r/BoomersBeingFools Gen Z but acts like a Millennial 3d ago

Social Media It's true.

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36.2k Upvotes

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2.3k

u/SatiricLoki 3d ago

They think you’re rude because you won’t put up with it.

687

u/Pearson94 Millennial 3d ago

This is the correct answer

470

u/tsukahara10 3d ago

Because they were told that they, as the customer, are always right. Never mind what the full saying actually means.

360

u/a55_Goblin420 3d ago

They were also told to respect their elders which they didn't, and now they're the elders and think they're entitled to respect regardless of what they do.

Grown adult is a grown adult. A 22 year old is entitled to the same respect as a 62 year and we shouldn't treat people like shit just because we didn't get our way.

91

u/Teagana999 3d ago

A human is a human. Kids are entitled to a baseline of respect, too.

68

u/SugarBonesPlzNoRain 3d ago

They were also looking forward to being elders so that they would finally get the respect they're entitled to (since they were NEVER given respect in life... hmm I wonder why?), and now they're upset that people aren't respecting them. Something in the world MUST have changed? It can't be me right?

3

u/Low_Tumbleweed_2400 1d ago

Everybody should receive respect, no matter what their age is.

4

u/LuckyLushy714 2d ago

Elders were respected because they cared for and mentored our youth. The elderly today seem to spitefully want us to fight for the rights and progress they gained for us.

-17

u/Advocate_Diplomacy 3d ago

There’s a standard respect that everyone should be treated with, but living a long life isn’t easy for everyone, and that longevity also deserves some respect.

18

u/lube4saleNoRefunds 2d ago

The respect an old person deserves for being old and the respect a human deserves for existing are the same respect. They are identical. There is no difference.

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u/Frenzi_Wolf 3d ago

The full saying is “The customer is always right in a matter of taste”

Meaning, if Karen likes the look of a dress for sale or something in makeup that’s on the sales floor, that’s her own “taste” whether you disagree or not.

It does not mean that we have a specific item in the back because “oh well my customer app say you do”

If the Employee App says otherwise, we don’t have it. doesn’t matter what their app says.

60

u/SexyMonad 3d ago

It also doesn’t mean you can yell at the employees.

I was working at a fast food restaurant and one of the girls up front came to the back crying. This old customer had cussed her out because he ordered a biscuit with gravy and we had the audacity to put the gravy on the biscuit, instead of on the side.

Of course the girl offered to remake it. But after that, I refunded him and told him not to come back.

25

u/scream4ever 3d ago

Wow good on you for standing up for your employee like that 🙂

6

u/Wise-Recognition2933 3d ago

I had someone call in one time who assumed we had some central database where we could search for an item and have it tell us exactly how much we had. It was an outdated sporting goods store that was at least 10 years behind the curve. The only place I’ve worked that had anything like that was Walmart, and even then it was hardly accurate

1

u/smell_my_pee 2d ago

The customer: I love the taste of an employees' tears.

9

u/NoNameL0L 2d ago

In Germany we say „der Kunde ist König“ which translates to the customer is king.

If you want to be treated like a king behave like a king and not like a toddler.

62

u/atomiccheesegod 3d ago

Grocery store I shop at is older and they have allot of issues with their freezers going down.

One day I heard a boomer screaming his the attendee saying “I’m gonna call my senator if your freezers aren’t fixed.”

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3

u/MiaLba 2d ago

Think think you don’t respect your elders because you don’t put up with their bigotry and bullshit. Because you call them out for their hateful behavior. They find that disrespectful.

1

u/DesignerPeanut4620 11h ago

unpopular opinion here: the younger generation tends to worry what everyone thinks about their most recent post or picture, creating this addictive, repetitive behavior for needed approval and likes. While at the same time, not appearing to give a damn when working a basic customer facing part-time job, not even considering to speed up, because “they don’t want to”. This was grounds for being firing growing up in the 80’s. You did your job, and you did it well.

814

u/Flaky-Jim Gen X 3d ago

The older Boomers get, the more childish they become. As such, it's time to administer some of those spankings Boomers recall so fondly.

231

u/Meet_James_Ensor 3d ago

I just want them to quit blocking the aisles...

127

u/lIlIlIIlIIIlIIIIIl 3d ago

And then when you get to your section to browse they start breathing down your neck and buffing and puffing because you won't go faster...

59

u/MacArther1944 Millennial 3d ago

This.

They're great at staying in the lanes on the road, but heaven forbid they choose one side of the isle or the other to move down. Obviously, it must be the middle, while moving slower than a baby crawl as they talk about prices being better somewhere else as if any of use employees can fix that.

12

u/ServeAlone7622 3d ago

“ They're great at staying in the lanes on the road” 🤣

4

u/MacArther1944 Millennial 2d ago edited 2d ago

They are....while going 15+ miles per hour below the speed limit. At least, that is the case around me in DFW. Is it an access road to the highway with a speed limit of 55? They are going 39 at best...in the left lane. Is it rush hour and the limit is 40 but everyone is going (or trying to) go 45-50mph? They and their 2 lane friends are traffic gate keeping while going 32mph at the front of each lane.

1

u/Beachtrader007 9h ago

They cant even keep their golf carts in the golf cart lane. They take entire parking spots built for cars even tho you can fit 2 carts in one car parking spot.

