By James Cirrone for Dailymail.Com
16:42 01 July 2024, updated 21:12 01 July 2024
A 17-year-old manager at a snow cone stand in Willis, Texas made out with a customer who called her an ab*tch.
The showdown between a middle-aged woman and two young employees at Keke’s Snow Balls was caught on security cameras and later posted on TikTok, where it has garnered more than 15 million views.
A young girl was at the register when the crushed ice “Karen” arrived and complained that she had pre-paid $6 so her daughter could come pick up a snow cone later.
The woman, dressed in a floral shirt and sunglasses, said her daughter had not received the shaved ice treat, even though she claimed her mother had already paid for it in advance.
Despite the initial confusion, the customer actually got her $6 back, but then decided to come back and curse at one of the employees.
Click here to resize this module
The caption of the TikTok video claims there was a shift change, which meant the two girls working the stall when the daughter arrived were unaware of this arrangement the woman had made.
Kyle Ewald, owner of Keke’s Snow Balls, told DailyMail.com that he posted the video to push the story that customers “need to treat teenagers who work in businesses like this with…respect no matter what.” .
When the girl at the register lightly challenges her story by asking if the woman provided her customer number, the frosty “Karen” sighs in exasperation and moves to the order window.
“I came here by myself and I paid for the snow cone plus an extra six dollars, so if she wanted a snow cone, she could come here and get it,” she said.
“You all didn’t give her the snow cone.
Just then, the older, teenage manager—who has been listening to the tense interaction while doing odd jobs in the background—gently pushes the younger girl aside, reaches into the register, and hands the woman $6.
The girl then closes the window that knocked over the sign.
It’s unclear if the customer saw this as some sort of invitation to further conflict, but seconds later the younger girl sees the woman returning.
“Oh no,” she said.
When the teenager opens the window again to put the sign back up, the customer with her six dollars decides to knock the sign back down.
“B*tch,” the woman calls to her.
Click here to resize this module
But she does not take the unjustified insult lightly, she returns the shot and appears much more mature than a woman many years older.
“Madam, please don’t act like that, you are a grown woman!” she screams.
The customer can be heard shouting something, but the teenager interjects.
“I’m 17, get out of here! Do not come back. Do not come back. We don’t need your business.
Probably the best part of the video is when the younger girl smiles as she watches the defeated customer leave.
One of the top comments on the viral TikTok video urged the company to promote the fearless young manager.
Another wrote: “The way she listened to the whole conversation while multitasking in the back. A great leader.’
Most commenters were in awe of how mature the teen acted and loved how she stood up for her younger co-worker.
“When she came back and the little girl said ‘oh no’ and backed off…poor kid was scared,” one person pointed out.
Ewald, who opened Keke’s Snow Balls last year and named it after his daughter, said he understands the lady in the video “might have had a bad day,” but that doesn’t excuse what she did.
“The message we just wanted to get across is that there is no reason for grown adults to berate employees,” Ewald wrote in an email.
Ewald also praised both of his employees who appeared in the viral video, saying they did an ‘amazing job’.