'I saw red, but then I had an idea': Woman engineer punishes her coworkers by agreeing to "get coffee" for them

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Apr 19, 2024 5:00 PM EDT

If you do something badly enough, you might not get asked to do it again. In the workplace, you've got to do this strategically. You want to mess up some basic chores in order to get out of them, but you also don't want to be viewed as being bad at your job. 

This is common in many workplaces. Even though we all do dishes every day, in the office, everyone conveniently "forgets" how to load the dishwasher. Other people will pretend they can't figure out how to work the printer, and someone else will just have to load in new paper or ink. If you don't have enough interns, someone is going to get stuck doing the office dirty work. 

This woman, u/CatfancyBunnyMom, had an additional hurdle at her job in the early 1980s. It was a different time, and the workplace functioned in a vastly different manner. Upon gaining a new engineering job, she realized that her boss and coworkers didn't take kindly to new engineers. They also, in her words, "hated women in the workplace." They were soon trying to get her down, but she didn't let them. Her results were fabulous, and you can check them all out below. 

Then, check out these online marketplace sellers with one goal: try to take a single photo of a mirror they want to sell. 

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  • 01
    Don't mess with a woman engineer Many years ago (1982), I was working as an engineer for a large company. I'd just moved to a new organization within the company. I didn't realize it when I interviewed for the position, but the person I was assigned to work under 1) HATED young engineers that got there via college degree, and 2) HATED women in the workplace!
    via u/CatfancyBunnyMom
  • 02
    Well, the end of the first week, there was a staff meeting for everyone in the department. As I walked in, the boss turned to me and said, "Catfancy BunnyMom" go get coffee for everyone." I saw red, but then had an idea. I headed to the break room, not even taking time to put my notebook and pens down. Picked
    via u/CatfancyBunnyMom
  • 03
    up a full pot of coffee, a stack of cups, huge handfuls of creamer and sugar, and a bunch of stir sticks. Obviously, I was totally laden down with it all.
    via u/CatfancyBunnyMom
  • 04
    When I got back to the conference room, I tripped!!! Dropped the full pot of coffee onto the table. I thought it would just spill, but it shattered and spewed hot coffee everywhere! I then stated, very apologetically,
    via u/CatfancyBunnyMom
  • 05
    "oh no! I'm such a klutz! It's probably why I went into something that would use my brain rather than my physical abilities. I'm so sorry!" For some reason, I was never asked to get coffee again!
    via u/CatfancyBunnyMom
  • 06
    sooncool I was on a development team with only two women, me included. They made the other woman set up pot lucks, serve cakes, clean up afterwards, etc. I felt bad enough for her that I started helping her out with those things.
    via u/CatfancyBunnyMom
  • 07
    After she left, we had another potluck. My team of grown adult men were genuinely confused as to how to set it up, and one of my team members said to me, "sooncool! You're the new Lindsay! Set up the pot luck!" I laughed and told him to off.
    via u/CatfancyBunnyMom
  • 08
    Without missing a beat, the guy said, "Jeff, you're the new Lindsay!" From that day forward, Jeff set up all the pot lucks and served all the cakes...
    via u/CatfancyBunnyMom
  • 09
    AreYoultchy I got the "Can you make the coffee?" line, too. I said something like, "Well, I never drink coffee, but I'll give it a try!" I made the strongest, vilest, most tear your stomach lining off brew I could concoct, and brought it back smiling proudly...and watched them try to drink it. It was great, and for some reason, I was never asked to make coffee again!
    via u/CatfancyBunnyMom
  • 10
    TexasYankee212 I was a degreed IE who ended up in Facilities Management who supported about 450 design engineers in the building. Even though there were a good number of female engineers - some very good, some not - just like the male engineers.
    via u/CatfancyBunnyMom
  • 11
    Some of the managers in 2016 still had a problem with female engineers just being female. They were just more subtle about it.
    via u/CatfancyBunnyMom
  • 12
    Fluffy-Mastodon I've never asked anyone to get me coffee. I want to get my own coffee, thank you. The one time we were at a client site and one of the secretaries brought us coffee, it felt weird.
    via u/CatfancyBunnyMom
  • 13
    curiouslycaty Female engineer/tech here. I've been asked to make coffee before by make coworkers. I either made a strong cup of coffee with salt in (oh dear I don't seem to know the difference between salt and sugar!) or ask them how much arsenic they wanted in their coffee.
    via u/CatfancyBunnyMom
  • 14
    I've learned that if you're asked to do a certain job just because it's a "woman's job", to do it so badly they never ask you to do it again.
    via u/CatfancyBunnyMom
  • 15
    k3wbert I remember an NPR interview with the first woman to graduate from Harvard Law. She was hired at a prestigious NY corporate law firm, known for highest billing rates at the time (1960s). She told the story of going to her first Partner meeting, and one of the senior partners asked her to get
    via u/CatfancyBunnyMom
  • 16
    him coffee. Not knowing the inner workings of getting that request taken care of by staff, she exited the building and crossed the street, and bough a cup at a busy diner (probably 20¢). 15 minutes later, everyone has settled in, and the senior partner is talking, as she puts the coffee down in front of him, and tries to step back discreetly, and he wants to make a show of the
    via u/CatfancyBunnyMom
  • 17
    exchange, underlining her subservience; so he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a handful of coins, saying. "How much do I owe you?" "One hundred dollars." (~$900 in today's money), she replied. "I've been told to bill in one-hour increments." His smugness vanished and she never got that sort of request again.
    via u/CatfancyBunnyMom

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boss workplace-stories jobs woman job malicious compliance bosses work coworkers malicious-compliance-reddit engineering coffee workplace malicious compliance reddit women engineer
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