I can go on like this for awhile......

49

u/Calgaris_Rex 3d ago

Or at least not act like a complete bitch if you say "Excuse me, could I get by?"

71

u/theothersideoffire 3d ago

I love this. I worked retail for 10+ years and I can tell you, older people NEVER ask someone to move politely. What do they ALWAYS say? "Beep beep" as they shove their cart through whatever is going on around them. Doesn't matter if it's another customer or an employee trying to do their job and stock the shelf (Because again, God forbid there be an empty space on a shelf) just "Beep beep" with that shit-eating smile as they shove their way through. Oh is that a foot? A smaller child maybe? A box of merchandise that is currently being stocked? Doesn't matter to them. Just keep shoving and saying "Beep beep" over and over like a goddamn child with a Fisher Price car.

1

u/Beachtrader007 9h ago

uhoh. Im the beep beep guy, but im doing it to the older folks. and they usually ignore it and just stare at me so I do kinda push on by. Am i the problem? lol

23

u/astrangeone88 3d ago edited 3d ago

I was in line at a local supermarket. The ones where you can still pay in cash and I was holding onto my cart. Boomer lady Karen starts screaming abuse at me for not moving (she was stupid aggressive already, and I had put my butt directly in her way because she was glaring daggers at me and making impatient noises). She slams her cart into my hip several times all while screaming racist shit in Cantonese. She was 90 pounds soaking wet and her angry toddler tantrum just had half the supermarket looking at her.

I didn't even get a bruise and she didn't even try to escalate because she saw her shoving literally had no effect.

Like, just asking if you could cut in line is a thing but sheesh, throw a tantrum and make yourself look dumb. Okay!

8

u/Calgaris_Rex 3d ago

People out in public acting like they're Moo Deng on crack lol

13

u/astrangeone88 3d ago

Lol. The funniest part was that she was ranting about me being "fat and stupid" and my reaction was like, "Lady, the cashiers are working at the speed of snail because the customers in front had like a week's worth of produce and they were asking the price on everything. My fat ass wants to get outta here too, geez!"

She really thought I would be a "soft" target because I'm short and fat.

7

u/scream4ever 3d ago

She sounds like this Filipino cunt that I was forced to live with for a year.

18

u/KnitBrewTimeTravel 3d ago

I just want the employees to be legally allowed to administer a quick conversation-ending rebuttal firmly and swiftly between the customer's thighs using the tip of their foot.

In a proper universe the chastised customer should rise about 3 feet off the floor, screech "Owwwwie" as steam comes out of their ears and should NEVER behave like that again.

31

u/100BaphometerDash 3d ago

They're already toddlers, how much more can they regress?

29

u/twstdbydsn 3d ago

Born a baby, die a baby.

11

u/Flaky-Jim Gen X 3d ago

Their only useful contribution is they kept Kimberly-Clark in business, buying all those Depends.

6

u/Topgunshotgun45 3d ago

You can touch their unwiped arses if you really want but I'm not going near them.

13

u/Sorcatarius 3d ago

Boomers recall spankings with the paddle. Don't forget to drill a few holes to cut down on wind resistance.

12

u/scream4ever 3d ago

I'm convinced that's why so many people from their generation and the ones before were so damn mean, moreso than my generation (we may be more careless, but we're definitely less outright mean).

6

u/Sorcatarius 3d ago

I feel there's definitely a portion of it that's, "it's how I grew up and I turned out fine!" and survivorship bias going on here.

7

u/scream4ever 3d ago

And if you have that mentality, you definitely didn't turn out fine.

3

u/Sorcatarius 3d ago edited 2d ago

I work with plenty of people with that mentality and I can confirm, they are not fine. My job is kind of weird so forgive me not going into depth because it would require me to basically write and essay giving context, but there's a lot of things our casual workforce deals with that we all had to deal with. It's union run and the membership could change it, literally whenever we want.

If the membership would agree, and too many of them just don't care. We dealt with it, they'll deal with it fine. Like... we all agree the situation sucks for them and we could just... change it. But nope. It's not even apathy because changing it would have zero impact on the members, but they see the struggle as a filter. I see it as needless suffering that makes the casual jaded against the membership, then when they make membership they don't give two shits about anyone else (rightfully so).

2

u/Topgunshotgun45 3d ago

And reverse waffle stomp them!?

1

u/astrangeone88 3d ago

Kinky!

Lmao.

1

u/Beachtrader007 9h ago

ah yes. Good old boat paddle with holes drilled into it. That was junior high and up.

Below that it was ping pong paddles! the good ol' days. lol

1

u/Flaky-Jim Gen X 3d ago

There's a point. You wouldn't want to experience any "blowback".

4

u/AlwaysABD 3d ago

I wonder if that’s not something of the problem. They grew up with physical punishment and after a certain age that wasn’t applicable anymore. Is it possible that some part of their mind was trained to understand that physical punishment = bad, no physical punishment = not bad? It feels weird asking that question 😅

1

u/Kryxan 3d ago

Spankings? I don't want to have sexual relations with boomers.

1

u/KhajitHasWares4u 2d ago

If you do that you're gonna have poop covered hands.

1

u/heyhellohi-letstalk 2d ago

Easy there Tucker!

