'I hid them!': Shopper finds stashed item and adds it to their cart, prompting confrontation with another shopper laying claim

People will go to any length and make every attempt to turn even the most petty situations to their advantage. Just a single trip to any busy parking lot will show you this, with desperate drivers doing anything in their power to secure a spot, even getting their passengers to jump out of the vehicle to stand in front of it and (hopefully) prevent anyone from getting there first, whilst engaging in outrageous displays of behavior from within the safety of their oversized vehicles. Of course, once they've parked and exited their vehicle, they timidly slink away, avoiding eye contact with the person they were vying for the spot with and now void of the bravado they so-recently displayed.

In this dog-eat-dog world, it's even the same in stores, with shoppers infamously battling each other over limited-availability collectibles and deals on electronics. Heck, even toilet paper was ever-so-recently and infamously the target of mass-buying panic.

This shopper found a mysteriously misplaced bag of frozen soup dumplings at Costco that they had been previously unable to find in the proper place. As they were securing the bag, another shopper approached them, claiming that she was saving the bag and had placed it in its hidden location. The shopper refused to give the dumplings back to her and purchased them, leading the woman to call the shopper a jerk. 

The shopper has now turned to a popular online community to see if they really were the jerk for taking the bag. See their account of events below and the responses that were shared in the original thread where it was posted.

'He's got... 20,000 tickets to close': Boss ignores employee's simple solution to help desk issue

A small issue ballooned into a big one after a few days. That's what happens when you ignore a tiny problem — it can just compound and expand until it affects your entire job. 

This employee wrote to r/MaliciousCompliance to tell a story from their time as a help desk agent in the 1990s. "It started slowly at first-- maybe one call out of ten," OP writes. Basically, their phone system was automatically opening tickets with the wrong information, and the problem was slowly getting worse. Luckily, the OP had a bright idea involving macros. They told their coworkers about it, but they were stopped in their tracks. Many workplaces would rather punish their workers rather than encourage innovation. It seems like the OP's coworkers in this case were just too lazy to implement the new idea. 

Check out the entire story below, including comments from the OP about their tale from the 90s. Then, these people shared the funniest rules they had at their own jobs, like one person whose boss made them pay fifty cents per disposable coffee cup. 

'Change the menu...my kid won't eat any of that': 30+ Brides and grooms share the weird and funny things people told them while planning their big day

While planning your wedding, everyone is thrilled for you, and they will all insist they have some great advice to tell you. 

From cake mishaps to a mother in law demanding two first dances, these people have had handled some odd requests and advice. While planning a wedding with the person you love, it's so romantic to get swept up in planning your dream day. It's supposed to be the day you and your loved one tie the knot forever, and you want all your closest friends and family right by your side to celebrate your love. 

Though they may not mean anything bad by it, some people want to make the day all about themselves. Whether they're making a million ridiculous requests or flipping out because they can't bring all their kiddos to the reception, some people just aren't taking the spirit of the wedding day seriously!

One of the funniest scenarios people wrote in about where their loved ones who were told about the upcoming wedding, and immediately refused. Some people said that their loved ones basically told them they were definitely not going to their nuptials, so no one sent her an invite. That just makes sense, right? Why waste paper and stamps just to invite someone who already said no? Then, these relatives get all up in arms over how disrespected they feel. Ok but… they were just doing what you said. 

Next up, these people purchased things, and what they received was far from expected. 

[We put it] right between two of the bases in the baseball field': Engineer told to blindly obey boss's orders, obliges, obstructing client's baseball infield

There are those managers out there who think that they know everything, refusing to listen to anything their workers tell them to advise the decision-making process and blindly following the corporate narrative or their own uninformed decisions to their downfall and folly. Workers placed in these situations might try to fix the mistakes of their superiors, repeatedly shielding their bosses from any blowback or repercussions for these decisions and even reinforcing their incorrect perception that their way is the right way. After extended periods of doing this with no thanks—and even reprimand—the workers will reach the point where they're no longer prepared to put in the effort to cover their bosses' behinds. Meaning the next time a decision is forced through, the results will be catastrophic. 

Even if you know nothing about baseball, it's probably easy for you to picture why having a utility box installed directly in the middle of the field—especially right between second and third base—is a bad idea. It's not hard to imagine why such a thing happening might be a little disruptive to the use of the field and the flow of the game. It's the kind of thing you would just deal with when playing backyard baseball as a kid, accepting that any inconveniently placed tree or obstacle was just a part of the game at hand. However, while baseball fields and stadiums have always naturally varied, with unique outfield dimensions and quirks, when playing an organized game on a proper field, these variations should be limited, with the infield especially being one of the most constant aspects of the game. 

