An Indiana teenager is going viral and giving sweet satisfaction to anyone who has ever worked in the service industry. Anyone who has ever dealt directly with customers knows a thing or two about rude people. Whether it be customer service at a department store, serving tables, or working the drive-thru window, most folks have had unpleasant run-ins with rude customers.
The age-old mantra of “the customer is always right” has been abused for too long, and as people have become more rude post-pandemic, many are clapping back, and some are captured on social media, much to the delight of anyone who has been yelled at in a business by a rude patron.
For Anna Harycki, getting a face full of lemonade from a rude car wash customer was enough. The 18-year-old car wash employee was pre-soaking a customer’s car as it was loading onto the automated rollers when, seemingly for no reason, the car window came down, and lemonade was thrown on the surprised young woman.
Without missing a beat, Harycki sprayed the rude driver in the face with the high-pressure hose she was using to prepare the vehicle for the wash. The incident was caught on video, and the 14-second clip has gone viral. The young employee said: “I was loading the car like I did with so many cars before that, making sure they safely entered the car wash belt. Once I pulled the car in all the way, I put the numbers into the system, so they got the car wash they paid for.”
The video of the incident went viral, with almost universal approval of the young woman’s retaliation. On commenter on X wrote: “How miserable do you have to be to throw a drink at a teenager doing her job?” While another person commented, “What could possibly inspire someone to treat a completely innocent stranger like that??”
Harycki, who is a student, reported that the car wash owners and her manager sided with her. They cited workplace safety, but no employee anywhere should be treated like the young student received from the rude customer. She said: “I told my managers, who were not OK with [the customer] throwing a drink at me.”
The stunned teen talked more about the incident: “The girl rolled down her window and threw lemonade at me, and I was in shock.” She reported her reaction was to “just power wash the window,” which, unfortunately for the offensive driver, she had rolled down. In a show of solidarity with the lemonade-soaked employee, management went to bat for their own. She said about the rude customer, “They decided to ban her and her boyfriend from the car wash.”
It is unfortunate that we live in a world so rude and uncivil that someone would throw a drink at a young person just doing their job. Her quick thinking and swift action were not only hilarious they were appropriate, and kudos to the business owner for backing their employee and banning the rude lemonade thrower.
Featured image screen grab from embedded video
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