Boss’s boss grabs and eats employee’s special-ordered chips, ignores ownership, and turns snack packs into a power move while everyone watches in silence: “ He admitted he had taken them. No apology, no “oops”’

Author image for Etai Eshet
Etai Eshet • Editor
Oct 5, 2025 1:00 PM EDT

Executive privilege now apparently comes with access to snack thievery. Corporate lunch hour delivers yet another case study in office life with the added thrill of watching the food chain in action, literally. Miss Vickie's Jalapeño chips, purchased with those sacred after-tax dollars, go missing. The only trace left, a satisfied senior manager and a faint scent of jalapeño drifting through the HR-approved break room. The chain of command gets a new rung labeled "will eat your lunch, then dismiss both you and your complaint in the same breath."

This brand of leadership doesn't just take credit, it takes chips. Grabbing whatever is sitting still for more than five minutes. Food disappears faster than PTO approval emails. But, if you ask me, although my list of "will risk my career for this" is longer than Amazon wishlist. A bag of chips isn't one of those instances.

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  • My boss's boss took my special ordered chips

    Cheezburger Image 10559141632
    via Ranta Images

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Not sure if I'm overreacting, this is all just super weird to me. So we had a group lunch order at work today, Jersey Mike's, good stuff.
    via Complex-Web9670
  • I paid a little extra ($2.50) to get a bag of Miss Vickie's Jalapeño chips with my sandwich.
    via Complex-Web9670
  • I was about 10 minutes late to pick up my food because I had a telehealth appointment, but when I got there my sandwich was still waiting for me - just no chips.
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  • At first I thought maybe they got left out of the order, so I asked around.
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  • Eventually, my boss's boss admitted that he had taken them. No apology, no "oops," just said he took them and was currently eating / had eaten them and dismissed me since he was on a call.
    via Complex-Web9670
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    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • I might have pushed back if it was my manager with but him being leadership twice removed, all I could think to do was say, "Oh, okay, go for it.
    via Complex-Web9670
  • All good" So I ate my sandwich while my boss's boss is happily crunching on the spicy snack I paid $2.50 extra for, being very confused as to why anyone would think an extra bag of chips would be up for grabs after 10 minutes.
    via Complex-Web9670

  • So higher management grabs your snacks while middle management shrugs, junior staffers nod along, and the one who actually paid the two-fifty learns all about the subtle ballet of office hierarchy, the only dance performed with less dignity than the electric slide at a wedding.

  • An hour or 3, sure, but I was basically on a bathroom break. Is this a red flag or just business as usual?
    via Complex-Web9670
  • Is this what RTO is gonna be like? (Yes, I'm being anxious about the worst case scenario, bear with me, Reddit loves drama.) Like... what do you even do in this situation?
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  • I just started work this week so I'm keeping my mouth shut, but seriously, who does that?
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    via Ranta Images

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • How do you deal with problems with a person who can fire your superior? Am I overreacting or is this as odd as it feels?
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  • I really thought I left this lunch- stealing bulls behind in High School. Feel free to ask questions, this is weird for me at best.
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  • I'm terrible at Office Politics on my best days. The conformist part of me says I'm overanalyzing but as you can see this stuck with me enough to post it to Reddit I was one of 3 people out of 8 who ordered chips.
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  • We did not get a large selection of chips and have everyone take from what was available, they were all indvidually ordered.
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  • Yes, I'm being pedantic / and likely petty. I just also don't understand how this guy was also so oblivious without it being a deliberate power play, thus I'm turning to Reddit for perspective.
    via Complex-Web9670
  • Yes, yes, that's probably a fool's errand too :-p Edit: Thank you all for your responses, I'm feeling better now, probably just needed to vent and find sympathy.
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  • Yes, this was particularly dramatic for me and I've now realized that it's mostly because I've been lucky privileged enough not to have dealt with as much cr p as others have
    via Complex-Web9670

  • This isn’t just a misplaced snack, it’s a micro-course in power moves. Silent rules mean certain people live above the laws of label etiquette. Individual bags? Personal receipts? There’s plausible deniability wafting through the fluorescent-lit air. Owning your lunch is now aspirational. The sandwich might be safe, but the extras exist in a lawless land. If a boss’s boss ever lifts a soda, just take it as confirmation that this really is just corporate food chain Darwinism.

