Denied
She smiled through gritted teeth as she asked the cashier for what she so rightly deserved. With her sailor husband currently deployed, she couldn’t believe it had come to this after dropping hints for a good five minutes.
But when he replied, she was left shaking and with fury by his audacity. And when she snidely asked to speak to the manager, she didn’t expect it all to blow up in her face.
Challenges
Credits
Military families face many challenges when a member is deployed, and even more so when the member is a parent. They must bid farewell to their loved ones as they are sent for their tour of duty, and sometimes they don’t know if they will return.
No one can deny that being a military wife can’t be easy.
Military Wives
militarywives
The family members of servicemen, holding down the fort and handling life’s challenges alone, are left behind. Without the help of their loved one nearby, they don’t have an easy time either.
This proves to be quite difficult when the person at home has to be there for the family and take 200% of the workload. However, are military wives entitled to special treatment?
Entitlement
ABC NEws
Sometimes the dependants of servicemen take things too far and cause a lot of resentment amongst the public and other servicemen and women.
There are many such stories floating around the internet about these entitled spouses. But one post, in particular, sparked such a storm of fury on social media that the original poster was left reeling.
Out For Pizza
businessinsider
For Kathryn, it was hard enough that her deployed husband wouldn’t be able to attend their son’s 10th birthday party, which she had decided to celebrate with a few of his friends and her father-in-law at Cici’s Pizza in Norfolk, Virginia.
The pizzeria had an amazing buffet special and she planned on taking full advantage of it. Little did she know, her behavior there was about to make her famous.
Trying Her Luck
TripAdvisor
Kathryn ushered the ravenous kids into a booth at the back and ordered for them — she had already eyed the kids’ buffet specials for $4.39 each online. She couldn’t believe how reasonable the price was for the all-you-can-eat pizza specials. She also ordered two adult buffet specials, one for her father-in-law and one for herself, at $5.99 each.
But, there’s no pleasing some people. She thought she’d try her luck.
Reaction
Credits
The cashier who was on duty that day barely had time to process Kathryn’s order before she rudely interrupted him. She tapped her shiny manicured talons on the counter impatiently and mustered her sweetest fake smile.
“My husband is currently serving in the Navy,” she said. But when he didn’t take the bait, she knew she had to try a different approach.
Getting To The Point
Credits
“Do you offer military discounts?” Kathryn asked, pointedly. “Yes,” the cashier replied warily, knowing full well where this line of conversation was going. “We give a free drink to active duty and retired,” he added.
Kathryn, growing more annoyed by the minute, snapped: “What about the spouse of deployed members?” Then, all hell broke loose.
Too Much
Credits
The cashier at Cici’s pizza couldn’t deny that active servicemen and women deserved his respect and admiration. He also understood that many of these brave men and women had families and dependants who have to deal with them being gone for long periods of time.
But one thing he wouldn’t tolerate was entitlement. He was about to let Kathryn have it.
Taking Advantage
BusinessInsider
Wasn’t it enough that the pizzeria would make little to no profit on the cheap specials that Kathryn had ordered for the table? They did it to keep business flowing on slow days, but this woman was really taking advantage.
Why did she think she was entitled to a discount just for being a military spouse? He couldn’t help himself when he replied — It was just too good.
Scathing Retort
Credits
“The man is issued a seabag, not a spouse,” he replied sweetly, trying not to giggle as the entitled woman’s expression changed from self-important to absolutely incredulous. Then, her face hardened.
“I’m going to have to call corporate,” she threatened. But the cashier had an answer for that, too. If Kathryn was unhappy now, she would soon be livid.
Surprise!
Credits
“Go ahead. I’m the district manager, so nothing will change. If you wish, we can sit down and talk,” the cashier replied. Kathryn, bested, didn’t know how to reply to that. She quietly went back to the table, seething. Then, she had an idea.
She immediately posted her story on a private Facebook page to vent and try and get some sympathy. But it backfired spectacularly.
Online Rant
Credits
‘Thankfully, my kids and father in law were with me and it was a celebration for my soon to be 10-year-old or I would have left!’ Kathryn ranted.
‘I don’t care about the free drink, I care that this man feels that only the service members serve and openly gives such disrespect to military spouse! Please share!’ Kathryn’s post concluded.
Leaked
Soon after it was written, the post was leaked into a Reddit forum dedicated to “dependas,” which is a term used to describe military spouses with an overwhelming sense of self-importance that, sometimes, even overshadows their deployed spouse’s achievements while serving their country.
Unfortunately, there are many military spouses who do little to dispel the stereotype.
The Internet Reacts
Credits
Many people have reacted to the story, sharing their indignation at the woman’s audacity and sense of entitlement. ‘Feed 5 people endless pizza for $28 and this chick still complains,” one user wrote.
Many others also decided to share their own stories of military spouses and children and their crazy sense that society owes them something too.
Unbelievable
ABC News
‘It’s laughable how some of the military spouses view their spouses’ accomplishments as their own, and try to pull rank over other people,’ another comment reads.
Even other military spouses had stories to share. One such spouse posted: ‘I am a military spouse, some of the entitlement is UNREAL. I have legitimately met wives who say things like “our rank” “thank US for OUR service.”’
Not Impressing Anyone
The woman then continues to talk about a wife who insisted that she ‘address her by her rank, she wasn’t military’.
The woman is clearly not impressed by such behavior, saying: ‘My husband serves, not me or our kids. I hate when people automatically go “well my husband serves our country so….” Give me a break.’
Penny-Pinching
Credits
Another eagle-eyed user was quick to notice something on the bill that made the woman’s case even less compelling.
‘I didn’t see it pointed out but she ordered 3 child buffets, 2 adult buffets, and 2 adult drinks….now either she let the kids go without drinks….OR…more than likely let them drink from her cup saving her the price of 3 kids drinks.’
No Extras
Credits
Another user wrote: ‘My last duty station there was a woman who was married to a 2nd Lt who used to demand we salute her and would do stupid stuff like try to put us at attention in the gym or PX etc.’
He added: ‘…finally one day a base-wide email went out from a Lt Col and in it said “Remind your spouses they do NOT wear your rank and outside of commonplace niceties and respect, deserve nothing extra”.’
Marrying Into The Lifestyle
Another user had a good point: ‘I grew up being told that if the military wanted their personnel to have a family; they would have issued them with a spouse and kids,’ he pointed out.
‘I know times have changed in the past decade, but not to the point that the sacrifices made by the families are recognized. Besides, you married into the lifestyle!’