Boss demands 16-year-old employee make him coffee every morning, employee complies but uses uncleaned mugs, boss quickly finds out: ‘He never asked me again’

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Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Mar 27, 2025 7:00 AM EDT

Your first job always consists of doing stuff you never expected to be doing for money. A teen's first job is usually either a barista, a store clerk, or something in between, but when you're young and desperate for money, what you do while on that job may vary.

When an employer hires a teen who has never worked before, they know they can ask anything of them, and almost certainly get away with it, even if those tasks are most definitely not part of the job description. They can ask them to clean the floors, run errands, work overtime, or our personal favorite–go make coffee, and that desperate teen will do it all without saying a word. They need the money, they need the experience, so they will do what it takes, even if that means making their entitled boss coffee every single day.

At least, that's what most teens do. Others, like the one in the story below, are less keen to be exploited by their bosses, and they are not afraid to do something about it.

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  • That is why, when this 16-year-old was asked to make coffee or tea for his boss every morning, he decided to do that with style. Instead of grabbing a clean mug for the coffee, he used one that was sitting in the sink. When his boss inevitably found out about this little stunt, he was not happy, to say the least. 

    Keep scrolling to read the full story.

  • 01
    "I smiled every time I gave him the cup"
    via FlamingoImages

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

  • 02

    "How I was never asked to make the coffee/tea again"

    A story on another sub reminded me of a boss getting mad at me at a grocery store job I had when I was 16.
    via isitaboat
  • 03
    He'd ask me to make him coffee/tea. Not my job. Engage 16 year old laziness / malicious compliance - he never
    via isitaboat
  • 04
    asked me to wash the cup first so I'd always use a random dirty cup from the sink. This went on for a long time, but would make me smile every time I gave him the cup.
    via isitaboat
  • 05
    One morning, the one I picked still had some noodles in it from someone elses lunch. Likely from the previous day. Gross, and wet.
    via isitaboat
  • 06
    He drank it and got noodles in his mouth. He was ultra ped, but never asked again.
    via isitaboat
  • 07
    simply_not_edible I got rid of that task way quicker, by just making sh coffee and tea. When I got complaints, I pointed oit that I never drink the stuff myself, so jow could they expect me to know what the f I was doing...
    via simply_not_edible
  • 08
    isitaboat OP tbh, I tried that first, but was just made to "do it until I got it right", which was more of a pain in the a, as I also "had to" (at the time, I believed, and also also needed the job) finish all my work too. So, this didn't work for me, it just made my shift longer.
    via isitaboat
  • 09
    CoderJoe1 How is coffee noodles not a thing? Has Starbucks not heard of this yet?
    via CoderJoe1
  • 10
    sonal1988 Ewwwww
    via sonal1988
  • 11
    Cheezburger Image 10486199296
    via shironosov

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

  • 12
    cyclejones Never be too good at a bad job
    via cyclejones
  • 13
    III_Industry6452 This gave me a good laugh. It's so gross, but definitely malicious compliance.
    via III_Industry6452
  • 14
    No-Let8759 I think I get where you're coming from, but there's a chance you might have gone too far with the noodle stunt. I mean, making coffee isn't really the worst thing you can
    via No-Let8759
  • 15
    get asked to do, even if it's not technically part of your job. I've had bosses make absurd requests—one even had me carry his dog's p p to the vet as "evidence." But, looking back, choosing to
    via No-Let8759
  • 16
    handle situations like that with humor or fairness tends to earn more respect and cooperation from the people we've got to deal with just to get through our days. Yeah, I probably would have been
    via No-Let8759
  • 17
    cheeky if I were in your place, but I'd also think about the bigger picture and coworkers who might have had to deal with fall-out too.
    via No-Let8759
  • 18
    isitaboat OP I agree. At the time I was 16, hated my job, and boss, who also liked this request as he knew I didn't want to. Still, it was too far even immediately after, let alone now ~30 years later. Also, somehow I wasn't fired.
    via isitaboat
  • 19
    ghf3 They have the right to ask us to do something, and we have the right to make them regret they did that!
    via ghf3
  • 20
    PSA people will rise up to, or - lower down to the expectations you have for them. Show them how you like your coffee made, complement them specifically on the steps and care they took
    via ghf3
  • 21
    get the coffee and how that attention to detail will serve them in their career, blah, blah, blah. That should lead to less noodles in cups of coffee at the office.
    via ghf3
  • 22
    scyllafren Gross. My way is the easiest: I don't drink tea, so in the last 10+ years I am working at the same company, I never had to do tea for anyone. Being in the UK, it's a big thing :D
    via scyllafren

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boss workplace-stories employee fired manager job malicious compliance tales-from-the-workplace reddit story ceo coffee overworked-employees workplace Reddit company funny
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