So, when a group of engineers that you hired come along and stick a utility box between second and third base, you might not be all that pleased about your field's new infield feature. 

Of course, this all came about when this engineer grew tired of his boss repeatedly refusing to listen to his more well-informed reason, insisting instead that the engineer blindly follow whatever order he was given. So, the engineer did exactly what his boss told them to, giving the client this disastrous result.

See the engineer's account of events, originally shared with Reddit, below—along with reactions from the original thread where it was posted.

Update: '[My] friend wants use me as her backup ATM': Traveller tells friend she's only bringing $300 on Caribbean vacation, friend takes internet's advice to avoid paying extra

While planning a vacation for two, this woman had no idea her friend would suddenly expect her to foot the bill. That's not how travelling with friends works — everyone has to pay their own share, unless you plan on a different way to split the costs that everyone can agree on. Even many couples will divide the cost of travel among the two of them to ensure both people pitch in. After all, travel isn't cheap, once the costs of hotels, flights, car rentals, food, and more, are all added together. 

This person told the story of their friend, who wanted to go on vacation while sticking to a very strict budget. As u/DontAskMeChit writes, their friend told them up front that they were going to bring just $300 in cash on a five day Caribbean vacation. It's great to set a budget to stick to each day of the trip, but this friend had no backup plan whatsoever. Instead, she announced to her travel buddy that when her funds dried up, she'd turn to her for financial support. 

The OP was irritated "to no end" with that, and they turned to Reddit for help. It seems like they read some advice that commenters left, and added an update a month later. Thanks to the Redditors' quick thinking, the OP was able to protect their money, and still have a pretty good vacation with their friend (who did get a bit sulky). 

Check out the post and update below. Then, read these interviewee's accounts of what happened when they spotted red flags during job interviews. 

'I was done with Secret Santa at work': Rude coworker threw a tantrum about his Secret Santa gift, employee gets even the next year

There are certain team-bonding work traditions that should be disbanded and one of them is most certainly Secret Santa. First of all, there's the money factor. Even if the fixed price everyone should spend is decided to be $10, I don't want to spend two cents on anyone at work and I'm pretty sure they'd say the same about me. There is absolutely no ill will or bitterness here; in fact, to me, it feels like a healthy mutual understanding. 

 

Now, the next reason why Workplace Secret Santa should be abolished immediately is that not everyone is close to one another and this process is not going to make you closer. How are you going to get something meaningful or memorable for under $10 for someone you barely know, who barely knows you, and who you don't really have much of a desire to know outside of a casual professional existence? It's a waste of time and energy. Finally, everyone waits till the last minute and so the gifts are especially meaningless. Why? Because we have lives, we have groceries to buy, we have real friends to think about. No one has time for this, except for the managers who think they can pat themselves on the back for fostering a false sense of community. 

 

Clearly, I have a lot of feelings on this matter, and so does this employee, who shared their story via Reddit's r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit. Keep scrolling below to see how they got even with a tantrum-throwing coworker who was ungrateful about their Secret Santa gift last year. For more stories like this, feel free to take a look at this post about a night shift worker who was forced to come into work despite their illness.

Top 20+ Funniest Unpopular Opinions This Month

Have you ever found yourself in a bit of a pickle, surrounded by people holding a conversation that you want to take part in, but are nervous you'll get roasted or canceled?

The more time goes on, the more apprehensive I get about what I can or can't say in front of an angry crowd. I have never related to the black and white concept people seem to have adopted nowadays, but unfortunately, if you aren't with them, then you are against them. Who is this 'them' that I speak of? Well, they take different forms. It could be friends, family, coworkers, or heck, even people you end up chatting with as you wait for that annoying bus to show up already.

Wherever you go, 'they' are there. If you have an unpopular opinion that you'd like to share, r/unpopularopinions may be the safe haven you are looking for. Enter at your own risk, and prepare to get roasted. Below you will find the top unpopular opinions of the month. For more, here is an HOA that 'surprisingly' doesn't comply with their own rules they set up.

'None of my business': Son ignores dad's chores after dad tells him 'it's your responsibility'

This teenager doesn't want to help his dad with chores anymore after the way his dad spoke to him. 

When you're 17 years old, you're so close to being an adult, but you aren't quite there yet. People still get to treat you like a kid, whether you like it or not. That's why commenters are divided on this guy's story about a rainy-day chore gone wrong, with some blaming the teenage OP, and others blaming his father. 

