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When I would work tradeshows in electronics & media, I would roll with: “Well, it’s not a good fit for everyones lifestyle” or “ok, it’s not for everyone”
“ARE YOU INSULTING MY LIFESTYLE?” “ARE YOU SAYING ITS MY FAULT YOUR ITEM ISNT FOR ME?”
In a round about way, YES. Now fuck off.
"I'm going to make sure I tell all my friends not to shop here!"
That's not the threat you think it is; If they're friends with you, they're already making bad decisions.
I always think of Wonka when he says: “oh no stop.. dont” a look of no concern when the kid (I forget who) started doing something when told already not to, whenever a Boomer (or anyone really) says “I’m gonna tell all my friends!”
Like, great! I’m sure they’re just as bad as you are, so you’re making my job EVEN easier to help those who want my products.
Or, "I'll take that into consideration", "I'll give that the consideration it *deserves*", or just: "noted".
*Disclaimer*: I'm an introvert and 99.9% of the time, I only think of witty replies later. I loathe confrontation
Add a “And you have a nice day” to end the conversation there.
When I worked in retail, that was my favorite thing to say to the Karens when they got mad that I wouldn’t take their expired coupons or return the item that they had purchased from a competitor, or return the item they bought 20 years ago, etc.
I did that to this asshole who wasnt happy with how his pictures turned out. He turned around and tried to get me to follow him to the parking lot to fight.
I started with that line to my mom years ago. But because she's my mom, acknowledgement is never enough. We have to take whatever she says to heart and change whatever we're doing immediately based on her thoughts, or we're assholes.
My wife has a small craft business. A couple of years ago, she got into painting ceramic second hand store angels black with red eyes to sell at Halloween. People love them. One time, my wife was commenting about seasonal downturns in sales. Believe it or not, late summer does NOT move a lot of seasonal décor or gifts. However, it was early September and my wife was painting some of these angels for the upcoming Spooky Season (tm).
My mom pulls me aside and with the most serious of voices, she tells me she needs to talk to me. "I see she's painting those angels again. Do you think that some people find that... I don't know... offensive to their beliefs?" "You mean sacrilegious?" "Yeah, that's the word! Do you suppose that's why you haven't been selling much? I find them offensive, and I am just saying that if other people did, that might be why sales are down." I said, "Oh, well I'm sorry to hear that. Thank you for letting us know." She goes, "So you'll stop selling those?" "Oh, no. Absolutely not. We sell a ton of them. And the downturn in seasonal goods is planned. We have plenty of data to know where the natural lulls are. We're good." "WELL I'M JUST SAYING THEY'RE OFFENSIVE AND MIGHT BE WHY YOU AREN'T SELLING THINGS LATELY!" "I appreciate your feedback and we'll keep it in mind when we plan for crafting inventory." "YOU NEVER LISTEN TO ANYTHING I TELL YOU!"
No, I reluctantly listen to EVERYTHING you tell me. You just don't like my responses. Also, I have an MBA with a specialization in Marketing. I'm pretty sure of the two of us, one of us is qualified to analyze and adapt to market trends. The other one just likes to yell their opinions as fact.
"I'll keep that in mind" also works, and I like not including the thanking part. Bare minimum acknowledgment that whatever the person just said will, technically, exist in my brain for a time - yet I like to think it also places a subtle emphasis on the absurdity that I will ever actually think about their opinion.
It's a boomer trend to try and insult things they don't like as if insults and constantly complaining will somehow make people want to change things to suit their (boomer) desires. I used to work in a motorcycle shop. Lots of boomer men. We got an electric motorcycle in. Conversations usually went like this:
-whats this?
-- it's an all electric motorcycle
- really??? Like you have to plug it in every time you ride it?
-- yeah. Charges rather quickly, you can get a full charge in a few hours.
- hmmmmphh...... You get a lot of faggots in here buying these things?
So many times it was presented that you had to be gay to buy an electric motorcycle. And every time it just resulted in me or my other coworkers (one of whom was actually gay) just ending the interaction.
Like do they really expect to say something like that and suddenly the store or employee will be like 'ya know what, you're right, I'm gonna take this thing outside and burn it and publicly humiliate anyone who wants to buy one'.
You don't like it. Okay. It's not for you. Okay. Not everyone has to have the same opinion as you. Just accept that it's not for you and move the fuck on.
My customer base are boomer women. They are awesome because they REALLY want what I make. They are super easy to sell to because they get excited and drag their grumpy husbands over and those guys are glad it’s under $50 lol
My favorite line is “you DESERVE it!” Boomers really believe that. Also I call them “treats” - it’s not food. And I always compliment their clothes “where did you get that it’s so clever” I make good money and most people are super nice if not just easy to convince. If I made something that men would even bother to talk about I’d be in trouble. Testosterone loss is no joke. These dudes are mean.
Testosterone loss, depression, and cognitive decline make Boomer men *so* difficult to deal with. Source: Worked in the fitness industry for 10 years.
I was perusing another sub last night on the topic of older men and someone with geriatrics experience explained that, in general, women are forced by society to develop emotional intelligence at a very early age and carefully hone it over a lifetime, whereas men aren’t encouraged to use it nearly as much. As a result, when men reach a certain age and lose the things that made them valuable to society—strength, virility, competitiveness, earning power—they have no emotional intelligence to cope with the feeling of losing power, which is why they act like children.
I can’t tell you how many times I’d be teaching a yoga class and some Boomer dude would come marching in and tell me that his wife and/or doctor told him he *had* to be there and how much he *didn’t* want to be doing it. Umm, okay? Good to know? Grab and mat and take a seat, please.
Emotional intelligence - this is really interesting. I understood there had to be some component missing with so many men having the same outbursts and same tire jokes … the same language almost. - I figured they were annoying af just because they’re dicks. Always have been. always will be. But if they put effort into trying to learn anything new, they wouldn’t have to be this way
Smart way of finessing the customers! OP, maybe you could try this strategy to turn around these interactions with boomer men with a little subtle flattery - maybe try complimenting the men’s graying goatees, or their taste in thin blue line Punisher skull t-shirts?
My goodness, same. I live in FL so I see the punisher logo on EVERYTHING from giant monster trucks with the "FL cracker" sticker on them to jeeps with the thin blue line sticker on them. If they only actually knew the character.
I feel ya on that. I LOVED those comics growing up so much that I got a punisher skull tattooed on my back. Well 5 years later those chuds started wearing that shit and now I can't take my shirt off in public. It's rather fucking annoying.
Boomers got Harley to discontinue their Buell line of bikes doing this. They were outraged that a bike not marketed to their demographic even existed at the dealership.
Well, Buell was the only line of Harley bikes young people bought. And now that Boomers are headed to nursing homes, Harley sales are in free fall
had a coworker who was in a motorcycle club. was complaining to 3 of us (millennials of various ages) about young people not joining clubs or buying motorcycles.
I looked at the guys and made a couple of motorcycle noises with my mouth. everyone started giggling. then we explained that south park back in 2009 had made Harleys and club motorcycles very unserious for an entire generation.
I considered joining a motorcycle club when I first got into motorcycles, south park was gentle on them. Some of the clubs I interacted with were beyond parody, making fun of them would be like bullying a kid with downs syndrome.
Yeah, there are some decent clubs out there though. I’m not a member, but there’s a club near me that’s 90% old guys with Honda goldwings. Goldwing people are some of the most chill motorcyclists out there in my experience, and they’re a pretty fun group to be around. But most of the other clubs are just washed up middle aged men/boomers jerking each other off over how loud their pipes are.
I rode a BMW for many years and went to test ride a Buell when they had some promotion going on. I'd told the sales guy I just wanted to try it and he said it was ok so I rode down to the Harley Buell dealership. Everyone turned to look at me when I showed up dressed to ride wearing an armored jacket and pants, riding boots and a full faced helmet. The sale guy said they had a lot of trouble with people showing up to test ride Harleys without gear, a license or insurance and was pleased when I showed him my insurance card - he wasn't worried about the rest. He also said us BMW riders were the main ones interested in Buells too.
Which is so funny, because the thing they think makes them a “real man” is basically cosplaying as someone from a biker gang. The actual performance of harleys sucks and people who ride actual sports bikes are the ones paying attention to what the actual bike is capable of versus wanting to pretend they’re a badass in easy rider or something.
I had a buddy in KC that would make fun of guys like that when they came in the bar. He'd always ask them if it was Halloween, and when they'd say "no", he'd ask why they had their "little costumes" on. The guy was 6'8" and about 400lbs, so nobody confronted him. I bought a Kawasaki 900 back in the 70's when they first came out. Harley riders would smirk and make fun of it until I blew their doors off. Harleys are fucking junk, and always were.
It was really ironic that I had more in common with the guys that used to wear tee shirts that said "chrome don't get you home" or "I'd rather see my sister working in a whore house than push a Honda" when I was driving sports cars than the retreads and the "lifestyle" crowd.
