Malicious Compliance

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/Shadoe17 on 2025-06-03 19:00:50+00:00.

My manager was new to the company, and I've been here over 18 years and pretty well run my area solo. We are a high end production facility, and I'm part of the incoming quality/test engineering team. I always stay well ahead of production, along with performing my other task. I consult with the production and inventory supervisors daily to ensure I know what's on the horizon and have anything they will need ready well ahead of time. I also get request from the development engineering group to test new products during development. All this requires strategic planning and the ability to shift direction at any time to keep a flow going. In steps this new manager, we had issue from the first meeting, seems he doesn't like being in a room where he isn't the smartest one there. So, after a few weeks of getting to know the place, he send an email, "No one can alter Oxxavier's schedule without going through me first. I will set his priorities and work hours going forward." I knew exactly what this would do to my balanced flow. Sure enough, the next week we had two produce design qualifications, and a customer surprise arrival to watch the testing. My manager left strict instructions that I was to remain on production material only. No one could get in contact with him. He had signed out as a "work from home" day, but he wasn't answering any of the numbers he had given. Turns out, they did eventually track him down at the local park, with his kids. But not before the customer had left, mad and frustrated. The next week he called me into his office, and he had the gall to try to write me up for not testing the product when the client arrived. I handed him a printed copy of his email, and insisted that the "write up" be witnessed by a member of the HR team. He reset the meeting for three days later, giving him time to prep the HR rep to his side of the story. First question she asked was why I didn't test the products when asked, and I handed her the email. "I was told if I violated this new policy he created I would be written up. So I followed it and still I'm being written up. I would like to file a harassment complaint against this manager." His voice cracked as he stammered out, " Now, let's just slow this down a bit." The HR rep knew she could ignore my charges, even if she didn't agree the company requires all harassment claims to be investigated. The meeting ended there. The harassment claim was documented as a verbal warning. And for the last two years he won't engage with me at all, he won't even let me know when we are having a staff meeting, I hear about it the next day from the others. Suits me, the less I see of him, the better.

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/tastiefreeze on 2025-06-03 16:02:37+00:00.

Packing the cancellation letter envelope full of glitter "as a token appreciation for such a simple, straightforward, customer centric cancellation process".

The most annoying component here is that the contract selected was specifically a more expense "cancel anytime, without reason" contract.

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/Mysterious-Notice500 on 2025-06-03 13:22:34+00:00.

I work in client services, mostly just relying info between clients and our internal teams, my manager isn’t super involved but last month she goes “can you cc me on every client email? just for transparency” I was like sure thing, so I cc’d her on literally everything including the emails where clients asked why she missed their meeting or where i had to explain delays from her not sending over files.

A few days later she starts replying to someone with “let’s take this offline” one client hit back with “this wouldn’t be an issue if you’d shown up”

she hasn’t brought up cc’ing since but if she does….I’ve got drafts ready.

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/sswishbone on 2025-06-03 08:33:49+00:00.

This incident is from around eight years ago, though some important context is that twenty years ago - at university - I was a DJ for a show on my student radio station. Here I learned the "radio host voice" for between songs. Extremely positive, short burst.

So, onwards. I was a claims adjuster for an auto-insurer. My role served as first notification of loss, confirming what level of cover was held, if a vehicle was likely to be repaired or salvaged, potential liability outcome, and any underwriting concerns.

My natural tone of voice is quite flat and professional. So while a customer may have disliked certain outcomes, it was never hostile or complaint worthy.

However, one team leader auditted a telephone call I handled. Correct liability, correct offering of a repairer, correct attempt to capture third party claimant, correct timescales... Incorrect customer mirroring and service.

"You have set the correct expectations," they said. "But, you're far too flat and come across disinterested. That is not how we handle claims."

"The customer didn't complain," I said. "They even thanked me on the call."

"Our call standards are high service and care. You must be more energetic, I need to feel you on the call."

"Ten-four." I said. You'll get more energy. I thought.

So from that moment on? Full deployment of my radio annoumcer voice.

Customer can't have repairs due to damage?

"Your vehicle has rolled over! The repair will be more than the vehicle value, it's a total loss, you get no courtesy vehicle, thank you for calling, good afternoon!"