This story is about what happens when you dry clothing outside without accounting for the weather. Because under most circumstances, using a clothesline is a great idea! It gives your sheets or clothing that fresh outdoorsy scent. You just have to be careful you don't drop the laundry on the ground, and of course, keep an eye out for rain and strong winds. Otherwise you'll wind up like OP's dad, who got stuck with a bunch of soggy clothes. Plus, as an added punishment, OP writes that their dad had trouble drying his clothes, since it was the rainy season where they live. Some commenters scolded OP for this, while others said he was justified in his malicious compliance. 

Check out this entire story below — OP commented numerous times to provide more information and help commenters form their opinions. After that, check out these mildly infuriating moments — like one dude whose bank got overdrawn by $99 billion dollars. 

'I'm firing you on the spot': Employees demand raises after seven years with the same pay, boss responds by firing all of them

Imagine working at the same company for seven years and getting fired the second you bring up the topic of a raise. Talk about a complete lack of respect for the loyalty these employees have shown to the company by staying all this time with no financial incentive to do so. The employee who filmed this video of his boss's tantrum shared that he and his coworkers merely asked politely for a meeting after learning that new employees were receiving higher wages. That meeting led to the conversation about a long overdue and well-deserved raise for the group. That's where things went out of control. The very next day, the boss threw a fit and asked everyone working there to leave before he calls the police. Sir, it's not like they were trespassing… this is their place of work. More importantly, the audacity of this man to expect loyalty out of his employees without a single pay increase is beyond us! Check out the video below and for more content like this, here's another post about a Karen who didn't think the traffic laws applied to her!

Update: 'I told you that in confidence': Woman critiques daughter in law's cooking, receives plain meal in return

If this mother in law won't eat this delicious chicken dish, we volunteer instead. Picky eaters transcend culture and time; every family has at least one person who can't stand spicy foods or dislikes a common ingredient like beans. 

Cooking for another person is a kind and thoughtful thing to do, and it's especially meaningful when it's your family. Speaking as a picky eater, it was a wonderful feeling when someone left my portion of a meal plain for me. Everyone else could eat their regular chicken parmesan, and I, as a kid who didn't like spaghetti sauce, ate a plain piece of chicken. Thankfully, many people, myself included, grow out of their pickiness. This mother in law definitely did not outgrow her food preferences, and instead, she's making her daughter in law suffer the consequences. 

Check out the entire story below. The OP also answered questions in the comments to add more detail to this story. And they also added an update about what happened the next time their MIL came to dinner! 

After that, check out the mildly infuriating moments that people have shared as of late, like a pair of gym bros who took every barbell for themselves. 

‘Higher-ups are furious’: Countless company projects put on hold after worker complies with boss's demands to ‘order office supplies through corporate’

When someone does you a favor at work, the proper reaction should be a mix of 'grateful' and 'thank you'.

One employee was using their lunchtime to get office supplies for coworkers at their workplace, paying with the company card. They had been doing this for YEARS, so imagine their surprise when one day, they came back from lunch per usual with a bag of corporate goodies in their hand, a receipt in the other, and received a frown and a scolding from their boss, instead of a 'thank you'.

OP was told to give up the company card, and never use their lunch to get office supplies again. To be clear, getting office supplies wasn't even in OP's job description, so when I said he'd been doing everyone a favor, I meant it. But alas, some people can't spot a good thing until it's gone. The rose-colored glasses effect usually sets in the way after you've already lost.

Chaos ensued, as OP knew it would. Supplies took forever to arrive, projects were put on hold… like I said, chaos. Scroll down to read what else all this good malicious compliance includes. Hopefully, OP's boss will figure out sooner than later that they made a huge mistake. For more stories like this, here is a woman who cashed a twelve hundred dollar check that technically wasn't hers to cash, after an employee made a huge mistake at work.

'I get an email from management stating my numbers are "concerning"': Worker investigated for being too productive at their new job

Companies want as much productivity as possible, claiming that they want to attract the best and brightest candidates—not that they're going to pay those candidates what they deserve. If they accidentally do manage to land one of these workers, they'll wish they hadn't when the new worker arrives and shows everyone up, sparking an internal dilemma and drawing jealousy, ire, and suspicions of the mediocre veteran workers.

If you do this, there are chances that you won't find praise and will, rather, find yourself beating your head against a brick wall as the current employees refuse to accept your results, sure that you must be doing something dishonest to pump your numbers. This will continue until an eventual investigation leads them to force you to reveal your process, which instead reveals your efficiency and effectiveness as they stare on in dumbfounded disbelief. 