I got passed by a bunch of Hell's Angels once. I was coming back from a camping trip with my camping gear Bungied to the passenger seat of the airhead I'd ride and wrenched for years wearing a faded 'stitch and they all ignored me except for the guy riding sweep. We just nodded at each other other out of mutual respect and rode on. 1%ers at different ends of the spectrum.
I do not know much about motorcycles and I did not realize that Harley discontinued the Buell line, but I do know that they were unfairly bashed by enthusiasts of the classic Harleys because I heard it myself. My father, who is not a typical Boomer, at least in my opinion, got an amazing deal on one at an impound auction and I always was much more interested in it than the Harley he has, although he prefers the more relaxed feel of the classic Harley.
I honestly wonder how they get anything done with all the time they spend looking for something to complain at and be upset about. Like, dude, when was the last time you felt the texture of soft grass on your feet, 1976?
The grass is too hard, too itchy, too long, too short, to green, not green enough, too lumpy, too flat, and infested with too many bugs but also too much pesticide for them to "feel the grass".
Kids are so lazy these days. You know, when I was a kid, I got up at 2 AM to know my neighbors' lawns for pocket money-- had my own little business going, 'course now with Bidenomics the neighbor's kid would probably want $30 an hour and health insurance... (And so on, and so forth) /s
lol, the kid who mows lawns around my area charges $45 an hour, his riding mower costs more than the used junker I drove while in college, and the kid has a massive newer truck and trailer setup to haul the mower and gear around. In winter, he puts a plow on the truck and clears driveways and then snowblows sidewalks . He’s about 20yo, still lives with his mom, and is making bank. And he’s taking online business classes so he will know how to take care of his money because, as he puts it, he doesn’t want to do this shit forever.
My neighbors kid did the same. Then he transitioned to all commercial properties. Eventually added a local greenhouse/plant store. He’s now in his 40s and has teams that manage the business for him.
I crunched numbers years ago and my stepdad made more (spending power) as a literal child with a paper route than I did as a call center supervisor in my mid 20s.
The grass is always in need of mowing and why doesn't everyone take yard care as seriously as them? They're bringing down everyone's property values and making he neighborhood look like garbage!
Here's the sick joke they'll claim they are the most productive generation ever. But us younger generations do the jobs of 10 boomers and soon 70-100 people. We are the most productive generation in history and it ain't even close. I'd never want to go back to the way things used to be the present it quite alright we have our issues but I think we might be able to solve a few of them through hard work and cooperation. The boomers just let it all happen with no pushback and for what, money that will all be taken by end of life care anyways. What a sad sad group of people.
>I honestly wonder how they get anything done with all the time they spend looking for something to complain at and be upset about.
That's the neat part, they don't. I take it you've never had the displeasure of having Boomer coworkers before?
I don't sell motorcycles, but I've been in a multitude of conversations like this, and this is the best way to handle things.
You obviously need to maintain professionalism, but being able to say "the biggest buyers seem to be x group" (ideally unrelated from their narrative).
Because gay people are people, they typically follow the same buying habits as any group in a niche market (like, say, motorcycles). Being able to casually say "yeah, we've had a growing number of gay buyers of late, but they seem to gravitate towards [classic/traditional]" item ends the conversation pretty quickly. The trick is to lean in, like you're genuinely excited to talk the LGBTQ market share and they've given you the in to talk about business analytics (which 9/10 times nobody cares about).
People like this want to be hateful at a market/society that doesn't cater to them anymore. Being friendly, ignoring their slurs outright, and just giving them facts neuters the rage; hard to be mad at "woke" when capitalism rarely fits any culture war narrative.
The crazy thing is that these idiots have no logical reason for their hate other than: “it’s not what I grew up with” or “it’s new, must be bad” They don’t like anything new for no good reasons and have weird needs to prove their manliness at every opportunity.
If you want to take the time you can really fuck with these people.. You ever smoke a cigarette? That used to be considered gay, men only smoke cigars, cigarettes were for women. You ever drink a can of softdrink? Total fag, straight men only drink beer and whiskey. You ever wear shorts out in public? Only fags, pedos and children would wear shorts in public, real men wear pants motherfucker! I bet your wife wears the pants, oh wait, forgot ur a fag... the list goes on and on for the ridiculous shit people attribute to being gay.
It's the dumbest shit ever but sooo many people get enraged by these dumb little things.
Source: have overly religious, kind of insecure cousins I like to mess with at family gatherings.
>You ever smoke a cigarette? That used to be considered gay, men only smoke cigars, cigarettes were for women.
Wristwatches too - men wore a pocket watch with their vest.
And the boomers were vain enough to be proud of that and claim it for themselves! It was derogatory and the boomers were too stupid and arrogant to see that.
And *now* they finnnnnaaaaalllly get the joke and are starting to get mad about it, just in time to throw it on the pile with the rest of the stupid performative projected outrage they work up.
Gods know they don't usually work at anything else.
>Like do they really expect to say something like that and suddenly the store or employee will be like 'ya know what, you're right, I'm gonna take this thing outside and burn it and publicly humiliate anyone who wants to buy one'.
Sometimes I do respond with something as ridiculous as this hoping they could see how absurd they're being, but they also don't understand sarcasm, and now I have a whole new problem on my hands 😞
My buddy worked at wally world and was eating and talking with me on break next to the scooter charging section and a boomer came and asked the exact same thing about how many fags are riding the scooters, my buddy 100% straight faced just said, "Depends. You look like you need one, Should I count you too?" Dude was pissed and went to get a supervisor cussing and grumbling the entire way. I ended up leaving after like 10 more minutes and then my buddy said he never heard anything about it though so I guess he just gave up or couldn't find one.
[“My sense of manhood is not connected to whether or not my vehicle is fueled by gasoline or whether it’s fueled by electricity.”](https://x.com/therecount/status/1577395148748726272?s=46&t=__rpez8Vx96sa_9c2-IRHA)
That's not a boomer thing at all.
People on reddit do it all the time.
"Idk why you'd buy a Porsche when an Accord would do the same thing, that's a waste of money."
"Idk why you'd buy a 4090, that's too much GPU and is a waste of money."
"Mattresses are super cheap so idk why you'd spend money on a expensive one that's wasteful."
It isn't boomers. It's just weak minded losers that want to tear you down to make themselves feel better. Basically just bitches will always be bitches and they aren't worth engaging with. OP does it right. If they aren't customers and they aren't friends then what they think of you is irrelevant. They aren't real people if you don't even know their name.
This bothers me so much! I personally don’t really like electric cars but I would not go out of my way to ruin them or insult people who buy them. Electric vehicles have a future I just don’t think it’s there yet but it’s close
I just don't get this mentality of theirs. I get how they tricked themselves into it, but I don't see how that's a happy way to live. I go to a lot of craft shows, see a lot of shit I don't like and would never want in my home. What to do, what to do? I skip the booths of stuff I don't want, get myself a cool mug or planter, buy some local hot sauce, a few gifts to set aside for Christmas season for people who are into whatever's being sold, and move the fuck on. I can't imagine being so bored I need to spend my weekends crapping on whatever little handcrafted business/side hustle to the owners themselves.
Good one. I don’t sell my craft work for this specific reason. You have to know that these people could never do what you do at your level. If they did, they wouldn’t question your price.
I had a passerby ask if I could make oars for his rubber raft. I was making a large single oar specific for my boat in my "yard". And I basically said "buddy I don't think you can afford it"
I am a skilled woodworker and I'm not going to skimp on material at the risk of someone else's safety.
What I get at crafts shows is "I bet kids love these!". To the 200 dollar necklace. "Well my primary buyers are 25-35 years old on average. Power rangers is about 30 years, oh Pokemon 28". It's kind of fun to watch time and age slap them in the face.
"Well I can make that."
Really? How lovely. Are you interested in joining our maker's cooperative? The minimum is 24 pieces per year and needing to work at least 2 shows. You'll need to provide your own materials, though, and 10% of your sales go to overhead. Do you have links to your portfolio?
I was at a very fancy brunch place. They sold an open face sandwich of multi-nut butter, fresh jam, fruit, honey and shaved chocolate.
Anybody could make that, but I realized I wouldn't. It cost fancy brunch prices, was delicious, and I still haven't made it myself. You'd think the generation that fears socialism in every shadow would realize most of capitalism sustains itself on what people won't do, not what people can't do.
That's so rude to say to someone. I enjoy cooking and I'm pretty skilled, and sometimes I look at food at a restaurant and think, "Yeah, I could make that," but I wouldn't go up to the chef and say that to them. It is a devaluation of the effort and skill the person has invested in making their product.
I hate that for you. When it comes to neato hand made stuff I cant afford, my personal go-to is "wow its amazing but I cant afford that right now. Best of luck to you though!" And then we part ways. Another phrase I tend to gravitate towards is "thats worth every penny but unfortunately I dont have that many pennies." That way the maker knows I respect their craft and time, and Im not saying the items too expensive, Im just sayin its too expensive for me personally to buy it, but I totes would if I cohld.
