'I [had to] remind him that he confiscated [it]': Boss confiscates employee's phone, wonders why they're not answering it

Remember when your parents used to confiscate your cell phone for not answering it? Leaving you with no cell phone to answer their subsequent calls with. You might not have been able to text your friends either, but not being tied to a requirement of constant communication and surveillance was freeing. 

It turns out that experience is not lost to the past, and you may be able to relive it (without clocking 88 miles an hour in a DeLorean.) All you need is a boss who is more concerned with maintaining their control than they are with logical reasoning and who is particularly attached to their ability to remain in constant communication with you.

When you inevitably have to miss a phone call, leading them to confiscate it as if you're a child, then the only thing to do is wait and see how long it takes them to notice the power they have just inadvertently relinquished. 

Read on for this delightful tale of malicious compliance. Next, see this insurance worker who was told to just do their job and so approved as many claims as possible. 

'[My] driveway is constantly blocked': Brooklyn resident infuriated by people parking in their driveway

New York parking is no joke. It's a battle at the best of times.

If driving stresses you out, don't ever drive in New York City! It's super stressful, and it's nearly impossible to ever find parking. Even in Brooklyn, where traffic tends to be lighter, parking problems still arise. 

One Brooklyn resident shared that they live near the beach (Maybe Coney Island? It's a popular tourist spot, though the OP didn't specify). Random people will constantly park in the OP's driveway. It must be infuriating to deal with! So the OP went to r/Brooklyn to get some advice on how to deal with these randos stealing their precious space. 

Commenters left suggestions, both ethical and less-than-ethical. The person who suggested putting lentils on the tires — just why? However, some suggestions were more constructive, like telling the OP to invest in a jersey barrier or become friendly with local organizations that might be able to help. Then, check out another story here. 

'Not much sleep was had': Husband defends wife from rude passenger over airplane etiquette

No one ever agrees about this debate. Depending on where you're sitting on the plane, your point of view changes on this too!

The evergreen debate being had on r/AmItheA**hole is from a frustrated husband who recently flew with his wife. It seems like the trouble started right from the beginning of their flight. The dude behind the OP's wife was playing a game on the in-flight TV, meaning that he was jabbing at the back of her head! If that wasn't annoying enough, the OP's wife was really sleepy, and wanted to get some rest during the flight. So when she leaned her seat back, the game-playing guy behind her didn't take kindly to it. 

The OP shared his story, and no one can agree who's right and wrong in this situation. It seems like the plane seat reclining is always an issue. If you're the one reclining, you're confident in your right to relax and be comfortable as you snooze, and the person behind you will just have to deal. But the second the person in front of you reclines, you're annoyed that you have someone's scalp three inches from your head. It's a no-win situation, truly. 

Scroll through this post, then check out another story here. 

'You amuse yourself in little petty ways': Underappreciated office manager sabotages photocopy machine with a paperclip

Who knew that paperclips had such power? This office manager decided they were sick of being underappreciated at work. They explained how their job basically included being receptionist, payroll, office manager, assistant, etc. all in one position. Not exactly sustainable and not exactly fair.

 

It turns out that their boss had an unruly habit of finding office issues for OP to handle, so OP developed ways to subtly get their revenge without any consequences. One way was to lower the length of their boss's office chair while they were out of the office getting lunch. The other way, however, is far more memorable. OP decided to photocopy a blank sheet of paper with a paperclip on it and hide the copies in the copier tray. That meant that whenever their boss used the photocopy machine, no matter what, there was a mysterious "ghost paperclip" on the copy. It turns out nothing was more infuriating for this ungrateful boss!

 

For more stories like this, here's one about a freelance worker's bad job interview.

Guy leaves bike shop 1-star review for helping him for free

This is precisely the type of thing you encounter while working in a bike shop. Of all the customer service roles you could ever work, working in a bike shop will confront you with some uniquely bewilderingly entitled experiences. The idea of "you haven't done enough for me for free" will somehow recur time and time again as 1-star reviews bombard you for going out of your way to help someone who doesn't understand how much they don't understand about their bike. 

Bonus points here for being blamed for something unrelated that has gone wrong with their bike that you never even touched.

For some reason, everyone expects you to do everything for them for free; this comes from the fact that you generally need to go above and beyond for people in ways you don't in other forms of retail to help them with things that are not obvious about their biking experience.

It comes with this age-old expectation people come in with that bike shops owe you everything. People are utterly incapable of thinking or doing anything for themselves as soon as they cross the threshold of a bike shop's doors. Simultaneously, bikes are still a machine—though a simple one, so there's a lot that can go wrong very quickly—and it's common for people to wildly overestimate their knowledge of them. Their "I know what I'm doing" attitude, particularly among those of a certain age, will backfire time and time again... Every bolt stripped on their frame, fork installed backward, or even just a "broken" drive train where each limit screw was turned in completely the wrong direction.

I could ramble endlessly about this one; this is just the tip of a continental iceberg. But go through the reviews of any bike shop, and you'll see what I mean. There's a reason why every grizzled bike shop veteran can't abide this behavior any longer… They've been burned by it one too many times. 

Keep reading to see the review and reactions below. I've included my own translation of what's happening here after the review to help those who are reading the post. Next, see this Karen, who left a 1-star review when a tornado delayed her food delivery.