The Night of the Living Karens

[statsman 5,355]

Last Friday, I took my middle school daughter and her friend to 6 Flags, for Fright Night. We live in Arlington, so we always get the season pass, and I just noticed that our pass came with a one-time “front of the line” pass for one ride. These can also be purchased. We decided to use ours for “La Vibora” (née “Bobsled “), because it’s a fun ride that always has long lines. 
 
There was a problem. The teen girl running the “Flash Pass” entrance had a non working phone device for processing special passes. She was super sweet, and I imagine running her line is usually an easy job (people are happy to skip long lines), but…not that night. 
 
I am 60, but when I was in HS in Waco, I worked at Mr. Gattis Pizza for a couple of years. A valuable lesson- when mistakes are made, when things go awry, and you have a complaint- the teen workers really don’t care. They will give you stuff to make you go away, but they really don’t care. That’s why, when customer service is an issue, I stay calm and don’t harangue the workers. I know they don’t give a shit. 
 
I knew that, but evidently the other adults didn’t. My daughter recorded the first Karen, complaining about how much she spent and how her evening was being ruined, as we all waited (to be fair, a ridiculous amount of time) for the new device to arrive. She then got her husband to complain; he swore a little (not enough for me to intervene), and made a comment about needing to talk to a manager making “more than $10 an hour” (ha-ha! I think these kids are making more than that). 
 
While we were waiting, the girl’s shift blessedly ended. My group thanked her as she left. She was replaced by a slight teen boy. I chatted a little with him, he was a student from FW Dunbar. He displayed a savior faire, an elan, that just impressed the hell out of me. People came to complain and he…ignored them. No perfunctory canned excuses, no apologies. He just sat on his stool, fixed his gaze 210 degrees from the complainer, and said … nothing. It was clear he cares not a whit about their complaints. 
 
It was awe inspiring. 
 
(why did I never think of that?)
 
Finally, the new device arrived and we rode the ride, which was terrific. 

Edited October 15, 2023 by statsman

[Pato del Muerto 52,114]

3 minutes ago, statsman said:

La Vibora” (née “Bobsled “)

Never made sense that they threw that one into Spain.  But really in which area would it have fit?  Go ahead and give it a spanish name from day 1 though. 

[TrashMaster G 17,299]

1 hour ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Never made sense that they threw that one into Spain.  But really in which area would it have fit?  Go ahead and give it a spanish name from day 1 though. 

The Robertosled?

[YGIFS 19,445]

Nee, harangue, awry, slight, savior faire, an elan, perfunctory, whit, etc.  

OP uses a lot of fancy words to describe an evening spent amongst Carnies.  

[futureman 22,353]

2 hours ago, statsman said:

as we all waited (to be fair, a ridiculous amount of time)

what is a ridiculous amount of time?

[thunderlounge 7,642]

1 hour ago, YGIFS said:

Nee, harangue, awry, slight, savior faire, an elan, perfunctory, whit, etc.  

OP uses a lot of fancy words to describe an evening spent amongst Carnies.  

 

 

[futureman 22,353]

it's been too long since I've watched that movie

[NWBuck 8,534]

3 hours ago, YGIFS said:

Nee, harangue, awry, slight, savior faire, an elan, perfunctory, whit, etc.  

OP uses a lot of fancy words to describe an evening spent amongst Carnies.  

[Jerry Callo 8,631]

16 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Never made sense that they threw that one into Spain.  But really in which area would it have fit?  Go ahead and give it a spanish name from day 1 though. 

Although, using coral snake colors is a bit of a stretch - a snake that isn't in Spain and isn't a pit viper.  I rode it the year it was moved to Six Flags and it was the avalanche bobsled and will always be that.  I tell young kids that La Vibora means bobsled in Spanish.

[Guest]

16 hours ago, statsman said:

He displayed a savior faire, an elan, that just impressed the hell out of me. People came to complain and he…ignored them. No perfunctory canned excuses, no apologies. He just sat on his stool, fixed his gaze 210 degrees from the complainer, and said … nothing.

I tell you Elaine, this young man's grace under fire was exquisite. And then I ate the most amazing concoction that I believe the locals call a "corny" dog. Oh that magical night in Arlington, I won't soon forget.

[Dnaguy 11,598]

1 hour ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

I tell you Elaine, this young man's grace under fire was exquisite. And then I ate the most amazing concoction that I believe the locals call a "corny" dog. Oh that magical night in Arlington, I won't soon forget.

 

Bravo sir. Bravo.

[YGIFS 19,445]

And when you get to the chapter on this riding of the "La Vagoria", Elaine.  Feel free to toss yourself into the mix. 

[SimonBolivar 10,697]

2 hours ago, Jerry Callo said:

Although, using coral snake colors is a bit of a stretch - a snake that isn't in Spain and isn't a pit viper. 

Six Flags is a magical place. Hell Casa Magnetica is somehow in both Spain AND Mexico!

 

Also La Vibora was originally called Sarajevo Bobsleds at Magic Mountain and it's a damn shame that SFoT doesn't have a Bosnian section.

[futureman 22,353]

it's your URINE, elaine!

[Deej 76,218]

On 10/16/2023 at 11:04 AM, FirstTimeCaller said:

I tell you Elaine, this young man's grace under fire was exquisite. And then I ate the most amazing concoction that I believe the locals call a "corny" dog. Oh that magical night in Arlington, I won't soon forget.

Peterman ran through my mind as I read that, too. 

Nice work.