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One at a time.

Boss’s orders.

So one worker scans every single can.

The backlog explodes.

See how fast that rule disappeared.

Scan every item individually. Okay, boss.

I once worked at a big box retail store.

Management loved making up random rules to boost productivity.

One day, our floor supervisor decided we were no longer allowed to scan full cases of items. We had to scan each individual unit, even if there were 24 identical cans in the box.

His reason? Inventory accuracy.

This woman implied that the new policy might be inefficient.

I pointed out that the system already accounted for cases properly and this would slow down stocking.

He just said, “I don’t care. One at a time. That’s an order.”

We began doing it his way and it went well because we didn’t really get a lot of same items that day.

But she did exactly what her supervisor told her.

However, on my next shift, I got a pallet of canned corn. 96 cans in 4 large cases.

I cracked open every case and scanned each can one at a time.

Then, I placed them carefully on the shelf like I was arranging fine China.

It took me about 40 minutes to do what normally takes 10 minutes.

I did this for every similar item the whole day.

The supervisor was frustrated, asking why the process was taking so long.

By lunch, the backroom was a disaster.

The line of carts waiting to be stocked had tripled.

Other departments were short-staffed because people had to come help us.

By the end of the day, the supervisor was fuming. “Why is this taking so long?”

So she reminded him of his instructions earlier.

I reminded him what he said, “I’m just following your order exactly.”

He tried to backpedal, but I asked if he wanted it in writing that I should ignore his previous instruction.

He dropped it.

By the next day, the rule was gone. We were back to scanning cases.

It’s crazy that the supervisor didn’t realize the new rule would make the whole process take longer.

Let’s find out what others have to say about this on Reddit.

LOL. Witty and funny.

Here’s what this user calls the supervisor.

An office worker shares a similar story.

This user shares their personal thoughts.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an employee who gets fired, then ends up with extra cash due to a loophole in the termination letter.

Finally, short and simple.

He followed the new rule exactly, turning a 10-minute stocking job into 40 minutes and clogging the backroom.

By the next day, management quietly restored the faster case-scanning method.

Inventory stayed accurate, but the boss’s idea got discontinued.