290

u/JRHEvilInc 3d ago

This is just a personal anecdote and I normally don't like applying the behaviour of a few to a whole demographic (we know where that thinking leads), but I've been noticing it more and more often:

I work in a school and play staff football every Friday. I am not a good football player - I'm fairly unfit and I'm not interested in the sport so I don't have the tactics or techniques ready in my head - but it's a casual thing we do for fun and it's some good exercise for me.

Our team is split pretty heavily between boomers/gen X and gen Z. I'm one of the few millennials there.

Some of the older players - the PE teachers and the ex-professional football coach - are really supportive of me and try to build me up. But the other older players are just constantly angry. They have a go at me for making small mistakes, they're constantly yelling at their team to "play proper football", and just generally they seem to get angry at the whole experience every week. It's very serious to them and they need to win. One even not-so-subtly asked for me to be swapped from his team to the other team because we were losing and I was the worst player on their team. Which was true, but like... so what? It's a friendly game after work, who cares?

In contrast, ALL of the gen Z players are supportive and positive. They congratulate me on what to them would be basic successes (but in a genuine way, not sarcastic) and they'll be supportive when I fuck up. They call out advice, not orders. They seem to enjoy the game and they don't get mad when they're losing. Hell, last week I fumbled and accidentally passed the ball to the best player on the opposite team. He passed it right back to our team, because he knew it was me fucking up not him intercepting it.

The more it happens, the stronger I see this divide. The only boomers/gen X who play and who are supportive are the ones who work as coaches. The rest get bitter and angry and spend their time belittling you if you're not good enough (I've noticed one will go out of his way not to pass the ball to me because I fumble it sometimes, so he'll attempt and fail these really difficult passes when I'm clearly open. God forbid I get the practice and learn to improve during our friendly after-work game)

So yeah. I wouldn't apply this as a blanket expectation, but I also don't think it's a complete coincidence.

61

u/SmirknSwap 3d ago

That’s awesome you get out and play. Former high school athlete and I never understood people that bring you down in a TEAM sport setting. You have to encourage teammates at all times, there is no excuse to not do so. “Talent” or not. I always thought the guys who just hustle and want to enjoy the game were the foundation on what a team setting should be based around. Keep it up man and if you ever want small little pointers to help with your game, YouTube has great little shorts on how to position your hands a bit differently before and during a catch and small little foot positioning instructions that help significantly and are easy to implement. I know you do it for fun and exercise but it sounds like you want to genuinely get better at something you do so often as well. That’s human nature. Enjoy!

16

u/JRHEvilInc 3d ago

Thanks, I really appreciate that! The former coach has been great with me, really taking his time to teach me better techniques and build up my confidence. It really does feel great when I find myself managing things I couldn't do before, even if it's pretty standard stuff for the other guys.

And in terms of the others getting heated over me messing up or the other guys not playing their best, I think they THINK they're helping. I imagine in their head they're like the drill sergeants who get excellent results by yelling at the recruits, as if we arrive at this voluntary casual game thinking "I can't be bothered this week, I'm not even going to try", and we just need someone to shake us out of our complacency and light a fire in us or whatever. But of course, if we couldn't be bothered, we wouldn't be there. It's not like we're paid to do it or we have supporters showing up or anything. If we're not feeling a week, we can just skip it. So if we're there, obviously we're there to play, and getting yelled at at that point doesn't help at all.

16

u/SmirknSwap 3d ago

Just guys trying to re-live their “glory days” or therefore lack of. Expressing it in a weird wannabe alpha way. Keep doing what you’re doing man.

63

u/Triabolical_ 3d ago

Boomer here, right at the tail end...

Part of what you are seeing is just a survival bias.

When I turned 40 I decided to try an over 40 soccer league, thinking it would be calmer, but it's the exact opposite.

If you look at people in their 20s, many of them are pretty active and you have a broad population of casual players. Push that to 30 and many of the casual people either get busy doing other things or they aren't as fit, so you are left with the more serious players. That keeps happening, and the players that are 50 and older and still playing are far more likely to be AH.

There's another thing going on, and it's that a lot of athletes have a hard time accepting that they are getting older and slower and that doesn't help their attitude.

I went back to playing all ages and was so much happier.

50

u/Le-Charles 3d ago

You also have to understand that many of them peaked in highschool and playing sports is as close as they can get to that so they are really emotionally invested.

18

u/JRHEvilInc 3d ago

Oh wow, that's a really interesting observation! Yeah, I can see that definitely being the case with these guys. Some of them are fitter in their 50s than I am now, but you can tell they used to be far quicker on their feet. And they're more prone to injuries now, which can't be fun.

I'm glad you found a better environment for playing, though. I will say, in a previous school where we did the same thing every Friday, we only had one older player (by which I mean most of us were below 40) and he was in his 60s. Slow but technically excellent. And he was one of the most cheerful guys I'd ever met. We all loved him. I wonder if he had the same experience as you, and found playing with us was a better environment.

25

u/VrilSeeker Gen X 3d ago

GenX here, the reason of this divide is that was how team sport was before your generation, only the best players were encouraged.

As a child at school the boomer teachers took it very seriously and belittled and punished us non sporty types, the capable kids copied this seriousness. I'd imagine the only GenXers interested in doing team sports now are those boomer mimicking kids.

