5 ms·
Is there a techbro version of "Karen" because this is that. I mean, seriously... buying people's personal contact details??
by ChrisKnott 5y ago
Is there a techbro version of "Karen" because this is that.
I mean, seriously... buying people's personal contact details??
- malandrew 5y agoI mean, seriously... wasting the time, patience and goodwill of your paying customers by under-investing in quality customer support and driving down defects?? I know it's popular to diss the "karens" of the world, but a lot of them keep in check businesses that will abuse their customers if they can get away with it. They can be a useful corrective force just like class action lawsuits can be.
- switch007 5y agoA little tin foil hat but I can imagine shitty company engaging marketing companies to spread the Karen meme. It seems like anyone who tries to get proper customer service these days is cancelled with “don’t be a karen” and “#BeKind” (Nb neither of these apply to the companies of course, just customers :-))
- BoxOfRain 5y agoI think the difference between a Karen and someone who simply wants adequate customer service is that the Karen will tend to abuse people who a) lack the power to help as they're too far down the corporate ladder and b) will lose their livelihoods if they shout back, making it an unsporting thing to do. You're a Karen if you shriek and stamp your feet at a teenage fast food employee over chips that are too salty, you're not a Karen if you calmly but firmly escalate things to people who do have the power to solve your problem. It's the power dynamic that makes one a Karen, "punching down" is a Karenish move while "punching up" is often fair enough in my opinion.
- hn_throwaway_99 5y agoSeriously. My whole thought reading GP's post was "This person is coming across as a complete asshole by their own words, but in their mind they are thinking they are coming across as some kind of hero."
- malandrew 5y agoI see no issues with anyone being an asshole once others have driven them to that point. Should people continue to accept abuse and suffering from those who indifferently inflict it?
- loa_in_ 5y agoI agree with this as far as dealing with corporations goes. Somehow society internalized that whatever corporations do wrong is a "corporation's fault", but whatever bad happens to a corporation is a wrongdoing towards the employees. Corporations are conscience-lacking psychopaths, faceless cowards and abusers, and should be treated as such. They are cowards because they hide behind false appearances - the go-to method of dealing with their own shortcomings. And they are smart about it. This point is beatifully driven home in a futuristic science-fiction novel "Accelerando" (which is free btw) where corporations based on smart contracts and AI threaten sentient beings uploaded into the net by publishing altered derivatives of public works to reposess unsuspecting readers's minds using copyright law.
- mcv 5y agoI don't know. He's taking it to the actual people responsible, rather than taking it out on call center employees who are understaffed, overworked and powerless to change anything. It's a brutal power move, but it targets the people actually responsible and it clearly gets results. I think this is way better for everybody involved. Of course it does depend on the person escalating being correct about the issue, and good and reasonable about explaining it to the person in charge. And we all know that's not going to be true for your average customer. So use this power with discretion.
- esyir 5y agoSeems fair to me. Don't let them hide from the consequences of their shitty decisions by firewalling themselves behind underpaid tech support.
- fauigerzigerk 5y agoPlease stop using a very common name as a derogative! It's insulting to the women who have that name. Also, as you noticed, there is no male version of it. It's a decidedly sexist meme that shouldn't be promoted.
- rnjesus 5y agowhat a chad thing to say
- fauigerzigerk 5y agoYes there are other memes using common first names and I don't like any of them. Not one bit. Not all of them are equally insulting though.
- gspr 5y agoChill.
- theelous3 5y agoKevin over here giving sass.
- fauigerzigerk 5y agoGood for you. Someone dear to me finds it extremely hurtful, which is why I commented. Also, I think the Kevin meme originally came from a comedy. The connotations aren't quite as nasty and serious as the Karen ones. But there are definitely other very negative name memes. I don't like any of it, but I fully accept that people can feel differently about it.
- ChrisKnott 5y agoI actually agree, I wouldn't use it to describe someone, I thought it was OK to reference the meme in the abstract.
- BLKNSLVR 5y agoWhat's good for the goose...
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y agoYeah, that's excessive. It is just as effective to craft a polite but firm snail-mail letter instead and it's a lot less Karen.