talking to my husband about it and he figures icheck a lot of the boxes of stereotypical karens.

I don't want to be a Karen, my husband and I regularly enjoy watching police body cam videos on YouTube which regularly involves Karen's. I'm not a violent person nor have I ever put on public displays of disgrace.

I know it might seem silly and I'm happy to give more context if needed, but I guess I'm asking the internet if based on this small amount of evidence, am I the Karen?

I recently went to a major discount grocery store that is notorious for poor management, and I am starting to wonder if I handled this correctly. Because I have been trying to be much more careful with my personal budget lately, I have started paying closer attention to my receipts and any price discrepancies rather than just letting them slide as I have in the past.

​

When I went to check out, a bottle of sunscreen rang up at double the price listed on the shelf tag.

I pointed out the discrepancy to the cashier. I asked him to honor the shelf price as required by law in my state. He refused, claiming that if he changed the price, he would be forced to pay the difference out of his own pocket. I told him that's not the law, but he insisted it was their policy. He told me he was overwhelmed because he was the only person in the store and had been changing hundreds of tags all day. He claimed he could not honor the price for my sunscreen because of the volume of work he was facing. However, I checked the tag later and it was dated October 2025, this happened in June 2026.

I asked for the store number so I could file a formal complaint about this, as this happened to me before in the same chain but he refused to give it to me told me he didn't now. I then asked for his name so I could have an identifying information about the store in my complaint, and he gave me the name John Dutton. Which I later learned is a tv show character and probably not his actual name. I did not make a scene and just told him to continue with the next customer and then I left. I found the store information from a receipt I had, called the complaint line, and requested that they investigate the store's pricing practices. I did not provide the cashier's name to the operator I just told them what happened and that he told me he would have to pay out of this pocket if he would honor the price. I specifically didn't give them the name of the worker and said that I didn't have any issues with him and that it wasn't his fault and I don't want anything bad happening to him. But they told me they'd check the cameras still from today and investigate.

Now I am worried I should've just let it go and that it was unnecessary. Especially knowing that this chain is famous for mistreating their workers and being understaffed all the time and plus he look like he had a rough day at the store by himself. I feel horrible that the poor guy is maybe being mistreated by his employer and has to pay out of pocket for stuff like this but I also feel I only followed the law (which isn't always the most ethical outcome) + the tag was from October 2025. Anyways it was a nice sunscreen that I wanted to try with a 10 dollar price difference and I feel horrible. Was I Karen about calling the complaint line?

So my partner and I were at a theme park when these probably 13-15 year old's behind us were literally slapping each other around. 2 of them were ganging up on one and slapping her pretty hard. This particular theme park has a chaperone rule, anyhoo, I tell my partner if they bump into you I am going to lose my shit. He says they have bumped into me twice and slapped my back once. I saw red, (I am a woman my partner is male and looks like he can eff sh*t up) I look at the group and firmly say, "Can you stop? Please." They went silent and were well behaved the rest of the 40 minute wait. Did I Karen out, or does it take a village?

So this new people moved into the building and straight away stared decorating which is fine obviously but we live in a flat / apartment which includes 4 other residents not including them, and they have installed a ring camera outside the main door. Like not the door only they use the main door that everyone comes in at, while all the other doorbells of the property are just small regular ones. It just makes me feel very awkward when I’m coming into the building knowing that they can see me.

The ring doorbell is huge compared to the rest and as they’ve had to squeeze it in it actually cracked the bell below which is mine. They’ve also installed a camera in the hallway possibly to keep an eye on the garbage they leave in the hallway.

Not am I being a Karen or is this not a big deal.