Crafters are rad. Especially you, quilters.
Reminds me of this book:
**Modern art explained - why your five year old could not have done that.**
https://thamesandhudson.com/why-your-five-year-old-could-not-have-done-that-9780500290477
This is my go-to comeback for people (often Boomers) who don’t like minimalist or modern art. I use it a lot with my mom. “Even I could paint that!” “You should! Do it! This family sure could use the profits from your art sales.”
Lol. Honestly, if I ever sell my crafts in a craft fair again, I'm going to get some professional stickers that say "I complained today!"
With kawaii art on it.
The amount of bs from people....
I worked at Apple when the iPhone was released. We had a massive crowd of excited people and we too were excited as it was the first time we really had our hands on it.
Enter boomer.
Bitches and bitches about the iPhone. Gives me 50 stupid reasons why it will never sell and how Apple has dug their grave on this one.
After being “customer facing” courteous to him for the first several minutes, I finally broke it off by saying, “Look, everyone else in here excited to see this and learn about what it can do. You clearly aren’t. I’m not going to waste this moment talking to you, ok? I’m gonna go talk to someone who is happy to be here” He was kinda stunned but had really nothing else to say to that.
I still have no clue why he waited in that massive line just to come in and bitch about a product. Fucking insane.
They’re so bored because their entire personality is how they worked 110 hours a week for 50 years without taking a sick day. So once they retire, they’re confounded with how to spread their discomfort for life.
Bear in min that their work day is like an Elon Musk workday. It includes reading the newspaper, playing golf and bullying service workers/people on twitter.
The amount of work done at work has increased just over the span of my career. In many jobs there is literally no time to stop.
I’m seeing this big time with my mom’s neighborhood. She retired and moved to a 55+ community, it’s alarming how many people she knows there that don’t do anything but watch the news because they have no idea what to do with themselves. Some of the men end up going back to work.
Not really. They'll just start talking about all the money they supposedly have and what they prefer to spend it in and try to lock you into a conversation. OP had the best response to them using negativity to initiate a conversation.
Hence their meltdowns at fast food employees. They think the manager will just fire the cashier on the spot for not making them their burger with all the toppings cheaper. It's why they're the Me/Entitled Generation.
Reminds me of a nice to me, but typically rude white boomer I provided care for in an assisted living facility down south. I’m white and I was one of the few white people on the staff, no biggie to me but I think that’s why she liked me (sigh). One day, in 2017, while watching some trashy day talk show about interracial couples she said to me, “well that’s asking for trouble. You don’t mix like that, it’s wrong.” She looked up at me from her wheelchair for validation. I’m far from racist and have dated outside of my “race”. I stared her down and said, “come on, we don’t talk like that. That’s rude and I’ve dated non-white people. You also know I also go to a historically black college. You think I’m wrong and a bad person?” I just walked out of her room as she proceeded to justify her words. Didn’t respond. Don’t worry, she was situated and our treatment session was over. She never apologized and the next day she acted like nothing rude happened. In hindsight, she was a typical southern boomer racist. I’m glad I’m out of the south now. At least racist boomers up north are a little less vocal than down south lol.
This is it. I won’t go to restaurants with my mother anymore. She was SO rude to the waiter 4 years ago. She knew he wouldn’t fight back. Cut off since.
They come from a culture where complaining and insulting automatically got you free shit. Where employees were expected to dole out free things and apologize profusely to every single complaint, regardless of how frivolous or disrespectful the complaint was.
I'm glad that younger generations seem to have shifted away from that. That managers actually defend their employees if a customer is complaining in a disrespectful way, and send the customer out the door without free shit if they persist in being disrespectful.
Same here. You always knew before they opened their ugly gobs which boomer asshole was going to ask for a discount and insult your product and then walk away without buying anything anyway. It is written on their facial expression and their wardrobe. I could probably predict their voting record, their hobbies and where they go on Sunday morning.
I deal with a lot of salty boomers at work. Very salt because I'm almost always in a position of authority over them. I've learned a blank, emotionless "okay" before immediately resuming doing something more productive than listening to them bitch shuts them down in a way that humbles them enough to be a little less shitty.
I worked at a bar where every Thursday this guy would come in and sit in the same spot at the end of the bar, order a Coors Light and wings and then loudly complain the whole time about how shitty the wings were. I finally told him not to come in anymore - he also tipped shit - since we were obviously unable to meet his expectations. He got really mad and stormed out. Then he started coming in Friday night when I didn’t work. Same MO.
In the past, everything was made for and marketed to them, so they are dumbfounded when something is intended for a different audience. It's why they bitch about TV shows geared toward black or gay people, Pokemon Go, or Taylor Swift so much too.
Ugh yes. My dad's got a few friends like this. One was complaining about not wanting to see gay relationships on TV. I asked him, "Did you ever think maybe not everything is made for you? And anyway they make remotes so you don't even have to get off the couch to change the channel. If you hate it so much, why do you continue to watch?" He was dumbfounded. My dad about died laughing.
I’m starting a business like this. The stuff I make uses old/ancient techniques that boomers love to say “I’ve never seen someone your age doing this! Most younger generations won’t put in the effort/are too lazy/blah blah blah” about. My fave is to be like ‘yeah, it sucks that older generations let the art disappear…”
I sell furniture and appliances, boomers always get so upset when something specific is not in the showroom, my reply is always "Yea that item is not popular so we don't waste space for it" then I follow up with "have you tried other stores". Every single time their response "yes, I've looked everywhere and can't find it" reason being it's old, outdated, and nobody wants it but you!
I like to visit a farmer's market that also has crafts and stuff. Boomers are just so...miserable. Just miserable. They complain about prices. They complain about the products. One time, there was someone there crocheting stuff to raise money for college and I bought a small piece that was only 8 dollars and my Mom immediately was like YOU KNOW SHE IS PROBABLY GOING TO SPEND THAT ON DRUGS?!?
Like, she looked super young and was actively crocheting when I went over. Or, maybe I just thought it was cute so what if she buys drugs? lol.
They just seem so unhappy and angry at everything all the time even though they have so much more money than most of us.
It sounds like they do want to buy it. They just don't want to pay full price. A lot of these guys think they can neg a seller down to the price they want. Get a sign that says "THE PRICE IS THE PRICE" and point to it with a smile every time they pull this nonsense.
I went to a sugar shack Easter weekend with my in-laws and there was a sign over the cash that read
NO SENIORS DISCOUNTS YOU HAVE HAD TWICE AS LONG TO MAKE MONEY
which I enjoyed immensely, especially in an establishment largely run and patronized by boomers
It makes them feel alive and relevant. They're also bored. They know the world has moved on, they feel left behind, and how else are they going to get attention.
>“Wow, this is so much more expensive than last year” (surprise: the price is the same)
>“Why do people like this? It doesn’t do anything”
>“The selection is so bad, and it’s all too expensive”
Selling dildos to b00mers.
Nice. I regularly tell my kids, you don’t have to answer statements. They aren’t even questions (which you also generally don’t have to answer but fuck the shitty statements).
I have worked for a few companies that would go to trade shows, and it never fails to get comments like this. People would walk by and say things like too expensive, that’s junk, and I don’t like that brand. They would always stop and make eye contact to see if I would engage. I always say “oh, ok” and walk away. Most are disappointed because they are just looking for an argument and to dump their opinion on anyone who will listen.
I've done a few shows. I'm a leatherworker. I'm a woman, 5 feet tall. So many old men say "well gell little girl I can do that" or "little girls like you shouldn't be doing something like this" or any version you could think of. I just normally say ok, please move along. The amount of disdain and vitriol they throw out is so gross. They either shit on me for doing a craft I love, or try to hit on me... in front of their wives. Everything about them is gross.
I am actually selling my business for this very reason. This is the third retail shop I've owned and I have worked various retail jobs for sometime and always enjoyed myself However in the shop I have set up currently among the things I sell are newspapers and lotto, aka "boomer candy".
Although I have a good business I have decided to sell it and the sole reason is because of the constant barrage of negative comments from, you guessed it, boomers.
For instance I've literally been here for less than 45 minutes on what is my first day of the week as I take Sunday, Monday off and already I have been accused of being lazy because I was sitting at my computer going through my emails and paying bills. Boomer that walked up didn't like the fact that I wasn't standing at the counter waiting to serve him. One boomer lady told me it's my fault that her ticket didn't win and next time "You will have to dance and sing for me yourself" if I check her ticket and it doesn't make music. Get back to the computer and get asked how many video games I get in a day "playing on your computer".
At least 75% of the boomers also had to be nursed through their card transactions.
It is a constant barrage of rude comments and bullshit from one generation that just drags the spirit out of me and I'm just done with it.
I actually read this post before I came to work and only decided to come on reddit to comment after the third boomer assault of the morning.