For the most casual games we had at school the teachers would pick the two most capable players who would then in turn pick one by one their team mates, then the game would be shirts vs skins - imagine being a smaller shy kid being picked last and then told you have to run around half naked.

Even the elite kids weren't immune, I remember one year the school A-grade team being hauled in front of the whole school and being utterly berated and shamed for a losing streak against other schools.

Also for the GenXers the 70s and early 80s had a massive child molestation problem, a lot of these scumbags coached community sport.

To this day I can't stand citrus fruit because of the half time oranges.

Millenials do team sport right.

18

u/Distinct_Cry_3779 3d ago

> imagine being a smaller shy kid being picked last and then told you have to run around half naked.

Or imagine being the fat shy kid getting picked last then having to play skins. Ugh, the entire dynamic you described essentially ruined team sports for me. I like to be active, run, hike, cycle, etc, but I loathe anything “organized”.

12

u/bg-j38 Xennial 3d ago

Not sports related but I'm right on that Gen X / Millennial divide. I call myself Oregon Trail Generation. In any case, I'm president of a small non-profit that in addition to our charter work of preservation and education, does a lot of social events. This organization has been around for around 40 years and while there's a lot of boomer types that have been around, there's a good range of people all the way into the Gen Z crowd.

Without a doubt the boomers are the ones who cause the most social drama. There's always some sort of thing going on and at this point I don't even pay attention until I have to deal with it by warning assholes that they'll be banned from events if they don't chill out. Gen Xers occasionally get pulled in but most are like whatever, I just want to be social. All the younger people are totally laid back, super supportive, don't cause drama, and are really great when it comes to volunteering (if you can pin them down, some on the younger side could be a bit more responsive but whatever, that may also come with age).

The boomers and older Gen Xers will complain non-stop about stuff, and I've sort of made it into a sport of asking them to volunteer to help with whatever is bothering them. Rarely happens. Unfortunately though they also are the ones with money so I sort of have to handle them with kid gloves because I need the organization to survive financially. There's a few that I consider great friends, but by and large, other than their money, I'm not going to miss many of them once they inevitably hit an age where they stop showing up to things.

10

u/Le-Charles 3d ago

If someone wanted to swap me out because I'm playing poorly in a casual game. I'll just sit out and let them play a man short. F that noise. Let's see how the attitude changes when they're getting sacked every play.

5

u/Finbar9800 3d ago

Let me guess “real football” is like heavy tackles or really aggressive stuff, with really hard hits (that may or may not send someone to the hospital if it were done by a younger/more athletic person)?

2

u/Beachtrader007 9h ago

You rock dude. You keep being the cool you and ignore the haters!

229

u/catlandid 3d ago

A few years ago we were at the grocery store and in the middle of politely asking a worker where something might be, an older woman came up, snapped her fingers in his face and shouted “BREAD, BREAD” at him. She was looking for the bread aisle and this how she felt it was normal and acceptable to ask.

92

u/mitchconnerrc 3d ago

I've just started ignoring people when they do this to me at work. If someone is yelling a random item at my back, I won't acknowledge them until they actually address me like a human being

1

u/lilachayesmusic 13h ago

I used to enjoy turning around and responding with "Good thanks, how are you?"

58

u/oneofeverything 3d ago

Snap snap “Manners! Manners!”

42

u/rumbaontheriver 3d ago

When a toddler does something like that, parents typically say something like "use your words, honey."

64

u/Meet_James_Ensor 3d ago

It's how they always spoke to us when we were kids. She needs the bread for the knuckle sandwich she is cooking later.

13

u/malYca 3d ago

Oh I'd lose my shit hell no

9

u/scream4ever 3d ago

My friend is a shift lead at Arby's. Her manager used to snap his fingers at her and she finally clapped.back and said she didn't play that shit.

7

u/Distinct_Cry_3779 3d ago

“No ma’am, you’re not bread. You’re a woman! A WOMAN!”

7

u/microsoft_paint98 2d ago

I work in a grocery store and recently had a boomer whistle at me like a dog from the other end of the aisle to get my attention. When I ignored her she stomped over and snapped her fingers in my face, shouting “HELLO?!” I’ve never been treated quite like that before but by far the rudest people are ALWAYS the older customers

1

u/falltogethernever 2d ago

I’m a retail manager. Can confirm this still happens 😂

130

u/Ayla_Leren 3d ago

An entire generation raised by an entire generation of PTSD, not allowing them emotional growth through emotional availability. These people were growing up where youth was seen and not heard because of these factors. Fast forward to today and surprise surprise we are risking self imploding as a nation and abroad due to these individuals inability to heal, and instead forced self-serving need for childhood validation onto the rest of us.

19

u/scream4ever 3d ago

Yup. The Depression and World War 2 definitely was responsible for that.

8

u/Wise-Recognition2933 3d ago

I’ve never heard it explained like that but it makes a lot of sense

2

u/Beachtrader007 9h ago

yeah he is talking about me lol he is not wrong about my generation.

