Bored Panda works better on our iPhone app
Continue in app Continue in browser

The Bored Panda iOS app is live! Fight boredom with iPhones and iPads here.

Idiot Veteran Takes It Too Far After Not Getting Cheap Service, The Mechanic Teaches Him An Expensive Lesson
Middle-aged mechanic with gray hair and tools hanging on the wall behind him in a workshop environment.

FORGOTTEN HISTORY: Truck racist customer detour petty revenge - Caught on Camera

1

ADVERTISEMENT

There’s a category of people who, for whatever reason, refuse to take no for an answer—and that’s not the compliment they think it is. They’ll go out of their way to get what they want, making everyone’s lives miserable in the process. Sometimes you just wish someone would finally put them in their place.

Well, this Redditor did. Working as a mechanic, he found himself dealing with one of the rudest, most entitled customers you could imagine. The guy just wouldn’t quit, so he decided to teach him a lesson he never saw coming. Read the full story below.

RELATED:

    One customer had become pretty well-known at a repair shop, and unfortunately, not in a good way

    Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)

    So when he finally crossed the line, the mechanic on duty decided it was time to put him in his place

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Image credits: Juan Pablo Serrano Arenas (not the actual photo) 

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Image credits: ALTEREDSNAPS (not the actual photo) 

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Image credits: u/ZZZ-Top

    ADVERTISEMENT

    The worker’s clever revenge plan left the veteran stranded in the desert with his truck badly damaged after a 5-foot drop, forcing him to call rescue services

    As the mechanic explained in his story, the entitled man had been showing up at the shop for a while, demanding cheap services and using his veteran status to guilt-trip people into helping him.

    He also allegedly behaved in a racist way toward the workers, which made the situation even worse. According to the poster, the man would try to fix his own truck, mess it up even more, and then expect the shop to repair it for practically nothing.

    The mechanic’s boss, named G in the post, usually agreed to work on the veteran’s truck after hours or when nobody else was around. When asked why his boss would go to such lengths for someone like that, the mechanic wrote in the comments: “I honestly want to have a chat with G about it, my guess is they all played some kind of sports in high school and have some kind of old boys’ relationship.”

    So when the man approached him demanding that his truck be fixed, the worker calmly told him that his boss was out of town and would deal with it when he got back. Unfortunately, the customer couldn’t take no for an answer and allegedly decided to follow the mechanic home.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    It might seem extreme that someone would go that far just to get free repair services. But as The Guardian puts it, “depending on the context, anger can make us brave or reckless.” Studies have also shown that anger can increase risk-seeking behavior and affect decision-making, leading people to underestimate how badly a situation could end.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    The veteran definitely didn’t seem to think that far ahead before following the mechanic. But the repairman had a plan.

    He contacted a friend who lived a few miles away in the desert and asked him to act as backup. Then, he took a rough desert route, knowing the man’s already-damaged truck would not be able to handle the terrain. The customer followed anyway and drove straight into the trap.

    Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)

    Research suggests that when people are furious, they may feel more energized to attack the person they blame or fight back in some way. They can even feel excited by thoughts of revenge or punishment.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Campbell and Muncer also found that men can see expressing anger as a way to regain control over a situation. That might help explain why the veteran decided to follow the mechanic instead of simply walking away.

    In this case, it’s possible the veteran was caught up in his own rage, or there may have been something deeper going on. Solara Mental Health notes that PTSD can make it difficult for veterans to adjust to civilian life, and that it may come with other struggles, including depression, anxiety, or thoughts of harming themselves or others.

    Of course, none of that excuses the way the customer treated the mechanic or the shop workers. Luckily, the repairman was able to think quickly and get himself out of the situation. His plan left the rude customer with a very damaged truck and, hopefully, a lesson he won’t forget anytime soon.

    The post received 12k upvotes, with many readers supporting the poster’s actions. How would you have handled this kind of situation? Let us know in the comments.

    Commenters were shocked that the veteran tried to follow the mechanic home, but many were also amused to see him get what he deserved

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Poll Question

    Total votes ·

    Thanks! Check out the results:

    Total votes ·
    Share on Facebook

    Explore more of these tags

    Oleksandra Kyryliuk

    Oleksandra Kyryliuk

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    Oleksandra is an experienced copywriter with a master’s degree in International Communication. Having covered everything from education, finance, and marketing to art, pop culture, and memes, she now brings her storytelling skills to Bored Panda. For the past six years, she’s been living and working in Vilnius, Lithuania.