This "institutional mediocrity" plagues workplaces, leaving them doomed to forever operate with middling success, operating out of sad beige offices in which no fresh ideas will ever prosper. 

This worker shared their experience of exactly this happening at their new job, facing internal investigation when they joined a new organization within their field and blew all productivity metrics out of the water. Now, seeing the writing on the wall of this organization, they write that they are looking for a new job, sharing an account of events with a popular online community.  

'Early is on time, on time is late': Boss accuses employee of being the 'queen of tardiness,' employee stands her ground

Bosses who are annoying about promptness should be focusing their attention on far more pressing matters. Whatever happened to focusing on their own tasks and responsibilities? Whatever happened to ensuring that the employees on their team are supported and fulfilled (well, as fulfilled as they can be given the circumstances of work)? Whatever happened to minding their own dang business? In work-related matters such as this, we often go back to our mantra that if the work gets done and gets done well, there shouldn't be any objection.

 

As far as this employee goes, she was also more than prompt! Her shift began at 9:30am, and she often arrived between 9:20-9:24, which is more than enough time. However, she has one of those horrible bosses who believes that "early is on time" and "on time is late." Is there anything more old-school and more eye-roll-inducing than that mentality? The employee shared her story via this thread on Reddit and also shared that their boss is lucky considering that he lives in the same building as the company's offices. He doesn't have to deal with the same commute that she does! Furthermore, he clearly is just feeling insecure and unnecessarily wants to assert his power. He may be a big boss, but he is a small man.

 

Keep scrolling below to see how the employee responded to her boss's critiques and to see how folks reacted in the comments section. When you're finished, feel free to check out this post about a boss's girlfriend who told employees how to do their jobs.

'Don't make your tenants do your job': Determined tenant uses data analyst skills to research soaring water prices, leading to entire leasing office getting fired by corporate

Problems arise in apartment complexes all the time; I should know, I lived in one. A lot of complexes use rent payment portals, because they're safe, secure, and allow landlords to collect payments online and keep track of everything, nice and tidy. Or at least, they are supposed to be. OP shared that they lived in an apartment complex that was acquired by a new management company, which switched the resident and rent payment portals. To say that this move caused disruptions would be an understatement.

OP was one of those tenants who checked the portal to make sure that their bills were in order, and that they weren't being overcharged. Well, as luck would have it, one time when OP was analyzing the portal, they found that they were being charged double for water. After contacting the front office to inquire about the increase, they were told that it was due to a water district decision, and the complex had 'no control over it'.

OP didn't buy it, not for one second. As it turns out, many people were receiving bigger bills, which led OP to investigate, along with one of their friends from the complex, Cole, who was a data analyst, and knew how to do extensive research. One thing led to another, and corporate got involved. To find out what happened, scroll down. Then, a woman refused to send back a twelve hundred dollar check after she received the money accidentally from a medical company her father used to use.

'Comply with your own covenants, then': HOA president sends entire neighborhood notices for violations; one resident flips the script

Housing communities are continuously getting more and more infamous for the unfair, ridiculous rules they enforce, yet ironically, don't apply to themselves. The head of HOA, also known as 'President', gets to write all the rules along with the rest of the board, usually making sure that the rules are in compliance with his or her own personal preferences. I was flabbergasted to read that an HOA president took it upon himself to drive all around u/smocky13's neighborhood, looking to see whose garbage cans were stored in the proper spots.

Because obviously, the world would end if a visitor were to gasp at a garbage can that was not in its proper spot, like place settings on a table! See, this is why I have sworn off living in a community with an HOA. I'd rather live cooped up inside a New York City apartment the size of a shoebox, paying way more than I should, for a small space that is soooo not worth it.

Back to the story… OP admitted that according to the HOA covenants in their neighborhood, trash cans do indeed need to be completely screened from view. But if we're totally honest, it sounds super petty. How does one deal with petty, then? Well, OP got creative, and did a deep dive, finding out that the president wasn't exactly in compliance with his own bylaws. How surprising.

Below you will find a detailed account of the hilarious events that unfolded. Scroll down to check them out. Then, feel free to read about this HOA president who ended up facing foreclosure after a resident found out had 10k worth of unpaid fines. See, why mess with the residents of your neighborhood? It's never worth it.

