Retail jobs are often less about the work and more about navigating egos and big personalities.

Tired of constant micromanagement, one fed-up employee decided to handle things their own way.

And that way involved a roller, an elevator wall, and a bold shade of blue.

Read on for the full story!

Management treated us poorly

This was at a department store in the 90s. We worked on the loading dock. Management treated us like children.

They hired a sketchy guy, but we got along (pretty sure he was the reason we all had to take harassment classes, too).

But when they tried to poke fun at this sketchy guy, there were consequences.

One day there was an article in the paper.

The guy had the same name, so we stuck it to the wall for him. Maybe he gets a kick out of it.

So he went into the service elevator and wrote crappy remarks about us.

We all got in trouble.

They received a directive from management that they promptly took in the most literal way possible.

Their instructions to me were to “get rid of the writing.”

So I found the worst color paint I could find in the store, like deep burgundy.

I decided I didn’t want to look at that color every day, so I painted the inside of the elevator sky blue.

They soon found security would have an unexpected reaction to the paint.

The next day, I was approached by the security guards.

“Did you paint the elevator blue?!”

“UH, ya.”

He looks around to make sure none of the bosses are around, shakes my hand and said, “That’s the most passive aggressive thing I’ve ever seen, good job.”

Things eventually worked themselves out in the end.

The weird guy eventually got fired for hanging upside down from the railing system we used to move clothes, right in front of the visible security camera.

Funny tape.

I sometimes wonder if it’s still blue.

This version of compliance came with a touch of chaos and a lot of flair.

What did Reddit think?

Looking back, this new hire may not have been human.

Management is likely kicking themselves for not being more specific.

This user is left scratching their head at some of the details.

The wall got a fresh coat of paint and the employee got the last word!

It wasn’t the fix management expected, but it was the one they earned.

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.