'You are in the middle of nowhere': CEO's nepo-baby son takes over remote workplace, insists maintenance workers drive 1200+ miles to change a lightbulb

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Nov 20, 2023 3:00 PM EST

This story is like that old joke that goes, "How many people does it take to change a lightbulb?" There are a bajillion punchlines and variations of the joke. They're always funny because changing a lightbulb is so darn easy. You just unscrew the light, throw it away, and screw in a new one. Easy! 

The nepo-baby manager at one company has clearly never heard these jokes, though, because he ended up sending some maintenance workers hundreds of miles to change one. That's often an issue with nepo-babies: they know nothing about business, since their life's been handed to them on a silver platter, but they feel like they have a lot to prove. 

Everyone knows the nepo-baby is only there because of their parents' influence, which doesn't tend to make them popular with coworkers. So how are they to prove to everyone that they really are a good boss, without any experience whatsoever? Well, they just go ahead and start making big changes. In their mind, big changes = good changes. If this nepo-boss had taken just one Business 101 class, they'd realize their flawed thinking… But we all know that nepo-baby bosses aren't going to change if they can lounge around all day at daddy's company earning big bucks.

Next up, this landlady kept coming by her tenants' apartment with little notice, so the tenant decided to make her wait a while. 

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  • 01
    Travel 2000km to change a light bulb? Ok M OC A few years ago I was in a boardroom of a earthmoving company talking to the CEO about how we (my company) could assist with their maintenance cost. Before the
    via u/islanderxyz
  • 02
    meeting I got all my facts from our guys on the ground. CEO: you are costing us too much to maintain our equipments. Me: you are in the middle of nowhere. It's in the middle of a desert. Travel cost are significant but we can manage if we plan repairs and maintenance to minimise the
    via u/islanderxyz
  • 03
    travel cost CEO: well how about that $10k bill to change a broken light last month? Why would you guys charge us and not plan it when the machines is back in range
    via u/islanderxyz
  • 04
    I knew this one was coming. So I repeat what my guys told me. See the owner has decided to put his son through the works to take charge of the company. The CEO decided to send junior to the middle of nowhere to keep him at bay. Junior decided to use his leverage and ordered a minor repair which was not critical be
    via u/islanderxyz
  • 05
    carried out. However the machine was 2000 km out. So it was a 2 day trip to change a light. My guys asked to confirm whether that was real. If the company wanted to send them to do such a small task and were told in no such words that they're the client and can do as they want. A purchase order was provided and the rest was
    via u/islanderxyz
  • 06
    history. I think junior wanted to give the CEO a taste of how things would be. My guys maliciously complied. I mean they would be paid overtime and because it's in the desert. Two guys have to go. Sat nav etc... the works.
    via u/islanderxyz
  • 07
    Back to the story Me: we did request confirmation and were told you're the client and provided us with a po to proceed. So we did. CEO: you shouldn't have proceeded. This is ridiculous. ME: your company provided a valid request and refused to listen when told it
    via u/islanderxyz
  • 08
    would prohibitive. We did warn you about the cost but the decision is ultimately yours. We can't control your staff. CEO: who did authorise this work? Me: I can send you a copy of the PO.
    via u/islanderxyz
  • 09
    You could see the veins on his head throbbing. Anyway. I heard junior was moved back to head office shortly after.
    via u/islanderxyz
  • 10
    kelldricked Tbh i would love that. 2000 km roadtrip and you get paid. Then when you arrive its 3 easy things, a massive bill and back on the road. Just hope that the drivers were friendly with eachother.
    via u/kelldricked
  • 11
    PARAD SE tommidmg I once took a 200+ km trip to change the channel on tv, by the request of the client. We went thru this on phone first and several times I asked the client to check the right source. He claimed that everything was right and the system was broken. He wasn't too happy.
    via u/tommidmg
  • 12
    stvangel Long ago I was at a company who needed to upgrade a lab. Two- Coworkers and I offered to take a weeks vacation and do it for $12000. Turned down.
    via u/stvangel
  • 13
    Then they found a local contractor who would do it for $28,000. Turned that down because he wasn't an official supplier. They went with another company halfway across the country for $52,000. They flew a
    via u/stvangel
  • 14
    guy in who simply subcontracted with the local guy and sat on his playing video games the whole time.
    via u/islanderxyz
  • 15
    Emefjay A colleague of mine once did a 21,000 mile (34,000 km) round trip to do... nothing. Based in the UK, he got a demand from the Australian office for immediate on-site support to fix a major production-impacting problem with a system we supported. While he was in the air they fixed it for themselves.
    via u/Emefjay
  • 16
    He was met at Sydney airport by a very sheepish-looking project manager who turned him round and sent him on the next flight back to London. The invoice was quite impressive.
    via u/Emefjay
  • 17
    cyclejones I was once flown 200 miles away plus per- diem by a client to give a 5 minute presentation that consisted entirely of hitting play on a video that was embedded in a powerpoint.
    via u/cyclejones
  • 18
    Nevermind04 I once drove 250 miles to unplug a power strip from itself and plug it into the wall after a client refused to troubleshoot the issue over the phone. That.... drives me crazy but I really shouldn't complain about easy work.
    via u/Nevermind04
  • 19
    bacteen1 I own a small maintenance company. I got a call from the maintenance director of a logistics firm that he had a lighting crisis on one of his docks, he was under a lot of pressure and needed a sight unseen quote and immediate service.
    via u/bacteen1
  • 20
    I quoted $1200.00, it was approved and I hit the road. The dock was union staffed and apparently it was not in anyone's contract to change light bulbs. 15 light bulbs = $1200.00.
    via u/bacteen1

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nepotism boss workplace-stories jobs job malicious compliance bosses work coworkers malicious-compliance-reddit workplace malicious compliance reddit
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