Folks claim that if you work hard, you’ll go far in life. But nobody really follows up that statement by adding that hard work—the meaning of which folks are left to interpret for themselves—isn’t a sure guarantee for career progression. You can still get canned. Very hard.

And while usually, prospective ex hard workers get the “he knows too much” treatment or they—likely rightfully so—accidentally corrected the wrong superior and then some form of nepotism or hierarchical “justice” ensued, sometimes it can be as simple as company policy. Very hard company policy.

Like it was in the case of this one Redditor. Not so long ago, they shared a malicious compliance story of how they were a devoted photo studio employee who walked the extra mile too many times and got sacked because of a strict “three strikes and you’re out” policy. But the company lost more than just a hard-working employee this time around. Lost very ha-… you get the idea.

More Info: Reddit

Folks claim hard work can get you far in life, but nobody really points out that this isn’t a guarantee

Image credits: Ivan Radic (not the actual image)

Meet Redditor u/PunkTyrantosaurus. They recently shared a story that happened roughly six years ago of how their hard work was cut short by company policy, but that was also incidentally the end of the company.

The story goes that Punk really really really liked photography. So, when they got a job at a photo studio, they were very thrilled. Everything seemed fine and dandy, except for one thing—company policy. Specifically, they had a 3-strike rule, meaning that if you screw up three times, you’re out, and the strikes never really went away.

It’s Christmas time. You can imagine how hectic things in retail get around this time. The store had to have twice as many people working there, and among the chaos, OP was supposed to train a new employee, help with her photo shoots as well as deal with their own, and run the cash register, take passport photos… the list goes on and on.

So, during all of this, one customer decided to make matters even worse by submitting not one, but two complaints.

This one Redditor shared a story of malicious compliance in which, despite their hard work, they got fired because of a 3-strike policy

Image Credits: u/PunkTyrantosaurus

Complaint #1 was because the customer felt like they were being pushed to make a purchase. “Literally all this company cares about is pushing the photo packages and I was instructed relentlessly to do it more and with more energy because I didn’t make enough people feel they had to have them,” explained OP. So, they got tattled on for doing their job? “Great.”

Complaint #2 was even more ridiculous. The customer felt like OP was too bossy with this one other photographer. The one they were training. In reality, they were just telling her what to do because she didn’t know the ropes yet.

All this culminated with OP getting their last strike and subsequently getting fired. Needless to say, they were heartbroken over it all. But since the company was so meticulously strict about its policies, OP decided to reciprocate. Cue malicious compliance.

The first two strikes OP acknowledges, but they managed to get a double-whammy from a rough customer complaint

Image Credits: u/PunkTyrantosaurus

Bored Panda got in touch with u/PunkTyrantosaurus for an interview. They elaborated that they were not given a chance to explain themselves, further showing just how strict the policy really was.

“Even in the case of the complaint where a customer thought I was mistreating a fellow employee—and I was able to speak with that employee and clear the air to be certain they did not feel that way. As far as the company was concerned, if a customer thought it looked bad, that’s all that mattered. And even though we were constantly being pressured to upsell, a customer feeling pressured to buy due to me still counted as a strike against me. There was nothing I could do. I think largely my first reaction was shock and confusion. As to why I was being punished for these things when training that fellow employee, and upselling customers, was what they told me to do.”

The third strike led OP to get fired, but not without some malicious compliance along the way

Image credits: Ravenshoes Group (not the actual image)

Image Credits: u/PunkTyrantosaurus

OP’s hard work manifested in many ways, and so it was time to undo all of it. Long story short, deposit money was left unaccounted for (making the manager come in, even on days off, to do it); they stopped actively looking for clients, cold calling, and the like; they stopped taking notes about customers (reminders and whatnot); OP packed all of the toys they brought in for kids’ photo shoots because you can imagine how cooperative kids are and how posing works with them; and packed all of the other small things that OP decide to replace after they broke that were easier fixed personally rather than involving official channels (staplers, cutters, cables, and loads more).

So, they packed up and left. The next day, OP got a nasty call and was blamed for stealing company supplies. Calmly, OP explained the situation with all of the things they temporarily replaced so as to keep operations going and how they actually left some things even if they were theirs. But it was only fair OP took those back as they were let go.

Well, the store closed its doors not two months after this. “Crazy how when you fire your hardest worker over things that you told them to do. Other employees are less than enthused about the chance of the same thing happening,” concluded OP.

You see, OP’s hard work actually meant something, and they also brought in a lot of stuff that made work possible

Image Credits: u/PunkTyrantosaurus

But once OP’s extra hard work was gone, along with their belongings, the company began struggling until it finally shut down

Image credits: Dave Photography (not the actual image)

Needless to say, it was a challenging experience. You see, they wanted to do a good job, but the company was not rewarding good work. Only punishing the bad, no matter how minor the “offense” might be.

But there was a silver lining, as noted OP: “The most rewarding is the knowledge I gained. Even with the terrible company attitude, I still did more photo shoots during my time there than I’ve done outside of that. I would average 20 photo shoots a week. That’s the kind of photography experience that can dramatically increase your skills.”

Image Credits: u/PunkTyrantosaurus

Nearly 10,000 upvotes and 15 Reddit awards later, the post went viral, and people started talking. Most thought that the whole 3-strike policy is idiotic, for a lack of a better word. The company shot itself in the foot by being both strict and not considering all of the hard work OP put into keeping things running smoothly.

Others pointed out that bringing your own stuff to work is always a bit of a problem if you don’t keep records of them in the form of receipts and the like. It always opens up opportunities for companies to accuse employees of theft and how it can come back to bite them on the backside.

Yet others applauded the intricate malicious compliance. Not only did they find it an entertaining read, but there was a certain kind of payback after it all. “10/10”, as one commenter stated, is definitely not an understatement.

OP also provided some updates clarifying minor details

Image Credits: u/PunkTyrantosaurus

Lastly, we asked Punk to share some key advice given their experience, and they commented on both work in a photo studio and hard work in general:

“One piece of advice I’d give someone working at a photo studio is always be prepared to clean up a mess, always keep your cabinets locked and if you work with children, keep a collection of toys on hand. Especially rattles—babies can’t understand ‘look at the camera’ but they will turn towards the pretty sound.”

“As for working hard: I’m not going to say you should never do it. But only do it if you know that the company will give you the same effort if you need something from them. If you work in a smaller business and you know your boss has your back? Don’t overwork yourself, but yeah, it’s nice to be able to good work for a good employer. If you work in a large company where you are just a number to the people in power? Do your job. Maybe even do it well. But don’t give them anything that you aren’t being rewarded for. It just ends with them giving you more responsibilities without additional pay or resources.”

You can check out the entire story in context here, or you can read other malicious compliance stories that we’re covered in the past, like this one, and this one, and don’t forget this one! But before you go, why not share your thoughts and opinions on this feat of malicious compliance in the comment section below!

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