The Best 'You Have No Power Here!' Moments People Ever Witnessed

We all know what it's like to go through something terribly frustrating and to wish that things would go even a little bit more our way.

But there are some people in the world who are so set on getting their way, exactly their way, that they aren't afraid to make a scene, write emails, or make phone calls to get what they want.

On the rare occassion that they not able to get it, it's a humbling experience.

Ready with the popcorn, Redditor AdventurousBig4497 asked:

"What's the best 'You have no power here' moment you've ever witnessed?"

Parenting Responsibilities

"My fourth day ever working as a lifeguard at 16, an infant fell out of a chair that was way too big for them and cracked her head open."

"I reacted to the mother screaming, since they were sitting behind me and I couldn't see them, got everyone out of the pool, and got my manager to call 911. The ambulance was there within 10 minutes, and the infant lived."

"The mother then threatened to sue me for neglecting the responsibilities of my job, saying that I should've warned her against putting her child in a large lounge chair."

"I responded, 'So you want to sue me because a 16-year-old kid should be telling a 30-year-old mother how to take care of her kid?' She promptly stopped talking."

- TechnicianStraight62

The Starbucks Line

"A VP at some tech company tried to pull the, 'Do you know who I am?' card when a teenage Starbucks barista told him they were out of oat milk."

"She just stared at him and said, 'Yeah, you're the guy who's about to get regular milk or leave.'"

- budifcb

"I don't understand why people are like that. Do they think that if they berate a barista enough that oat milk will just suddenly appear? When a place tells me they're out of something, I say, 'Aw, d**n, okay,' and either don't order or order something else."

- drainbead78

A Controlling Boss

"I got pulled into a room by a manager who had just had me assigned to her. I’ve been working here for 10 years and know the rules; she’s been there for a year."

"She signs my timesheets and so pulls me into a room and starts telling me she's not comfortable with me starting work at 6:30 AM and leaving by 2:30 PM to get my small children from school. She argues that it’s bad optics and that yes, it’s not fair for working mothers, but she prefers I work more regular hours (noting 95% of my job is writing reports and assessing planning applications), and she thinks I should get a babysitter for after-school pick-ups."

"I tell her that policy says that my work hours can be between 6 and 6 (flexible workplace legislation) and that her preference for when I work doesn’t overwrite company policy. I’ve worked this way for the last five years. I told her that if she wants, she can put that in writing, and I’ll take her email to HR to discuss how it aligns with the policy."

"It was the last time she told me when I am allowed to work."

- queenofthemeeps

No STAT Here

"When I was a newbie med tech, an intern dropped off a pregnancy test in my lab (before the dipsticks were available). So I set it with the rest of the pregnancy test samples, waiting for the BIG batch from the clinic to be efficient."

"Less than an hour later, the intern comes back for the results, and I told him it wasn't done and would be run with the rest of the routine tests."

"He got all puffed up and yelled at me, 'I marked it STAT! I want it done STAT! It's on my wife!'"

"I was about to remind him of our policy on STAT testing when the Chief of Pathology, who had been sitting in the corner using a special microscope as he occasionally did, unfolded all six-foot-six of his Ichabod Crane physique and said, 'Dr McShouty, STAT pregnancy test for a mistress, perhaps. For a wife, never. We will call you when the results are available.'"

"Dr McShouty slithered out of my lab."

- TsuDhoNimh2

Inappropriate Water Bill

"I work in a school doing finance, and a few years back, we received a water bill for £14k. With it was a letter that said their engineer had taken the reading, so it was an actual, not estimated charge."

"I did a bit of homework before calling them to dispute it. The lady on the phone insisted that it was a valid charge and had to be paid."

"I forget my exact words, but I said something like, 'I've checked our records and we have no record of you visiting. So either you're not telling the truth, or you allowed your engineer to wander around a site full of children unaccompanied. In which case, I want to speak to your manager and the police.'"

"We did not pay £14k."

- Chimpasaurus69

Self-Advocacy At Camp

"When I was about 10, my parents sent me to summer camp for a month. I’d been before, and it had been fun, but this year was AWFUL."

"The counselor was abusive, and I was writing home every day complaining about how horrible she was. Eventually, I created such a stink that my parents were calling, demanding to know what was going on, and I was demanding to talk to them on the phone."

"They set up a time for me to come to their administrative office to make a phone call."

"Well, I get there and some random a** secretary tells me I can’t make the call until I sign some piece of paper basically saying that all the problems in the cabin are my fault somehow."

"I just looked at her and said, 'I’m not signing that! Give me the phone!' And then once I called my parents, the first thing I said was, 'You won’t believe what these people tried to make me sign!'"

"The camp was in deep s**t for trying to make a minor sign some bulls**t cover-your-a** form, in addition to the abusive counselor."

"To this day, I’m surprised and proud of myself for not taking any of their s**t and calling their bluff as a 10-year-old."

- revolutionutena

Verbal Assault

"Two for the price of one! When I was much younger, I managed a bottle shop (liquor store/off licence for our US/UK readers) that was part of a much larger retail chain."

"I was unloading a delivery in the back when I heard a huge commotion at the register, so I ambled out to see what was happening. Upon getting to the front of the store, I see one of my team members copping an absolute spray from some old bloke, who's going on about how immigrants are taking Australian jobs, and how he's going to have him sacked, etc."

"(The guy working the register was Nepalese). Once the codger had gotten it all out, my cashier told him to please leave the store, as we wouldn't be serving him after the torrent of abuse."

"The old bloke turns to look at me, and says, 'Are you going to let him do that?'"

"I replied, No,' and the customer's face lit up. Unfortunately for him, I continued, 'I think that he didn't go far enough, so we're banning you from the store.'"

