'The customer was upset but I told them my manger said so': Boss refuses to put anything in writing, employee follows verbal orders exactly and it blows up in his face

Author image for Isabella Penn
Isabella Penn
Apr 14, 2025 9:00 AM EDT

There's nothing more exhausting than dealing with a boss who refuses to put anything in writing, especially when they somehow always find a way to blame you when things go sideways. A micromanager, if you will. You could follow every single one of their instructions to a T, and it still wouldn't be enough. It's like they set you up to fail just so they can micromanage the fallout.

My friend was venting about his own boss over dinner recently, and the story was all too familiar. His boss constantly asks him to go above and beyond, whether it's necessary or not, and always at the last minute. So when he was told to do a completely unnecessary task for a client, he did it, even though it caused a domino effect of chaos and held everyone up for the day. The client got mad, the project got delayed, and who got in trouble? Not the boss who gave the order, but my friend. It was infuriating to hear but if you've ever dealt with a bad boss, it's not surprising.

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  • The call center employee in this story knows that feeling all too well. Keep reading to see how he handles a boss who has absurd demands of his employees and how malicious compliance comes back to bite.

  • Cheezburger Image 10492284160
    via Curtis Berry For Unsplash+

  • "Manager refuses to leave paper trail and gets upset when I follow his instructions"

    I work in a call center. I have occasionally joined meetings late because I was on a call with a customer. There was a policy change I was unaware of because I was a few minutes late to a meeting. I got in trouble
    via CyclingSkater
  • for not following the new policy. I did not know about it. I asked my manager if he sent out an email about it in case I missed it and he said no because it was (verbally) discussed in the meeting.
    via CyclingSkater
  • He said I would've known if I wasn't late. I ask if he can send emails with any important changes so I can have a record of it and he said no because I should attend meetings where it's discussed. He
    via CyclingSkater
  • said I need to have better time management to make sure I am on time to meetings. So the next. meeting I tell a customer on a call (it went over since they asked for additional stuff) that I had to end this call because I have a meeting
    via CyclingSkater
  • to attend and I would have to call them back later. The customer was upset but I told them my manger said so. For reference, management put me on auto answer so calls just keep coming after the last call ends. If I
    via CyclingSkater
  • Cheezburger Image 10492283392
    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.

  • get one say 3 minutes prior to a meeting I cannot control that unless I decline it (which I'll get flagged for). And they don't want me being listed as inactive for too long.
    via CyclingSkater
  • So my manager overhears me telling a customer I'll have to call them back. He gets upset saying that I need to prioritize the customer and I shouldn't be telling them that. I told him that he told me to join the meeting on time. He tells.
    via CyclingSkater
  • me I can just do both (join the virtual meeting. while still talking on the phone). I tell him I won't be able to pay attention then to "important" discussions. He then tells me I need to begin taking notes at meetings.
    via CyclingSkater
  • because that will make me be on time. I tell him that there is transcription available that can do this automatically and he declines saying I need to manually do it so he is aware I'm paying attention. He also didn't want our meetings being
    via CyclingSkater
  • recorded (even via transcription) since it's an "informal discussion". So I say ok I will take notes from now on. During the next meeting after it ends. I am inactive for 20 minutes to go over the notes and make sure they're saved and my
    via CyclingSkater
  • manager gets upset saying I don't need to be inactive for this and it's wasting time. Also, my manager who told me I have bad time management is also routinely late to meetings (he's the host) or doesn't
    via CyclingSkater
  • attend at all (with no notice). So at this point I'm not sure what else to do when I've done exactly what he has told me to do it's honestly becoming exhausting like he's intentionally trying to be difficult.
    via CyclingSkater
  • Ambitious_Policy_936 I'm surprised you didn't send an email to your boss with a summary after every conversation to confirm what you should do
    via Ambitious_Policy_936
  • Go_Gators_4Ever An "informal" meeting, by definition, should never contain policy changes or be mandatory.
    via Go_Gators_4Ever
  • Whatbi suggest is to summarize every verbal interaction with this manager in an email. You state up front that these are your notes from the meeting and for the manager to reply to the
    via Go_Gators_4Ever
  • email to confirm that you have everything right and that you did not miss anything. Also include that if there is no reply, then you will take that as meaning everything is accurate.
    via Go_Gators_4Ever
  • CC their manager and HR. If he has an issue with this and comes running to your office to forbid you from doing this again, then reply all to your original email stating asking him to
    via Go_Gators_4Ever
  • confirm his verbal directive to never again request his confirmation via an email. These people NEVER want to be pinned down on what they actuallybare doing and always want plausible denyability.
    via Go_Gators_4Ever
  • I used this technique myself, and it worked for me because their management wanted them to explain why their employees are forbidden from using emails to gain confirmation.
    via Go_Gators_4Ever
  • lurninandlurkin My favourite tool for this type of manager is the "as discussed" email. Right after they tell you they want you! to do something, you email them back with an email
    via lurninandlurkin
  • stating "as requested, I will do x, y, z as priority" and tick the boxes for delivery receipt and read receipt. I used to also bcc these to my home account to ensure I had a copy not on company servers.
    via lurninandlurkin
  • ozone_one This seems like a no-win situation, honestly. Your boss has unrealistic expectations that seem to come from a lack of understanding of the job
    via ozone_one
  • you do, and of time management in general.. Either that or he is just a big old narcissist. "Pay attention to ME. Except when you ar doing something where a poor result would reflect badly on ME. But still, pay attention to ME at all times."
    via ozone_one
  • If I were in your place, I would help the customer first. Be late to the meeting if absolutely necessary. And raise an alarm that there are important/critical policies being set that have not been communicated in writing ANYWHERE. That is simply not good or smart. practice for ANY organization.
    via ozone_one

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management call center employee manager job malicious compliance meeting work client workplace bad bosses karma entitled people
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