  • more_pepper_plz Honestly, there isn't anything I'd recommend that you do right now. j Maybe he will realize he was a and you'll have a bag of chips on your desk tomorrow. More likely being inconsiderate and selfish is his M.O. Either way $2.50 isn't worth putting a target on your back by trying to get some type of justice. But now you have the valuable knowledge that he should be likely be avoided. Fortunately he's not YOUR manager so you likely wont have to deal with him often.
    via more_pepper_plz
  • OP Complex-Web9670 Sure, I didn't expect there was anything I could do besides work on myself. I'd like to understand the situation and get info as to whether it's likely to reoccur and also how to not panic from something that costs so little. This whole thing just weirds me out, it's like 'Honestly, who throws a shoe?'
    via Complex-Web9670
  • jshmoe866 You just gave your boss' boss your chips. Hopefully he appreciates them (and you). Don't be late to pick up your food again, maybe grab it and put it at your desk so he doesn't take them again It's stupid and unfair but also that's corporate
    via jshmoe866
  • OP Complex-Web9670 Eh, yet another reason I plan to bring my own lunch. The group orders keep coming in late and are woefully unlabled. Good point, thank you. Gotta get back to being the Mercenary I was in 2019. And here I thought I had a chance to beat my sword into a proper plowshare.
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  • j more_pepper_plz Look, if you need validation let me give it to you - the guy was a Best case he came into the lunch room late, saw a couple sandwiches and chip bag, thought it was the last of many chip bags up for grabs and just grabbed and ate it. Completely unaware. He still should've apologized when realizing it was your bag. That's just basic manners.
    via more_pepper_plz
  • OP Complex-Web9670 Thank you, that is heartening. I have a bad habit of expecting quite a bit from managers. And expecting people understand how to apologize. Eh. This is all part of my journey. Thank you again for helping
    via Complex-Web9670
  • tcpWalker \> I just also don't understand how this guy was also so oblivious without it being a deliberate power play Assume best intent, don't worry about it. 99% it wasn't a power play. They're you're skip manager. They don't need a power play. They just wanted chips and were a bit inconsiderate. You just started work this week. The hard part is you're going to see lots of things that don't make sense to you because you're not used to the people and environment yet. Your job as a new employee
    via tcpWalker
  • OP Complex-Web9670 guess that's the problem I'm slamming into. Most things like bad bureaucracy, seemingly idiotic decisions about software and delivery, and even obviously concerning business decisions seem to be parseable. Grabbing someone else's chips? Not so much. I'm good at doing business analysis on a Macro level and terrible at people analysis. That said, yeah, I'm mostly here for validation, just trying to learn from it too. Thanks again.
    via Complex-Web9670
  • mich_8265 Buy a bigger bag of Miss Vickie's elite jalapeño chips and a chip clip. Snack when the mood strikes you and think in your head how entitled that dude is and hope that you are never his direct report. Also remind yourself that $2.50 is absolutely nothing in the span of life and rue the day that he didn't choke. That stuff used to happen to me. So I stopped participating in "optional" lunches. It was better for me bc I tend to get stuck on small stuff-which 100% is a me problem. It seems
    via Complex-mich_8265
  • OP Complex-Web9670 Good choice. To be fair, he is normally pretty reasonable but I've also been there for two weeks. Yes, $2.50 well spent for info
    via Complex-Web9670
  • wedontlikemangoes This attitude is completely baffling to me. Don't you have even an ounce of self respect? What kind of animals work in your office if taking your food and being this casual about it is a normal occurence?
    via wedontlikemangoes
  • OP Complex-Web9670 Agreed, I have never had this issue. The rest of the people seem fine so far. One of them even was nice and brought my burrito to my desk today
    via Complex-Web9670
  • SnorkBorkGnork Your boss' boss sounds inconsiderate and ride, I would feel irritated about it as well, especially since I really like spicy chips. That being said, I don't think a bag of chips is worth making a fuss about and drawing attention to yourself in a negative way. Just make a mental note of it, and make sure to pick up your order right away next time.
    via SnorkBorkGnork
  • OP Complex-Web9670 Yes, thank you, agreed. I mostly just needed help parsing the situation
    via Complex-Web9670
  • RustysGypsy Do yourself a favour in the workplace and order TWO bags of the chips next time and give one to the boss's boss saying "I remember you like these" with a smile and NO sarcasm. $2.50 well spent.
    via RustysGypsy
  • OP Complex-Web9670 I like this answer a lot. All that means that I gained important information rather than lost a bag of chips I was looking forward to. Now I just need to make sure I deliver it politely and don't sound passive-agressive. I really do like knowing when people enjoy things
    via Complex-Web9670
  • 8igMF0_007 Total sh! He knew he didn't pay for the chips, as they just placed the group order that he didn't order a bag of chips with his sandwich. I would have grabbed the chips and said it's ok, honest mistake and roll out to my office
    via 8igMF0_007
  • OP Complex-Web9670 He had already opened the chips and eaten most of them by the time I figured out what happened
    via Complex-Web9670
  • Smoke__Frog Seems like something you just have to let go. Many managers are decent people and many are bu ies. That's life.
    via Smoke__Frog
  • OP Complex-Web9670 He seems to be decent most of the time, that's why I was so confused. We'll see though, this is week 2
    via Complex-Web9670

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management boss workplace-stories hr manager bosses work PTO managers supervisor workplace Horrible Bosses work-life balance
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