    Read less »
    Oleksandra Kyryliuk

    Oleksandra Kyryliuk

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Oleksandra is an experienced copywriter with a master’s degree in International Communication. Having covered everything from education, finance, and marketing to art, pop culture, and memes, she now brings her storytelling skills to Bored Panda. For the past six years, she’s been living and working in Vilnius, Lithuania.

    Greta Jaruševičiūtė

    Greta Jaruševičiūtė

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    Greta is a Photo Editor-in-Chief at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication.In 2016, she graduated from Digital Advertising courses where she had an opportunity to meet and learn from industry professionals. In the same year, she started working at Bored Panda as a photo editor.Greta is a coffeeholic and cannot survive a day without 5 cups of coffee... and her cute, big-eared dog.Her biggest open secret: she is a gamer with a giant gaming backlog.

    Read less »

    Greta Jaruševičiūtė

    Greta Jaruševičiūtė

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    Greta is a Photo Editor-in-Chief at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication.In 2016, she graduated from Digital Advertising courses where she had an opportunity to meet and learn from industry professionals. In the same year, she started working at Bored Panda as a photo editor.Greta is a coffeeholic and cannot survive a day without 5 cups of coffee... and her cute, big-eared dog.Her biggest open secret: she is a gamer with a giant gaming backlog.

    What do you think ?
    Chaotic Good
    Community Member
    1 day ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    US Veteran here - the rest of us can't stand that kind of guy. Anywhere I shop for the first time, I ask if they offer a veteran's discount. If they say no, I say "Thanks anyway." and drop the subject. Sometimes that works out, I recently had a new workshop built on my property, and the guy noticed the veteran tags on my car, and built in an extra workbench for free.

    ADHD
    Community Member
    1 day ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    one of my fave posts is a navy guy, trumper says, ty for service etc, navy guy replies, get FKD traitor.

    Load More Replies...
    JB
    Community Member
    1 day ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I stayed in an ábusive marriage for far too long because ex was/is a veteran, had seen active service, so had PTSD and anger management issues. I sympathized with his condition, understood he’d seen and done awful things as part of his service. No wonder he was messed up. But there comes a time where empathy is a dangerous emotion to feel towards someone who refuses to get help and is willing to hurt you when they lose their temper. It’s sad he got that fùcked up when all he wanted was to protect others. Even sadder that he *could* have done therapy to address his trauma and the army would have paid for it. He just had the mindset that needing therapy was weak or, at least, that’s what he said. I suspect he refused therapy because he couldn’t bear those wounds to be touched.

    Earonn -
    Community Member
    4 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Nobody has to burn themselves to keep another warm. Not even if they're not to blame for being cold. And the "I don't need therapy" crowd can get tae fvck - they don't do their part, so nobody else has to provide the other half.

    Load More Replies...
    Lee Gilliland
    Community Member
    Premium
    18 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Just no. It was four years of my life, that doesn't give me a free ride forever.

    Load More Comments
    Chaotic Good
    Community Member
    1 day ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    US Veteran here - the rest of us can't stand that kind of guy. Anywhere I shop for the first time, I ask if they offer a veteran's discount. If they say no, I say "Thanks anyway." and drop the subject. Sometimes that works out, I recently had a new workshop built on my property, and the guy noticed the veteran tags on my car, and built in an extra workbench for free.

    ADHD
    Community Member
    1 day ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    one of my fave posts is a navy guy, trumper says, ty for service etc, navy guy replies, get FKD traitor.

    Load More Replies...
    JB
    Community Member
    1 day ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I stayed in an ábusive marriage for far too long because ex was/is a veteran, had seen active service, so had PTSD and anger management issues. I sympathized with his condition, understood he’d seen and done awful things as part of his service. No wonder he was messed up. But there comes a time where empathy is a dangerous emotion to feel towards someone who refuses to get help and is willing to hurt you when they lose their temper. It’s sad he got that fùcked up when all he wanted was to protect others. Even sadder that he *could* have done therapy to address his trauma and the army would have paid for it. He just had the mindset that needing therapy was weak or, at least, that’s what he said. I suspect he refused therapy because he couldn’t bear those wounds to be touched.

    Earonn -
    Community Member
    4 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Nobody has to burn themselves to keep another warm. Not even if they're not to blame for being cold. And the "I don't need therapy" crowd can get tae fvck - they don't do their part, so nobody else has to provide the other half.

    Load More Replies...
    ADVERTISEMENT
    Lee Gilliland
    Community Member
    Premium
    18 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Just no. It was four years of my life, that doesn't give me a free ride forever.

    Load More Comments
    Related on Bored Panda
    Popular on Bored Panda
    Trending on Bored Panda
    Also on Bored Panda
    ADVERTISEMENT