Photo: Reddit / leungchopan / Shutterstock
"The manager needs to understand how to treat customers."
By Nia Tipton — Written on May 19, 2023
It's no surprise that social media influencers are often given free products in exchange for the publicity that may come from them posting about it on their different platforms. In this digital age, many people have built entire careers by using social media to their advantage.
Because influencers are often put toward the front of the line and treated like celebrity adjacents, they may sometimes feel as though they are above certain rules, at least such was the case for one content creator, who felt she was bamboozled by a restaurant that refused to treat her any differently than the other patrons.
She gave the restaurant a 1-star review after they refused to give her free food.
Posted to the subreddit r/mildlyinfuriating, a Reddit user took a screenshot of a Yelp review that had been left by a social media content creator who was angered that the restaurant she had eaten at refused to let her have the food for free in exchange for her posting about them on her platform.
"Karen culture is real," the caption read. The unnamed influencer ranted in the post about the "cheap management and customer service" after being denied the privilege of using her social media status to get out of paying her bill.
Photo: Reddit
She explained that after hearing about how good the food was at a local Italian restaurant, she and her boyfriend decided to check it out for themselves. She made sure to gush about how good the food they ordered was, and when the manager came over, she made sure to let them know as well.
"I was so impressed that when the manager came to ask us how everything tasted, I told her it was some of the best Italian food I've had," the influencer wrote. "I told her I'm going to post about it on Instagram where I have over 11,000 followers and a lot of them are in the area."
The manager seemed happy enough about the shout-out, according to the post, and it seemed this influencer was hoping that by her giving the Italian restaurant free publicity, it would mean she'd be absolved from the bill. Spoiler: she was wrong.
"I thought she would be grateful for the free advertising but when the check came there was literally no discount at all," she angrily wrote. "I thought at least one of the entrees would be taken off but they didn't even take off the calamari or even the drinks!"
At the end of her lengthy post, the influencer was adamant that she would never go back to an establishment that refused to give her free food. "The manager needs to understand how to treat customers," she pointed out.
In the comments section, people criticized her for expecting special treatment.
Unsurprisingly, Reddit users were a bit taken aback at the unnamed woman expecting free treatment just because of how many followers she had on her social media platforms.
"It’s literally the purpose of a restaurant. They make good food. You eat it. You pay for it. [The] restaurant gets [the] money. Serves the next table. Everyone is happy and moves on with their day," one Reddit user wrote.
Another user added, "The sense of entitlement for having 11k followers on some random account is unreal."
A third user pointed out that being a social media influencer doesn't mean things are just handed to you. "Companies come to you to do this. They decide you're the one and then message you."
"You don't show up to their store or whatever and ask for free stuff."
Nia Tipton is a Brooklyn-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.