Employee Kept Getting Criticized For Double Checking Everything, So He Finally Stopped Flagging Mistakes And Watched His Manager Scramble After A Customer Complained
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Some bosses expect results, but they don’t want to hear a word about the problems standing in the way of them.
An employee spent months being criticized for taking too long, since he kept double-checking his work and flagging issues before they became disasters.
When he pointed out a wrong delivery address, his manager snapped that he didn’t pay him to think and told him to just do what he was told.
So he did exactly that. Hours later, he spotted another obvious mistake and processed the order exactly as written, and the customer received the wrong items.
His manager came running, demanding to know why nobody caught it, and the employee calmly repeated the instruction word for word.
Keep reading for the full scoop.
My boss told me to “stop thinking and just follow instructions,” so I did exactly that.
My manager was always complaining that I took too long to finish tasks because I kept double-checking things and pointing out problems before they happened.
So when the employee pointed out an error, his boss decided to correct him right on the spot.
On Monday, I noticed an order had the wrong delivery address. I mentioned it to my manager, but he was already irritated and told me, “I don’t pay you to think. Just do what you’re told.”
So I said, “Okay.”
When the next mistake came through, the employee followed the boss’ instructions to the letter.
A few hours later, I noticed another order had an obvious mistake. Normally, I would have stopped everything and asked someone to fix it.
This time, I didn’t. I processed it exactly as it appeared on the paperwork.
Of course, letting this mistake pass through had consequences.
The customer received the wrong items and immediately complained.
That’s when the boss had the audacity to ask him what happened.
My manager came running over, asking why I hadn’t caught the mistake. I reminded him, word for word, of what he’d told me earlier.
Of course, the employee should have just read his mind.
He said, “You should have used common sense.” I replied, “I thought you wanted me to just follow instructions.” He wasn’t amused.
The funny part is that after that day, he started asking me for my opinion before making decisions.
This is a textbook case of malicious compliance.
What did Reddit have to say?
This user says what every employee wishes they could say to their boss.
The most stressful part of work usually has to do with managing difficult relationships.
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Sometimes going above and beyond can come back to bite you.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman who can’t complete her work-from-home duties because her mom’s houseguest won’t stop talking.
The way some businesses operate is just totally backwards.
This employee spent months being the quality control department nobody paid for, and his reward was an order to stop.
A boss who punishes the person catching his errors has already decided he’d rather be comfortable than correct.
The wrong order and the angry customer were the natural consequence of this boss’ carelessness.
The boss asked for obedience and got it.
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