In customer service, even doing the “right thing” can get you in trouble.

When one cashier was faced with a choice between acting responsibly and obeying a ridiculous rule, she decided to show her manager just how unreasonable they really were.

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

Read on for the full story.

Don’t leave the register, no matter what.

At my old retail job about a year ago, I worked at a popular big box store where the management cared more about numbers than actual logic.

Our store had a policy that cashiers weren’t allowed to leave their register unless a manager gave them permission.

This was mostly to prevent people from walking off mid-shift, but they applied it super literally.

In practice, it made things very difficult for the employees.

One day, I had a line of like 7–8 people and a kid threw up in front of my register. Not just a little spit-up — full on, pizza and orange juice explosion.

It was all over the floor and the smell hit instantly.

I turned off my light, told the next customer I’d be right back, and went to find a manager.

But in her boss’ eyes, this was the wrong thing to do.

When I told my supervisor, she scolded me for leaving my register. “You can’t just walk away, you know the policy,” she said.

I explained that a kid vomited on the floor. I needed someone to clean it up before people slip in it.

She said it didn’t matter. “Stay at your station and call for help over the headset next time,” she concluded.

Incredibly, the same situation happened soon after.

Later that week, I got lucky and found myself in the same situation — but a different kid and different bodily fluid, chocolate milk this time.

I stayed put like I was told, called it in on the headset, and smiled at each customer as they tried to avoid the splash zone near my feet.

People started gagging. One woman straight up abandoned her cart.

A few customers complained to me and I just said: “Sorry, I’m not allowed to leave my register.”

Finally, her boss was starting to get it.

Eventually, the store manager comes over, sees the mess, and is furious that I didn’t get someone right away.

I just said, “Supervisor told me I can’t leave my station no matter what.”

Let’s just say Supervisor got a very quiet talking to that day, and the rule was quietly adjusted the next week.

By doing exactly what she was told, she forced them to confront just how flawed the rule was.

What did Reddit have to say?

Other stores have certain ways to deal with this.

The boss’ policies say a lot about their poor management.

This person is all on the manager.

These bosses don’t seem one for making exceptions, even for emergencies.

Her bosses wanted blind obedience, so that’s exactly what she gave them.

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.