'I'm not taking the blame for your mistakes': Experienced grocery store manager lets bossy manager order them around and watches him flail

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jun 4, 2024 5:00 PM EDT

Wisdom is knowing when to let people make their own mistakes. That's especially true in the workplace: knowing when to mind your business is crucial. 

This grocery store manager, u/SerphynaZee, has a coworker who's an annoying dude. The original poster of this malicious compliance story is stuck with one of the worst kinds of coworkers---the kind who love to boss everyone around, acting like they know the job better than everyone. 

There are a few ways you can treat a peer that acts this way. You can let them boss you around (not fun). You can report them to the boss, but that could easily backfire and make you look like a snitch or make you look jealous. Or, like this person did, you can just sit back and watch as they make their own mistakes. They want to act like the boss? Fine, go ahead! He'll just learn on their own that yes, in fact, some people do know better than him. One of the best ways to be a good leader is to never stop learning…  this guy learned that lesson for himself after this rather embarrassing outcome. 

Next up, this employee accidentally got back at his new boss who insisted he "be here when the warehouse opens."

Add as a preferred
source on Google
Advertisement
  • 01
    // TROTRO TRO TTRO TIROL TIROL T TTO TIRO T SUCILHOS SUCILHOS SUCRILHOS SNOW SNOW SHOW SUCHLHOS SUCHEMOS JOHOS SUCHOS SUCKING CRUNCH CRUNCH Elege ZERO Elege Premi ZERO Premi HOS SUCREMOS SUCRES SENS
    via Nathália Rosa on Unsplash
  • 02
    Want to play "power trip"? Enjoy the berating from the manager. TL;DR - ask myself and another person to complete a task at the busiest time of day, requiring two staff members, and effectively preventing two managers from leaving their shifts on time?
    via u/SeraphynaZee
  • 03
    Expect me to repeat verbatim back to the store manager what you ordered me to do on your power trip. So, I work in a grocery store as a member of the management team, however my position is the lowest on the ladder. I guess you'd say I'm a shift manager. As a result I tend to get talked down to and treated as if I don't know
    via u/SeraphynaZee
  • 04
    what I'm doing at times, despite doing this job longer than anyone else working in my store. Because I've been doing a lot of closing shifts lately, they've made me safe holder and responsible for running the end of day. On Monday when I come in, I'm required to hand safe ownership to another manager as I'm rostered off for Tuesday. So I arrive at 3pm on Monday to begin
    via u/SeraphynaZee
  • 05
    my shift, expecting to hand over at the end of the night as it's easiest to do then, and we have the time to spare. Two of my other managers, one of whom is the store manager, are also supposed to be leaving at 3pm. So I go to the office, prepare myself a till, and am about to walk to the shop floor, when one of my other managers (C) walks. into the office and says the assistant store manager (K)
    via u/SeraphynaZee
  • 06
    wants me to hand safe ownership to C right now. Me: "What, why? It's busy and the other two have to leave. Go and tell K that we can do it later". C: "Yeah, I dunno, I'll go tell him, it really is getting quite busy". So C leaves, I finish preparing my till, and C comes back into the office a couple of minutes later.
    via u/SeraphynaZee
  • 07
    C: "K said that you're not in charge, and to do as you're told". Me, shrugging: "Okay". I knew K was going to get spoken to about wasting time at one of the busiest points of the day, on a task that is simpler and quicker to do at the end of trade. But, I've been ordered to do as I'm told.
    via u/SeraphynaZee
  • 08
    So C and I go through safe handover, which requires us to be both present, to count the entire safe, confirm the amounts, and then hand the keys over. During counting, C miscounted a few things, leaving a large discrepancy which needed to be solved before handover was completed which took us a bunch of extra time going over the numbers and finding the problem. Eventually everything is
    via u/SeraphynaZee
  • 09
    counted, keys are exchanged, and C and I can finally go out to the shop floor to relieve the store manager (G) and the other manager. Keep in mind, they were supposed to leave at 3pm, and now it's close to 3:30pm. As I bring my till to replace G, he's visibly furious, and he starts taking it out on me.
    via u/SeraphynaZee
  • 10
    G: "What the took you guys so long in the office?! You know it's busy and you know we're supposed to have left!". Before he could go further I stop him. Me: "K wanted me to hand over safe to C. I told C it was a bad idea and to tell K we could do it later, but he told C that I wasn't in charge and to do as he says".
    via u/SeraphynaZee
  • 11
    G looked disappointed, and I could see K just across the way, knowing he heard that I'd just told G had transpired, and watched his face drop from knowing he messed up by not listening to logic and experience, and letting his power get to his head.
    via u/SeraphynaZee
  • 12
    G ended up grabbing K and I saw them walking to the office, K's head hanging. For the rest of the shift he was in a foul mood, and I head from C who had overheard their conversation, that K got a good berating.
    via u/SeraphynaZee
  • 13
    K is a good guy, and I felt kinda bad, but if you're going to go on a power trip that's going to get me in trouble, yes I'm going to sell you out. I'm not taking the blame for your mistakes and your inability to listen to the more experienced members of your team.
    via u/SeraphynaZee
  • 14
    entenkin K is a good guy, and I felt kinda bad, but if you're going to go on a power trip that's going to get me in trouble, yes I'm going to sell you out. Good guys don't generally go on power trips.
    via u/entenkin
  • 15
    If you like K, maybe you should somehow get him to read How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. It has a lot of advice for getting people to do what you want without making them hate you. Lots of good advice for managers.
    via u/entenkin
  • 16
    [deleted] K's screw up was sending an errand boy instead of approaching you directly.
    via u/[deleted]

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

management toxic-manager manager malicious compliance malicious-compliance-reddit managers malicious compliance reddit grocery store
Scroll Down For The Next Article