Everybody has an opinion.
That is a good thing.
It means you care.
But your opinion isn’t warranted in every situation.
And in some cases can be delivered with a bit more respect than vitriol.
Case in point…
Redditor throwitinthecorner10 wanted to discuss her story for some feedback. So naturally she came to visit the “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) subReddit.
She asked:
“AITA for leaving a bad review on a small store?”
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
“So my boyfriend and I have a tradition for our anniversary that we each go to a store and separate.”
“And after we buy each other gifts we exchange in the car. It’s silly and cute.”
“We walked into this new mom & pop anime store (I am a huge anime nerd and my boyfriend likes video games which they also sell).”
“We separate and I go look at stuff for my boyfriend.”
“A worker walks up to me and starts chatting, then points at my leg.”
“I have a pretty big tattoo of Kakashi from Naruto on my thigh, among other anime tattoos.”
“He asks if I got that for my boyfriend and I said no.”
“I’ve always loved Naruto and then showed him my other tattoos which included the leaf village symbol, Gaara of the sands gourd, and a piece on my arm of Asuma Sarutobi.”
“He started quizzing me on the lore of the anime and I told him I wouldn’t have spent $1000 on tattoos of an anime I didn’t know about.”
“And I didn’t appreciate him trying to catch me in a ‘Gotcha’ moment.”
“He told me he didn’t believe a girl could ever fully understand the real story of Naruto and the depth behind it. LOL.”
“I told him I didn’t need his services and he can go back to the front desk.”
“He told me I was a ‘rude wannabe *itch’ and walked into the back and I continued purchasing my items.”
“I left a review later.”
“If you’re feminine presenting enter with caution, one of the employees will call you a *itch when you don’t want to prove your “nerd cred” to him.”
“The owner left a comment on my review asking for an email conversation and asked that I take down my review because people have started complaining about this employee.”
“As well and his sale revenue has dropped.”
“I told him I wouldn’t and maybe he shouldn’t hire misogynists if he doesn’t want bad reviews.”
“My friends tell me I’m over reacting.”
“AITA?”
Redditors shared their thoughts on this matter and weighed some options to the question AITA?:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Redditors declared our OP was NOT the A**hole.
It’s a tricky situation.
Let’s hear some thoughts…
“NTA. As if Naruto is some grand epic that’s hard to understand.”
“A 12 year old could understand it.” ~ FunOptimal7980
“I hate people who don’t just let others enjoy things.”
“I’m not a fan of Shounen anime.”
“I like anime that stabs me in the heart and then twists the knife, things like Angel Beats, Clannad, Grave of the Fireflies.”
“But I generally don’t share that because as a 30 year old man I’m not supposed to enjoy the occasional cry.” ~ Internet_Zombie
“For you, the Naruto love is at least skin-deep!”
“Thank you for writing that kind of review.”
“The owner needs to realize that if he wants customers, getting rid of the bad employee will do a lot more than trying to police what you’re saying about your experience at that shop.” ~ cliopedant
“So it appears its a new store.”
“Them hiring a bad dude night not be their fault as he could have hidden it.”
“However them asking her to remove the review whilst doing nothing makes the AH.”
“It’d be reasonable to ask her to remove the review if they fired him. NTA.” ~ ThatFatGuyMJL
“Yes, if I read a review like that and then see a follow-up from the store apologizing and explaining how they fixed the problem (disciplining or firing the employee in this case).”
“I’d be inclined to give them a chance.”
“Good people make bad hires now and then, but good people also do something about the problem when it’s brought to their attention.”
“OP is NTA.” ~ DinosaurDogTiger
“If you work at an anime store you can compliment client on a nice tattoo.”
“But quizzing and trying to prove that they know nothing is stupid (especially if it is a woman because that only proves that you are a misogynist).”
“Anime, manga, computer games etc. are a hobby, a fun past time not a PHD distortion.”
“The guy in my opinion tried to prove how much more he knows so OP would gush how awesome he is and he could pick her up.”
