Employee challenges power-tripping CEO by denying him coffee at company workshop: 'We can't have coffee? You can't have coffee!'

Some CEOs enforce bogus new policies while under the impression that the rules do not apply to them. It takes a brave soul to confront a CEO and inform them about the negative consequences of their own rules, but sometimes, giving the boss a taste of his own medicine is the only way to put them in your shoes.

To that end, I think we can all agree that certain food and drink items should be free and available at all times for employees from water to coffee to sustenance. When managers decide to take away some of those "privileges," the vast majority of overworked employees are going to react negatively. In other words, CEOs and bosses should be careful about what they take away from their employees, unless they want their new policies to backfire. 

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    fn control option command
    via Mark Wong

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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  • Here, we have an overworked employee who always offered interviewees free coffee until the CEO decided that coffee should only be offered for full-day events at work. The employee decided to covertly continue offering coffee to visitors anyway but kept this so-called new policy in mind for the next time the CEO chose to attend one of the company workshops. These were half-day events as well, so if the CEO wanted a cup of coffee, he shouldn't be allowed. After all, that's the policy!

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    In my last place of work, when I was looking to hire someone for my department, I would offer cold drinks and coffee at the interview in order to make them feel
    via [deleted]
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    welcome. We could take the cold drinks out of the storage, but we had to order coffee from the kitchen and someone from the kitchen team would bring it out.
    via [deleted]
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    One day, they called me back and said they couldn't bring me coffee since the CEO had decided coffee would only be provided for whole- day events. Grr, that cheapskate.
    via [deleted]
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    Since then, I provided my own coffee for interviewees because to me, the welcoming impression was more important than the, like, 30 cents a cup of coffee costs.
    via [deleted]
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    But I plotted my little revenge since I had been asked to do a workshop for the other department heads and the CEO also wanted to participate. He for some reason loved workshops,
    via [deleted]
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    well why not. So the day of the workshop came, I prepped the room, the participants trickled in and got settled, including the CEO.
    via [deleted]
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    I greeted the group and laid out the plan for the next few hours, asked if there were any questions.
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    The CEO asked: Can we maybe call the kitchen and ask where the coffee is? They seem to be running late.
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    I made a point of taking a sip from my travel mug and then answered that there would be no coffee, because this was a half-day workshop and our new rules said that coffee would only be provided for whole day events.
    via [deleted]
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    I still cherish the surly look he gave me in response. He did not say anything and instead opened a bottle of water.
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    Edit to address some of recurrent comments: 1. I'm female, so please imagine the "coffee is for closers" guy with long hair, a smaller nose and some
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    Cheezburger Image 10482739456
    via Nathan Dumlao
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  • The employee provided an update with further details about their dynamic with the company's CEO. Several members of the online community reacted with their feedback to this gloriously bitter workplace malicious compliance. Here's what they had to say about it all!

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    2. No, I didn't get fired. Who the gets fired for such a thing, even if you live in a place without workers rights?!
    via [deleted]
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    3. For the questions about how this affected my relationship with the CEO down the line: We didn't get along anyway after an incident where he tried to me over financially. This was not a problem, though, since I had
    via [deleted]
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    a boss that was between him and me in hierarchy and if I ever needed anything, I just told her and she made it happen. I didn't really have to deal with him.
    via [deleted]
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    imameanone. Like a boss. "taking a sip from my travel mug and then answered..." I hope you looked him de d in the eye when you said it.
    via [deleted]
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    skanus_cepelinai OP. Yes, I actually did :D And I was still holding my travel mug.
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    Steve2540. I can imagine everyone else in that room doing the homer simpson backward walk into the bushes. This was a great read and very satisfying. Thank you.
    via [deleted]
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    Arev_Eola Well done! Did they change the coffee rule afterwards?
    via [deleted]
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    skanus cepelinai OP. No :(
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    dancingsoloud this is the kind of petty I need coursing through my veins
    via [deleted]
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    skanus cepelinai OP. The CEO would have needed coffee coursing through his digestive tract, glad that differently to him, you got what you need ;)
    via [deleted]

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workplace-stories employee work stories toxic-workplace job work ceo coffee Horrible Bosses bad bosses company job interview interview toxic-work-environment
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