An auctioneer has sparked a debate after a female bidder challenged him during an auction after he asked her if she wanted to bid.
Justin Nickerson, director of Apollo Auctions, was conducting an auction for a house in south-east Queensland and was taking the final bids.
“Ma’am, can I have you bid?” Mr. Nickerson is heard asking a woman who had not yet bid on the home in a video of the auction posted on social media earlier this month.
She responded and said, “I’m involved, but I’ll wait for you to do what you need to do.”
Mr. Nickerson informed the woman that he was “going to sell it.”
She snapped, “Okay, do it. Do your job.”
After the third and final call, Mr. Nickerson concluded the auction and sold the home to another bidder for $2,115,000.
Mr Nickerson appeared unimpressed with the woman’s “do your job” comment and spoke out about the incident on social media.
“Bidding at auction can be an emotional and stressful time, which is understandable; it is sometimes reflected in bidders’ comments,” Nickerson wrote.
“We do our best to take things slowly and not create confrontations. Remember: auctioneers are people too.”
Apollo auction director Justin Nickerson has been praised for remaining professional after a female bidder told him to “do your job” at the closing moments of an auction.
A debate broke out with many Australians siding with the officer and criticising the woman for being a “Karen”.
“She chose to be rude. You chose to be professional. Good job,” one person commented.
“She was mad because she came to a Ferrari store with a wallet. Better luck next time, Karen,” another person wrote.
A third said: “I love it, put Karen in her place.”
A fourth added: ‘I mean you were just trying to do her a favour by being inclusive but she couldn’t see past her own ignorance.’
But others were not impressed with the officer and branded him unprofessional for criticising the woman on social media.
‘Overcome your fears and do your job free of nonsense and unprofessionalism.’