“The employe is probably a family member of the owner that is why he wasn’t fired yet.” ~ National-Platypus144
“NTA. You’re not ‘overreacting.'”
“If the store owner wants to get his revenue back, he can fire the misogynist.”
“You are under no responsibility to put up with men treating you poorly just because you’re female-presenting.”
“Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” ~ sammasc123
“I have a sneaking suspicion the owner knows exactly who the employee is.”
“Insufferable, gatekeeping misogynists typically out themselves pretty quickly.”
“I mean, this employee went out of his way to harass her.”
“She didn’t even ask him for anything.” ~ macaronfive
“NTA. Reviews exist for a reason.”
“People want to go somewhere that feels accepting.”
“It sucks that the owner’s sales have dropped, but that’s not your problem.”
“Clearly that employee is causing people to feel unwelcome.” ~ DiagonKitty
“This. If sales dropped because one review it means this employee has done this to other people and they’re protesting with their wallets.”
“You never know the amount of gumption that people will work up and growing a spine when they realize it happened to other people and not just them. NTA.” ~ taisynn
“It is GOOD that the owners sales have dropped.”
“They shouldn’t be rewarded for hiring bad people.”
“If they fire the employee, perhaps they could reply to the review and customers might return.” ~ Laney20
“Literally the only reason brick and mortar hobby stores still exist is that people like the atmosphere and talking to other people who share their hobbies.”
“If the store can’t keep people on staff that are at least pleasant, people will just buy their sh*t online.”
“Neckbeard needs to go for business reasons alone.” ~ linandlee
“NTA. The obvious solution for the store owner is to apologize on the review and say that that employee has either been fired or at the very least spoken to about this.”
“There’s no reason to keep on employees who are rude to customers.”
“And if they’re going to do that they deserve poor reviews.” ~ halfadash6
“NTA. Woman anime nerd here and let me tell you that the gate-keeping in the community by men is insane.”
“I have yet to understand why any of these try-hards feel they have to quiz fellow nerds of the opposing gender like they can be the only ones to know anything on this particular media.”
“I have had my fair share of roasting these kinds of guys and I’m never sorry about it.”
“Now we, as women, certainly don’t have to prove anything or flaunt our nerd cred to make a point to these douch-canoes but personally, I enjoy talking circles around people like them.”
“It is frustrating.”
“And you were right to leave the review and refuse the owner’s ‘request’ because if you’re willing to back a misogynistic employee, then it speaks volumes on your character as the business owner for refusing to put two and two together.”
“Clearly you weren’t an isolated incident and word spreads in the nerd community fast.” ~ Free_Bumblebee_7935
“I agree. My daughter and I have been going to cons together for almost 20 years.”
“We will barely talk to anyone we don’t know at them, and this gate-keeping nonsense is one of the reasons why.”
“It’s not something that is secretive in the anime fandom either, so it is hard to believe that the owner doesn’t know this is an issue.”
“To me, that means you should be sensitive about making sure your employees are making your customers feel comfortable.”
“The owner seems to have gone in completely the opposite direction.”
“NTA not at all.” ~ snackcakessupreme
“NTA. As a woman who’s into anime (especially Naruto) and video games, I’d want to see a review just like this as warning.”
“If I were in you’r shoes I’d want to know that my sweet tradition with my partner wasn’t going to be ruined.”
“Especially by an employee assuming I can’t grasp the depth of an anime for preteen boys.” ~ Mewples
“NTA. If the owner really wanted to remedy the situation he would fire the employee for harassing you.”
“At the very least force the worker to apologize to you.”
“On a side note can we stop acting like a person needs to know every minute detail of series, show, movie, or whatever to be a fan?”
“Seriously not everyone is going to be super obsessed to know every little thing about a show, but can still enjoy it just the same.”
“It’s one of the most annoying things about liking things.”
“I just want to enjoy things, I don’t want to study them.” ~ Inside-Big-8158
Well OP, yo certainly deserve a happier shopping experience.
Sorry about the drama.
If you so chat with this store, maybe you can teach everybody a few lessons in kindness.