A change of management in an established business is never an easy moment.

Seasoned employees are only likely to act favorably toward the new manager if they are clearly better (more competent, more empathetic, more respectful) than the previous boss, and even then it might be an uphill battle with some.

If the manager seems worse, replaces a beloved boss, or begins to make unnecessary changes with a complete lack of understanding of what they’re dealing with?

Cue a whole lot of disrespect and resentment from the employees.

So when the guy in this story had to deal with his new boss’s ludicrous new rules, he decided to abide by them to the letter.

Read on to find out the incredible outcome.

“We need specific reasons!”

I am a teacher, and even though it’s summertime, I’m still working at my school as a Summer School teacher, as well as designing the curriculum map for first, fourth, fifth and sixth grades using the Modern Teacher model.

This isn’t pertinent to the story in any way but showing exactly how much I have on my plate over the summer.

Aside from what I do for my school, I also work grocery in multiple departments to get hours, the busiest of which by far is the Deli.

It’s a 9am to 8pm shift where lunches are not taken (which is fine, I like overtime).

Yikes! Let’s see what life is like on the deli.

The Deli has multiple people working, and twice as many things to do, as we have a brick oven to make pizza, a hot side, and sliced meat side, a sandwich station, plus all of our prep stations to clean and maintain.

We have at least twenty-five separate tasks to do (not including customer orders and requests).

Most of what we do requires us in the deli department, but there are many things that require us to leave the department: refill the napkins, get meat out of the front of the case, get raw chicken from the meat department so we can “rod the chickens” for the rotisserie, go to produce to get onions and peppers for the pizza station, not to mention when we actually need to use the restroom.

When I work a shift at this store in North Scottsdale, I definitely get my steps in. Big time.

In this store, things have suddenly changed – and not in a good way.

Our company has shifted (gotten rid of) all of our old managers. I wish that I could say it another way that wasn’t 100 percent true. If you are old, you no longer are a manager here.

People were offered a demotion or they could walk. It was crazy, and ended in a ton of new management trying to “run things more efficiently.” That always works so well.

One of our new store managers – we’ll call HH (head honcho) – decided to start tracking our movements. Instead of just giving us a GPS tracker like they do with Amazon, he wrote a big note with a taped pen to it that said: “Write down when you leave the department and where you went”.

Our Deli manager Sue decided to tell us, “you need to do this it’s important.” So we started just writing the time left and time returned like it was a bathroom sign out.

But their effort simply wasn’t enough for the new manager.

Head Honcho didn’t like that, so he further scrawled: “You need to write down when you’re leaving, WHO YOU ARE, WHY you’re leaving, WHERE you went and when you came back!!

We need SPECIFIC REASONS! and it needs to be leggable!” (dude if you can’t spell legible you can’t require it, but whatever. What an inconvenience).

Everyone hated this, but we complied to the best of our ability until one day I just had HAD it. I’d been yelled at by three customers in a row, then a fourth one was yelling at one of my colleagues and she deflected it on to me like it was my fault.

I was just over the whole thing.

So he decided to get back at the needless bureaucracy in the best, pettiest way he could.

The rest of the day every time I left the deli department I spent as much time using my neatest handwriting, detailing every trip:

“8:00am: used the white and blue Escali DH1 Gourmet Digital Meat Thermometer on the Mac and Cheese.

8:00am: wrote down the results of the blue Escali DH1 Gourmet Digital Meat Thermometer onto the corresponding field on the temperature log.

8:01am: used the white blue Escali… (I’ll save you the headache I didn’t save my managers)…

8:45am: took the six wheeler to the southwest cooler to get two different types of chicken for rotisseries, items 155047 and 155049.”

And his detailed explanations didn’t stop there.

“9:25am: walked to the restroom abruptly to avoid shouting in front of a customer who asked a question out of the blue that brought up personal baggage related to my first wife.”

Normally I would let this roll off my back, but this escalated quickly over simply not slicing the pepperoni as thinly as he wanted, then when I turned around I gave it to who I presumed to be his wife.

It was confusing for all three of us, so I asked my colleague to take over because I “wasn’t feeling well”.

There were so many entries, and my colleagues got in on the action as well, backing me up along the way. It was a rough day, which was common. There’s always something at this store because of how much demand they put on us, for such a garbage wage to boot.

Let’s see how the detailed notes went down with the manager.

By the time the manager came over to collect the drawers he noticed there were two additional pages added to the one he put down, and he decided to start reading them.

HH took the papers from the clipboard, looked at me directly, pointed the papers at me menacingly, then turned and headed out, shaking his head.

Luckily, Head Honcho’s Head Honcho (district guy) was walking in to order his usual sandwich (he orders the same pastrami sandwich every Sunday) and they hashed it out right there, both looking at the paper.

I was positive I was fired right then and there.

But the situation panned out very different to his expectations.

But then I saw the Head Honcho’s Head Honcho’s face smiling. As he turned and walked toward me he said to no one in particular, “Well they said to be specific!”

I then proceeded to make Joe (my boss’ boss) his usual pastrami with mayo, salt and pepper on marble rye and light vinegar. Helluva sandwich if I do say so myself.

This was the last time any of us saw a sign requiring us to write anything, and Head Honcho doesn’t come to our department anymore except to collect the tills. He’s very quick about it.

This is a lesson to all aspiring managers: if you are petty about a new rule, be prepared for your employees to take it very literally.

His manager definitely let the power go to his head, and it didn’t work out so well for him in the end.

Meanwhile, this employee gave everyone else a masterclass in how to be defiant, whilst painstakingly abiding by the rules.

Let’s see how the Reddit community reacted to this.

This person was cheering on the employee for their commitment.

This Redditor, meanwhile, encouraged additional pedantry.

While everyone was clear on who the good guy was here (assuming, of course, that he didn’t fire all the older managers).

When you’ve got someone playing the power card like this, it can be difficult not to feel demoralised.

It’s clear the manager neither trusts nor respects the employees, and asking them to fill out these records shows a complete lack of care for the amount of time it will take up.

This employee got their revenge in an epic manner – and the very fact that higher-ups were present in the moment the manager found the detailed records?

That makes it extra sweet.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.