Another insurer disputes liability?

"I understand you support your client, but the facts of the case have my insured established and correctly proceeding. No, I'm not willing to concede this matter. Yes, I am aware you are litigating, you must serve papers at gives address. Thank you for calling and have an awesome day!"

To make matters even more ridiculous, my office had desks that rise and fall at a button press. So I would be stood up, voice projecting over the entire team, straight to the team leader.

Other adjusters would be muting calls while laughing, others taking bets on what threats the other caller was saying, while my leader stewed in their seat nailed in place by the call energy they felt.

The cherry on the cake being external auditors marking said calls as top marks all across the board. "Exemplary service and understanding attitude."

My leader was not impressed and could do nothing.

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/West_Bike6088 on 2025-06-03 07:30:58+00:00.

So a few years back, I had an American friend visit the UK for the first time. Lovely guy but a bit loud, very confident, and full of opinions about how things should be done.

On his second day staying with me, he says something like, “Man, I love tea, but you Brits always make it too weak. I want a proper British cup of tea, strong enough to stand a spoon in. Show me how it's really done.”

Now, anyone who's grown up in the UK knows we all have wildly different ideas of what a proper cuppa is. Some like it dark and bitter, some pale and milky. But Dave was being a bit obnoxious about it telling me, a born and bred Brit, how to make British tea. So I decided to give him exactly what he asked for.

I rummaged through the cupboard and found a box of Yorkshire Tea. Boiled water, chucked in four bags into his oversized mug, he wanted a real cup, not one of our tiny dainty ones poured the water straight over them and let it brew for 10 minutes. No milk. No sugar. Just black, bitter tannin soup.

Then I handed it to him with the straightest face I could manage: “There you go, mate. Proper British tea. Builders style.”

He took a sip and immediately went red in the face. Started coughing like he'd just inhaled pipe smoke. “Damn, this tastes like a tree" he wheezes.

Well, I said, you did ask for proper British tea. That’s how me dad drinks it puts hairs on your chest.

To his credit, he tried to finish it, but gave up halfway through and asked for water instead. For the rest of his trip, he politely declined tea and stuck to coffee.

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/sinful-sucker on 2025-06-03 03:18:16+00:00.

I worked for a micromanager who lived for email chains. He wanted every single task documented, no matter how minor. One day, he sent me a snarky message after I forgot to "CC the right people" on a short update:

"In the future, make sure your emails are more detailed. I need to see everything in writing."

Okay, boss. Challenge accepted. For the next two weeks, I documented every single thing.

“Opened Excel spreadsheet titled 'Q2 Budget Draft v6_FINAL_FINAL'. No edits made.”

"Replied to John's email, said 'Thanks.'"

"Spoke to Sarah in hallway about printer paper. Resolved."

“Finished typing this email. Re-read three times.”

Each email was multiple paragraphs long, filled with pointless details. I CC’d him on everything, even Slack screenshots of conversations he wasn’t in.

By day three, he asked me to “dial it back a bit.” By day five, he told me I didn’t need to CC him on “every breath I take.” By the end of the week, he asked if we could just go back to how things were before.

Sure thing, boss. All in writing, of course.

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/Weak-Story6835 on 2025-06-03 01:57:02+00:00.

This story wasn't an intentional Malicious Compliance response; it just sort of happened that way. This happened about 25 years ago.

Every year, my High School would organize a school trip to an amusement park just outside of town. In order to go on the trip, you had to fork over $10 and fill out a form (if you were under 16, your parent had to sign the form). Standard shit. But there was one teacher in charge who made it a point to remind us constantly that we weren't allowed to enter the Water Park, otherwise, we were allowed to do what we wanted so long as we didn't get in trouble or do anything that reflected poorly on the school. Fair enough.

Now, like I said at the start of this story, this malicious compliance wasn't intentional, but suffice it to say we arrived at the bus about fifteen minutes before it was scheduled to return to town, soaked to the bone. If looks could kill, we would've been dusted right then and there. So he demands to know what happened, and we told him.

