Database worker bills $200 for labor because the accounting department wants to save $0.20 cents on a $5 replacement ethernet cable: ‘The purchasing clerk was proud’

Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor

Jun 5, 2026 3:15 PM EDT

How much does an ethernet cable cost?

Even the "experts," who have only ever fixed a tech problem by wiggling a cord and blowing into the plug-end of the wire, know that an ethernet cable is the cheapest fix out there. IT teams have used them for decades as a quick fix for a tech problem, so when this database administrator noticed that his biggest problem with the system outage was a mere $5 ethernet cable, he rejoiced.

He thought this would be an easy fix, so he sent his receipts to accounting to handle his expense report, but they asked him to take the longer, more labor-intensive route. The database technician took that rulebook logic and turned it into his own malicious compliance, sharing his story on Reddit's subreddit r/MaliciousCompliance, where users take orders quite literally (and maliciously, of course) to make a point.

What could have been an easy $5 fix turned into a $200 ordeal for this company because they insisted on following the rules to the letter.

If only they had known how simple an ethernet cable could be…

via Getty Images (Dragos Condrea)

Database admin getting frustrated at work, as portrayed by a model.
I'm not a tech nerd, but I was born at exactly the right time to know how to fix both analog and techy things. Like many other younger millennials, my grandparents would marvel at how I fixed the wifi signal or how I tinkered with the landline to make things work again. Little did they know, all I did was turn it on and off again, a tried and true tech hack that will hopefully follow me for the rest of my life.
While this database engineer's job was a little more complex than that, ultimately, this particular fix was his equivalent of turning things on and off again. However, as always, the stuck-up frozen gears of bureaucracy got in the way of his easy job, but scored him an extra bundle of money in his coffers. Sidelining his important, high-priority projects, he sought to comply with accounting's demands; no matter how long it would take, he would save them at least $0.20 in parts… Too bad it cost them $200 in labor.
My company wasted $200 of my billable time so we could save zero dollars on a $5 cable

via Zion01_Reboot
via Zion01_Reboot
via Zion01_Reboot
via Zion01_Reboot
via Zion01_Reboot
via Getty Images (Dragos Condrea)

Database admin getting frustrated at work, as portrayed by a model.
via Zion01_Reboot
via Zion01_Reboot
via Zion01_Reboot
via Zion01_Reboot
via Zion01_Reboot
via Zion01_Reboot
via Zion01_Reboot
via Getty Images (Dragos Condrea)

Database admin getting frustrated at work, as portrayed by a model.
via Zion01_Reboot
via Zion01_Reboot
via Zion01_Reboot
via Zion01_Reboot
via Zion01_Reboot