A Subway worker took to TikTok to rant about a so-called “Karen” couple who took a misunderstanding over change to an unnecessary place.
The video was posted to TikTok by creator Shay Williams on Tuesday, gathering more than 1 million views since going up on the platform. Based on track-related content on her account, it appears she attends high school in Amarillo, Texas—a detail that will become salient as she tells her lengthy story in the video.
She begins by declaring, “So, me and my co-worker [are] hot. We’re mad, like we’re mad as hell.” She proceeds to set the scene—a man and woman, presumably a couple, come in and order six-inch sandwiches, and the order turns out to be $12.43. The man is slow getting his wallet out, and eventually pulls out a $20, which leads the creator to assume she’ll be making change for a $20.
@shaywilliamsss #subway #fastfood #karen ♬ original sound – Shayy
But as it turns out, he was ready to get out a more elaborate amount of bills and change totaling $22.53, so he could get a $10 bill and a dime in change.
“I grabbed the 20 and I pushed back the $2 in change that he gave to me because I’m thinking he misheard what I said,” she explains, “and thought I said $21.43 or something like that. So I pushed the $2 back, and I’m getting ready to ring up the $20 and he gets attitude.”
According to her, he repeatedly asked, “Did you go to high school?” before explaining the “even change” future he was envisioning for himself.
She attested, “He was being very rude to me,” noting he was Hispanic, and noting there was a Black man in line behind him who was reticent to defend a fellow Black person from the abuse. The situation was exacerbated further when the man didn’t see that the 10 cents in change had automatically been delivered via a change dispenser.
According to her, “he starts beating on the counter” demanding his change, which led to her giving him the dime and then telling the couple to “get the F out.” She realized that this could result in her manager being contacted, but she noted, “I really don’t care,” and then, “I really hope they come back,” eager for further conflict.
A significant number of commenters sided with the customer.
“People ask for even change all the time,” one person said, perhaps condescendingly. “When they hand you exact change, that’s usually what that means, love.”
The creator retorted, “He [didn’t] ‘give’ me anything. He threw a $20 at my face [then] came back and threw 2 more dollars.”
“Okay, well that’s fucked up,” the commenter granted, “but just for future reference.”
“Am I the only one that thinks he definitely shouldn’t had to say something,” another posited. “Like I do this all the time; I hate ones.”
The creator noted, “And throwing money at my face randomly then throwing more out of nowhere is kinda confusing.”
Not everyone sided with the customer, though. As one pointed out, “I hate when people do that. Just give me the damn 20. Why you want certain change back?”
“Exactly, like you gon have the same amount, just different bills,” she agreed. “Grow up.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator and Subway for comment.