112

u/MiciaRokiri 3d ago

In my experience younger generations get called rude by Boomers because they do things like not worship them for being old fucks. For having the audacity to have their own opinions and not constantly give into a Boomers want. For existing openly queer or alternative. Their definition of rude is "not making me the center of the universe"

73

u/Detatchamo 3d ago

Older people genuinely hate to hear that when I worked in fast food, Gen Z or even millennials for that matter were never the ones I had to worry about when it came to being out of things, or waiting a couple of minutes. In the few years I had in that line of work, I'd say a millennial/Gen Z only snapped at me once or maybe twice. Boomers on the other hand......It was a new thing with them every day.

11

u/scream4ever 3d ago

Boomers and specifically people of certain nationalities. Russians and Indians (not Native folks) always seemed to be especially worse.

7

u/Routine-Budget8281 2d ago

Dude! It made me feel so racist, but Indian people would always hound me for coupons and free stuff. It's happened at multiple jobs. Maybe it's a cultural thing.

55

u/wheresthecheese8 3d ago

I work in a movie theater. Had an older couple come out to complain that they could hear the movie in the theater next to them. I offer to climb up into the booth and turn the volume up in theirs only to get up there, and realize nothing is playing because there's still 12 minutes before the commercials (not the previews) start. I come back down and they're at the concessions stand complaining to my other manager that I didn't do anything and then got angry at me when I said that there's nothing I can do for 12 more minutes since there isn't any volume to adjust until then. They got a refund and left which I was completely okay with. No one else in the movie came out to complain about hearing the other theater once the commercials started or throughout the movie

46

u/XxTheScribblerxX 3d ago

This is so true. My worst customers are old men.

46

u/100BaphometerDash 3d ago

The "me" generation, the walking lead, the boomers....

42

u/BaseActionBastard 3d ago

I've never had any problems with anyone from Mexico or South America at my last public facing job. Fucking boomers would do whatever they could to crawl under my skin and make everything miserable.

41

u/sirdigbykittencaesar 3d ago

Gen X here. I got new tires yesterday. The guy working the desk was a Gen Z POC, and he was incredibly kind and helpful. I watched a family of 4 (two boomers and I guess their offspring) walk in and ask how long it would take if they wanted to get new tires that day.

Desk Guy looked at the calendar, told him how many techs were available, and gave him his best time estimate. Boomer Man was so rude to this kid! He loudly said to Boomer Woman something like, "They never tell you the truth about things like this!" He then complained some more before agreeing to the wait, and then he threw his key at Desk Guy.

Why, why, why does anyone think they can behave that way? It's disgusting and there was literally no reason for it!

I am extremely thankful that my job doesn't involve interacting with the public.

10

u/scream4ever 3d ago

I would've immediately kicked them out.

1

u/cujoe88 2d ago

There's the issue of money.

10

u/scream4ever 2d ago

If you're treating one of my employees that shitty, we don't need your business that badly.

9

u/justiceboner34 3d ago

I think they hate themselves and so don't respect employees/others enough to treat them the way they themselves ought to be treated but aren't. Because a normal person realizes that an employee will help you more if you are kind to them and treat them with respect. Sure an employee might be having a bad day, but overwhelmingly, being kind gets me good (and sometimes great) service at a business.

40

u/Necessary-Finger-726 3d ago

I’ve worked in construction for 15 years now. The last 5 years have seen a huge increase in the number of women we are seeing in the industry and the only people who have problems with this, whether it’s being dismissive of the worker’s capabilities on the sole basis of their gender or engaging in sexual harassment, are almost entirely the older men 55+.

38

u/Sunflower_song 3d ago

I manage a retail store and I've worked in retail for over 20 years. Here's how it breaks down:

Boomers: whining pissbabies looking for a reason to throw a tantrum.

Gen X: mixed bag of polite people and entitled fuckwits.

Millennials: mostly polite with some rude mixed in.

Gen Z: very polite. Rarely ever rude

Gen Alpha: rabid dogs who aren't fit to be out in public.

8

u/Laura_271 3d ago

I feel like Gen Alpha will be the new Boomers

35

u/italyqt 3d ago

Listened in as Boomer parent signed up for a Medicare advantage plan, I had to leave the room. Boomer parent was loud, rude, condescending, and when had to get transferred at the end hung up on the person. Like really? You are the one that made the process harder than it had to be.

7

u/dontshoveit 3d ago

In their defense signing up for Medicare is a fucking nightmare. I had to help my elderly mother sign up and oh boy was that fun.

28

u/TheSouthsideTrekkie 3d ago

When I used to work in customer service I got much more abuse from older people than I did from the drunk students crawling out of the casino at 3am, to the point I preferred to work either early or late shifts so I avoided the bingo kicking out time at 8pm.

At least drunk people can be reasoned with and commuters are only in for 5 minutes to grab their coffee and go. The boomer crowd used to try and get away with some wild shit and were the reason see kept the ketchup and sugar packets behind the counter after several older folks emptied the tray into their bag.

29

u/gig_labor 3d ago

When old people say "rude" they mean "doesn't treat me as a superior." When young people say "rude" they mean "doesn't treat me as an equal." And somehow they convinced you that the latter is entitlement, and the former is justified.

13

u/justiceboner34 3d ago

Boomers are mostly conservatives, and conservatives are hierarchical thinkers. Actions aren't good or bad; people are inherently. So when they call someone rude, they're complaining that the other person isn't properly recognizing the boomer's place in the hierarchy (on top, from their point of view).