You see, there's a ride at this park that is kind of a simple-looking roller coaster. It's not very high, and only has one drop but the caveat is the track is actually a slide with water, and the drop is over a body of water that causes a kind of wave that splashes both the rider and whoever is standing on the bridge across from the drop. We all stumbled across this ride while we were wandering the park, and debated whether or not we should go on it. We decided, unanimously even, that technically this ride wasn't in the Water Park, so riding it wasn't actually against the rules.

We rode it twice.

By the time we finished explaining, he was glaring daggers at each one of us and after a pause, he just pointed behind him and said "Get on the fucking bus." Everyone on the bus stared at us while we boarded, either thinking we were heroes or rebels. Whatever the case, I still laugh about this story whenever I tell it, and one of my friends suggested I should post this on Reddit under Malicious Compliance, so here we are.

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/Select-Sample-9944 on 2025-06-02 08:09:38+00:00.

This happened many, many years ago when I was a systems administrator for a now defunct company. I was to go to training and I ended up going to Canada to train on some then-new systems. No biggie. I kept my receipts and ended up overspending a bit because, well, I got to see the sights and got to have some tasty food.

When I got back, I submitted my expense report. I wrote down the numbers and factored in the current exchange rate (Canadian dollars to US Dollars) and figured that was that. I mean, being honest, right? Well, OMG, my boss's boss went to my boss and complained that I couldn't even add anything up! You see, the amount I was showing they owed me was LESS than what the receipts showed. (Canadian dollars were maybe worth 65 cents of American dollars.) So, it got rejected and my boss's boss said make them match.

I looked at my boss and said, "You know, that's Canadian, right?" My boss just shrugged and said, "Make him happy and make the numbers add up."

Well, okay then. I added the Canadian dollars up and didn't factor in the exchange rate. So, instead of requesting a reimbursement of (for example--not the actual numbers) $650 USD, I put down $1000 (CAD).

They cheerily paid it. 🤦‍♀️ Only me and my boss knew, but it was so much more trouble trying to do the RIGHT thing. No one ever tried to correct it. On the plus side, it pretty much paid for the extras on the trip.

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/Dulaman96 on 2025-06-02 07:18:24+00:00.

The company I used to work for changed their definition of overtime to be "Any hours worked over 40 per week" to avoid paying overtime to people who stayed later on any given day, and tried to encourage them to take that time in lieu.

I.e. if you worked 10 hours on Monday, you were encouraged to work 6 hours on Tuesday, instead of claiming 2 hours of overtime pay. (Here overtime pays at 1.5x your normal hourly rate, even if you're salaried).

When they changed these rules they forgot about my team. 99% of the company worked regular 9-5 monday-friday shifts but my team worked a 24/7 rotating shift.

Just by the nature of working shifts like that sometimes you end up working up to 55 hours in a single calender week by doing normal 8 hour shifts with no overtime. This was fine because it meant the next week you worked 25 hours or so. It always averaged out to be 80 hours a fortnight.

But by the wording of this new rule (which was written into our contracts by the union so they couldn't go back on it), we were suddenly entitled to loads of overtime.

It added up to about $6000 per year in extra pay from doing the exact same hours as before.

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/alicewillsonxx on 2025-06-02 05:19:07+00:00.

I (18F) work as a receptionist at a small office. We’re a tight team, so I usually help with little things outside my role - stocking coffee, prepping meeting rooms, answering overflow calls from the back office.

Last week, we got a new office manager. First day, she told me: “From now on, stick strictly to your job description. No more doing other people’s work”.

She said it in that passive-aggressive way that basically meant: stay in your lane.

I said, “Okay, got it!”

So i stopped doing everything outside my job description. Didn’t refill the coffee when it ran out. Didn’t set up the boardroom for a big client meeting. Didn’t transfer calls that came in after-hours. Didn’t remind the guy in accounting about his 2PM Zoom (which i always used to).

It was absolute chaos by the end of the day. The manager pulled me aside and asked why I let everything fall apart. I smiled and said, “I’m just sticking to my job description. Like you said.”

She’s been a lot quieter since. And i’m still just doing my job.

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/amerc4life on 2025-06-02 01:27:43+00:00.