'She followed us when we went on vacation': Top 20+ Cringe Neighbor Stories

Neighbors are only good for three things: occasional company, dog sitting, and gossip. Otherwise, they can be annoying, disruptive, and an all-around nuisance. However, gossip is a human need, and neighbors can provide the perfect window (sometimes literally) into other people's lives. The reality of the matter is we are all generally interested in what other people do in the privacy of their homes. If anything, it can make us feel less weird in our own choices. 

 

The dark side to the curiosity we have for our neighbors is that our eavesdropping can lead to seeing or hearing about particularly bizarre quirks and eccentricities that we wish we could unsee or not hear. We compiled some top cringe neighbor stories based on this r/AskReddit thread. Some of these bizarre neighbors include a family that showered outside during a rainstorm, a fully grown man who sits in his driveway pretending to drive, and a couple that though burning gasoline on top of their snow-covered lawn would be a smart shortcut to shoveling the snow by hand. People are crazy, y'all. Thankfully, these aren't our neighbors, so this extra level of removal makes these stories all the more entertaining because we don't have to deal with these people in any way, shape, or form. 

 

Keep scrolling below for this collection of top cringe neighbor stories. For more compilations like this, check out these embarrassing school memories.

'Ok, Karen, not a problem': Company's food manufacturing manager gets an extra $950 and ups revenue over 30% all because of a Karen email he received

Humans will be humans and one of the most human things you can do is make a mistake. We're not perfect and that's beautiful. Can you imagine if everyone was perfect??? That sounds so boring and uncreative. Some mistakes should be celebrated, while others should be condemned—both will teach valuable lessons. So when you are a human, working with other humans, then you should always expect mistakes. Hope they won't happen, but don't be naive and pretend like they're impossible. 

Unfortunately, entitled Karens have infiltrated many human institutions and sometimes you have to work with one. This means that a mistake made is a personal attack on the Karen and it is an unbelievable/unforgivable act. On reddit, a manager of a food manufacturing plant had to deal with one of these Karens in the workplace. OP says he has worked as the manager for this food manufacturing plant for a while now and had always been pretty nice with their clients. One large client would even get a discount sometimes when they would over produce some food. They couldn't just keep the food, so they would just give the client the extra with no charge. 

However, this seemed to piss the Karen off and she sent a very rude and unprofessional email letting OP know. The numbers needed to number correctly, no matter the cost to her. Or, at least that's what it sounded like. So OP granted her that wish, and now their bill was over $950 more and going forward will be charged accordingly, meaning revenue is going up almost 33%. So, I guess everybody got what they wanted this time—the Karen got the numbers to match and OP got more money. Win win… I guess?

'The company is losing thousands of dollars every single minute': Printer room worker forced to train their lazy replacements who refuse to listen, costs the company "tens of thousands"

Printers have been the bane of many office workers' existence since the dawn of the printing age, with networking issues, mechanical failures, and permanently low toner/ink levels making tasks that should be easy and simple incredibly frustrating instead.

Back in ye olden days of the 1990s, this print room worker managed the printing room of a shipping operation, operating the company's large and finicky dot matrix printers.

If you've ever worked in a traditional warehousing or shipping joint, you're probably familiar with dot matrix printers; these printers use the (often) blue and white lined paper with sheets that are interconnected and have holes down the sides that can be torn off. They're still commonly used for pack lists at distribution companies and other similar entities.

But, back in 1990, the machines printing these were more primitive, much larger, and probably more prone to failure, requiring a worker or two to manage the machines and keep things operating and running smoothly.

This worker received detailed training when they started, working as a two-man team with another worker in order to ensure there was no downtime during required printing times. When their coworker handed in their duo, the pair attempted to train a new hire who proved to be too unmotivated. 

For some reason, this led the company to lay off the print team altogether and bring in two other nepo-hire workers from elsewhere in the business. It was easy to see why someone was eager to get rid of these two workers since they, too, proved to be incredibly lazy. Despite the worker's best efforts to train them, the pair refused to listen to anything; this would set the company up for massive and expensive failure a short time later…

'‘He tipped with a fake $100 to impress his date’': Servers Share Stories of Getting Tipping Karma on Cheap Customers

When working in the service industry it is inevitable that you will encounter a bad tipper. Whether they're old and still think 25 cents is an appropriate tip, or their entitled and think because you forgot the ice in their water, they're allowed to tip you $0. It's a mad mad world out there working as a waiter. At least in the U.S. it is. You work for barely an hourly with usually no benefits and you relay almost completely on tips. So when you get a $0 tip, that person who you just served and gave probably over an hour of your life to doesn't think you deserve even a $2 slice of pizza for dinner. It's heart breaking, but there is also something about working in the service industry that makes you more empathetic and tough at the same time. Not to mention the friends you make for life out of the coworkers you trauma-bonded with. Below, servers took to a recent Reddit post about tipping Karma. Some cheap guy tried to impress his date by tipping $100, but it turned out it was fake. When they came back for another date, the server was more than excited to return his forgotten joke money right. The entitled guy left $0 on the receipt for tip, but the woman left a real $50 bill on the table. See what other servers have experience in the tipping karma world below!