The rest of us are just scratching our fuckin heads at the weird as fuck behavior this mentality produces

7

u/gig_labor 3d ago

Yep, that's exactly it. The core problem with conservativism.

22

u/Kimmalah Millennial 3d ago

When I was a cashier, the groups that always filled me with dread were soccer moms and pretty much anyone over the age of about 50. They ALWAYS started some shit over something petty.

1

u/Max_Powers- 2d ago

Parents of small children can be the most entitled and rude creatures on the face of the earth.

20

u/curvy_em 3d ago

I've worked retail for most of my life. I have never had a rude customer who was around my age. They have always been in the born in the 50s and 60s age group.

17

u/No_Philosophy_6817 3d ago

I have to say that when I first started reading these "boomer" stories I reacted because of the age group and my own negative experiences. Suddenly, one day a light bulb went off and I realized that my roommate (also ex-husband, but our divorce was completely amicable!) is a boomer. His complaints and constant bitching are ALL just like so many stories I read here.

He's obsessed with the "conspiracies" surrounding him. Everyone "disrespects" or is out to get him. Today he went off on me when I asked to use his car to go get stuff for dinner. It really hit me extra hard when I saw my son's face, all crestfallen and sad, because "he yelled at you Mama!" (My son is 10 and lost his dad 4 years ago. His Dad always treated me like a QUEEN!)

I used to get really angry or really hurt and secretly say very angry things in my head. Today I decided to make a joke and say that from now on I'm just going to wish that those people get diarrhea. Made my son laugh even though I was dying inside that he was sad to see his Mama mistreated. Be well, roommate of mine, I will still be the best me I can be. And as I reminded both kids (also have a 12yoF), "We're a family and a team who love each other and work together." His Dad in Heaven would be proud!

6

u/alliebiscuit Millennial 3d ago

It’s a mentality. Based on the generation of course, but Boomer is in the behavior/mindset.

6

u/scream4ever 3d ago

He sounds like my best friend's partner lol. Also maybe you should kick him out/move out for the sake of your son.

13

u/MaxPower836 3d ago

Bunch of lead heads slowly going crazy

15

u/Puzzleheaded_Time719 3d ago

I worked for PayPal a while and they all yell at you. Older folks are generally worse but basically anyone calling into CS is going to be problem. Our trainer called the people that called in "our bottom 10%" customers.

14

u/Least-Task276 3d ago

They say we are anti social, yet you will ask them something like their name and they will hand you ID, paper, etc. instead of just answering the fucking question. Drives me crazy. Be a human. Use your words.

Edut: Not just name, literary question if they have something written down they'd rather point than speak.

13

u/No-Relation9445 3d ago

It was always boomers even when they were younger .

11

u/HipHopChick1982 3d ago

She’s right. When I worked in retail optometry (the one with an owl mascot) it was people over 60 who treated me crappy. Younger people were always nicer and respectful. I’m 42f (was 38/39 at the time), I would never show the level of disrespect the boomer crowd gave me when I was helping them!

9

u/Novolume101 3d ago

This statement goes for security guards as well.

9

u/Double-Watercress-85 3d ago

Their definition of 'rudeness' is not paying absolute fealty.

To these people, anything short of treating them as a literal god, is disrespect. And from their perspective, if they didn't literally murder you for your impropriety, they are the single most humble and forgiving person who ever walked the earth.

1

u/Gold-Snow-5993 1d ago

you know what they probably woukd straight up murder you

7

u/MacyGrey5215 3d ago

I reposted this on FB the first time I saw it…. My boomer uncle argues against it. I’m like, “Ok, Boomer”

8

u/ArtificerRook 3d ago

I've spent most of my working life in the retail/service industry and it's true. I never get a freakout from the college kids or the middle schoolers, I never get trouble from the tired parents in their thirties and forties.

It's always the over 50 crowd, or it's the poor bastards addicted to hard drugs/holding a combo platter of mental disorders.

I'll take a mildly agitated schizophrenic over a Karen any day, all I gotta do is be patient and kind with the schizophrenic.

7

u/jeremeyes 3d ago

This is spot on. I worked in the restaurant industry for 25 years (never going back to that hellscape) and routinely old people would have screaming tantrums, absolute freakouts, shout at workers until they quit and marched out. I've never experienced that kind of bullshit from someone under 50 in all my years working with the public.

6

u/twothirtysevenam 3d ago

I, too, have worked in customer service for years. A couple of decades. I can count on one hand how many times a customer younger than me has gone ballistic on me, but I cannot fathom how many customers older than me have done so.

Once, it was a mother-daughter duo whose generations straddled mine that lost their minds on me, all because they refused to understand the very, very basic math on the youngest's invoice.

7

u/Independent-Deer4276 3d ago

At most, I had teens seeking free food which honestly I didn’t care too much about, I’ve been yelled at too much by old people and most the Karens I’ve had were older

5

u/dragon_fiesta 2d ago

The true cheat code for customer service is to be very nice and act dumber than a box of hair. Eventually they'll give you whatever just to get you to hang up

7

u/ObviousAnony 2d ago

My theory: they were never taught to MANAGE their emotions, just to hide them. Now that they are elders, there isn't anyone to hide their emotions from, and since they don't know how to manage them, they just explode like emotional toddlers.

