Service shifts can be long and grueling — snacks definitely help ease the exhaustion, and they can also provide a much-needed energy boost mid-shift.

Read what happens when one worker demonstrates the hypocrisy of his manager’s anti-snacking rule by displaying a little malicious compliance.

All of the details are below!

I’m sorry, but employees can’t eat

I used to work at a restaurant (it was actually two separate joints that shared a kitchen) that was often very slow during the week.

I was pretty friendly with most of the bartenders, cooks, other servers, etc.  — except the manager and the assistant manager.

The manager had been there for about a thousand years and was a cantankerous old guy that hated everyone and mumbled to himself a lot.

He would often brag that he drove home half asleep at 4 a.m. and would jolt himself awake using the rumblestrips when his car crossed into the shoulder.

Hmm, somehow, I’m not envious of this “brag.”

The assistant manager, like many assistant managers, was mean and bitter because he didn’t have enough power to call the shots as the manager, but had enough power to order the rank-and-file around and generally make life miserable.

Our story begins one Tuesday evening.

It was a slow night in my half but the other place had live music and a decent crowd, so I had been hustling and helping out the folks on the other side while waiting maybe two or three tables all night on my end.

I always appreciated the co-workers who helped out others.

It’s about 9:30, and the kitchen closes at 10, so things are winding down.

I’m in the kitchen talking with the cooks and the assistant manager, and I’m standing by the expo table, where there’s a plastic bin filled with ice and then small buckets for toppings — things like tomatoes, lettuce, onions, etc.

Since I’ve been there since about 3:30 and haven’t had anything to eat, I take a pickle spear from the bucket and bring it to my mouth to eat it.

That’s a long time without food. If one pickle helps, who cares?

Let me stress that this happened all the time and literally everyone did it, including the assistant manager.

But the pickle never reaches my mouth: he slaps my hand, and I drop it.

I’m kind of confused. The cooks are confused too.

I turn to him and ask, “What was that?”

He says, in a smarmy voice, “Employees can’t eat.”

So, does this assistant manager never eat on shift either?

Rather than remind him that he himself had eaten a few Oreos in just the same manner a few hours before, I stay silent because I know revenge is a dish best served cold.

Fast forward several weeks. It’s a Friday night and the place is very busy. Many of the regulars are at the bar chatting and having a good time.

There’s kind of an anteroom where the staff can hang out after work, if we don’t need the space.

I clock out and see that two of my coworkers are having a beer there, so I go over to join them.

Ah, it’s always nice to unwind after a shift and be a normal person.

One of the regulars sees us and brings us a bowl of some homemade trail mix he made.

It was a nice time: sitting with some friends after work, drinking beer, and eating some trail mix.

Enter the manager, the assistant manager, and another waiter.

He has to void some thing on a check, and he needs a manager ID to OK it — normal stuff.

They finish and as they’re going for the door, I see the assistant manager side-eye the trail mix. I know what must be done.

He stops and walks over to the table and grabs a handful of the trail mix.

Immediately, I bring my left hand up and forcefully slap his hand into the bowl.

UM, this sounds familiar!

Nuts and raisins go flying everywhere. The two people I was with stop talking. Everyone looks at me and silence falls.

In a clear, angry voice, the assistant manager turns to me and asks, “Why did you do that?”

Without hesitation, I look him right in the eye and say, “Employees can’t eat.”

This is a mic drop, if I’ve ever seen one! WOW.

After about five seconds of silence, he turns and walks away and we resume socializing.

The guy was hated almost universally at the place. I had a lot of fun retelling the story for the next few weeks.

Sometimes, the best revenge is mirroring the bad behavior right back at the person.

Let’s see if Reddit agrees.

One commenter reminisced on the fine perks restaurant work can sometimes bring.

Another user was at a loss for why this boss’ behavior was OK in the first place.

A Redditor requested surveillance footage — so he can relish in this top-notch revenge.

And another reader brought up the severity of the slap itself.

This boss’ micromanaging caused him to get a taste of his own medicine!

Sometimes that’s the only way they’ll learn.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.