"After a second torrent of abuse, he threatened to call corporate, etc, and eventually left after I threatened to call the cops."

"The next morning, I get a furious call from the district manager, insisting that I unban this s**thead. I told her that company policy is that any racial vilification results in a ban from the store, and if she wants to take it up with her boss, she's welcome to, but I'm looking forward to seeing how she justifies the customer's behavior (which was all caught on tape)."

"She hung up on me and it was never mentioned again."

- 2dTom

His Bills, His Rules

"I was 18, maybe 19, living in a trailer I'd bought from my mom's parents. I was delivering pizza for Domino's."

"The assistant manager and I had the weekend off, so after our lunch shift, we hit the river with her brother and her roommate and then partied at their place, where I crashed. Saturday was a repeat of Friday, and Sunday was also."

"I came dragging home about 9:00 AM Monday morning to get ready for my 10 AM class, and my dad comes knocking. He goes on about how I can't spend all weekend partying like that, and I need to be more responsible and whatnot."

"So I just handed him my electric bill, which was in the sorter I put bills in by the door, and told him, 'I need you to go pay this for me,' and handed it to him."

"He looks at it and says, 'I ain't paying your bill.'"

"I said, 'No, you're not, and that means you don't tell me what to do. Your advice is welcome, but not your orders.'"

- Straight_Smoke_7073

No One Enjoys Those Tests

"I once had a patient threaten to sue me because I placed orders for a nurse to do a nasal swab for COVID-19 and the flu."

"They claimed I 'assaulted' them and that they'd call their lawyer if I didn't do what they wanted (a lot of pain and anxiety meds)."

"I took their phone from the bedside table and gave it to them and said, 'Call them right now; I'd love to talk to them.' They were silent for what felt like ten straight seconds before they grumbled about how they 'didn't feel like doing it right now.'"

- Halefire

Little-To-No Leverage

"My dad is a grade A a**hole. A few summers ago my grandparents were being rude to my younger brother and sister (they wanted to go to the sand bar party on the 4th of July because they were mid 20s kids)."

"When I reminded my grandparents they’re adults who can do what they want and I would even transport them sober, my dad stepped in and said I better watch how I speak."

"I said, ‘Or what? Are you going to ground me? I’m 32 with my own money, car, and home.’ I’ll never forget the way he just stared at me. All the things he held over my head when I was younger were gone."

- srcorvettez06

Double-Standard Rules

"This was more of an I have no power here but I will f**k this company’s selective rules. Worked at a big department store at a high-end makeup brand counter. They were very strict with the return rules unless the customer was an a**hole, and then they would give the customer whatever they want."

"I felt like it rewarded bad behavior and made me look stupid for saying no. So I started telling my customers who asked for things outside of the rules that I couldn’t process their request, but if I call over a manager, they can. If a company has rules that only apply to nice people, then I say f**k that company."

- Gray-Sun-7182

Ageism At Its Finest

"I went back to school in my 40s, mainly to get certified for work I was already doing. In the labs, I wear my old shop coat (The labs are all using CNC mills, manual lathes, etc, messy stuff)."

"A manager from the college's finance department sees me working away on my project, and proceeds to berate me for daring to show up for work in such a 'ratty uniform.'"

"She's not the first one to confuse me for a professor, so I keep on trying to tell her I don't work at the college. Somehow, this makes her angrier, so she threatens to have me fired for not wearing my staff ID on a lanyard. (She's one of those people who never screams. She just gets very... precise with her diction.)"

"About this time, the head of the department walks in, and hears the tail end of her rant, so he digs something out of his briefcase, hands it to me, and says, 'Here, I marked your exam. You got an 93%. Would you mind tutoring someone for me?' That's when it sinks in that I'm a student, not a teacher."

- ChrisRiley_42

HOA Drama

"HOA guy marched up and wrote me a violation for leaving my bins out. I smiled and said, 'Cool, but I don’t live in your HOA.'"

"He sputtered, checked the map on his phone, and walked away in silence. Sweetest curbside victory ever."

- Ok_Article_3863

Over-The-Top Pro Bono

"I'm an academic. I had been working with a local company to give them some advice on the data analysis they were doing. I was doing this pro bono because my university has a policy of supporting local organisations when we can, and also because my contact there was someone I knew from my hometown. It was only about 15 to 30 minutes of my time a week."

"The company got taken over by a bully and complete moron, and my friend ended up leaving because of the toxic culture. A month or so later I got an email from the new boss. He told me that I would be expected to conduct the full analysis in lieu of their former employee (in excess of 20 hours a week worth of work), and that he was expecting this to be done immediately, or he would be firing me from the company."

"I replied, pointing out some key points to him, namely that i) I didn't work for the company, ii) I had been providing advice on an informal basis and was under no obligation to continue to do so, and iii) that if he wanted my assistance, they could pay my university the standard consultancy rate."

"He railed against this initially and threatened legal action, at which point I introduced him to our Law department... because yeah, not only do we have our own lawyers, we are also the place that trains lawyers. He went silent after that."

- J8766557

Name-Dropping

"Delivering furniture when the customer is unhappy about us not being willing or able to go over their third-floor balcony. He name drops the VP of sales to my driver saying that, he 'knows him very well and talks to him all the time.'"

"My driver just folded up the paperwork and said, 'Oh yeah? Me too!'"

"We just got back in the truck and drove away."

- Sammell

"Similar thing happened to me many times. I worked for my Dads transport company, furniture removals/retail deliveries etc. More than a few times I'd have the entitled 'Karen' complain about something, demanding my boss's name..."

"My reply: I call him Dad."

- anaussiesopinion

Everyone has an idea of how things will go, and some people are very interested in seeing things go their own way, but there always has to be a limit. In these situations, hopefully these entitled people actually learned something.