In the office world, the rule “the customer is always right” becomes “the client is always right.” Employees often have to bend over backwards to please their clients. Sometimes they get so entitled, they forget workers might have other work engagements or personal life problems.

This story from a Redditor runswithlibrarians involves that type of client. The author shared their story on the r/MaliciousCompliance group a few months back. The antagonist was a woman demanding to get a call back urgently. What the OP did is a perfect example of malicious compliance. You can read the entire story below.

Some jobs require you to be reachable on the phone to clients for most hours of the day

Image credits: travnikovstudio (not the actual image)

However, even the best employees cannot be reachable 24/7

Image credits: u/runswithlibrarians

Three types of clients who push and break boundaries

It’s never fun when clients expect you to be at their beck and call 24/7. Social media and marketing specialist Rachel Pedersen breaks down the three most common boundary pushers and breakers in clients in her book Unfiltered.

She names the first group ‘Red Flag Raymonds.’ According to Pedersen, they’re the clients who disrespect boundaries on purpose, just to see how far they can go.

“If you make it clear you don’t communicate on weekends and will respond to questions on Monday, Red Flag Raymonds will continually insist on calling you on Saturday.”

Her advice for dealing with such clients is to run away – they will continue such behavior for the entirety of your working relationship.

Pedersen names the second kind of boundary-pushing client the ‘Eager Earl.’ These types of clients might not be aware that they’re doing something unwanted. They might overstep boundaries out of excitement, anxiety or uncertainty.

The social media strategist says that ‘Eager Earls’ just need a little bit of coaching to become aware of their missteps. “Consistently reinforce your boundaries with ‘Eager Earls,'” Pedersen advises.

The third type, ‘Frantic Fannies,’ just like ‘Eager Earls,’ don’t have malicious intentions. They act inappropriately based on sheer terror, most likely because they’ve had a bad experience in the past.

“These clients live in constant reactivity and fight-or-flight. Use calm, gentle reminders and leadership to reinforce your boundaries. If it gets to be too much, feel free to part ways with the client,” Pedersen says.

Some more advice on how to set clear boundaries with clients

No matter which type of client you will have to deal with, taking preemptive measures is always useful. In order to not get into a situation like OP, it’s necessary to set clear working hours. Start by establishing a rule to only check your email during working hours.

“Unless there is a big deadline to hit or a special circumstance, I let clients know by saying, ‘I am very available during the week and during working hours.’ They like that, and they expect and get prompt responses. In turn, there is no need for them to send emails during weekends or at odd hours,” John M. O’Connor, president at Career Pro Inc. and expert from the Forbes Coaches Council, says.

Having honest conversations is also a must. Experts say you need to set the tone with your clients upfront. “Proactive conversations limit the possibility of clients pushing boundaries,” Christine Rose of Christine Rose Coaching & Consulting says.

If possible, putting the terms in writing is the best choice. The paperwork should include your working hours so the client knows when they can expect you to be in touch.

Lastly, keep in mind that ‘No’ is a full sentence, but learning to say it might take some time. If a flat-out ‘no’ might damage your relationship with the client, try offering them a trade-off.

“Consider listening actively to the client’s request and then offer a set of trade-offs or options. Then get the client to choose an option,” Tanya Tarr writes for Forbes.

It’s a fairly short story, so the commenters had some questions

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Most commenters praised the OP for their well-executed malicious compliance

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