'I've never felt greater satisfaction': Guy gets back at a bad driver by tricking him into going 50mph over the speed limit directly in front of a police speed trap

Road rage is a pretty common emotion to feel when you're driving on the freeway. Contrarily, 'road vindication' is something seldom seen and for frequent road ragers, but it certainly would be nice to see some of the bad drivers and muppets you see behind the wheel get a little justice handed to them every now and then. Imagine if every tailgater, swerving, Fast & Furious wannabe got exactly what they deserved right in front of you eyes? Well, that's exactly what happened in this case, when OP was driving on a two lane road on his home turf.

OP had been attempting to make a pass on a lingering sports car at one of the passing lanes on a two lane highway. Since he knew the road like the back of his hand, OP was familiar with all the opportunities to pass and each time he attempted to make a move on the slow driver in front of him, the guy would floor it, going way over the speed limit, just to keep him from passing. Road rage ensued.

Knowing that there was an underpass coming up where highway patrolmen would sometimes lurk in the shadows, OP decided to get the best revenge on the childish driver. Scroll for the full story on how one lucky road rager finally felt a taste of what it's like to have 'road vindication'. Next, check out this story of how a pair of newlyweds were offended when they didn't what they asked for as a wedding gift, but got exactly what they deserved. 

25 Work memes for employees who are on their career grindset

If you go to work and grind hard, props to you. Truly. Depending on the career you choose, it might be necessary to put in some early mornings and late nights. Work-life balance is very important, though. It's one of those buzzwords that everyone talks about, but actually achieving a nice balance takes some work. 

Some people really enjoy the grind, though. They thrive on waking up at 4AM to exercise and meditate, then work a 12 hour day, then brag about it on social media. These people will tell you that the hustle will all be worth it when you're making 7 figures and living it up on your own yacht. For the majority of us, though, it's nicer to have some work-life balance and take a vacation every now and then. We can't all have fancy yachts! Some of us will settle for a weekend at the beach. 

Next up, these hiring managers shared the funniest things they've ever spotted on someone's resume or CV, such as "Under special talents was, 'Owns own gorilla suit.'"

'This was a massive waste of my time': Cashier forced to get a doctor's note so she can drink water during her shift, doctor writes savage takedown of management

It comes as no surprise that at most companies, management tends to periodically enforce tone-deaf rules that can make employees feel undervalued. Sometimes that comes in the form of a new organizational structure, altered schedules, or reinforcing certain ways of doing things that employees know with certainty do not work. However, it comes with the territory of working at a company where management is largely absent but weirdly strict. 

 

In this case, we have a pharmacy that shall not be named whose employees were recently told could no longer drink water during their work shifts unless they were in the middle of lunch or a designated break period. Otherwise, they couldn't have water on hand behind the counter no matter how empty the store was or how thirsty they were. One employee confronted their immediate supervisor about this and requested an exception because of a medical condition. The supervisor, who also shared this Reddit thread to the r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit, told his employee it was perfectly fine. However, when his manager visited the store, the problem started to escalate.

 

That manager required the employee to have a doctor's note on hand the next time he comes by and sees her with a bottle of water nearby. Well, the employee did exactly that, and her doctor may just be our new favorite hero. Keep scrolling below to see what exactly the doctor had to say. 

 

For more stories like this, check out this post about another employee's malicious compliance after she kept getting bothered about bringing donuts to the office.

'I made a spreadsheet that tells me when to stop working': Hotshot employee vows supreme mediocrity as payback after getting punished for going above-and-beyond

Some employees strive to be incredible at their jobs, while others slack off. Managers are supposed to be the corrective authorities who praise folks working hard, while reprimanding the mediocre bunch, but in some cases, upper management gets confused. Bad managers are so detached from the workplace that they actually scold and accuse their employees that are succeeding, knocking them down a peg to join the others in the cookie-cutter herd of amateurs. 

In this case, a data entry professional was excited about his new job. Eager to do the best he could, OP learned the fastest ways to complete his work every day and quickly skyrocketed to the top of the team. Threatened by his success or simply skeptical, managers came down hard on the prodigy new hire and launched an offensive 'investigation', suggesting that OP had cheated his number in some way. 

