Woman overheard a stranger's coffee-shop interview and sensed something was off — she interrupted them to hand her a secret note

It is often easier for a person on the outside to spot a problem than for the person experiencing it. Eliza Trendiak (@elizatrendiak), a business owner with 15 years of experience, shared a similar encounter while she was working at a coffee shop. She wanted to know if she had overstepped her boundaries by passing a woman a note after overhearing a "salesy, pyramid-scheme kind of pitch." Her video, shared on June 6, has over 28,000 views on Instagram. 

The shady interview

As Trendiak was working at the coffee shop, another woman sat next to her. It seemed she was waiting for someone, and when the other person arrived, she appeared to be interviewing the woman. Since their tables were close, Trendiak could hear everything the other person was saying. Instead of interviewing the woman, she just kept going on and on, giving her a long presentation about their program. Trendiak reiterated what the interviewer said: "If you join our program, you'll be financially free by the time you're 30 years old, and you can make money anywhere, and you can travel... She's saying all this stuff about business that I'm like, 'That is straight up not true.'" Trendiak was a bit worried, sensing the girl sitting next to her was almost falling for the scam, so she decided to warn her before it was too late. 

The warning note

Trendiak left the coffee shop, and as a girl's girl, she got a piece of paper and wrote a long warning note. She explained how she overheard the pitch and advised her not to sign up for anything just yet. Trendiak told the other woman to research before signing in because, as a businesswoman, the program sounded like nothing but a scam. In addition to the advice, she added, "You're smart. You'll make the right decision." Trendiak then went back inside the coffee shop, interrupted the 'interview,' and handed the woman the note.

Sisterhood in practice

Trendiak felt compelled to help the stranger, setting a classic example of a woman standing up for a woman. However, not every other woman feels the urge to do so. Take, for example, a 2022 poll by Women Automotive Network on the question, 'Do you feel that women support women enough?' and 46% of respondents said they can do better, while 40% straight up refused. On the other side, only 14% believed that women were doing enough to help other women. Sheila Star, a career coach for women, said, "Some women are amazing at supporting other women, but others are just busy focusing on their own challenges. I think we need to really try harder to support each other. Whatever stage of your career you are at, there will somebody that can benefit from your experience." However, the same statement cannot be applied to Trendiak. She did not have to help the stranger, but felt the need to step in to warn her about a potential scam, and did so.

'You did the right thing,' say netizens

Meanwhile, several people in the comments reassured Trendiak that she did not overstep her boundaries. In fact, they believed she did the right thing by warning the stranger about the scam program. For instance, @megofpeace wrote, "I will always stop pyramid schemes from creating another victim." Similarly, @burkkell added, "You absolutely did the right thing. Too many people are afraid to speak up when they can clearly make a major difference. We need more people like you!"

You can follow Eliza Trendiak (@elizatrendiak) for more lifestyle content.

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