Customer service disputes often hinge on who understands the rules better.

When an overly confident customer tried to outsmart a retail supervisor over an opened DVD, the employee’s malicious compliance foiled the customer’s plan in spectacular fashion.

Keep reading for the full story!

Customer found a return policy loophole. Or not.

Going back 20 years to my Best Buy days, when HD-DVD and Blu-ray started duking it out.

As a customer assistant supervisor, I would occasionally help cover other supervisors or take on some manager duties.

So one day, a customer came in with a return.

During a customer service manager’s lunch break, a customer came in and wanted to return an open DVD.

Policy at the time was that we were unable to return opened DVDs, as piracy was a thing back then that people somewhat cared about.

The supervisor informed the customer of their policy, which the customer seemed fine with.

I let the customer know that I couldn’t return the DVD, but I could exchange it for the same item if it was defective or he was having an issue with it.

The customer said he’d like to do that and got a sort of grin on his face.

When I came back with the replacement movie, I took the plastic wrapper off in front of him.

That’s when the customer reacted.

The grin slid off his face and his mouth fell open.

Handing him the DVD, I wished him luck that it worked better than his last copy.

The customer retorted something that slips my mind, then tossed the opened DVD back at me and walked away.

The supervisor couldn’t help but beam with pride.

I still feel a small sense of satisfaction knowing the customer thought he would then be able to return the replacement “new” DVD.

I just made sure that he got an exact replacement.

How was I to know that this wouldn’t be good enough?

This customer’s plan fell apart right in front of him!

What did Reddit think?

Sometimes when you mess around, you end up finding out.

Many customers seem to think they’re much smarter than they actually are.

Sometimes, though, the plans actually do work.

Turns out, following the rules exactly isn’t what this customer was hoping for.

Policy didn’t bend, but the customer’s confidence sure did.

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