Mom and pop shop ignores employees concerns, exact issue ensues: 'That was my first taste of, “maybe being a manager doesn't mean you have all the answers”.'

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
May 3, 2025 7:00 AM EDT

It's frustrating when a manager cares more about having power than actually being a good manager. Just because you were given a title, doesn't mean you know the answer to everything. If anything, all that means is that you were given a leadership position, so friggin' lead! That doesn't mean shutting down your employees and only doing things if it makes you look successful. As a manager, you should want your employees to look good! So if they come to you with a good idea, you shouldn't shut them down just because your ego couldn't take that you didn't come up with that idea first. Like, what?? That just makes everything worse for everyone. You'd think if you made it all the way to manager, you would know this. 

 

Unfortunately, one short search in the web and you will find an endless plethora of employees complaining about their micromanaging manager, or their belittling boss, etc. This even happens in small mom-and-pop establishments like this sauce canning place!

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  • Here, you see a classic case of a manager not listening to their employee. The manager learned the hard way that sometimes the employee knows best. This place was canning sauce and wanted their employees to use a plastic spatula to scoop the ends of it out, as not to waste any. One employee quickly pointed out that the plastic is likely to be chipped off the more it scrapes against the sharp edges of the metal can. The manager completely shut them down! Well, until it started to happen… 

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    OPEN 40
    via Unsplash+ (and Getty Images)

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

  • 02

    "Stop wasting ingredients!"

    Years ago I worked as a laborer in a food production company. Kind of a mom and pop size production/distribution facility. We made all types of foods and sauces. One of the more mundane steps to a particular sauce was opening and emptying large cans of tomato
    via wi11iam26
  • 03
    sauce into a large mixer. Pretty simple, just open, pour and toss the can. One of the higher ups decided we were wasting a lot of the sauce by not thoroughly cleaning out each can. We're talking probably 20-30 oz of tomato sauce per batch which was probably around 2-3%
    via wi11iam26
  • 04
    waste. I get it, every cent counts. The problem was the solution they came up with was to use these rubber spatulas to clean out the extra sauce from these metal cans. It didn't take a scientist to see that this would not work out well with the cans being sharp and cutting into the
    via wi11iam26
  • 05
    rubber leading to rubber going into the sauce. I tried voicing concerns but was shut down. I assume they just thought we were lazy and didn't want the extra work. So we do as we are told and start cleaning the cans thoroughly. Sure enough, about 10 cans in we notice our
    via wi11iam26
  • 06
    spatulas missing large chunks of rubber. I hand one of the spatulas to my supervisor and he takes it to his boss. On cue, he comes back about 2 minutes later and says don't worry about scooping out the cans anymore. That was my first taste of, 'maybe being a manager doesn't mean you have all the answers'.
    via wi11iam26
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    Cheezburger Image 10500032768
    via Unsplash+ (and Nicolás Flor)

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

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    avid-learner-bot That feeling when you realize someone in authority is completely oblivious to basic operational realities, and you're just left to watch the inevitable happen, like, really, it's incredible how some people just don't grasp. fundamental things.
    via avid-learner-bot
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    ancient_mariner63 The best boss I've ever worked for once told me (in a casual conversation, not in a confrontation) that he didn't have to have all the answers, he just had to know who did.
    via ancient_mariner63
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    Medium_Green6700 I remember back in the 80's when many companies quit promoting from within. They wanted college grads to hire as middle managers.
    via Medium_Green6700
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    That might be fine in theory, but in reality many young grads don't have enough life experience or knowledge of specific industries to manage well.
    via Medium_Green6700
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    Tremenda-Carucha Honestly, I'm just amazed that they reversed the decision, like, how often does that really happen? Because I'm curious, what makes a manager admit they were wrong, is it just a rare instance, or is there a common pattern to it all?
    via Tremenda-Carucha
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    B AKFA OMATEN MARK TO PASTE 65 YILLIK TECRÜBE 420 g
    via Unsplash+ (and micheile henderson)

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

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    chefje... The math was done on how much cost was being thrown away by just open and dump........ I'm interested to see if none thought to do the math for how much wage was paid for taking the time to scrape them.
    via chefjenga
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    Not that I know anything about the food industry, but I would like to think .5 – 1 min. of can scraping - costs more than an ounce of bulk- bought tomato sauce.
    via chefjenga
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    vetvildvivi That manager learned the hard way that sometimes less is more...
    via vetvildvivi
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    Oren_Noah There's a saying in the military, "Outranking isn't outknowing."
    via Oren_Noah

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worker employee job malicious compliance canning toxic boss middle management work coworkers upper management toxic manager mom and pop shop entitled people karma career justice served workplace homemade blue collar
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