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Worker Gets Chewed Out By Boss For Spending $20 On Chicken Noodle Soup, So She Costs Them Thousands In Malicious Compliance
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Worker Gets Chewed Out By Boss For Spending $20 On Chicken Noodle Soup, So She Costs Them Thousands In Malicious Compliance

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Corporate policies help keep things fair, transparent and standardized across organizations that can employ thousands of people around the world, but we can’t ever forget the human factor. When one person on Reddit was reprimanded for a “generous” tip to waiters who noticed they were sick and took care of them, they decided to stop playing nice and use the company’s own policies to cost it hundreds of dollars.

Actions like these are called “malicious compliance”, and they are a popular and fitting act of revenge when workers are forced – usually against all common sense – to toe the company line. Read on to see how this guy’s story turned out and to see what other stories people shared in response.

RELATED:

    Exceptional service often deserves exceptional tips, but gratuities can also lead to problems if you’re on a company-compensated work trip

    Image credits: MargJohnsonVA (not the actual photo)

    One worker was treated with extraordinary kindness by waiters while on a work trip, but the tip they left as a token of gratitude got them into trouble

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    Image credits: Kelly (not the actual photo)

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    Image credits: Sebastian_Studio (not the actual photo)

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    Image credits: Pressmaster (not the actual photo)

    Image credits: Eureecka

    As mentioned, accountability in a corporate setting is important. The frustrating thing, however, is when bosses fail to consider the human element in the situations they encounter. Considering a $10 tip excessive purely on the basis of percentage was completely absurd, especially because the total was so small that the worker wouldn’t have even been required to report it.

    Furthermore, it was a reward for exceptionally kind and considerate service that, in all likelihood, made a meaningful impact on the quality of the worker’s performance during their trip. We’re sure that even the reluctant tipper would be moved by a gesture like the one the worker received! Traveling while ill can be extraordinarily difficult, so we can only imagine how welcome they were to receive off-menu chicken soup.

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    The author stuck around to clarify a few questions that commenters had

    Though the excessively strict corporate manager was a bit of a bummer, the kindness of the waiters in this story really restored our faith in humanity. Let’s take a moment and appreciate how nice they were to remember a returning customer, recognize that they were sick, and decide to make something off-menu – chicken soup – to help them feel better!

    From a practical standpoint, rewarding actions like these is precisely the sort of thing that a corporation can do to vastly improve the public’s perception of it and its products. The manager could have seen this as an opportunity. Instead of penalizing the employee, they could’ve sent an inexpensive gift basket (including branded merchandise, for example) to the restaurant staff. Instead of coming down hard on a clearly dedicated worker, they would’ve had a big internal and external PR win instead.

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    Dovilas Bukauskas

    Dovilas Bukauskas

    Writer, Community member

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    Ranging the woodlands is what I love most, here and there stopping to write and to post.

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    Dovilas Bukauskas

    Dovilas Bukauskas

    Writer, Community member

    Ranging the woodlands is what I love most, here and there stopping to write and to post.

    Mindaugas Balčiauskas

    Mindaugas Balčiauskas

    Author, BoredPanda staff

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    I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

    Read less »

    Mindaugas Balčiauskas

    Mindaugas Balčiauskas

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

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    Mad Dragon
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That boss absolutely sucks. When I travel for work, I get a Per Diem of $60 per day for food. That amount is deposited into my checking account and I can use it as I wish without having to submit receipts. I can choose to spend $20 at the grocery store and pocket the rest, go to a nice restaurant, or go hungry and donate the entire amount to a pet rescue.

    D. Pitbull
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I appreciate the first comment noticing that this person was likely (and then confirmed) Gen-X. I have noticed that we Gen-X'rs are definitely the ones who were raised and 'trained' for life to put in that 'extra' and bend over backward for work/company... but then, jackholes will be jackholes and a bunch of them in power decided "ooh, let's take advantage of them and instead of rewarding hard work, we'll just grind them into dust" and NOW you're hearing complaints of "people these days don't want to work" - no... 'people these days' are the consequence of not appreciating what you had and decided to be ungrateful, self-entitled tw*ts about it.

    Juanjo
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm gen x. I give 100% if necessary. but I'm no idiot, and my sacrifice has a cost. if not rewarded (economically) sacrifice will decrease. significantly.

    Load More Replies...
    Kathy Kennedy
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wait staff and cooks make things off the menu for people who have shown them respect

    Load More Comments
    Mad Dragon
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That boss absolutely sucks. When I travel for work, I get a Per Diem of $60 per day for food. That amount is deposited into my checking account and I can use it as I wish without having to submit receipts. I can choose to spend $20 at the grocery store and pocket the rest, go to a nice restaurant, or go hungry and donate the entire amount to a pet rescue.

    D. Pitbull
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I appreciate the first comment noticing that this person was likely (and then confirmed) Gen-X. I have noticed that we Gen-X'rs are definitely the ones who were raised and 'trained' for life to put in that 'extra' and bend over backward for work/company... but then, jackholes will be jackholes and a bunch of them in power decided "ooh, let's take advantage of them and instead of rewarding hard work, we'll just grind them into dust" and NOW you're hearing complaints of "people these days don't want to work" - no... 'people these days' are the consequence of not appreciating what you had and decided to be ungrateful, self-entitled tw*ts about it.

    Juanjo
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm gen x. I give 100% if necessary. but I'm no idiot, and my sacrifice has a cost. if not rewarded (economically) sacrifice will decrease. significantly.

    Load More Replies...
    Kathy Kennedy
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wait staff and cooks make things off the menu for people who have shown them respect

    Load More Comments
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