OK so some background. I am a delivery driver working for one of the big delivery companies in the US. Today's delivery route includes a very high end neighborhood with very narrow streets that have cars parked on both sides. So even more narrow for my big delivery truck. My next package is a big one definitely a desk or flat pack furniture weighing at least 80lbs. I stop at the address and park my vehicle basically in the middle of the street. But i will be quick and I have my flashers on so no problem. From the delivery address a little old lady with the anger of Satan comes flying out yelling " you can't park here!" I say back " ok well where can I park to deliver this?" She says " the nearest parking for non residence is at the tennis court a half mile away " lugging a 80lb desk a half mile when I'm already stupid far behind and it's 110f outside no thanks. ...wait a minute reads label on package " are you Karen?" She responds "Well yeah but what does that have to do with you parking here" malicious compliance. Pulls emergency brake slams vehicle in drive seat belt still on " i am not in park so not parked " wiggles heavy big package out the window while holding down the brake. Placing it standing up at her feet scanned as left with resident. I yell as I drive off "package delivered safely have a nice day" I think i hear her say " wait you cant" as i drive off I look into my side view to see a very confused old lady looking at her desk then looking at my delivery truck barely fitting down her street. Yes there were better ways of handling this but all would require me to walk a half mile in the heat either to leave a notice or carry a desk. Either way I simply didn't have time for that. Not the best story on here but it made me feel good in the moment and I felt like I had to tell someone.

Sorry for the format and grammar. On mobile and typed this up on my very short break.

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/Peanutbuttered on 2025-06-01 23:15:25+00:00.

Apartment pool attendant said I need a towel to sit on the lounge chairs, even though I am fully clothed. Must be a new rule as I’ve been here 4 years. I said the rule is for people who are in bathing suits, which is very obvious. I said my sweatshirt is made of cotton and so are towels, so it’s just a towel that I’m wearing around me. He said it doesn’t satisfy the rule. So after a quick trip to my apartment, I asked him if it specifies what size the towel must be, to which he replied there isn’t a size rule. So I said, great! And placed my 1 inch by 1 inch towel back into my pocket and sat back down.

https://imgur.com/a/Nkuc2hg

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/SmellyCat0007 on 2025-06-01 20:13:28+00:00.

Back in high school, I had a science teacher who hated when students explained things in their own words. I loved writing creative, real-world examples in my answers, made things easier to remember and showed I understood the concept.

But after a test where I got marked down for not quoting the textbook exactly, she said:

From now on, stick to the definitions from the book. Word for word. No paraphrasing.

Okay, fair enough.

So for the next test, I followed her instructions to the letter. Every answer was verbatim from the textbook. Even the questions that clearly needed some explanation or thought, I just dropped in the definition and moved on.

I ended up getting a lower grade than usual. She marked a few answers incomplete or not fully explained.

I politely reminded her that she told us to use only textbook definitions, nothing extra. Showed her the note I wrote down from class. Her response?

Well, I meant stick to the definition, but also explain your understanding.

Oh. So now it's both?

After that, the rule quietly disappeared and we were encouraged to use both the textbook and our own understanding.

Sometimes, doing exactly what you're told is the best way to prove a point.

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/LumpyCold6184 on 2025-06-01 17:24:59+00:00.

I live in a pretty red region of the US. Fundamental crazies are very common here. Unsolicited proselytizers unabashedly come knocking, ignoring all signs of unwelcome. So I decided to give them a taste of their own medicine.

Whenever some kook knocked, if I had the time to play with them, I would invite them in and dedicate time and effort to hear what they had to say. I would never be dismissive or disrespectful. I would always pay full attention. Once they were done with their rehearsed act, I would pose genuine questions to them.

"What makes you certain the Bible is the true Word of God and not the Quran or the Vedas or the Pali Canon? Did you read the other books? What if they were true?"

Most tend to answer this with something along the lines of personal conviction and God or the Holy Ghost speaking to them through the Bible and not the other books. It's clear that none of these fools ever read anything else. I keep that to myself and instead say the following to them.

"You say that because you grew up reading the Bible. People who grew up reading the Quran or the other holy books have the same conviction that their books are true due to personal conviction and faith."

At this point, some realize that I'm not gonna be a sheep and they leave. Some still try, desperately talking about seemingly miraculous events that occurred in their lives. Those are never truly miraculous when you analyze beyond just the surface. I keep that to myself again and instead say the following.

