When workplace rules constantly shift, they can backfire on the very people who pushed for them.

So, what would you do if a coworker insisted on getting credit for a job only half done, then complained when you stepped in to finish it? Would you let it go? Or would you find a way to teach the coworker a lesson?

In the following story, one tech support employee faces this exact scenario. Here’s how he handled it.

Oh we’re changing procedures, again? You got it

I work in tech support, but basically, it’s a call center that fixes computer problems.

So when someone calls, we record their information. Everything from their name, to the reason for the call, to the solution.

During a team meeting, one of my higher-ups (we’ll call her Paula) announces that if a client calls back about the same problem in a short time, whoever ultimately fixes it gets full credit for the work.

For context, I’m not here to be “Super IT.” I don’t care about the credit. I work 8 hours a day and collect my check. That’s it.

Without hesitation, he helps the client.

One day, I get a call.

The client says they were just on the phone with someone else, and they told them to call right back.

I look up the coworker’s name (John); he just went to lunch. I ask the client if they want me to transfer them to John’s voicemail.

They say, “Can you just help me?”

Np. I’m familiar with their problem and fixed it in 20 minutes. I adjusted the record for the problem to my name. I added John’s name as a footnote so he still gets partial credit.

John is not happy when he gets back.

Fast-forward: John gets back from lunch. He comes up to me and demands to know why I took his name off the record. He tells me he spent an hour on the phone with that client, and he would appreciate it if I let him know if I touched his records.

Mind you, John and I don’t speak. He’s cold towards me, and we only interact when absolutely necessary. Today, he doesn’t even say hello. He just starts in on me.

I waited a moment and calmly explained how I got the call, that the client didn’t want to wait, and how I followed procedure. I also pointed out that I added John’s name as a footnote for partial credit (which is not required to do).

John says, “Oh, I didn’t see that,” and leaves. No apology, just a mumbled “thanks” as he walks away.

It didn’t take long for the policy to change.

In our next team meeting, our boss tells us that from now on, whoever speaks to the client first gets full credit.

I asked her to please clarify because Paula told us otherwise.

She reiterated the announcement, said, “This is how we’re doing it. I hope that makes sense,” and quickly moved on.

I can see where this came from, but I hold my peace.

More background: John’s approach is to rush through calls to increase his “calls taken” metrics. My approach is to make sure the client is taken care of before the call ends.

Apparently, John doesn’t understand how footnotes work.

So a few weeks go by, and things take an unexpected turn for John.

When a client calls back for a problem that was previously marked “fixed,” I restart the record and only add my footnote. This causes the record to go back into the original agent’s workflow for processing.

Since John doesn’t take the time to read the footnotes, he’s reaching out to me for updates before he marks the record “fixed” again.

I take my time to respond, because I’ve already made the info available in my footnote.

Not only that, some problems require him to call the client back to confirm that the problem is actually fixed.

He went from talking to me once a quarter to once a week. So now, he’s doing twice, sometimes 3 times the work, all because he wanted full credit for partial results.

Wow! John sounds like a mess.

Let’s see what the fine folks over at Reddit have to say about the story.

Here’s a great way to handle it from now on.

Now, this is funny!

This is another way to handle it.

According to this comment, the policy is stupid.

They need to pick one and stick with it!

Thought that was satisfying? Check out what this employee did when their manager refused to pay for their time while they were traveling for business.