Boss demands employee message him when they're finished with a client and before meeting the next one, employee maliciously complies and the boss's demands hilariously backfire: ‘Needless to say, that rule was never mentioned again’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Jul 12, 2025 9:00 PM EDT

Malicious compliance is like the fountain of youth for employees in the workforce. Dealing with an extra bossy boss who refuses to see your side in any argument or debate? Fine, I'll do what you say (even though I know I'm right). You have a new hire who thinks they're above it all, even though you're the one who trained them and helped them learn everything they know? Sure, I'll make sure to teach you everything wrong for the remainder of training (since you know so much better than I). It's the little things in the workplace that keep your vigor (and workplace rigor, probably) alive.

In this next story, a boss demands their employee to text them each time they are finished meeting with an important client, and to not move forward to another client until he boss responds to their text message. Of course, the employee begins doing as their boss says the day their boss begins renovations on their home… So, naturally, the employee sits for hours, without work, because their boss was preoccupied with picking out if eggshell or ivory would be better for the sunroom. Scroll below to read the full story.

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  • O "I was following your rule. You told me to notify you every time I finished a client and wait for your reply before moving on. You didn't respond, so I waited. I'd never go against your orders.""
    via Curated Lifestyle For Unsplash+

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

  • "‘You need to message me when finish with a client before going to the next one’. As you wish."

    A few years ago, I worked as a tech support guy/salesperson at a small, family-owned computer store in my hometown. It wasn't a
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  • franchise, just a local shop. The owner? A mustached, arrogant dude who could never admit when he was wrong. No matter
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  • what went wrong, it was always someone else's fault. That constant blame game was a big reason why I ended up quitting, but that's another story.
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  • At the time, my main job was delivering products to clients and doing on-site tech support at their homes or businesses.
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  • Now, for some context: My boss was obsessed with the idea that I was "too slow" during client visits. No matter how long I
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  • actually took, be it 5 minutes or 2 hours, it was always too much in his eyes. He couldn't seem to understand that tech problems vary and can take different amounts of time to fix.
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  • And of course, he loved to compare us to past employees. "Back when So-and-So worked here, he was way faster than
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  • you!" Funny thing is, I knew that when So-and-So worked there, the boss used to say he was slow and someone else was better. That was just his thing: guilt- tripping whoever was working for him at the time.
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  • Fast forward a bit: One day, he was in an extra bad mood and decided that from now on, I should message him every
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  • single time I finished with a client and wait for his reply before moving on. Same thing when I arrived somewhere, message him to say I'd arrived.
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  • He wanted this done through WhatsApp, SMS, or even a phone call. If I didn't have credit, I was supposed to make a collect call (where the person receiving the call pays, not sure how common that is elsewhere).
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  • Basically, he didn't trust that I was working and thought I might be wasting time between clients or just riding around town. Spoiler: there's not much to see.
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  • I was annoyed, but sure, whatever. Rules are rules.
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  • Day one: I followed the rule to the letter. Arrived at a client? Message. Finished the job? Message and wait.
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    via NordWood Themes for Unsplash

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

  • I lost way more time waiting for responses than I ever did between jobs, but okay.
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  • Day two: same deal. Morning went by. After lunch, I loaded up the bike with deliveries and gear and headed out.
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  • First client of the afternoon: Messaged when I arrived. He replied. Fixed the issue. It didn't even take 30 minutes, so I messaged when finished.
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  • No response. Waited 5 minutes. Nothing. Called him. No answer. Waited another 5 minutes. Still nothing. So I sat down on the curb, under a tree, and waited. Watched some videos, scrolled through Facebook, chatted with friends. And I waited. And waited.
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  • Almost 3 hours passed. I just sat there, doing nothing, waiting on the guy who demanded that I never move on without his go- ahead. Eventually, my phone rang.
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  • Boss: "Where are you??" Me: "Still at client X's place." Boss: "STILL?? He was the first one this afternoon! The day's almost over! Just go back here." Me: "On my way back now."
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  • I got back to the store and was greeted by him practically foaming at the mouth. "Why the h I did you take so long?! You're so slow!"
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  • I looked him straight in the eye. "I was following your rule. You told me to notify you every time I finished a client and wait for your reply before moving on. You didn't respond, so I waited. I'd never go against your orders."
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  • He froze. Just stared at me. He didn't know what to say. Then he tried to backpedal. "Well, you should use common sense! If I didn't answer, it's because I was busy!"
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  • Turns out he'd spent the whole afternoon dealing with contractors and problems at his house renovation, and just completely forgot he'd given me that rule.
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  • Needless to say, that rule was never mentioned again. I went back to the old way of doing things. But, of course, he still kept complaining that I "took too long" with clients. Some things never change.
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