After pilfering through their top-performing employees workflow, management seemed satisfied with the legitimacy of his success and unappolagetically moved on. They had no interest in gleaning knowledge from the newbie and no intention of ever praising his good work, so OP created a system that would ensure that he would never go above-and-beyond again. 

Next, check out this story of instant karma on the freeway where a bad driver got tricked into going 50mph over the speed limit in front of some cops.

'Are you still open?': Couple orders food from exasperated workers at a closed restaurant, wonders if they're wrong

How many people working in customer service, retail, or the service industry have had to deal with this exact same scenario? The closing time was 6 pm—it's now ten after—and there are still customers in the store. You're not allowed to turn customers away—management has forbidden it—still, customers continue to pour in. 

This same thing happens often, and management insists that every last customer be able to order, forcing you to stay late well past scheduled closing… Yet, every time you try to claim the overtime, they give you grief—forcing justification of the extra time despite it resulting from their own policy.

You're trying to get out of there as fast as possible; you've got an assignment due in the morning that still needs some final touches. The last time this happened, you ended up being too tired to finish it and had to accept partial credit. Your coworkers are eager to get home to feed their kids or pets or to uphold plans they'd made for after their shift. 

No one wants to be there after close—at least, no one who is working. The customers are more than happy to take their time, plodding around and taking as long as possible amidst lengthy conversations. But the staff… All they want is to get home and get on with their evening as they'd planned. 

And—still… customers continue to walk through the door.

‘You said the check was mine': Company backtracks after sending woman a check for $1,200, woman refuses to send money back at their request

The saying, 'The customer is always right' has long lost its appeal, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't ever hold any truth to it.

Employees can miscalculate, leading to big fines, expensive problems, and can generally cost companies big amounts of cash. The wheel of fortune isn't always on our side, but being human, we know it can't be. What goes up must come down, and vice versa. In any case, a company miscalculated big time, leading to the grand mistake of accidentally sending a check for $1,200 to OP, who as a good samaritan, informed them of their blunder. They had the chance to fix the issue, but instead, opted to be rude and condescending.

You'd think when someone is trying to return over one thousand dollars, they'd be taken seriously, but unfortunately for the company, the woman working that day in customer service was actually annoyed at OP for calling. An important morsel of information here is that this call was recorded, meaning that technically, OP had a pretty good 'out' if the company would ever contact her and ask for the money back.

Well, that detail came to be quite important after all. Below you can find out exactly why. Next, the top Reddit stories where people were promptly 'fired on the spot'. I can definitely relate to a few…

'Their dog barks constantly day and night: Neighbors refuse to pick up after their uncontrolled large dog, guy gives it all back to them in prolonged and smelly act of revenge

This guy really took his time to let this act of petty revenge cook, waiting for the fruits of his labor to ripen when things really heated up.

Is there anything worse than a dog owner who refuses to pick up after their pooch? It's a sure way to tell the rest of society that you only care about yourself, yourself—and no one else. It's unfortunate that these irresponsible pet owners refuse to consider other people and the bad reputation that they give to all other pet owners; as with anything else, it only takes one bad actor to ruin something for the entire group.

Unfortunately, it also only takes one inconsiderate neighbor to shatter the peace of an entire neighborhood, a constant stream of noise and nonsense ruining what was once an easy existence. 

The Original Poster of this story shared that they are a 34-year-old male who lives in (what was once) a quiet neighborhood, surrounded mostly by elderly neighbors. However, this changed when new neighbors moved in with a baby and a large dog. 

They refused to ever pick up after their large dog, which is allowed to bark constantly and often left to roam free, ignoring constant requests from the OP and other neighbors that they do so. This led to the dog being able to lunge at passersby necessitating the involvement of police, who demanded the animal be restrained.

After laughter to their responses that they pick up after their nightmare pet, the neighbors could be heard laughing, combined with an instance where they accidentally tread dog droppings that they had stepped on into their home, driving them down the path of revenge…

They began stealthily launching the neighbor's dog's droppings onto the roof of the neighbor's home, doing so for at least five months before summer. When the summer sun began to beat down on the couple's roof… they began to see the rewards of their efforts…

See this story of revenge, originally shared with Reddit's r/pettyrevenge subreddit, along with the reactions the popular story generated in the thread where it was shared.