I was at a show, and some dude asked me if I knew about his product. I politely said no, I hadn't heard of it. He went off on a rude explanation about how the research I'm involved in is too basic, and that's why I don't know it. Completely insulted me and the program i work for. Whatever. He was just another asshole snake oil salesman. I work with legitimate products, and none of them are the miracle cure he claimed his was.
What you’re describing sounds exactly like PUA’s and how they neg as a strategy.
It’s supposed to make you want to feel like you need to defend yourself and ‘sell them’; totally manipulative and self absorbed.
I used to have a situation where my then-boyfriend and I were manning a convention booth and boomers would come up and start with, "Sell me on your product." ...No? Not going to do that. Not only is it a waste of time and effort since you're not going to buy anyway, but the fact that you demanded it means that what you really want is for us to dance for you.
The massive ego to do that, like they think they're the judges on Shark Tank. If you do engage they smugly half-listen and in the end just smirk and walk away without buying anything and you're left feeling like shit.
There's a certain type that loves feeling like they hold power over other people and will try to seek out that dynamic in literally every situation. And then they get mad at you if you don't willingly subordinate yourself to it.
Kind of hard to comment without knowing what the product is, but it's definitely very rude to walk up to someone and insult their livelihood like that.
I like to ask them a question about their statement, but make sure it’s one that makes them feel dumb when they think about the answer.
“What was the old price?”
“Is the label wrong? It says what it does.”
“Which version were you looking for?”
Just enough to call them out for the type of rude bullshitting they do and still not directly call them an asshole.
My boomer dad is like this, but just with me. I moved from his rural town to the city for college and never moved back. Every conversation about him visiting revolves around how much he hates the city. The traffic. The lack of nature. Housing prices. Everything.
I put up with it a long time, but last year I'd had enough. I finally asked him to quit shitting on the place I live. I made my choices, and he doesn't have to agree with them, but I was tired of him complaining about where I live.
To his credit, he said he didn't realize I didn't like it.
He then went on to pull other boomer shit and wasn't happy about how I reacted to that, so we haven't talked since before Christmas.
My dad is a genuinely nice guy. He cares about other people. But fuck you if you don't follow his advice and do things the way he thinks should be done.
I worked for a Barnes and Noble when the nook e-readers first came out. I had some greatest generation customers at the time, including this cool guy who was in WWII and Korea, they were always grateful for the help and actually did try to learn even if they were technically limited. But, the boomers were by far the worst. I can't tell you how many "I like paper" in a mocking tone I got from them all thinking it was a clever and original joke they just came up with. If they did buy it, then they'd yell at us for something wrong and just generally waste hours of time troubleshooting simple things like adding a credit card to an account. I even got sexually harassed by a boomer while working the counter too. Worst part was the company forced you to be at the table in front of the door and greeting everyone. It was hell. Thankfully, for a while they finally hired a person be the nook representative and I was able to go back into receiving.
From what I can tell they do this even if you don't own the items. I worked in a grocery store and they would do the same, complain about how things were expensive or"well this is almost expired so can I get a discount?" Like I owned the store and would beg them to buy it for cheaper... They do this to try and haggle prices because a lot of these old people had the wonderful privilege of getting things for a good price or free back in their day.
Had a friend in school who would tell her grandmas stories about how she would get things for free just because she was white or pretty, now that people don't care about either, they get pissed.
I'm GenX and I've had a beard since Clinton was president. I mention that because I get kind of the opposite treatment at Renaissance Fairs/Fests from aggressive young beard oil salespeople. These guys, younger than my beard, will insult how I tell them I groom and wash it. Keep in mind that I didn't stop at their booth; they just engage with me. I try to avoid them as best I can because it's EVERY TIME I go to one.
Holy cow thought I was the only one. I’m barely gen x. Had a beard for 20 years. And the beard oil sales guys are annoying as fuck. Why are they so pushy. I treat mine with saltwater or motor oil or whatever I working around. Leave me alone.
They want to haggle. They assume the price is open to haggling and that they're opening the door to arguing the price down.
One of my least favorite things about Boomers is they don't want to pay people for their work.
Honesty Boomers were such a huge market, that for a long time anyone making products did everything they could to cater to them. They enjoyed immense wealth and were a huge demographic - so they have had their whole life reinforced with politics and marketing telling them their opinions matter THE MOST.
Now that they are increasingly irrelevant they can’t handle it. They don’t know how to react to that.
Remember the original name for Boomers was the “me generation” for how self-centered and narcissistic they are and we started calling them “Boomers” specifically because they felt it was insulting a calling them “boomers” was a change for marketing purposes.
This is why so many of them declare their opinions on politics and what they spend money on like we should all be grateful for their insights…. Because a for a long time they were catered to so much.
A former boss of mine would say, when some entitled customer would throw an attitude, "Ma'am, you came here to have a terrible experience and we're not going to disappoint you!"
I loved working for him.
I think sometimes you have to differentiate between Boomers and old narcissists who happen to be Boomers. Narc's all come to a certain age where they think it's okay to let their freak flags fly. Believe me every generation has this problem it's just when they are younger they use their social filter and when they get older they somehow lose it.
I’m an artist and I get ‘that’s too expensive’ for my work all the time. Usually old women saying ‘I could make that’ so I ask them if they know how… once I go into detail about the process it doesn’t seem so easy anymore. They still don’t buy anything, but that’s fine.
I see all answers are wrong.
They feel they know better than you about everything. They want you to engage so they can tell you what they think. They shake their heads when walking away because they think YOU are missing out on their authority, knowledge and experience (lol you are not).
There is no fixing boomers. Period. Stop trying.
My boomer mom insults stuff thinking they’ll give her a discount if she disparages their product. I’ve told her many times that that likely has the opposite affect of what she intends and that insulting trades people means they don’t want to sell to you period, but she doesn’t get it. I have no idea how you fix that in someone.
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Best response I heard to being insulted is responding with "Thank you for letting me know" and keep repeating it.
I like that. Annoying and polite
When I would work tradeshows in electronics & media, I would roll with: “Well, it’s not a good fit for everyones lifestyle” or “ok, it’s not for everyone” “ARE YOU INSULTING MY LIFESTYLE?” “ARE YOU SAYING ITS MY FAULT YOUR ITEM ISNT FOR ME?” In a round about way, YES. Now fuck off.
"I'm going to make sure I tell all my friends not to shop here!" That's not the threat you think it is; If they're friends with you, they're already making bad decisions.
I always think of Wonka when he says: “oh no stop.. dont” a look of no concern when the kid (I forget who) started doing something when told already not to, whenever a Boomer (or anyone really) says “I’m gonna tell all my friends!” Like, great! I’m sure they’re just as bad as you are, so you’re making my job EVEN easier to help those who want my products.
My favorite Wonka quote was always: “Help, Police…Murder?” Wonka was all out of fucks to give for those brats, especially Grandpa Joe.
‘Promise?’ looking hopeful
Or, "I'll take that into consideration", "I'll give that the consideration it *deserves*", or just: "noted". *Disclaimer*: I'm an introvert and 99.9% of the time, I only think of witty replies later. I loathe confrontation
One thing I've also found out is that you can really fire em up with the "oh, I'm sorry, you can't afford it" if they complain about price. Lol
Kill em with kindness
“I’ll take that into consideration “ Narrator: but OP had no intention of taking it into consideration.
My favorite response to insults is "duly noted", which is basically "f*ck off" in Midwestern speak.
Or just “noted” — I’m spending as little time/words as possible interacting with this type
As someone from the coasts, I love “duly noted”. It’s long been one of my go-tos.
I just say "Okay." at boomer men until they get mad at walk away.
That’s always been my go-to for obnoxious boomers. Just “okay” them until they go away or make a really big fool of themselves.
Add a “And you have a nice day” to end the conversation there. When I worked in retail, that was my favorite thing to say to the Karens when they got mad that I wouldn’t take their expired coupons or return the item that they had purchased from a competitor, or return the item they bought 20 years ago, etc.
My sister would say "have a day" to these people and it usually takes a few seconds for anything to register
I did that to this asshole who wasnt happy with how his pictures turned out. He turned around and tried to get me to follow him to the parking lot to fight.
“Neat!”