"There are billions of people who experience miraculous events in India and China after climbing holy mountains and making an offering to the mountain gods. You can find videos of their testimonies online. So if I wanted miracles, should I not climb a holy mountain and make an offering to the mountain gods?"

By this point pretty much everyone realizes that I can't be brainwashed and they leave giving me some flimsy excuse of how they will get back to me. Not one ever got back to me.

When I started, I was receiving 3 to 4 proselytizers a week. These days it is a miracle if I receive even one in several months. Finally some peace.

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/MisseyMocha on 2025-06-01 17:16:27+00:00.

So my aunt is super into these ceramic plates like, she has a few sets and treats them like they’re super fragile(she calls them her babies). She’s always warning everyone to stay away from them. So here’s the thing she has this cabinets that are not exactly strong anymore and in it are her precious plates. They literally look like like they’re about to fall

I noticed it and thought I was helping her when I shifted the plates and put them in the other cabinets that looked stronger but when she found out, she got really upset and she said I warned you to stop messing with my plates I like them where they are. And I pointed out why I transferred the plates she said she didn’t care I should take them back.

So I put them right back where I found them and then days later, the cabinet fell and so did all her precious (babies) plates. Well guess who was not wrong?

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/Former-Chemistry-123 on 2025-06-01 16:08:09+00:00.

Long time lurker, first time poster, so apologies for any spelling/formatting. I recently read a post about overly officious colleagues refusing an expense claim for a petty reason and it reminded me of a similar incident I experienced some years ago which I still chuckle about and thought I would share.

I worked for a company in the UK for many years and had to travel around Europe fairly often. I was always careful spending company money on expenses despite seeing many colleagues milking the system. I always treated company money as my own.

Around 20 years ago the company was sold and after a short while the new owners came out with guidance that we needed to be ‘cost aware’, and amongst the examples given of this behaviour was that we should not use the minibars when staying in hotels. This was fine for me as I had never used one in all my years travelling.

Despite the ‘cost aware’ requirement the company expenses policy allowed you to travel in company time, get taxis to and from the airport and between the hotel & office, claim all meals up to a daily limit including the night you return if getting home after 20.00.

A short while after this announcement I had to make a business trip to one of our factories in mainland Europe. My home office was close to Heathrow airport and the meeting I was attending was starting at 08.00 on a Tuesday morning. Rather than getting a flight during working hours on the Monday I booked a late afternoon flight which would get me to my destination around 21.00 that evening. The meeting was an all day one, but I booked the last flight back on the Tuesday to avoid spending a second night in a hotel, which meant travelling on my own time (unpaid). I could have travelled back on Wednesday and not come into the office that day.

On the Monday of the trip I got public transport into the office at my own cost, worked pretty much the whole day and then got the free courtesy bus from our office to the tube station and then paid £1.50 for the underground to Heathrow Terminal 5 station where I was flying from. For context a taxi would have been £25-£30 from the office or £40-£50 from my home. Very ‘cost aware’ again I thought.

Unfortunately my flight out was delayed so I only arrived at my hotel around 22.00 at which point all of the nearby restaurants were shut (typical for that place at that time of year). I should add at this point that I am diabetic (type 2) so I needed to eat something. As there was no food available in the hotel I ‘indulged’ in a small packet of peanuts from the hotel mini bar which cost €2 and then went to bed. The next morning (after a hearty breakfast!), I walked to the factory rather than take a taxi and after a long day in the meeting a colleague gave me a lift back to the Airport. I flew back to Heathrow and got public transport home. As I arrived home so late I could have ordered a takeaway up to the daily allowance for dinner but I knew my wife was making something so I had asked her to put some aside for me to heat up.

Next day I filled out my expense claim including the €2 packet of peanuts which was on my hotel invoice. Roll on a week and I get an email from the expenses clerk rejecting my whole expense claim and attaching the ‘cost aware’ policy from the CEO and she specifically called out the €2€ ‘minibar’ expense and stated that I was not ‘cost aware’.

