Store manager demands employee organize products by specific planogram, leading employee to take all their popular items off the shelves: ‘Stop being a helicopter manager’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Nov 29, 2025 7:00 AM EST

When an item in a store has a price tag on it, the store is obligated to sell that item at that price, no matter what. Even if a junior employee made a mistake and priced it at 10% of the actual price, the store is the one that has to face the consequences. 

(This one time, I managed to buy shoes that someone priced at $5 instead of $50, and it was one of the most exciting moments of my life. I couldn't believe it when I saw the price tag, and the store couldn't do anything against it, even though it was an obvious mistake.)

The store manager in the story below wants to avoid these kinds of mistakes, so they have a very specific planogram that everyone must follow. However, this planogram is not flawless, and it prevents new or seasonal items from being put on the shelves. And instead of being open to the employees and finding ways to fix it, this helicopter manager refuses to listen to any of their input.

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  • So at some point, one of the employees decided to stop trying and follow the orders blindly. It didn't go well…

  • Manager said only by the planagram

    This started several months ago. I work as a DSD (direct store delivery) driver, servicing bread and cake products for a certain yellow store chain.
    via saxman_cometh
  • Saleswoman arranging products on shelves in organic supermarket
    via Unai Huizi

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

  • The style provides us a rack to display our cakes on, and it has a specific planagram.
    via saxman_cometh
  • Despite this, it's generally agreed that each driver can use their own discretion to stock this shelf, including items not planned for the shelf.
    via saxman_cometh
  • All except for one. The GM of my smallest store pulls me aside a few months back and complained about my cake rack.
    via saxman_cometh
  • "I've had several people complaining about the prices on that shelf being mismatched, and we're forced to honor the price on the shelf." This was a bit of an unusual complaint, but Iwas willing to fix it, saying "Well we can fix the pricing on that shelf, no problem.
    via saxman_cometh
  • I'll just need you to scan the products and make me a tag, and I'll take care of putting them up." She immediately snapped back, "You know that shelf has a planagram, right?
    via saxman_cometh
  • How about we just stock it correctly?" Very well. As they say, cue malicious compliance. I begin stripping everything off the shelf that didn't match the tags on the rack (which meant I took everything away).
    via saxman_cometh
  • The GM immediately started questioning why her most popular sales were being taken out. I just said "Well none of this is on the planagram, so I'll take it out and replace it with what's on there, like you said." Dejected, she leaves me to it.
    via saxman_cometh
  • This compliance has paid off twice. The first time, the same GM confronted me as soon as I arrived, advising me of "holding out on her", commenting on all the nice cakes at a different locations store she's never seen in her store.
    via saxman_cometh
  • I reiterated that they're not on her planagram, so I can't put them in. She snaps back "Well can't we just put some in anyway?" And I say with a smirk "Not if there's not a spot for it." And she just tells me to carry on.
    via saxman_cometh
  • The second time is when our imitation butter cookies rolled out. She begged me to give some to her store, and I asked if she had a spot for them.
    via saxman_cometh
  • She says there can be room made, but I asked if there was a planagram for it.
    via saxman_cometh
  • She gets mad and says, "I'm tired of you using my words against me like this.
    via saxman_cometh
  • I just want the seasonal stuff." And I tell her, admittedly a little pointedly "Well it's what you said, I can't do anything about it." And she just limps off.
    via saxman_cometh
  • She very well could have all the fun snacks if she would just stop being a helicopter manager.
    via saxman_cometh
  • Cakes on Display in Cake Shop
    via Fedor Kozyr

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

  • Varnigma As someone that used to generate planograms and tags based on customer supplied data, I'm glad I'm out of that game. They'd always call us complaining about planograms being wrong. Then they'd go silent when we showed it was based on their bad data. Rinse, repeat. Happened every week. Then another time they flat out accused me of generating no planograms at all for several stores. Management got involved and put me on the hot seat. I showed I'd gotten the data and sent the files to prin
    via Varnigma
  • OP saxman_cometh Oh yeah, reminds me that one of my stores lost their price strips for my shelf sections. The preview management told me to go ahead and set it to the new planogram. Then literally a week later the new management came in, found the strips, lost them again, then got mad at me for setting the shelf to the new planogram without the strips. It's been six months since the reset was done and they're still on the previous set
    via saxman_cometh
  • liptimus speaking as a scan person. All of this could have been avoided by just telling the scan person to put up a tag for the new items. All my vendors let me know when new items hit the shelf.
    via liptimus
  • OP saxman_cometh I'll concede to that, I stepped into the role about a year ago and they also had it set incorrectly. I had been trained that it wasn't a big deal. And I spent like five months. on the job doing the same same setup until I was told it was an issue
    via saxman_cometh
  • whatupmygliplops You cant have products on a shelf that have incorrect prices below it. Period.
    via whatupmygliplops
  • OP saxman_cometh You're right, and I made the offer to fix the prices to be right if she could just make me a few price tags
    via saxman_cometh
  • Head Razzmatazz7174 "I'm tired of you using my words against me." Peak MC energy on the part of OP. This is how you handle anyone who has ridiculous demands. Follow the instructions to a T. Most of the time they figure out pretty quick that what they said is not what they actually wanted.
    via Head_Razzmatazz7174
  • grumpymuppett I had a manager once upon a time who loved planagrams, but also hated when there was gaps on the shelves. Every other week or so he flip flop between "follow the planagram exactly" and "make sure there are no gaps! Fill it with something!". It was so annoying.
    via grumpymuppett
  • Pacwing My favorite thing about planograms were the requirement to do them so far in advance that many of the products were either stuck in development, axed completely or blocked from markets. "Here's the new HBC section. Yea, those 15 products actually don't exist yet and you might not actually have access to them if they do. Good luck".
    via Pacwing
  • Coder Joe1 She didn't planogram that very well.
    via CoderJoe1
  • ThriceFive If you fail to planogram you planogram to fail.
    via ThriceFive

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boss workplace-stories employee manager job malicious compliance tales-from-the-workplace cakes shelves workplace stockings company funny store
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