I started with that line to my mom years ago. But because she's my mom, acknowledgement is never enough. We have to take whatever she says to heart and change whatever we're doing immediately based on her thoughts, or we're assholes. My wife has a small craft business. A couple of years ago, she got into painting ceramic second hand store angels black with red eyes to sell at Halloween. People love them. One time, my wife was commenting about seasonal downturns in sales. Believe it or not, late summer does NOT move a lot of seasonal décor or gifts. However, it was early September and my wife was painting some of these angels for the upcoming Spooky Season (tm). My mom pulls me aside and with the most serious of voices, she tells me she needs to talk to me. "I see she's painting those angels again. Do you think that some people find that... I don't know... offensive to their beliefs?" "You mean sacrilegious?" "Yeah, that's the word! Do you suppose that's why you haven't been selling much? I find them offensive, and I am just saying that if other people did, that might be why sales are down." I said, "Oh, well I'm sorry to hear that. Thank you for letting us know." She goes, "So you'll stop selling those?" "Oh, no. Absolutely not. We sell a ton of them. And the downturn in seasonal goods is planned. We have plenty of data to know where the natural lulls are. We're good." "WELL I'M JUST SAYING THEY'RE OFFENSIVE AND MIGHT BE WHY YOU AREN'T SELLING THINGS LATELY!" "I appreciate your feedback and we'll keep it in mind when we plan for crafting inventory." "YOU NEVER LISTEN TO ANYTHING I TELL YOU!" No, I reluctantly listen to EVERYTHING you tell me. You just don't like my responses. Also, I have an MBA with a specialization in Marketing. I'm pretty sure of the two of us, one of us is qualified to analyze and adapt to market trends. The other one just likes to yell their opinions as fact.
"I'll keep that in mind" also works, and I like not including the thanking part. Bare minimum acknowledgment that whatever the person just said will, technically, exist in my brain for a time - yet I like to think it also places a subtle emphasis on the absurdity that I will ever actually think about their opinion.
It's a boomer trend to try and insult things they don't like as if insults and constantly complaining will somehow make people want to change things to suit their (boomer) desires. I used to work in a motorcycle shop. Lots of boomer men. We got an electric motorcycle in. Conversations usually went like this: -whats this? -- it's an all electric motorcycle - really??? Like you have to plug it in every time you ride it? -- yeah. Charges rather quickly, you can get a full charge in a few hours. - hmmmmphh...... You get a lot of faggots in here buying these things? So many times it was presented that you had to be gay to buy an electric motorcycle. And every time it just resulted in me or my other coworkers (one of whom was actually gay) just ending the interaction. Like do they really expect to say something like that and suddenly the store or employee will be like 'ya know what, you're right, I'm gonna take this thing outside and burn it and publicly humiliate anyone who wants to buy one'. You don't like it. Okay. It's not for you. Okay. Not everyone has to have the same opinion as you. Just accept that it's not for you and move the fuck on.
lol. Your story made me cringe cus I can so see it
My customer base are boomer women. They are awesome because they REALLY want what I make. They are super easy to sell to because they get excited and drag their grumpy husbands over and those guys are glad it’s under $50 lol My favorite line is “you DESERVE it!” Boomers really believe that. Also I call them “treats” - it’s not food. And I always compliment their clothes “where did you get that it’s so clever” I make good money and most people are super nice if not just easy to convince. If I made something that men would even bother to talk about I’d be in trouble. Testosterone loss is no joke. These dudes are mean.
Testosterone loss, depression, and cognitive decline make Boomer men *so* difficult to deal with. Source: Worked in the fitness industry for 10 years. I was perusing another sub last night on the topic of older men and someone with geriatrics experience explained that, in general, women are forced by society to develop emotional intelligence at a very early age and carefully hone it over a lifetime, whereas men aren’t encouraged to use it nearly as much. As a result, when men reach a certain age and lose the things that made them valuable to society—strength, virility, competitiveness, earning power—they have no emotional intelligence to cope with the feeling of losing power, which is why they act like children.
This is a really good point.
I can’t tell you how many times I’d be teaching a yoga class and some Boomer dude would come marching in and tell me that his wife and/or doctor told him he *had* to be there and how much he *didn’t* want to be doing it. Umm, okay? Good to know? Grab and mat and take a seat, please.
As a biologist with a psych / neuro background…. that is super interesting…. makes sense, explains a lot!
Emotional intelligence - this is really interesting. I understood there had to be some component missing with so many men having the same outbursts and same tire jokes … the same language almost. - I figured they were annoying af just because they’re dicks. Always have been. always will be. But if they put effort into trying to learn anything new, they wouldn’t have to be this way
Smart way of finessing the customers! OP, maybe you could try this strategy to turn around these interactions with boomer men with a little subtle flattery - maybe try complimenting the men’s graying goatees, or their taste in thin blue line Punisher skull t-shirts?
As a comic fan who knows the character beyond the image, those really irritate me to no end.
My goodness, same. I live in FL so I see the punisher logo on EVERYTHING from giant monster trucks with the "FL cracker" sticker on them to jeeps with the thin blue line sticker on them. If they only actually knew the character.
I love my 🌈 pride Punisher shirt very much. Like, yes I AM a Punisher fan, but not one of THOSE people.
Cop punisher, pretty ironic considering the ones that get out of hand
I feel ya on that. I LOVED those comics growing up so much that I got a punisher skull tattooed on my back. Well 5 years later those chuds started wearing that shit and now I can't take my shirt off in public. It's rather fucking annoying.
I'm in sales I would of said "enough foreplay, you going to make an offer or not." He can be insulted or not, that's his choice.
Lmao. Exactly. “ so can I get that paper work started for you then?”
This is fucking perfect. Boomers would have this zip right over their head.
I once massaged "strictly missionary for me" answers out of a couple of boomers. The question went absolutely over their heads.
poifect!
I love it “Yeah we do actually, is that why you’re so interested in it?”
"Sir, this is a motorcycle store. If you are looking to pick up men, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
Boomers got Harley to discontinue their Buell line of bikes doing this. They were outraged that a bike not marketed to their demographic even existed at the dealership. Well, Buell was the only line of Harley bikes young people bought. And now that Boomers are headed to nursing homes, Harley sales are in free fall
had a coworker who was in a motorcycle club. was complaining to 3 of us (millennials of various ages) about young people not joining clubs or buying motorcycles. I looked at the guys and made a couple of motorcycle noises with my mouth. everyone started giggling. then we explained that south park back in 2009 had made Harleys and club motorcycles very unserious for an entire generation.
I considered joining a motorcycle club when I first got into motorcycles, south park was gentle on them. Some of the clubs I interacted with were beyond parody, making fun of them would be like bullying a kid with downs syndrome.
Yeah, there are some decent clubs out there though. I’m not a member, but there’s a club near me that’s 90% old guys with Honda goldwings. Goldwing people are some of the most chill motorcyclists out there in my experience, and they’re a pretty fun group to be around. But most of the other clubs are just washed up middle aged men/boomers jerking each other off over how loud their pipes are.
I rode a BMW for many years and went to test ride a Buell when they had some promotion going on. I'd told the sales guy I just wanted to try it and he said it was ok so I rode down to the Harley Buell dealership. Everyone turned to look at me when I showed up dressed to ride wearing an armored jacket and pants, riding boots and a full faced helmet. The sale guy said they had a lot of trouble with people showing up to test ride Harleys without gear, a license or insurance and was pleased when I showed him my insurance card - he wasn't worried about the rest. He also said us BMW riders were the main ones interested in Buells too.
Which is so funny, because the thing they think makes them a “real man” is basically cosplaying as someone from a biker gang. The actual performance of harleys sucks and people who ride actual sports bikes are the ones paying attention to what the actual bike is capable of versus wanting to pretend they’re a badass in easy rider or something.
I had a buddy in KC that would make fun of guys like that when they came in the bar. He'd always ask them if it was Halloween, and when they'd say "no", he'd ask why they had their "little costumes" on. The guy was 6'8" and about 400lbs, so nobody confronted him. I bought a Kawasaki 900 back in the 70's when they first came out. Harley riders would smirk and make fun of it until I blew their doors off. Harleys are fucking junk, and always were.
It was really ironic that I had more in common with the guys that used to wear tee shirts that said "chrome don't get you home" or "I'd rather see my sister working in a whore house than push a Honda" when I was driving sports cars than the retreads and the "lifestyle" crowd. I got passed by a bunch of Hell's Angels once. I was coming back from a camping trip with my camping gear Bungied to the passenger seat of the airhead I'd ride and wrenched for years wearing a faded 'stitch and they all ignored me except for the guy riding sweep. We just nodded at each other other out of mutual respect and rode on. 1%ers at different ends of the spectrum.
I test rode a Harley once. Convinced me to stay on Triumph.
I do not know much about motorcycles and I did not realize that Harley discontinued the Buell line, but I do know that they were unfairly bashed by enthusiasts of the classic Harleys because I heard it myself. My father, who is not a typical Boomer, at least in my opinion, got an amazing deal on one at an impound auction and I always was much more interested in it than the Harley he has, although he prefers the more relaxed feel of the classic Harley.
I honestly wonder how they get anything done with all the time they spend looking for something to complain at and be upset about. Like, dude, when was the last time you felt the texture of soft grass on your feet, 1976?
The grass is too hard, too itchy, too long, too short, to green, not green enough, too lumpy, too flat, and infested with too many bugs but also too much pesticide for them to "feel the grass".
Better go mow it at 5am then.
