“The Audacity”: Boating Customer Bangs on Bathroom Door While Employee Is Inside — Pettiness Ensues

The internet is seething after seeing the way a "smug" and "immature" customer interacted with a marine sales worker in a viral TikTok clip that's accrued over 2 million views on the popular social media application.

The content creator, who we'll refer to as Maillet ( @mailletfam ), received an outpour of support from other app users for the way she handled the rude shopper.

"Literally going to the bathroom the second I walk in (after being gone 10 days) and someone comes BANGING on the bathroom door," she writes in a text overlay that opens up the video, which then shows the TikToker cracking the door open as they record.

"Who is...?" the TikToker asks after exiting the bathroom and looking over the awning to see who was knocking on the door so vigorously.

"She's very rude," she says, while another person off camera responds saying, "yeah."

"You don't walk to somebody's bathroom and knock on the door that's weird," she says.

The person off-camera can be heard continually talking with the TikToker before Maillet goes on to say loudly in what sounds like an attempt to make sure that the customer, if they're still there, can hear what she's saying: "I want to know what the heck she wants and why she's knocking on the bathroom door."

Maillet continues to record herself walking throughout the store, passing by shelves with tools hanging from them and other nautical-themed fixtures pinned to the wall until finally she is outside. It's bright, sunny, birds can be heard chirping and there are palm trees decorating perforating a scenic, cloud-laced skyline.

The TikToker greets the customer outside who is on her phone, who tells Maillet that she has a "boot" she's picking up.

"OK," Maillet tells her before addressing the fact that she was in the restroom earlier: "Yeah I was in the bathroom, I never had a customer walk through my building looking for people and knocking on bathroom doors."

The patron seemingly goes on to defend her actions: "Well I've been here before and I talked to your owner and he said it would be ready and since they can't speak English and just didn't know what to tell me..."

At this point in the clip, Maillet writes in an additional text overlay: "They speak English, they told her 'please wait, she's in the restroom.'"

The customer continues to speak: "I'm sorry but I've already been here once, it's hot and they don't have an answer, yeah I went looking for you," she said.

"You knocked on the bathroom door," the employee tells her, "that was very rude."

The customer then shakes her head from side to side, "I didn't know it was a bathroom."

"You didn't see the bathroom door sign?"

"No ma'am," the customer replies.

"What is your job?" Maillet asks.

"Why do I have to tell you my job is, I'm coming here to pick up some—"

"I'm asking you what it is so I can get it for you," she tells the customer.

"It's a Bimini boot," the shopper says.

"What is your name?" the employee asks her, before the patron poses the same exact question and it becomes clear the content creator is done with the conversation — she ends the video with an abrupt "OK."

Judging from the comments made by several people who responded to Maitell's video, it looks like working in boat sales subjects workers to some less-than-savory individuals: "Used to work in marine sales — I can tell you confidently that she waited until the last second to get her Bimini boot done before 4th of July and then demanded it be done before then."

Another person said that the customer's mocking behavior towards the TikToker would've been enough for them to end any type of dealings they had: "The way she says 'I DiDn'T kNoW iT wAs a bAtHrOoM' would have been the end of that business relationship."

There was one user on the app who remarked that there are some perks in not working for a corporate entity, namely you get to choose your clientele and clap back at them if you would like: "The thing I love about smaller businesses is being able to stand your ground against nasty customers like this."

Several people also applauded Maitell's ability to maintain her equanimity in the face of such a rude customer too: "You held your composure in a way I could never."

How would have you reacted if a shopper walked into the place of business that you worked at and began speaking to you in the same way that the woman in this TikTok did?