Boss at call center sends vague call to action, then reprimands employees for conversing about it, the whole team maliciously complies: 'If you have a problem with my direction, you come to me!'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Apr 6, 2025 8:00 AM EDT

Some bosses truly do not know what's best for them. Employees should be asking clarifying questions just to make sure they are executing tasks and responsibilities the way they should be completed. Unfortunately, if your boss has a fragile ego (as many do), they might interpret your valid questioning as you undermining their authority. 

Here's the thing, though. Transparency goes both ways. If employees are meant to be clear and thorough when fulfilling their duties, their employees should be detailed and meticulous when assigning those duties. Keep scrolling below to see how this entire team maliciously complied with their boss's vague instructions after she scolded them for questioning her authority!

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  • 01
    "Boss got spicy so we did exactly what she said"
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

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

  • Here, we have the supervisor of a call center who sent a call to action via email to her employees with new rules about their introduction to all calls with customers. Employees were unsure if they should follow her directives word-for-word, as they implied all team members should go by her name. They started chatting with one another to see if they all thought the same thing, which made the already very insecure manager even more testy. She ended up reprimanding the whole floor for talking about her new policies on the floor when, in reality, they just wanted to double-check to see if she meant what she wrote. Well, instead of discussing it further, they decided to maliciously comply and go by the same name.

  • 02
    My boss, let's call her Kim, has been an extra pleasure to work with./s she's on the verge of losing her job for the lack of actual leadership and is feeling the pressure, today especially. This afternoon she sent an email that reads something like this:
    via EvaporatedBullS****
  • 03
    "Attention all. Effective immediately everyone in [department that handles incoming phone calls] should answer the phone using the following script.
    via EvaporatedBullS****
  • 04
    'My name is Kim, all phone calls and personal visits may be recorded for quality and training purposes" There are NO exceptions"
    via EvaporatedBullS****
  • 05
    Pretty immediately there was some rumbling as the team tried to decipher if we are supposed to insert our own name or if we needed to pretend to be one person (some weird rules have come out recently like this). Well she must have heard
    via EvaporatedBullS****
  • 06
    some rumblings because she came stomping out of her office roaring "IF YOH HAVE A PROBLEM WITH MY DIRECTION YOU COME TO ME YOU DO NOT DISCUSS IT ON THE FLOOR!"
    via EvaporatedBullS****
  • 07
    This is also a manager that has a record of using issues like this being brought up to negatively impact your performance reviews and can cause you to lose a raise.
    via EvaporatedBullS****
  • 08
    Well the team immediately all began to comply with the letter of the law and answering the phone with exactly that script. With the name Kim and all. Play stupid games I guess
    via EvaporatedBullS****
  • 09
    Cheezburger Image 10489769472
    via Petr Macháček

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

  • 10

    Here's what folks in the online community had to say about this boss's fragile ego and vague instructions!

    Ediwir 12 hr. ago Remember to also tell the caller that there are NO exceptions.
    via EvaporatedBullS****
  • 11
    galfal 12 hr. ago Anyone else remember the Capital One commercials with the guy saying "This is Peggy". That's all I could picture lol
    via EvaporatedBullS****
  • 12
    reala728 10 hr. ago Weird power trip. Call center jobs are supposed to have this information pre-recorded and stated before they even reach the employee. It's a very basic. standard. I really don't understand how people get the smallest taste of power and think they can become a literal di r.
    via EvaporatedBullS****
  • 13
    Taliafitz 10 hr. ago Lmaoooo when someone calls back and says "hey I was speaking with Kim, can I get ahold of her?"
    via EvaporatedBullS****
  • 14
    SquirrellyEnby - 6 hr. ago And if you really want to push it, that's ALL you say. “Hi Kim, this is my problem." (Caller describes problem)
    via EvaporatedBullS****
  • 15
    "My name is Kim, all phone calls and personal visits may be recorded for quality and training purposes. There are NO exceptions" "Kim, hello... could you hear me??"
    via EvaporatedBullS****
  • 16
    "My name is Kim, all phone calls and personal visits may be recorded for quality and training purposes. There are NO exceptions"
    via EvaporatedBullS****
  • 17
    chellams 4 hr. ago Not the kind of spicy I figured it would be...
    via EvaporatedBullS****
  • 18
    NappingWithDogs . 1 hr. ago Just have the whole floor chant "WE ARE KIM" every few min or so.
    via EvaporatedBullS****
  • 19
    armored-dinnerjacket. 1 hr. ago remember to change all your name tags to Kim and if possible wear a shirt with Kim printed on the front
    via EvaporatedBullS****
  • 20
    Pacalyps4 47 min. ago man this is so childish and idiotic. What's this prove? That you can be a difficult employee on purpose?
    via EvaporatedBullS****
  • 21
    Sufficient_000Treat9. 12 hr. ago Pipe down, Kim.
    via EvaporatedBullS****

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workplace-stories call center work stories toxic-workplace malicious compliance toxic boss work workplace Horrible Bosses funny work stories toxic-work-environment
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