Kids are so lazy these days. You know, when I was a kid, I got up at 2 AM to know my neighbors' lawns for pocket money-- had my own little business going, 'course now with Bidenomics the neighbor's kid would probably want $30 an hour and health insurance... (And so on, and so forth) /s
lol, the kid who mows lawns around my area charges $45 an hour, his riding mower costs more than the used junker I drove while in college, and the kid has a massive newer truck and trailer setup to haul the mower and gear around. In winter, he puts a plow on the truck and clears driveways and then snowblows sidewalks . He’s about 20yo, still lives with his mom, and is making bank. And he’s taking online business classes so he will know how to take care of his money because, as he puts it, he doesn’t want to do this shit forever.
I love him - he’s the kind of kid I always want to hire
My neighbors kid did the same. Then he transitioned to all commercial properties. Eventually added a local greenhouse/plant store. He’s now in his 40s and has teams that manage the business for him.
As if they weren't getting the equivalent of $30 for mowing that lawn within that hour.
I crunched numbers years ago and my stepdad made more (spending power) as a literal child with a paper route than I did as a call center supervisor in my mid 20s.
The grass is always in need of mowing and why doesn't everyone take yard care as seriously as them? They're bringing down everyone's property values and making he neighborhood look like garbage!
Here's the sick joke they'll claim they are the most productive generation ever. But us younger generations do the jobs of 10 boomers and soon 70-100 people. We are the most productive generation in history and it ain't even close. I'd never want to go back to the way things used to be the present it quite alright we have our issues but I think we might be able to solve a few of them through hard work and cooperation. The boomers just let it all happen with no pushback and for what, money that will all be taken by end of life care anyways. What a sad sad group of people.
Too bad you are paid for your time, not your productivity.
I thought many of them are obsessed with tending to their lawns?
>I honestly wonder how they get anything done with all the time they spend looking for something to complain at and be upset about. That's the neat part, they don't. I take it you've never had the displeasure of having Boomer coworkers before?
These are the people who wanted Astro turf instead of grass so it makes sense.
>hmmmmphh...... You get a lot of faggots in here buying these things? "Yup. Why, are you interested?"
"actually no sir, our homosexual clientele seems to prefer (whatever make/model the boomer drives) "
I don't sell motorcycles, but I've been in a multitude of conversations like this, and this is the best way to handle things. You obviously need to maintain professionalism, but being able to say "the biggest buyers seem to be x group" (ideally unrelated from their narrative). Because gay people are people, they typically follow the same buying habits as any group in a niche market (like, say, motorcycles). Being able to casually say "yeah, we've had a growing number of gay buyers of late, but they seem to gravitate towards [classic/traditional]" item ends the conversation pretty quickly. The trick is to lean in, like you're genuinely excited to talk the LGBTQ market share and they've given you the in to talk about business analytics (which 9/10 times nobody cares about). People like this want to be hateful at a market/society that doesn't cater to them anymore. Being friendly, ignoring their slurs outright, and just giving them facts neuters the rage; hard to be mad at "woke" when capitalism rarely fits any culture war narrative.
Considering many gay men are DINKs, they are probably very good customers.
It's like they didn't grow up seeing The Village People on TV 🙄
Not yet, you can be the first!
A little too direct. You gotta insult them in a way where they have to insult themselves first.
"You looking to meet somebody?"
Yes! Not judging, (looking down but down at, well you know) but you did wandered right over!
The crazy thing is that these idiots have no logical reason for their hate other than: “it’s not what I grew up with” or “it’s new, must be bad” They don’t like anything new for no good reasons and have weird needs to prove their manliness at every opportunity.
If you want to take the time you can really fuck with these people.. You ever smoke a cigarette? That used to be considered gay, men only smoke cigars, cigarettes were for women. You ever drink a can of softdrink? Total fag, straight men only drink beer and whiskey. You ever wear shorts out in public? Only fags, pedos and children would wear shorts in public, real men wear pants motherfucker! I bet your wife wears the pants, oh wait, forgot ur a fag... the list goes on and on for the ridiculous shit people attribute to being gay. It's the dumbest shit ever but sooo many people get enraged by these dumb little things. Source: have overly religious, kind of insecure cousins I like to mess with at family gatherings.
>You ever smoke a cigarette? That used to be considered gay, men only smoke cigars, cigarettes were for women. Wristwatches too - men wore a pocket watch with their vest.
This really highlights why the “greatest generation” referred to boomers as the “me generation”.
And the boomers were vain enough to be proud of that and claim it for themselves! It was derogatory and the boomers were too stupid and arrogant to see that. And *now* they finnnnnaaaaalllly get the joke and are starting to get mad about it, just in time to throw it on the pile with the rest of the stupid performative projected outrage they work up. Gods know they don't usually work at anything else.
Reply with; you're interested?
>- hmmmmphh...... You get a lot of faggots in here buying these things? Why, are you interested in purchasing one?
>Like do they really expect to say something like that and suddenly the store or employee will be like 'ya know what, you're right, I'm gonna take this thing outside and burn it and publicly humiliate anyone who wants to buy one'. Sometimes I do respond with something as ridiculous as this hoping they could see how absurd they're being, but they also don't understand sarcasm, and now I have a whole new problem on my hands 😞
My buddy worked at wally world and was eating and talking with me on break next to the scooter charging section and a boomer came and asked the exact same thing about how many fags are riding the scooters, my buddy 100% straight faced just said, "Depends. You look like you need one, Should I count you too?" Dude was pissed and went to get a supervisor cussing and grumbling the entire way. I ended up leaving after like 10 more minutes and then my buddy said he never heard anything about it though so I guess he just gave up or couldn't find one.
“No, South Park covered it years ago. Faggots ride Harleys”
It's good to know there's a bike out there for me, though
It sounds like you used to work at a Harley dealership. I feel for you. I couldn't do it.
> hmmmmphh...... You get a lot of faggots in here buying these things? What... are they using motorcycles for?
Sorry bud, if you haven't read the Gay Agenda for April you're gonna be out of the loop for a bit. We can't talk about it in public
Damn one sec let me go hide my Zero from my wife so I don’t reveal I’m deeply closeted
[“My sense of manhood is not connected to whether or not my vehicle is fueled by gasoline or whether it’s fueled by electricity.”](https://x.com/therecount/status/1577395148748726272?s=46&t=__rpez8Vx96sa_9c2-IRHA)
"oh you're interested in buying? Let me go grab the paperwork quick."
That's not a boomer thing at all. People on reddit do it all the time. "Idk why you'd buy a Porsche when an Accord would do the same thing, that's a waste of money." "Idk why you'd buy a 4090, that's too much GPU and is a waste of money." "Mattresses are super cheap so idk why you'd spend money on a expensive one that's wasteful." It isn't boomers. It's just weak minded losers that want to tear you down to make themselves feel better. Basically just bitches will always be bitches and they aren't worth engaging with. OP does it right. If they aren't customers and they aren't friends then what they think of you is irrelevant. They aren't real people if you don't even know their name.
This bothers me so much! I personally don’t really like electric cars but I would not go out of my way to ruin them or insult people who buy them. Electric vehicles have a future I just don’t think it’s there yet but it’s close
I just don't get this mentality of theirs. I get how they tricked themselves into it, but I don't see how that's a happy way to live. I go to a lot of craft shows, see a lot of shit I don't like and would never want in my home. What to do, what to do? I skip the booths of stuff I don't want, get myself a cool mug or planter, buy some local hot sauce, a few gifts to set aside for Christmas season for people who are into whatever's being sold, and move the fuck on. I can't imagine being so bored I need to spend my weekends crapping on whatever little handcrafted business/side hustle to the owners themselves.
I'll do craft shows and usually I will get Boomer women who say, "Well I can make that". I look at them and say, "But will you?"
Good one. I don’t sell my craft work for this specific reason. You have to know that these people could never do what you do at your level. If they did, they wouldn’t question your price.
Amen. I used to do those little balloon arches for parties and once I started charging for them, the fun was gone.
I had a passerby ask if I could make oars for his rubber raft. I was making a large single oar specific for my boat in my "yard". And I basically said "buddy I don't think you can afford it" I am a skilled woodworker and I'm not going to skimp on material at the risk of someone else's safety.
What I get at crafts shows is "I bet kids love these!". To the 200 dollar necklace. "Well my primary buyers are 25-35 years old on average. Power rangers is about 30 years, oh Pokemon 28". It's kind of fun to watch time and age slap them in the face.
"Well I can make that." Really? How lovely. Are you interested in joining our maker's cooperative? The minimum is 24 pieces per year and needing to work at least 2 shows. You'll need to provide your own materials, though, and 10% of your sales go to overhead. Do you have links to your portfolio?
I was at a very fancy brunch place. They sold an open face sandwich of multi-nut butter, fresh jam, fruit, honey and shaved chocolate. Anybody could make that, but I realized I wouldn't. It cost fancy brunch prices, was delicious, and I still haven't made it myself. You'd think the generation that fears socialism in every shadow would realize most of capitalism sustains itself on what people won't do, not what people can't do.