I wrote back re-attaching my expense claim copying in the CEO and my line manager listing all the ‘cost aware’ actions I had taken - travelling in my own time, using the free courtesy bus, public transport, not claiming for lunch or dinner on the Monday, avoiding a second night in the hotel, taking public transport home and not claiming dinner when I arrived home late. I said that I felt insulted by their comment.

Needless to say, my claim got paid, however there was no apology so after that I stuck to policy; taxis for every leg of the trip, only travelling in paid time, fully utilising meal allowances (even if I was not particularly hungry). I dread to think how much that €2 packet of peanuts cost them, but must have been thousands 🤣

Thanks for reading!

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/rajalreadytaken on 2025-06-01 15:13:51+00:00.

I started working for a non profit in 2019 after being a volunteer member since 2000. It was supposed to be temporary for 3 months or so, but the non profit dragged their feet hiring a permanent replacement.

I'm fairly well off (not filthy rich, but debt free and comfortable) and didn't need the money, so I never billed for my hours after working 15 months full time. It was supposed to be $25/hr (CAD currency) but I was willing to work for free if they just found a replacement in a reasonable time. They were pressuring me for an invoice, so I finally invoice them for 40hrs/week for 15 months and it was about high $60k.

They were livid for a variety of reasons I didn't understand. They accused me of lying about my hours because I was a new father and my wife had gone back to work after maternity leave, and there's no way I could've worked that much. When I told them I had my son in daycare instead of staying at home with him, they sarcastically said "now you know what it's like to work an actual job like the rest of us." They were mad that I wasn't volunteering my time anymore like I used to, but I insisted I was and that my billed time was only for the TV bingo fundraiser and not for any other non profit activities. They didn't believe me. I tried to tell them my hours were actually more than I billed for, and my hourly rate is greatly reduced compared to what I normally charge for all the work I was doing (IT, e-commerce, Web design, marketing, HR, operations, bookkeeping, TV production, etc) but they said they didn't care about the rate reduction.

They insisted that I charge my normal rates for my actual hours, and then deduct 10 hours a week for volunteering, which is about ten times more hours than any of them volunteer for. Ok, bet.

I started charging them $40 to $125 per hour depending on the task. I recorded all my tasks and hours in great detail. I charged for any time I spent doing what was normally volunteer work for the non profit. Then I finally deducted 10 hours a week. I was billing an average of 50 hours a week after the volunteer hours were deducted. I also took the opportunity to start hiring more people under me on their dime so I could work way less than I did in the first 15 months but still get paid the same if not more.

They couldn't say anything because it was exactly what they asked for. I was billing $1k/week before malicious compliance, and then about $3k/week after malicious compliance, which I started trimming back down closer to $1k/week after cutting my own hours.

These guys kept doubling down and accusing me of incompetence and fraud over the next year and a half that I continued working, but I didn't care anymore. They turned my passion into a crappy job that I didn't need, so I stayed until all my amazing employees were hopefully setup for success and wrote that non profit out of my life for good. I didn't feel any guilt over being paid for my time with them because I had raised more money for them in 30 months ($30 million gross, about $20 million net) than they had raised in the 100 years before then.

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/Theungreatjoy on 2025-06-01 14:31:28+00:00.

Reposting this again because everyone wanted to know how it ended with my neighbor, I'm sorry for not giving the complete story.

I live in a block of flats with a shared back garden. It’s nothing fancy, just grass, a bench and a few flower beds. I’d put out a small foldable chair and a potted plant near my window, nothing in the way.

One day, a neighbour knocks on my door. She says the garden is communal so no personal items, so I removed them

Fair enough.

Next week, I notice she’s strung up fairy lights and laid out a full picnic setup for some friends. I wait until they’re mid toast and then go out, gently unplug the lights and say. Sorry, just keeping the garden neutral. No personal items, remember?

She was not pleased. She tried to argue and yell but I was calm and explained to her in her own words. A few neighbors came out to find out why the garden was noisy, I told everyone what she said to me word for word and not a single person stood by her side. We ended up trashing out that rule.

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/Ganonsfoot on 2025-06-01 11:05:00+00:00.

First of all, my apologies for the upcoming wall of text, I have a couple good stories.