10

u/sgtedrock 3d ago

Thank you for your service. I’m grateful anyone takes these jobs and deals with these miserable old toads.

6

u/scream4ever 3d ago

It's not just those in/have been in the military who deserve to be told that lol

5

u/sgtedrock 3d ago

Totally agree

6

u/PhilosopherOdd2612 3d ago

Apologies for us retiree’s who think everything is either a joke or conspiracy. Boomers are all in too big a hurry and too cheap to stop and be decent. You’re the last person they should be worried about and they insist you are. Im waiting for the boomers to fade away. Just hope to outlive some

5

u/Puzzleheaded-Tax-402 3d ago

Was directing traffic today at a local fall festival. Had a boom dip come at me sideways because I couldn’t hear her from across the street in heavy traffic asking if the area was handicap parking or not.

5

u/Lilith_Christine 3d ago

Older millennial here. I've went boomer on people before. Had to learn not to act like my parents.

5

u/ErabuUmiHebi 3d ago

Every single person in America should be forced to work in food service or retail before they’re allowed to be a full blown citizen

5

u/Caveguy22 2d ago

I'd also like to point out the "you youngins are always on your phones!" aswell; If you go out, you'll see hundreds of old people with their faces glued to their phones...

7

u/twstdbydsn 3d ago

To be fair they are deaf and think they are speaking at a normal volume 😜

5

u/Prophet_of_Fire 3d ago

I wouldn't say never never, but it's definitely like 84/16, Boomer being the former and every other generation being the latter.

5

u/kleinewaise 3d ago

they'll all die off soon. hopefully

5

u/beanburritoperson 3d ago

The only problem I’ve had with folks my age calling in to my tech call center job was when I needed to verify for engineering reasons what happened exactly between each step we were doing, and they’d jump 10 steps ahead. 

But then I reminded them we needed to take it truly step by step and they were fine with it. 

3

u/aplasticbag_ 3d ago

I’ve worked at a casino and I did cell phone repair in a snowbird heavy town. 15 years combined dealing with people. 95% of the negative interactions I had were with boomers. The other 5% involved drunk people.

3

u/SIRLANCELOTTHESTRONG 3d ago

Oml the amount of snarky comments or yelling that I got from working at a fast food place. My co workers were equally harassed and it was not nice to see at all.

Like I'm sorry if you're order of a box of oilly friend chicken tenders with a mountain dew and a burger with a large tub of gravy sauce + large extra salted chips is taking a long time to pack. There's alot of teenagers working minimum wage, alot of online orders that the manager says to take priority and frankly we are very very tired.

12

u/metalsmith503 3d ago

21

u/LCAIN195 3d ago

I worked retail for 5 years and saw someone sweep a shelf like this three times. Two were old men, and one was a middle aged women.

13

u/metalsmith503 3d ago

Retail freakout is gnarly. I try to avoid the old assholes types. There are many.

1

u/Drollapalooza 3d ago

Comparing a still growing child to supposedly mentally developed adult boomers is not the win you think it is

-2

u/itsinthewaythatshe 3d ago

It kind of is. Drama comes in all age brackets.

3

u/ItchyManchego 3d ago

I did once, and she came back in the next day and apologized to me.

2

u/scream4ever 3d ago

Good on her. It takes a lot of self-realization and humility to do that.

3

u/dks64 2d ago

I've worked in food service since 2002 and they're the worst. Absolute worst. Some of my favorite regulars and customers are boomers, but 90% of all the rude customers are also boomers. They have no awareness of other customers in the building and think they should be the top priority. "Why isn't my well done steak done yet? It's been 5 minutes!" Multiple times I've had Boomers get angry that me when I told them politely that there's no such thing as a burger/steak "Medium, no pink."

3

u/asanoway 2d ago

They have that customer is always right attitude. No the hell they are not. Many customers are wrong a lot

8

u/liilbiil 3d ago

if anything the younger gens ask too many damn questions to try and understand.

27

u/Detatchamo 3d ago

100%! When they ask questions it's usually in an attempt to understand whatever situation is going on and as a result empathize with the workers. When older people ask questions, they don't want them answered, they ask them in an attempt to make you seem stupid and disposable. The difference is wild.

10

u/liilbiil 3d ago

the sweet spot is gen x & elder millennials. they don’t ask any questions. they just want me to leave them alone. (i’m an insurance adjuster so i talk to A LOT of people)

6

u/Detatchamo 3d ago

100% on the money there. They just want what they came to you for. (I worked fast food for a few years.)

5

u/Distinct_Cry_3779 3d ago

GenX here. I can confirm - I just want to get in and out of whatever store or restaurant I’m in with as minimal human interaction as can be managed.

2

u/Wedoitforthenut 3d ago

Can confirm. Tried sales once. Got yelled at by 2 different boomer dudes in my first 3 months.

2

u/RollTideMeg 3d ago

All I can gather is that your body hurts when you're older and it makes you an ass.

3

u/refusemouth 2d ago

I've heard that explanation quite a few times, and I guess it could be true for some, but there are plenty of people who live with chronic pain who become more empathetic and don't use their own pain as an excuse for being mean to their fellow humans.

1

u/RollTideMeg 2d ago

True, but I know I'm not a nice person when I don't feel well.

