Jersey Mike's Employee Refuses to Make Sandwich for Karen Berating Her Over Toppings

A Jersey Mike's employee was praised for how she handled a "disrespectful" customer's request for a sandwich. In a clip uploaded by TikTok user Sarah Conner (@sarah_conner1) that seems to have been originally recorded by the patron in question who thought that they were going to the worker in trouble, throngs of folks on the app voiced their support for the food service industry worker.

"Rude customer threatens to sue the store for not making her chicken sandwich," a text overlay in the video reads.

"I just want a regular chicken sandwich!" the patron yells at the employee, who tries responding, stating that she "can't do half of it with —" before the customer cuts her off.

"You don't have to," the patron says, before the worker replies by stating: "So you just want a chicken sandwich?"

"Yes!" the customer yells back.

"All right do you want the onions and peppers in it?"

"Yes," the customer retorts back, in a way that I, the writer, thinks was done quite rudely.

It's at this point that the employee takes a long, hard look at the woman recording the video (the Jersey Mike's shopper giving her a hard time) and then asks her to "please leave," the store — she drew a line in the sand and made it very, very clear that this woman would not be receiving service.

"I'm not making your sandwich I'm refusing you service now, please leave," the worker tells the customer who continues to record the Jersey Mike's employee. "Please leave, Ma'am" she states again, motioning with her hands towards the establishment's exit.

The worker stands stationary, if you listen closely, I think, you could hear the coal burning in her head until she conjured up enough time to formulate a response that would make her seem like she was in the right in this argument. After all, she was recording the Jersey Mile's employee in what seemed like an attempt to shame her and her video didn't go the way that she thought it would.

"Why are you not making the sandwich?" the customer asks, and the worker has no problem explaining exactly why she is refusing her service.

"Because you're acting like I'm stupid so am I asking you to leave, I'm refusing you service now, I would appreciate it if you left my building."

The Jersey Mike's customer, who was shouting so loudly before at the worker, has significantly lowered her volume, it's a fascinating case study to watch, but this is just the writer's opinion of how a bully reacts once someone barks back at them and gives them a taste of their own medicine.

"Call the police," she mutters, saying dialogue that's tough, but it doesn't sound like she believes what she's saying in feeling at all. "I will call the cops on you, I will do it," the employee replies — it doesn't sound like she has any issue with getting the authorities involved.

The customer then replies that they will wait around "just to find out" whether or not the employee will actually call the police, and the Jersey Mike's worker makes it very clear that she isn't bluffing: "You can wait outside, I am asking you to leave my building because you're treating me like garbage, so I need you to leave, please," the worker explained further.

"How did I treat you like garbage?" the customer barks at the employee, while the worker pantomimes a gesticulation from the customer, which doesn't seem like a very nice motion to make at someone.

"I'm just saying okay!" the customer squeals to the worker, who, again, asks her to leave the premises. "If you're saying okay then please get out of my building. I appreciate it. Thank you," the employee says as the customer continues to record.

"Ma'am, I can refuse service to anybody," she tells the woman who continues to record her as she speaks to someone else who appears to be off camera in the video. "So I'm gonna need you to..."

"Where does it say that at?" the customer asks the worker.

"It says that in my handbook," the worker tells her.

"Can you show me that?" the customer asks, still refusing to leave. The Jersey Mike's employee is right: businesses do have the right to refuse anyone service, just as long as they aren't discriminating against a person due to their race, religion or creed, sex, age, national origin or citizenship status, or due to a disability or because they're pregnant.

But if a customer is being rude, aggressive, or a worker just doesn't feel like providing a service to someone who walks into their establishment, they don't have to.

After the worker refuses to show the woman her handbook, the customer gets emboldened and says that she's going to "report" her, and they start to argue about the chicken sandwich request all over again.

As a viewer, it's very easy to sit here and shake your head, wondering just where someone's parents/guardians failed them so horribly that they feel the need to record a sandwich maker to make them feel good about themselves.

"I'mma sue you for mistreating me," the customer says as she continues the employee, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was, just a few seconds ago, speaking to the worker in a disrespectful tone.

Numerous TikTokers who saw the clip expressed their support for the employee and their sympathy towards her for having to deal with the customer's behavior.

What do you think? Did the worker handle the situation well? Or would it have been better to have just served the customer so she could've been on her merry way?