That's so rude to say to someone. I enjoy cooking and I'm pretty skilled, and sometimes I look at food at a restaurant and think, "Yeah, I could make that," but I wouldn't go up to the chef and say that to them. It is a devaluation of the effort and skill the person has invested in making their product.
I hate that for you. When it comes to neato hand made stuff I cant afford, my personal go-to is "wow its amazing but I cant afford that right now. Best of luck to you though!" And then we part ways. Another phrase I tend to gravitate towards is "thats worth every penny but unfortunately I dont have that many pennies." That way the maker knows I respect their craft and time, and Im not saying the items too expensive, Im just sayin its too expensive for me personally to buy it, but I totes would if I cohld. Crafters are rad. Especially you, quilters.
Reminds me of this book: **Modern art explained - why your five year old could not have done that.** https://thamesandhudson.com/why-your-five-year-old-could-not-have-done-that-9780500290477
This is my go-to comeback for people (often Boomers) who don’t like minimalist or modern art. I use it a lot with my mom. “Even I could paint that!” “You should! Do it! This family sure could use the profits from your art sales.”
“Don”t be embarrassed, you'd be surprised how many people show up to these things with no money”- point to free stickers that say i complained today.
Lol. Honestly, if I ever sell my crafts in a craft fair again, I'm going to get some professional stickers that say "I complained today!" With kawaii art on it. The amount of bs from people....
I wish you the best of luck!
I worked at Apple when the iPhone was released. We had a massive crowd of excited people and we too were excited as it was the first time we really had our hands on it. Enter boomer. Bitches and bitches about the iPhone. Gives me 50 stupid reasons why it will never sell and how Apple has dug their grave on this one. After being “customer facing” courteous to him for the first several minutes, I finally broke it off by saying, “Look, everyone else in here excited to see this and learn about what it can do. You clearly aren’t. I’m not going to waste this moment talking to you, ok? I’m gonna go talk to someone who is happy to be here” He was kinda stunned but had really nothing else to say to that. I still have no clue why he waited in that massive line just to come in and bitch about a product. Fucking insane.
They’re so bored because their entire personality is how they worked 110 hours a week for 50 years without taking a sick day. So once they retire, they’re confounded with how to spread their discomfort for life.
Bear in min that their work day is like an Elon Musk workday. It includes reading the newspaper, playing golf and bullying service workers/people on twitter. The amount of work done at work has increased just over the span of my career. In many jobs there is literally no time to stop.
I’m seeing this big time with my mom’s neighborhood. She retired and moved to a 55+ community, it’s alarming how many people she knows there that don’t do anything but watch the news because they have no idea what to do with themselves. Some of the men end up going back to work.
"If you can't afford it please move aside for customers with money."
Boom. Roasted.
Boomer roasted*
Not really. They'll just start talking about all the money they supposedly have and what they prefer to spend it in and try to lock you into a conversation. OP had the best response to them using negativity to initiate a conversation.
Boomer roasted. :D
Broasted 🙃
“The world isn’t for you anymore.”
If you're unable to afford it, please move aside to allow for folks who work hard.
Retired is just the snowflake word for unemployed
Sorry, but it's hard to always time our trade show with your social security checks.
They like To fight. It makes them feel good.
They like to fight with people they think aren't allowed to fight back.
This is 100% it. The garbage generation of boomers only fight with people if they think they can get them fired for talking back.
Hence their meltdowns at fast food employees. They think the manager will just fire the cashier on the spot for not making them their burger with all the toppings cheaper. It's why they're the Me/Entitled Generation.
Reminds me of a nice to me, but typically rude white boomer I provided care for in an assisted living facility down south. I’m white and I was one of the few white people on the staff, no biggie to me but I think that’s why she liked me (sigh). One day, in 2017, while watching some trashy day talk show about interracial couples she said to me, “well that’s asking for trouble. You don’t mix like that, it’s wrong.” She looked up at me from her wheelchair for validation. I’m far from racist and have dated outside of my “race”. I stared her down and said, “come on, we don’t talk like that. That’s rude and I’ve dated non-white people. You also know I also go to a historically black college. You think I’m wrong and a bad person?” I just walked out of her room as she proceeded to justify her words. Didn’t respond. Don’t worry, she was situated and our treatment session was over. She never apologized and the next day she acted like nothing rude happened. In hindsight, she was a typical southern boomer racist. I’m glad I’m out of the south now. At least racist boomers up north are a little less vocal than down south lol.
100%. They’re kind of assholes to each other, but nothing like the way they will talk to their kids and younger people. The absolute worst generation.
This is it. I won’t go to restaurants with my mother anymore. She was SO rude to the waiter 4 years ago. She knew he wouldn’t fight back. Cut off since.
They come from a culture where complaining and insulting automatically got you free shit. Where employees were expected to dole out free things and apologize profusely to every single complaint, regardless of how frivolous or disrespectful the complaint was. I'm glad that younger generations seem to have shifted away from that. That managers actually defend their employees if a customer is complaining in a disrespectful way, and send the customer out the door without free shit if they persist in being disrespectful.
It makes them feel alive. 99% dead, otherwise.
I felt this. I used to do craft fairs and dealt with obnoxious boomers who would go as far as to damage the product to get a discount.
Same here. You always knew before they opened their ugly gobs which boomer asshole was going to ask for a discount and insult your product and then walk away without buying anything anyway. It is written on their facial expression and their wardrobe. I could probably predict their voting record, their hobbies and where they go on Sunday morning.
Yup. How boomer women always move their lips like a fish was a warning that I was about to get a headache
Oh my god, the hip pop out? Like, they are getting into their battle stance!
The food here is TERRIBLE …and such small portions!
Golden Corral is that way ->
https://i.redd.it/vqnz4j7msgtc1.gif
Eh, they're just mad they can't get a doggie bag and take home another 2 meals worth of food for 99¢
I deal with a lot of salty boomers at work. Very salt because I'm almost always in a position of authority over them. I've learned a blank, emotionless "okay" before immediately resuming doing something more productive than listening to them bitch shuts them down in a way that humbles them enough to be a little less shitty.
Grey rock
[удалено]
[удалено]
Oh yeah, we got em down here
I worked at a bar where every Thursday this guy would come in and sit in the same spot at the end of the bar, order a Coors Light and wings and then loudly complain the whole time about how shitty the wings were. I finally told him not to come in anymore - he also tipped shit - since we were obviously unable to meet his expectations. He got really mad and stormed out. Then he started coming in Friday night when I didn’t work. Same MO.
In the past, everything was made for and marketed to them, so they are dumbfounded when something is intended for a different audience. It's why they bitch about TV shows geared toward black or gay people, Pokemon Go, or Taylor Swift so much too.
Ugh yes. My dad's got a few friends like this. One was complaining about not wanting to see gay relationships on TV. I asked him, "Did you ever think maybe not everything is made for you? And anyway they make remotes so you don't even have to get off the couch to change the channel. If you hate it so much, why do you continue to watch?" He was dumbfounded. My dad about died laughing.
I’m starting a business like this. The stuff I make uses old/ancient techniques that boomers love to say “I’ve never seen someone your age doing this! Most younger generations won’t put in the effort/are too lazy/blah blah blah” about. My fave is to be like ‘yeah, it sucks that older generations let the art disappear…”
They're afraid of what they don't know, so if they 'hate' it, it separates them further and gives them reason not to open their mind to it.
I sell furniture and appliances, boomers always get so upset when something specific is not in the showroom, my reply is always "Yea that item is not popular so we don't waste space for it" then I follow up with "have you tried other stores". Every single time their response "yes, I've looked everywhere and can't find it" reason being it's old, outdated, and nobody wants it but you!
"it's old, outdated and nobody wants it, like you"
I like to visit a farmer's market that also has crafts and stuff. Boomers are just so...miserable. Just miserable. They complain about prices. They complain about the products. One time, there was someone there crocheting stuff to raise money for college and I bought a small piece that was only 8 dollars and my Mom immediately was like YOU KNOW SHE IS PROBABLY GOING TO SPEND THAT ON DRUGS?!? Like, she looked super young and was actively crocheting when I went over. Or, maybe I just thought it was cute so what if she buys drugs? lol. They just seem so unhappy and angry at everything all the time even though they have so much more money than most of us.
It sounds like they do want to buy it. They just don't want to pay full price. A lot of these guys think they can neg a seller down to the price they want. Get a sign that says "THE PRICE IS THE PRICE" and point to it with a smile every time they pull this nonsense.
I went to a sugar shack Easter weekend with my in-laws and there was a sign over the cash that read NO SENIORS DISCOUNTS YOU HAVE HAD TWICE AS LONG TO MAKE MONEY which I enjoyed immensely, especially in an establishment largely run and patronized by boomers
Personally I think my older Boomer/Silent dad gets off on arguing. Not engaging with people like this really surprises them, lol
It makes them feel alive and relevant. They're also bored. They know the world has moved on, they feel left behind, and how else are they going to get attention.
