This is either a loaded question or a risky proposition, but I need a vote on this one. A Karen rating scale.

Here’s the story. I made an appointment with my Nissan dealer to have my oil changed, tires rotated, and to get new windshield wipers. It was pretty much a regular maintenance thing for my 60,000 mile SUV. Past experience was that the visit should take about an hour and the dealership has a comfortable waiting area with a big TV, wifi, free water, cookies, coffee, etc. So in my appointment profile, I told them I planned to wait for the vehicle.

Not long after I took my comfy seat and settled in, I got a text from the service crew with a list of items that were critical repairs – totaling about $1800. My service rep appeared and walked me through the list, explaining what was wrong and why it was important to make the repairs. I approved them but said I couldn’t wait the 4 hours it would take for the car to be ready so my guy said no problem, he could get me a courtesy vehicle.

At the cashier, I signed the routine insurance documents, etc and then she told me that I needed to return the loaner with the same level of gas. This is part one of where things went wrong. Let’s break down my options for this situation. What did I do? How did I respond?

Option A:

Smile and say okay, take the loaner, drive 4 miles home. Before returning the loaner to pick up my car, drive to the gas station 1 mile away to top off the tank replenishing the gas for the total of 8 miles driven to and from the dealer. (The car gets roughly 29 miles per gallon – 1 gallon of gas = $3.30. Doesn’t this math work out in Nissan’s favor? Hassle and resentment factor – not really quantifiable).

Option B:

Smile and take the loaner but decide to blow off the gas situation. Feel weird about the short-sighted ask and also over the intention of lying about it all day long.

Option C:

Dive into conversation with the cashier about the logic of the scenario using option A above as a blueprint. Remind them that It’s winter in Minnesota. Stopping at the gas station is never fun, but it’s particularly a pain during the winter. Dive further into the now horribly awkward conversation about losing the “courtesy factor” of the “courtesy vehicle” and all the goodwill of that customer service. Don’t commit to any course of action but stand by the logic and don’t add gas to the tank.

Option D:

Same conversation as Option C – but also ask the cashier if she wants me to wash the curtesy vehicle before returning it too.

(I’ll tell you which option I chose at the end.)

Part Two. The next issue arose when I drove to the dealer to pick up my repaired vehicle. I pulled up to the huge service bay door which rolls up automatically when it senses that a car is waiting to drive inside. The door rolled up, and there was a line of vehicles inside, entirely filling the queue, making it impossible for me to enter. Not knowing the situation and how long I would have to wait for entrance to be gained, I backed up and parked in a spot about 30 feet from the door. I locked the vehicle, walked inside, and went to the cashier. She started the checkout procedure, and I handed her the keys to the loaner and told her where I parked it. She picked up the keys and tried to hand them back to me stating that I needed to move it inside, into the service area.

What did I do?

Option A:

Don’t receive the proffered keys and explain that there was a line of vehicles that prevented me from entering and that I’m not going to move the car. After receiving a look – here it is – ‘Oh my God, this lady is a Karen’, further stumble through words like … ‘I don’t understand what you wanted me to do when I couldn’t get inside? Are you really asking me to go back outside and move it? Why?’ More bad looks come your way, the coloring on the cashier goes through the roof, her mouth is pursed, and she starts mumbling words like ‘never mind’.

Option B:

Same as option A, but add a last line – ‘I used to work at a Mercedes dealership. The customers’ comfort and making their lives as easy as possible were the number one priority at that outfit. Maybe that’s where my head is at’.

Option C:

Take the keys and slip on ice as you walk outside to move the car back in line to wait for an opportunity to drive inside the service area. Feel bitter and impatient that I’m doing their job. Or that they don’t trust me somehow. Having my address, driver’s license, credit card information, signed insurance documents, and $1800 of my money aren’t enough, they need to inspect the mileage, fuel level, and condition of the loaner before allowing me to leave.

This dealership always presses hard for a review after service appointments. More than one text message is sent out, reminding the customer that it would be a huge favor to take the time to fill out the survey. They will even call you if you don’t fill it out, asking what went wrong. What’s interesting is that after my visit, they sent me no survey. Because . . . I’m a Karen? Did they discuss me after I left?

My suggestion to their ridiculous request for me to fill the tank to what it was when I received it, should be adjusted to something like – ‘Hey, the first 50 miles are on us. (2 gallons of gas – $8). After that, if you could be a lamb and top it off, we’d really appreciate it.’ If Nissan can’t afford that, then I don’t know what to say. Cut back on the free cookies.

And now for the answers . . . what did I do? In the first scenario – I did Option C. In the second situation, I did Option A. (But I did work for a Mercedes dealership, and I bit my tongue while I was there really wanting to showcase how that five-star level of service influenced me.)

So, on a scale of 1-10, how bad of a Karen was I?

Thank you for your participation.

Life be crazy. My shrink (don’t let this influence your voting) once said that I was a ‘right fighter’. And while that may be my nature, I should sometimes learn to let it go. Those are true words and believe me when I say that I have held back my witty/snarky/crabby/stabby responses many times in order to protect others from my inner conversations. I’ve not always succeeded, but in the car dealership visit, I really didn’t see the backlash and the ‘you’re-a-Karen eyes’ coming.

Let it goooo, Annabelle. (And if you do get a survey, send them a link to this blog.)

It may be a left brain/right brain fight club thing too.