November 13, 2025 at 1:35 pm

Older Woman Was Shopping At The Local Mall, So When A Frazzled Man Shoved His Car Keys Into Her Hands Insisting She Was His Valet, It Left Her Speechless

by Benjamin Cottrell

busy shopping mall

Pexels/Reddit

It’s amazing how fast a normal day can turn bizarre.

One woman found that out when a stranger shoved car keys in her face and asked her to fetch his car.

The encounter left her baffled, and a little worried about who they let out on the road these days.

Read on for the full story.

Mistaken for a car attendant at LLBean (I think)

I was on a tight time schedule, so I was walking briskly as I entered the exterior door of the LLBean at our local mall.

That’s when another shopper gave her quite the rude awakening.

I’m a 70ish gray-haired woman who looks my age, so I was taken aback when a somewhat older man thrust his car keys in my face and said, “Could you get my car and bring it to the door?”

I jumped aside, mumbled something like, “I can’t, I’m in a hurry,” and kept going.

The encounter stuck with her for the rest of the day.

But now I’m wondering—did he really think I was a parking attendant, mistake me for a friend, or what?

And in any case, with his cognitive issues, what the blankety-blank was he doing driving??

So many questions, so little answers!

What did Reddit make of all this?

This guy really didn’t seem to be in the best headspace.

Screenshot 2025 11 07 at 4.08.34 PM Older Woman Was Shopping At The Local Mall, So When A Frazzled Man Shoved His Car Keys Into Her Hands Insisting She Was His Valet, It Left Her Speechless

Maybe he did know she didn’t work there and just didn’t care.

Screenshot 2025 11 07 at 4.09.08 PM Older Woman Was Shopping At The Local Mall, So When A Frazzled Man Shoved His Car Keys Into Her Hands Insisting She Was His Valet, It Left Her Speechless

This store doesn’t even have valet service!

Screenshot 2025 11 07 at 4.10.09 PM Older Woman Was Shopping At The Local Mall, So When A Frazzled Man Shoved His Car Keys Into Her Hands Insisting She Was His Valet, It Left Her Speechless

If this guy really thought she was his valet, then maybe someone else should have been driving him home.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a rude customer who got exactly what they wanted in their pizza.

Benjamin Cottrell | Assistant Editor, Internet Culture

Benjamin Cottrell is an Assistant Editor and contributing writer at TwistedSifter, specializing in internet culture, viral social dynamics, and the moral complexities of online communities. He brings a highly analytical, editorial voice to his reporting on workplace conflicts, malicious compliance, and interpersonal drama, with a specific focus on nuanced stories that lack an obvious villain.

As a published author of rhetorical criticism, Benjamin leverages his academic background in human communication to dissect and elevate viral social media threads. Instead of simply summarizing events, he provides readers with balanced, deep-dive commentary into why the internet reacts the way it does. In addition to his cultural reporting, he is an experienced fine art photography essayist and video game reviewer.

When he isn’t analyzing the latest viral debates, Benjamin is usually chipping away at his extensive video game backlog, hunting down the best new restaurants, or out exploring the city with a camera in hand.

Connect with Benjamin on Instagram and read more of his essays on Substack.