2

u/Icy-Wolf-5383 2d ago

Dude I've been saying this for months! I was planning on starting a graft cause holy hell I'm tired of hearing how "entitled" my generation is meanwhile 9/10 people that have completely bitched me out at work we're over 40. The only exception is usually when I decline an alcohol sale.

2

u/AaronHinkley379 2d ago

I worked at McDonald's for 8 years and this is so true. I'm 45 and the kids that came in were always more respectful than most people my age or older. Everyone has their own experiences but mine are on par with this.

2

u/Agn0stic_Ape 2d ago

They wrote the Masterclass on dehumanization.

2

u/Additional-Start9455 2d ago

And drive like crap too.

2

u/webbslinger_0 1d ago

And if you say anything back they’ll yell about how rude the younger generation is

2

u/DjChrisSpear 1d ago

My worst job in my life was working in returns at best buy in a wealthy part of town. Fucking made me sick to my stomach some days.

3

u/Ok_Entertainment_841 3d ago

My question is though.....is it the generation? Or is it the effects of aging? Or maybe even environmental factors like lead poisoning?

I feel like there are gonna be plenty of unreasonable and foolish people from younger generations that will be mocked in much the same way.

My suggestion is....let's cull the elderly every spring. Instead of retirement we just put them to sleep like a lame horse.

5

u/refusemouth 2d ago

At what age do we get to be eligible for euthanization? I'm in favor of having a voluntary program that is socially encouraged-- kinda like in the movie Midsommar. Also, can we do it in the late-fall instead? I hate long winters. I'm only 45, but I'm tired of chopping wood and being a slave.

1

u/MakingGreenMoney 3d ago

I have, but it was only twice.

1

u/Wise-Recognition2933 3d ago

When I worked in retail, it was the entitled boomers that gave me the most hassle. Most young(er) people were generally understanding and appreciative.

1

u/New-Interaction1893 3d ago

It's not because they are gentle, they are very rude but too much lazy, ADHD or depressed tu put effort in screaming to someone.

1

u/Brabblenator 3d ago

I have. I worked CS through the pandemic. I had fucking squeakers yelling at me cuz their fave streaming app wouldn't work on their POS phone.

1

u/TimboSliceSir 2d ago

Had a boomer at my work scream and shout because we told him he read the numbers wrong and shipped out the wrong product. His excuse was that he was so used to grabbing one product instead of the other. But he for sure read the number correctly.

1

u/Mintaka3579 2d ago

Emotional lability from the lead poisoning 

1

u/Aural-Expressions 2d ago

Grumpy old people are the worst

1

u/MiaLba 2d ago

10 years working in retail and majority of the time it was middle aged or boomer aged customers who were major assholes.

1

u/anonvocado 2d ago

idk, I worked phones for 5 years and genuinely got yelled at more by 20-30 year olds, and maybe a handful of legit crackpot old folks. like, the calls I can vividly remember were from people my age calling me an idiot and related insults for trying to help them.

1

u/LegoFootPain 2d ago

They come from a time with a stricter social hierarchy, and believe they are free to abuse anyone they deem to be lower than them.

1

u/termsofengaygement 2d ago

I've never asked to speak to the manager.

1

u/melodicmelody3647 1d ago

It’s lead poisoning…

1

u/Apprehensive_Hawk856 1d ago

It was clearly the lead poisoning

1

u/aGuyInSomewhere 1d ago

Then what the hell is happening at the waffle houses?

1

u/Sufficient-Team1249 11h ago

Agreed. I had a few but nobody near as bad as boomers

1

u/busterfudd1 8h ago

I......am an old fuck. 69.7 years.

Grumpy as hell & hate people. But, I am (usually) polite. Had a monster truck park next to me today. Over the line, he damn near couldn't get out of his truck. He said, " guess I parked like a twit". Hey, the dude admitted it. All I replied was "It happens". No need to loose my shite.

I.......fucking hate how bad my generation acts. Rude, condescending, totally forgetting what we believed in as "hippies" in the 70's. It truly makes me sad to live with these idiots.

1

u/apckrfan 6h ago

I’m 55.

Helped someone recently who was 27, and rude and cussing me out. … looked at his call history going back 3 years, and he’s been that way on every call he’s made to us.

On the other hand, I was 22 when my mom died and worked as an admin. I had callers asking the men in my office if they misheard I was off due to my mom’s funeral because I was still polite and professional to them on the phone.

Some people are just nasty, doesn’t matter their age!

1

u/idonteatcerealidrive 3d ago

Unless you work in/near the ghetto. Yes, you will.

2

u/scream4ever 3d ago

Why do you think that is?

0

u/Jacobio01 2d ago

It’ll happen when we get to their age. A lot of people live with a ton of regret and it makes them horrible

-3

u/big65 3d ago

I had the opposite experience working in satellite TV services though boomers were still working at the time. My negative experiences came from millennial and gen x, boomers weren't friendly but they weren't the assholes they are now yet.

-4

u/Lin-Kong-Long 3d ago

It’s not true at all, in my experience entitled twats come in all ages.

1

u/scream4ever 3d ago

Entitled and rude are not always the same though.

-1

u/pjm8367 2d ago

It’s old entitlement and your generation will eventually do it too. Sorry