So I was a cook for a good long portion of my life. The last restaurant I worked at was a pretty nice farm to table Italian place. I really liked the owners and had worked for them at a previous restaurant and I also liked having 2 vacation weeks and insurance so I followed them to this new place

Now the owners were great, the GM however was a stubborn and stingy person. We opened the place up with the idea that there would be a family meal every day before the dinner shift started. Nothing crazy expensive, just a salad and pasta for everyone. Pretty quickly though it just turned into pasta, then eventually into nothing at all with no replacement meal plan for the employees at all. I understand the need to keep costs down, especially at a new restaurant but this was getting ridiculous. The were days I'd end up working a double and very angrily eating just a cliff bar during the whole work day.

I'm serious about the GM being a penny pinching b though. The most egregious example I have is If any servers or cooks made a mistake they were expected to purchase their mistake. There was one time I made a pasta dish by mistake and refused to buy it, mistakes happen damn it! My assistant GM knew it was gonna be a big deal so he ended up purchasing it 😂. Eventually hours started getting cut and people were being let go.

I had been given a couple of split shifts a week (I hated them so much but needed the money). I was expected to come in and open, work a couple of lunch, leave for a couple hours and come back for the dinner shift. So after a few weeks of these shifts it became pretty routine. It allowed me to get lunch either nearby or at home. Except one day it was unexpectedly busy for lunch. We got really slammed and couldn't really catch up so they asked me if I could stay and help prep for dinner. Now me being maliciously compliant said that I planned on having lunch during that time but I'll stay if they let me have something good (I'm just thinking pasta with meat on it), they said we can't do that. So I said I can't stay then. The look on both of my bosses faces said it all. They of course couldn't back down but I wasn't gonna let them walk all over me especially when I'm just following and expecting to work my scheduled hours. I came back a couple hours later with a full belly and worked a pretty busy dinner shift. My split shifts didn't last too much longer after that.

There was one more time when I had an unexpected Thursday night off but I was asked to come in and wash dishes. Once again I needed the money and I'm not above washing dishes so I said yes. Now I've done dishes before for my normal pay and it wasn't a problem. That's what I was expecting, my normal pay. I come back and they ask me to please clock in under the dish button they had just created for me. I asked if the pay was different and I was told yes, it's a couple dollars less. I nearly walked out. I only stayed because my coworkers would have a much worse day without me there but I was livid. My assistant GM tried to offer me some food scraps but I looked at him and refused. Then I remembered that dish employees get a free meal that nobody took advantage because of the cheap GM. I told my assistant GM I wanted a pork rigatoni pasta dish with peppers in it and he was completely caught off guard. "What?! Who's paying for that?" He says to me. I merely reply with dish gets a free meal and walk away. A few minutes later I get my lovely pasta dish, I go sit down for a few minutes, savor every bite and come back to my smiles from my coworkers and my GM not looking at me 🙂. The dish button was removed from my clock in screen after that.

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/Maladjusted73 on 2025-06-01 06:19:39+00:00.

I told this story to a friend. She suggested I share it here.

My family and I moved into a house in 2008 - 5 bedrooms, 3,200 sq ft, $1,600 a month. It was a decent price in 2008, and the rent stayed the same for many years. Since I'm reasonably handy, I would fix things myself rather than bother an old man. I lived there so long that I also made quite a few upgrades.

In 2024, the owner passed away, and his son inherited the property. A week later, he gave notice of intent to inspect the property. During the inspection, he kept trying to open drawers and look through my belongings, which isn't legally allowed, and was rude when I stopped him. As he left, he handed me a notice that my rent was increasing to $4,000 monthly, about $1,000 over market value. I would have paid higher rent if it had been reasonable, but I wasn't paying that much.

My month-to-month lease was worded to require three months' notice to raise the rent. I pointed out this fact, then gave him notice that I would be moving out at the end of that three months.

A few days later, I was served with an eviction notice. The month-to-month lease also required three months' notice to evict me without cause, so he tried evicting me with cause. He claimed I had made "unauthorized modifications" to the house and cited the back door with a dog door installed.

I still had the original door in the garage and the previous owner's permission, so it was neither unauthorized nor a modification. Regardless, the judge decided I needed to move out within 30 days, or he would grant the eviction. Additionally, he explicitly ordered that all modifications be restored to the original.

