‘You Get What You Pay for’ : Company Dodges Corporate Client’s Gaslighting/Manipulation via Malicious Compliance, Leading To Project’s Ultimate Demise

Eleonora Bader

Jan 31, 2023 10:00 AM EST

Clients who try to gaslight you might want to think twice about leaving a paper trail, as that ultimately defeats the purpose of gaslighting. This particular client in question has a long list of faults, such as unreasonable expectations, refusal to listen to logic (they don't adhere to the universal laws of physics apparently), and pulling the classic shocked Pikachu face when presented with proof of their own incompetence.

You can't just expect to be a top-priority client without paying for what that privilege comes with. This isn't kindergarten, it's business. Throwing tantrums will not help your case. u/rentacle posted her tale of malicious compliance to a subreddit dedicated to this type of thing, explaining how a corporate client hired her company to complete a project within a certain timeframe. The project was well underway when the client got cold feet after racking up quite the bill for all the hours the employee needed to work to complete said project by said deadline.

Displeased, they wanted the project both to advance quickly and not suffer the costly repercussions of adding more billable hours to employees. They were basically like 'Nope, I'm not going to pay for more than 20 hours of work a week, thanks'. u/rentacle more or less responded with, 'Cool, so I won't work a minute over 20 hours, because I'm not getting paid for it'. Her manager backed her up, which was kind of surprising, considering there are so many management horror stories out there. Scroll down to read the detailed account below.

While we're on the topic of paychecks, feel free to click here for another classic Corporate furlough story gone wrong.