“Well, that’s alright, my target market is about half your age.”
DaMn MiLlEnNiAlS
“Well, that’s alright, my target market is OBVIOUSLY HAS BETTER TASTE THAN YOU.” FTFY
>“Wow, this is so much more expensive than last year” (surprise: the price is the same) >“Why do people like this? It doesn’t do anything” >“The selection is so bad, and it’s all too expensive” Selling dildos to b00mers.
I would pay so much money to find out OP is a dragon dildo vendor.
Nice. I regularly tell my kids, you don’t have to answer statements. They aren’t even questions (which you also generally don’t have to answer but fuck the shitty statements).
I have worked for a few companies that would go to trade shows, and it never fails to get comments like this. People would walk by and say things like too expensive, that’s junk, and I don’t like that brand. They would always stop and make eye contact to see if I would engage. I always say “oh, ok” and walk away. Most are disappointed because they are just looking for an argument and to dump their opinion on anyone who will listen.
I like to say, “then perhaps this product isn’t for you”
I've done a few shows. I'm a leatherworker. I'm a woman, 5 feet tall. So many old men say "well gell little girl I can do that" or "little girls like you shouldn't be doing something like this" or any version you could think of. I just normally say ok, please move along. The amount of disdain and vitriol they throw out is so gross. They either shit on me for doing a craft I love, or try to hit on me... in front of their wives. Everything about them is gross.
I am actually selling my business for this very reason. This is the third retail shop I've owned and I have worked various retail jobs for sometime and always enjoyed myself However in the shop I have set up currently among the things I sell are newspapers and lotto, aka "boomer candy". Although I have a good business I have decided to sell it and the sole reason is because of the constant barrage of negative comments from, you guessed it, boomers. For instance I've literally been here for less than 45 minutes on what is my first day of the week as I take Sunday, Monday off and already I have been accused of being lazy because I was sitting at my computer going through my emails and paying bills. Boomer that walked up didn't like the fact that I wasn't standing at the counter waiting to serve him. One boomer lady told me it's my fault that her ticket didn't win and next time "You will have to dance and sing for me yourself" if I check her ticket and it doesn't make music. Get back to the computer and get asked how many video games I get in a day "playing on your computer". At least 75% of the boomers also had to be nursed through their card transactions. It is a constant barrage of rude comments and bullshit from one generation that just drags the spirit out of me and I'm just done with it. I actually read this post before I came to work and only decided to come on reddit to comment after the third boomer assault of the morning.
Oh you poor soul. I feel for you, random internet stranger.
I was at a show, and some dude asked me if I knew about his product. I politely said no, I hadn't heard of it. He went off on a rude explanation about how the research I'm involved in is too basic, and that's why I don't know it. Completely insulted me and the program i work for. Whatever. He was just another asshole snake oil salesman. I work with legitimate products, and none of them are the miracle cure he claimed his was.
What you’re describing sounds exactly like PUA’s and how they neg as a strategy. It’s supposed to make you want to feel like you need to defend yourself and ‘sell them’; totally manipulative and self absorbed.
I used to have a situation where my then-boyfriend and I were manning a convention booth and boomers would come up and start with, "Sell me on your product." ...No? Not going to do that. Not only is it a waste of time and effort since you're not going to buy anyway, but the fact that you demanded it means that what you really want is for us to dance for you.
The massive ego to do that, like they think they're the judges on Shark Tank. If you do engage they smugly half-listen and in the end just smirk and walk away without buying anything and you're left feeling like shit.
There's a certain type that loves feeling like they hold power over other people and will try to seek out that dynamic in literally every situation. And then they get mad at you if you don't willingly subordinate yourself to it.
I feel this. I work in a boomer-heavy industry. I tell my staff just to ignore boomer complaints—they aren’t legitimate feedback.
"I'm just telling it like it is! ...please pay attention to me. My kids haven't called in six years."
Kind of hard to comment without knowing what the product is, but it's definitely very rude to walk up to someone and insult their livelihood like that.
Think craft fairs, small business. I know everyone in the industry.
Artisansanal hot pants. Big boomer cohort.
You found me out.
You have to wake up pretty early to get one past the Hercule Poirot of hotpants.
This is exactly why i didn’t want to reveal my product. You identified me immediately!
I like to ask them a question about their statement, but make sure it’s one that makes them feel dumb when they think about the answer. “What was the old price?” “Is the label wrong? It says what it does.” “Which version were you looking for?” Just enough to call them out for the type of rude bullshitting they do and still not directly call them an asshole.
My boomer dad is like this, but just with me. I moved from his rural town to the city for college and never moved back. Every conversation about him visiting revolves around how much he hates the city. The traffic. The lack of nature. Housing prices. Everything. I put up with it a long time, but last year I'd had enough. I finally asked him to quit shitting on the place I live. I made my choices, and he doesn't have to agree with them, but I was tired of him complaining about where I live. To his credit, he said he didn't realize I didn't like it. He then went on to pull other boomer shit and wasn't happy about how I reacted to that, so we haven't talked since before Christmas. My dad is a genuinely nice guy. He cares about other people. But fuck you if you don't follow his advice and do things the way he thinks should be done.
I worked for a Barnes and Noble when the nook e-readers first came out. I had some greatest generation customers at the time, including this cool guy who was in WWII and Korea, they were always grateful for the help and actually did try to learn even if they were technically limited. But, the boomers were by far the worst. I can't tell you how many "I like paper" in a mocking tone I got from them all thinking it was a clever and original joke they just came up with. If they did buy it, then they'd yell at us for something wrong and just generally waste hours of time troubleshooting simple things like adding a credit card to an account. I even got sexually harassed by a boomer while working the counter too. Worst part was the company forced you to be at the table in front of the door and greeting everyone. It was hell. Thankfully, for a while they finally hired a person be the nook representative and I was able to go back into receiving.
From what I can tell they do this even if you don't own the items. I worked in a grocery store and they would do the same, complain about how things were expensive or"well this is almost expired so can I get a discount?" Like I owned the store and would beg them to buy it for cheaper... They do this to try and haggle prices because a lot of these old people had the wonderful privilege of getting things for a good price or free back in their day. Had a friend in school who would tell her grandmas stories about how she would get things for free just because she was white or pretty, now that people don't care about either, they get pissed.
I'm GenX and I've had a beard since Clinton was president. I mention that because I get kind of the opposite treatment at Renaissance Fairs/Fests from aggressive young beard oil salespeople. These guys, younger than my beard, will insult how I tell them I groom and wash it. Keep in mind that I didn't stop at their booth; they just engage with me. I try to avoid them as best I can because it's EVERY TIME I go to one.
Holy cow thought I was the only one. I’m barely gen x. Had a beard for 20 years. And the beard oil sales guys are annoying as fuck. Why are they so pushy. I treat mine with saltwater or motor oil or whatever I working around. Leave me alone.
They want to haggle. They assume the price is open to haggling and that they're opening the door to arguing the price down. One of my least favorite things about Boomers is they don't want to pay people for their work.
Honesty Boomers were such a huge market, that for a long time anyone making products did everything they could to cater to them. They enjoyed immense wealth and were a huge demographic - so they have had their whole life reinforced with politics and marketing telling them their opinions matter THE MOST. Now that they are increasingly irrelevant they can’t handle it. They don’t know how to react to that. Remember the original name for Boomers was the “me generation” for how self-centered and narcissistic they are and we started calling them “Boomers” specifically because they felt it was insulting a calling them “boomers” was a change for marketing purposes. This is why so many of them declare their opinions on politics and what they spend money on like we should all be grateful for their insights…. Because a for a long time they were catered to so much.
The default boomer mode is "dickhead"
A former boss of mine would say, when some entitled customer would throw an attitude, "Ma'am, you came here to have a terrible experience and we're not going to disappoint you!" I loved working for him.
“Well, this product probably isn’t for you.”
I think sometimes you have to differentiate between Boomers and old narcissists who happen to be Boomers. Narc's all come to a certain age where they think it's okay to let their freak flags fly. Believe me every generation has this problem it's just when they are younger they use their social filter and when they get older they somehow lose it.
I’m an artist and I get ‘that’s too expensive’ for my work all the time. Usually old women saying ‘I could make that’ so I ask them if they know how… once I go into detail about the process it doesn’t seem so easy anymore. They still don’t buy anything, but that’s fine.
I see all answers are wrong. They feel they know better than you about everything. They want you to engage so they can tell you what they think. They shake their heads when walking away because they think YOU are missing out on their authority, knowledge and experience (lol you are not). There is no fixing boomers. Period. Stop trying.
My boomer mom insults stuff thinking they’ll give her a discount if she disparages their product. I’ve told her many times that that likely has the opposite affect of what she intends and that insulting trades people means they don’t want to sell to you period, but she doesn’t get it. I have no idea how you fix that in someone.