Some managers seem to think sarcasm is a valid leadership style.

So when one retail employee asked his assistant manager for help and got hit with the classic “figure it out yourself” line, he decided to take that advice very literally.

Suddenly, the store’s PA system became the loudest lesson in management he’d ever delivered.

Keep reading for the full story!

Figure It Out Myself? You Got It, Boss!

I work in retail. I’ve been there for approximately 8 months.

About 5 months in, the store got a new assistant manager.

We’ll call him Chuck.

Chuck had a very interesting managerial style.

Now, Chuck is generally a nice guy as long as you’re not “shirking your duties” (yes, he really does say that).

He generally laughs at jokes, makes a few of his own, and is overall a nice guy most of the time.

The only problem I have with him is his management style.

The other managers in the store generally try to encourage, teach, and demonstrate.

Chuck, by contrast, likes to poke fun, humiliate, or discourage.

The employee can’t help but compare him to the top manager, who’s much better.

For example, the store manager, if he sees you’re struggling, will show you a quicker, more efficient way of doing your job.

Then he leaves you to either do it that way or the way you were doing it.

Most people are grateful for the guidance and change how they do the job.

Chuck goes about it a much more frustrating way.

Chuck, meanwhile, will say things like, “The industry standard is X stock per minute, why aren’t you doing that?” or “My grandmother could do this job faster than you, and she’s not alive!”

He always laughs after saying whatever he says, and I honestly think he believes he’s ribbing in good nature.

However, anyone seeing our faces when he’s “managing” would be able to tell we don’t appreciate it.

So one day, everything came to a head.

Now onto the compliance.

I usually work outside gathering shopping carts. However, Chuck asked me to do some cleaning inside after I finished topping up the carts.

Now, what he asked me to clean was something I had never cleaned before.

After only a few minutes, I couldn’t figure out how to disassemble the item in question to clean it.

So they tried to get help from Chuck, but of course, he joked around instead of actually helping.

So I walked back over to Chuck and asked him to show me how I was supposed to disassemble the unit, since I didn’t want to damage it due to ignorance.

This is when he uttered one of his iconic lines: “Pretend I got hit by a bus and figure it out yourself.”

This is a line he usually uses when he’s busy talking to someone else.

This time, Chuck didn’t even have a good excuse for neglecting to help.

He wasn’t talking to anyone. He was walking somewhere. He wasn’t on the phone, he wasn’t moving product, he was just on his way somewhere.

And the unit I was supposed to be cleaning was just 10 feet away around a corner.

It wouldn’t have even taken long for him to just do his job.

It would have taken him maybe 30–45 seconds to walk over and show me the proper procedure, but he just didn’t have the time for whatever reason.

Well, he told me to “figure it out myself.”

So the employee decided to take this directive as literally as possible.

So I did.

I walked into the backroom, found a phone on the wall, and pushed the button for the store PA system:

“Would a senior employee or manager who does not answer sincere junior employee questions with” imitating Chuck’s voice “Pretend I got hit by a bus and figure it out yourself” “please report to the meat department for junior employee assistance? Thank you.”

Chuck could hardly believe his ears.

I walked out of the backroom, and Chuck was just staring at me.

He didn’t look angry, or disappointed, or even upset. He was just straight shocked. Jaw on the floor.

As I walked past him, I said, “Got it figured out, boss. Thanks.”

In the end, I got a verbal warning for “frivolous use of the PA system,” but it was so worth it just to get one over on him.

Maybe Chuck will choose his words a bit more carefully next time.

What did Reddit think?

When bosses refuse to get involved, employees often have to take drastic measures.

Usually asking questions is a sign of an engaged employee.

This commenter would have taken their malicious compliance in a different direction.

“Frivolous use?” More like necessary use.

The assistant manager demanded he figure it out himself, so that’s exactly what he did.

Not exactly textbook management, but definitely textbook compliance.

If you liked that story, check out this post about a group of employees who got together and why working from home was a good financial decision.