It’s easy to forget just how public the internet really is.
We all know that anyone can read anything we’ve said on Twitter or any of the other numerous public forums we share information about ourselves on, but do we really understand it?
Football fans spend a large part of every weekend talking shit about players that they would never dream of saying to the faces, and we’ve all done it on some level. There’s something about posting it to a computer screen or on your phone that just makes it feel a little less real.
But we’re slowly starting to realise that there’s not really any distinction between “online” and “in real life” besides the fact that there’s a documented history of what you say online.
You don’t even need to tag in the person or company you’re complaining about for them to find you anymore, as Twitter user Joe Lee found out to his dismay when he sent out this tweet on Saturday:
Worst thing about me mother not answering her phone, is her voicemail reminding me that she's on the absolute poverty Tesco Mobile.
— Mr Joe Lee (@MisterJoeLee) July 2, 2016
We’ve all complained about a service online before, and maybe when you’re feeling really angry you’ll tag them in just to annoy their customer service team who have to pretend to be your best mate as they try to solve your problem in 140 characters or less.
At this stage, it’s accepted that the company’s customer service team will just send out a friendly – if not passive-aggressive – message in response and you’ll all get on with your lives.
But it turns out that Tesco Mobile are a bitter bunch, and they weren’t going to take such a slight lying down as they absolutely rinsed poor Joe Lee in response.
@misterjoelee Nah the worst thing is your own mother blatantly ignoring your calls.
— Tesco Mobile (@tescomobile) July 3, 2016
Needless to say, it went down pretty well with the rest of Twitter.
@tescomobile @MisterJoeLee YOU'VE JUST BEEN ENDED BY TESCO MOBILE
— Jack (@JaackJH) July 3, 2016
@tescomobile @ffsOsian @MisterJoeLee This is it, the most lit tweet of the day. I might transfer to tesco mobile now…
— Conan Murray (@ConanMurray) July 3, 2016
@tescomobile @MisterJoeLee pic.twitter.com/25lG1hOotU
— Binary Baba™ v3.1 (@0__1) July 4, 2016
@tescomobile @MisterJoeLee pic.twitter.com/QJStwFwh44
— 48% Farty (@MrFarty) July 4, 2016