'I see Dan coming back in, smiling the biggest grin': Movie theater employee works all night to shovel every snowflake, gains 12 hours of overtime pay

What the boss says goes, even if the job takes hours. This guy was just doing what the boss said, down to the letter, and his adherence to the rules ended excellently. 

Lots of entry levels jobs require you to sign off on some rules before you begin the job. And one of those rules usually says something along the lines of, "The employee will complete additional tasks as needed." With that phrase, bosses have the leeway to get their employees to do almost anything under the guise of "additional tasks." However, for this movie theater employee, the extra work meant doing a mountain of shoveling. 

This dude's boss really wanted him to shovel an entire movie theater walkway by himself. If only there were a company they could call to show up with snow plows and salt for a fair price… but no, these managers insisted their ushers should tackle this huge task. That's because the snow-plowing budget was combined with the boss's bonus — if he called for a snowplow, he'd basically be paying for it out of pocket. That also seems unfair to the boss! Maybe the boss, too, was trying to maliciously comply with his own boss's rules. 

Next up, this employee was the only one in her small office who refused to buy her boss a birthday present. 

'They say it's lowering property values': Homeowners share their worst HOA horror stories

No matter how gorgeous the house is, be careful getting a place where HOAs rule the land. These people are sharing their own cautionary tales in this video below. 

HOAs, which stands for Home Owner's Associations, are groups of elected individuals who make rules to keep a neighborhood looking its best. However, these can quickly get out of hand. Instead of making common sense rules or helping people in need, HOAs seem to basically exist to make a home owner's life a living nightmare. Once you see the fines accumulated for the most basic things, you'll understand how it can quickly consume all your funds. One person showed hundreds of dollars in late fees and "association assessment" fees, all accumulated over just a few months! 

One person shared that they were targeted for literally just parking in front of their own house for too long. Who knew 2 days was the longest one could park outside their own garage? No one is benefitting from these HOA decrees. The only way to stop HOAs is to raise awareness about the utter nightmare that can occur when you move into a neighborhood with a demanding association. Check out the entire video below for these folks' first-hand accounts of HOA madness. 

'No talk of raise, promotion, or even when they'd get a replacement': Coworker gets denied promotion, employee asked to take on their work without a raise, quits

Let this story serve as a cautionary tale: always be sure to get the raise before you take on the extra work. This employee and their coworker learned that the hard way, though the coworker had a much harder time. Once upon a time, their team of three was a well-run machine. It was just the two of them and their manager, the work was well-divided, and everyone enjoyed a healthy separation between their job and their personal life. Eventually, their manager left for a better opportunity. Rather than find a replacement, the higher-ups at the company decided to ask this Redditor and their coworker to split their former manager's duties between them. 

 

At first, the extra work was manageable, but as the company got more and more business, the workload became less and less bearable. However, OP's coworker was hoping for a promotion and continued to take on extra tasks during this time. After about a year and a half, the coworker ended up leaving the company because they were completely rejected regarding that promotion. Upon their departure, the higher-ups once again thought they could manipulate more work out of OP without promising a raise or a promotion of any kind. By that point, OP was ready to start looking for other work and seemed to have no trouble finding a better work environment that paid more fairly.

 

Keep scrolling below for the full post and for the best reactions in the comments section. For more stories like this, check out this post about an IT worker whose PTO was repeatedly denied. 

'You want the job? Approved, it's yours!': Programmer tries to get secret second job, accidentally successfully applies for a demotion

 If you consider yourself to be smart and clever, you might think that you can get away with gaming the system, and it's only when it blows up in your face that you realize how much you overestimated your intelligence. Congratulations, you played yourself.

Maintaining one full-time job is a lot of work, so it really makes you wonder how some people have been, reportedly, managing to work two at the same time. Every now and then, you see a story pop up online about someone who has been holding down two full-time jobs simultaneously, and you can't help but wonder how they're managing to juggle the two.

This poster explains how a high-level software developer, who worked for them, earning an annual salary of around 240k, had been struggling with underperformance in their current role. It turns out the developer had been looking for additional work and had unknowingly applied for a scrum master position at a subsidiary of the company, successfully interviewing and being offered the job. However, after going to enter the candidate's details into the system, the interview team at the subsidiary noticed the candidate was already in the system and was even an employee of the group. The interview team contacted the poster, the candidate's current boss, to enquire about the "transfer" application, and—unbeknownst to the candidate/developer, the poster approved it while the candidate/developer accepted the role.

The developer was shocked to realize that not only had they not secured themselves a side hustle, they had actually successfully applied for their own demotion within the company, costing them their main hustle as a result… See the original post below, along with the reactions it generated.