Server does exactly what the chef tells him, even though he knows it causes problems, just to prove he was right all along. When confronted, he just said: ‘He told me the other day that I was not supposed to touch anything because that was not my job.’

Author image for María Cetra
María Cetra • Writer
Jun 25, 2026 5:15 PM EDT

Working in a restaurant is stressful, but if your coworkers start playing games instead of working, it becomes worse.

With this malicious compliance trend, readers discovered a whole new genre full of awful bosses, micromanagement, and witty employees who win arguments by playing along. Is a fun way to show you are right without doing something wrong that could put your job on the line. They do exactly as told, knowing that the outcome will be horrible. They prove their point and do as told at the same time.

But here we are not going to talk about the funny, witty stories. Today, we have a great example of being just childish. In this Reddit story, we are presented with a server who was told by the chef not to enter the kitchen to grab things. If you have ever worked at a restaurant, you know it's a liability issue. Servers can't be in the kitchen. This server probably didn't know that. The next day, he started screaming what he needed, and the chef just looked at him uninterested. The server explained that they have to come back from the kitchen in less than 3 minutes, according to management, which led to the chef saying that it's fine for servers to go into the kitchen and grab what they need.  

I believe that this is not the best way to resolve the issue. This should have been taken up to management, as they are the ones who decided that awful 3-minute rule that doesn't work for the chef or the server. I believe that the chef should have stood his ground more severely. And lastly, I really think that the server could have explained this rule when he was told off the first time, not waited till the next day to show "how right he was" by screaming at a chef and causing an uncomfortable ambience. 
 
So maybe next time, stop with the games and the malicious compliance and simply explain the reason for your actions. You don't always have to prove you are right. You can simply compromise, you know? 

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