Customer service representative hangs up on rude customer

A video of a customer service representative catching her colleague hanging up on a rude customer has gone viral on TikTok.

The rep, Abigail Opperlee (@abioperlee), posted the video on March 4. In just one day on the platform, the video was viewed more than 4.9 million times.

In it, Opperlee recorded a snippet of her colleague’s call, using a text overlay to describe the situation.

“Ma’am, what are those vehicles?” Opperlee reported their cooperation and asked. In response, the caller said, “Shut up, I’ll just drive that shit up there and…”

@abioperlee Normalize hanging up on rude customers!! Working in customer service takes a lot off your shoulders, especially dealing with these types of people. I will not tolerate people speaking like that. Neither should you. Be respectful on the phone because 9/10 the person you are speaking to has done nothing wrong and is only trying to help. #fy #fyp #customerservice #karen #rude ​​#disrespectful ♬ Original sound – AbigailOpperlee

At the end of the 10-second video, the colleague hung up on the rude customer while Opperlee put her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.

In the caption, Opperlee noted, “Working in customer service takes a lot out of you, especially dealing with people like that. I will not tolerate being spoken to either [sic] like that. Neither should you. Be respectful on the phone because 9/10 the person you are speaking to has done nothing wrong and is only trying to help.”

Opperlee uploaded a follow-up video of her colleague giving more details about the incident.

“Hello, I’m the girl from the video who hung up on this naughty lady,” said the colleague.

@abioperlee In reply to @carrehendrickson86 Words of encouragement at the end for all my customer service reps 🫶🏻 #fy #fyp #customerservice #karen #rude ​​#disrespectful #part2 ♬ Original sound – AbigailOpperlee

In the clip that followed, Opperlee’s colleague revealed that the video was taken over a year ago and she no longer works at the dealership where it was filmed.

She noted that the “Karen” she spoke to on the phone was “mad at the world from the jump.” She was willing to help the Karen but first had to clarify the make of the two vehicles the woman had to service. Opperlee’s colleague explained that the dealership has a Honda side and a Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep side, and the brand of car being serviced determines where a customer is directed.

The Karen, however, had none of it. As the colleague relayed, “I spoke to her for about five minutes. She was swearing at me all the time, yelling at me.” She then claimed that she hung up after warning Karen multiple times.

In the comments section of the first video, customer service representatives shared how they deal with rude customers.

“I know I could never get paid enough to talk to a rude customer on the phone,” one viewer wrote. “Not worth the mental effort.”

Another recalled, “I once said to a guy, ‘I hope you can channel that energy somewhere productive today because it’s not working here,’ and then hung up.”

Referring to a classic Seinfeld character, one noted, “My boss and I have no tolerance for rude customers on the phone and will hang up, then put them on a ‘no soup for you’ list and cancel their future orders.”

The Daily Dot contacted Angie Opperlee via TikTok comment.

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