A Store Worker Mocked My Mom’s Accent—My Clapback Was Brutal, Maybe Too Brutal

A young person turned to Reddit and shared a story about how they brilliantly tamed an arrogant shop-assistant. The man judged and humiliated their mom, making them feel awkward and ashamed. But here’s how they defended their mom and shamed the nasty guy.

A Reddit user unleashed their fury over a shocking scandal they faced in a store.

One person recently turned to Reddit with their explosive story and made people go crazy in the comments section. The OP, who went under username lilypad_frog, shared how they and their mom appeared to be in the center of attention, all because of one entitled store employee, who thought being polite and tactful wasn’t in his job description.

The OP shared the backstory, saying, “For context, we’re Asian-American and my mom has an accent. It’s noticeable, sure, but it doesn’t impede someone’s ability to understand her. Most people can speak with her perfectly fine.

Unfortunately, there are some people who get... I don’t know, annoyed? Irritated? Speaking to someone with an Asian accent and pretend not to understand her or belittle her because of it. It’s very obvious when they do it (although they think they’re being slick).”

An ordinary visit to the mall turned into an explosive scandal.

The OP shared, “On to the story: around a year and a half ago, my mom and I (14NB at the time) were at a store, and she was returning something. I don’t know the details, but she had a question about the product. I had my earbuds in, but I could tell the situation wasn’t going smoothly.

My mom was explaining her question, and he was responding in a way that didn’t address her question at all. My mom kept her voice even, but I can tell she’s getting frustrated with how many times she’s having to repeat the same question (while he yabbers on about every other response except the one to her question.)

He had a very condescending tone in his voice while also speaking as you would to a toddler, as he kept spouting nonsense. Eventually, he huffs, interrupts my mom in the middle of her speaking, and turns away from her to me. He says, ‘Can you translate what I’m saying to your mom?’ And proceeds to repeat what he was saying to me instead.”

It was time to interfere, and they did it brilliantly.

The OP wrote, “I heard him perfectly fine the first time (I had my music off by this point to listen in), but I was pissed. I took out one of my earbuds, and asked, ‘Sorry?’ He repeated his question. He probably thought I would be more than willing to jump in or something.

Well, I, with a very disgusted look on my face and in an aggravated tone, said, ‘My mom can understand English perfectly fine.’ I didn’t wait for him to respond and instead put in my earbuds and looked back at my phone, completely ignoring him. I wasn’t loud or anything, but enough people were paying attention for him to look very embarrassed as he glanced around to look at how people are reacting (his coworkers were smirking).

My mom, holding back her amusement, proceeded to politely ask her question for what must be the 7th time. Surprise, surprise! He suddenly perfectly understood what she was asking and answered it. He then tries to backpedal and keeps repeating something about how he thought she was asking something else, and he was helping by doing this, and blah blah blah.

I ignore him the entire time, scoffing, my mom cordially says thank you, and we step away. I make a point to immediately start talking in our native language about him to my mom while shooting a nasty glance his way.”

The OP explained why they decided to teach the guy a shameful lesson.

The OP said, “Btw, my mom is not ashamed of her accent. Neither am I. There are some times when my mom can’t remember a word/convey her message or the person she’s speaking to genuinely misunderstands, and she herself turns to me to ask me to translate.

When that happens, most people listen to me, nod, and turn back to respond back to my mom. We don’t mind those situations at all; it’s times when nasty people like that guy purposely pretend not to comprehend or act condescending to my mom because they want to feel superior to us and make her feel ashamed. I hope that guy learned his lesson.”

Redditors delivered some really emotional opinions about the whole situation.

• One person wrote, “Nobody should ever be ashamed of their accent. (particularly adults who have learned a second language). When learning one, you have to start by having the same language skills as a young child. For adults, it is very difficult to get through that stage to the point that you can have a conversation.
  It takes guts. Kudos to your Mom. That guy was not very clever.”
• One more user said, “Having a foreign accent means that you know at least one other language—so probably far more than that guy in the store, who seems to have trouble with English.”

• Another Redditor commented, “So much credit to people who learn and understand a language that is not their own. No matter the level of understanding. It is quite an accomplishment.”
• One more user wrote, “I love accents! I’m always interested in where the person originated from, and it makes me more interested in them and a bit envious because I know they have seen and experienced things that I have not.”

• Some person shared, “A variation of what I would tell students who made fun of someone else’s accent: ’When you are speaking to someone with an accent, you are speaking to someone who has learned to communicate in more than one language. Whether it is only speaking or speaking, reading, and writing is irrelevant. They speak more than one language. How many languages do YOU speak?’
  And a variation of what I would tell my kiddos who would refuse to speak English or read out loud in class because they were embarrassed by their accent: ’Don’t ever be embarrassed by your accent. Having an accent is just proof that you speak and understand more than one language. You should be proud that you are diligent enough to do so.
  An accent is not a measure of your intelligence or any such thing — if anything, it shows you as a smart person. Most people who make fun of someone with an accent are people who only speak and understand one language. Don’t be ashamed of who you are.’”
• Another user praised the OP, “Boss move kiddo. Good on you for defending your Mom from that arrogant person!”

Sometimes the smallest good deed sets off the biggest chain reaction, though not always the one you’d expect. These stories prove that generosity can take strange, funny, or even shocking turns. Ready to see how a kind gesture can flip into the unexpected?