Employee gets petty revenge on office food thief: '[I'm] ghost saucing my coworker'

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Nov 21, 2024 10:00 AM EST

The office food thief can count their days, because this person has discovered a genius way to get back at the dude stealing their lunch. 

This person's coworker Mike has sticky fingers. He's constantly pilfering food from the office refrigerator, but the human resources team has thrown up their hands and said there's nothing they can do to stop him. Eating someone else's food seems really embarrassing to me: it implies that not only can you not remember to bring lunch, or can't afford to eat, but that you also can't solve that problem without inconveniencing someone else! It's possible that the person he's stealing from also has financial issues. Then that coworker might have to skip a meal just because of his greediness! It seems like office fridge thieves aren't easily embarrassed, though. They're just happy to fill their stomachs with a free meal, no matter what the social cost might be. 

At least this person got back at their coworker. He might steal food again, but I bet he'll never touch one of u/No-Ear5692's sandwiches ever again! 

Up next, when this executive told his workers to run a giant concrete mixer, the workers insisted he shouldn't… but then they did it anyway, leaving them with a huge mess to clean up. 

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    Cheezburger Image 10431483392
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    AITA for ghost saucing my coworker who always steals my lunch?
    via u/No-Ear5692
  • 03
    I have a coworker, Mike (30M), who constantly steals people's food from the office fridge, including mine. I've caught him red-handed twice, but he always plays dumb or says, "Oh, I
    via u/No-Ear5692
  • 04
    thought it was mine." HR has done nothing since there's no "proof," and it's not worth escalating further. Last week, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I made a special
    via u/No-Ear5692
  • 05
    lunch of pasta with extra hot ghost pepper sauce. For context, I handle spice pretty well, but this stuff is lethal for the unprepared. I clearly labeled the container with my name and put it in the fridge.
    via u/No-Ear5692
  • 06
    Sure enough, within an hour, Mike was coughing, red-faced, and downing water at his desk. He yelled at me, asking why I brought 'hazardous food' to work and accused me of trying to hurt him. I calmly replied that it was my lunch, clearly labeled, and asked why he ate it if he knew it wasn't his.
    via u/No-Ear5692
  • 07
    Now some coworkers are calling me petty and saying I overreacted while Mike was definitely joking, while others think Mike deserved it. HR sent out a generic email about fridge
    via u/No-Ear5692
  • 08
    etiquette but hasn't directly addressed him. Mike hasn't stolen anything since, but he's giving me dirty looks and avoiding me. AITA for my spicy lunch?
    via u/No-Ear5692
  • 09
    ed_lv NTA He will never take your lunch again after this. Just make sure to never admit that you did it to set him up. If anyone asks, you just love spicy food and that's why you made your lunch spicy.
    via u/ed_lv
  • 10
    TheIronMatron NTA. How is he "joking" by eating other people's food once, let alone regularly?? Do they even know what a joke is?
    via u/TheIronMatron
  • 11
    Famous-Compo... NTA. He STOLE your lunch. He ATE your lunch. He DESERVES to be ghost- peppered. Your co-workers are so full of sh.
    via u/Famous-Composer3112
  • 12
    CareyAHHH NTA I've never understood how people who steal food from shared refrigerators think it is harmless. They obviously didn't prepare food and believed their hunger was more important than someone who planned to feed themselves. I just don't understand.
    via u/CareyAHHH
  • 13
    ctgjerts FAFO Mike. I'd do the same exact thing. I grew Carolina. Reapers for a few Indian coworkers and saved a bunch of pulp just for this purpose. I had a shop manager that would rub a
    via u/ctgjerts
  • 14
    ghost pepper around the rim of his coke in the fridge because someone was stealing his drinks. That stopped when the thief got it. NTA.
    via u/ctgjerts
  • 15
    Firebird562 NTA. He was not joking. He was stealing. Theft is a crime. I applaud your action.
    via u/Firebird562
  • 16
    Maximal_gain NTA just keep bringing in your spicy foods and no one can really say anything. Also, consider an insulated lunch bag for your food items that need refrigeration for 4-5 hrs. I use one regularly because my office is close to a kitchenette but not the break room.
    via u/Maximal_gain

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boss workplace-stories jobs stealing job hot sauce bosses work coworkers lunch workplace theft sauce thief
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