Special requests can sometimes come with unexpected consequences.

This grocery employee was asked to shop for a demanding customer.

She tried to decline, but her manager demanded that she do it.

So she followed the list exactly… but with her own brand preferences.

And she chose the expensive items in the store.

Read the full story below for all the details.

I followed the list

Over twenty years ago, I worked as a cashier at a grocery store.

The place was enormous and sold a wide variety of food.

From standard groceries to expensive delicacies.

This woman was asked to shop for a female customer.

One busy Saturday morning, we had lots of customers and the lines were long.

I was called away from my lane to the front desk.

The manager on duty was speaking with a well-dressed woman.

I was told that she wanted someone to get her groceries for her.

And bring them to the front desk for checkout.

She tried to back out of it, but her manager insisted.

Before, this was a very unusual request. Our store did not offer personal shopping.

I hadn’t even heard of it before.

I respectfully tried to communicate this to them:

That by leaving my lane, we would be inconveniencing the other customers.

Checkout lines would just get longer.

I was told to just get it done and handed the woman’s shopping list.

So she did it while taking her time.

Here’s where malicious compliance kicked in.

First, it had already been a long morning for me, and my feet were killing me, so I took my time.

Second, the list didn’t specify how many or what brand when it came to groceries.

It just said basic things like “apples, meat, tomato sauce,” etc.

She also chose the most expensive brands for each item.

So, I delighted in selecting the very finest foods, and lots of them.

Pounds and pounds of expensive specialty organic apples.

Meat? Prime rib and filet mignon.

Tomato sauce? I distinctly remember selecting eight jars of an imported sauce that cost $16 each.

The manager rang up the grocery items, and the cost was over $600.

I wheeled the cart back to the front desk almost an hour later, where the woman was still waiting.

The manager rang everything up, and it came to over $600!

The woman balked and tried to argue.

But somehow, the manager had grown a spine in the hour I was away.

The customer had no choice but to pay for the expensive bill.

He told her that we had already honored her request.

She could either choose to pay the bill or do her own shopping.

She decided to pay the bill, although she was clearly unhappy.

I went back to my lane, and I never heard another word about it!

Let’s check out the comments of other people on this story.

This user shares their personal thoughts.

This person makes a valid assumption.

The manager knew what he was doing.

This one shares what they would have done.

Finally, short and simple.

Be careful what you ask for because you might get the deluxe version.

Maybe they can afford it, though.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a rude customer who got exactly what they wanted in their pizza.