This is where the malicious compliance comes in, and I'm sure you already see this coming. All the "Smart House" additions I made were removed. The tool shed in the yard was removed. The pond was filled in. Closet organizers were torn out. Garage organizers were removed. The updated appliances were replaced with basic models. Every update I made was removed, and then I moved out.

He sued me for removing everything. His lawyer cited a law that says any changes to the property become part of the property, and it's illegal to remove them when vacating the property. However, my lawyer pointed out the order from the previous judge, stating, "All modifications must be restored to the original." I provided receipts for all the things I had removed, proving I had added them and was required to remove them. I won the case, and he had to pay my legal fees.

A few months later, I got a call from his sister. Some of my mail had not been forwarded, and she wanted to ensure I got it. We had a short conversation about the entire ordeal. She told me the house was actually inherited by four siblings. Her brother had lied to everyone.

First, he had raised the rent, knowing I would move out. He already had a deal to sell the house to one of those big rental companies. He told his siblings the house had negative equity and nobody would get anything from the sale. In reality, the house was paid off and worth about $700,000.

They had made an offer on the house, which included all the stuff I later removed. He couldn't afford to replace everything, so they took him to court over the sale. Since all four siblings were listed as owners, all were named in the lawsuit, which is how they learned the truth.

In the end, the house sold for $550,000. In exchange for not pressing fraud charges against him, his three siblings split the proceeds, and he got nothing.

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/PictureGlittering202 on 2025-06-01 05:46:47+00:00.

I used to work for a nonprofit that has very important government contracts. My role expanded quite a bit over the years and they weren't sure who I should report to. Now, the executive director of my state didn't like me. I think it's because I take up a lot of space when I know what I'm talking about. I was not thrilled when I became her direct report. She has her own problems 🍸 and I don't suffer fools when it comes to my money.

Before I reported to her, my boss didn't care what hours I worked or where I worked from. Which was perfect for me as a single mom of two who got her Bachelor's and Master's while working there full time.

I had weekly one on one meetings with my new boss (the ED) on the day she "worked" from home 🍸🍹🍺 As a child of an addict/alcoholic she could really tear me down sometimes. But I put up with her drunken tirades.

But here's the kicker. My cousin got diagnosed with breast cancer about 4 months after her husband left her. I was her only family in the area. So I told the ED that I would need to take her to chemo, etc. She told me that I had to take PTO for those times I was going to be with my cousin. I was a salaried employee so I didn't understand but whatever.

AND she added that I needed to be in the office from 8:30 to 5:30 every day per my contract. Great! So I started working those hours. A couple of weeks in, she asked me why I was telling my internal customers that I didn't have time to do their marketing.

I told her that I was working my contract hours. And was no longer logging on at home from 10 pm to 2 am to make sure everything was done.

The look on her face was priceless. She didn't change her mind, though. She had to hire another marketer. Not great for her nonprofit budget!

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/jrrdnx on 2025-06-01 00:56:27+00:00.

We've had 5G home internet from one of the top three cellular providers in the U.S. for the past year or so, but recently had fiber lines ran to our area. As soon as we got the new service connected I called to cancel our 5G.

I called five days before the end of that month's billing cycle and was told it just wouldn't renew, but nothing more would be due since the month was prepaid.

Received our final bill a few days ago for a whopping $0.17, less than the cost of the stamp it would take to mail a check. Instructions were to go online to pay, but when I entered the account number and payment amount it wouldn't allow me to continue as the minimum I can pay is $5. So I paid the $5.

Instead of letting me pay the $0.17 and be done with it, they can pay what it takes to send me back a check for $4.83.

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/coffeebrewcrew on 2025-06-01 00:24:08+00:00.

First time poster, long time reader.

So I’m currently part time in a pharmacy, been a tech for almost 10 years and we are fairly busy consistently every day, even on weekends. We got metrics, we got expectations and you guessed it - we always get more stuff to do that makes no logical sense with the demand of the store.

A few months ago our district manager came by and did an audit, we did fine besides a few things but now required we ask for almost everything when someone picks up meds. We aren’t talking about verifying allergies or conditions, no he wants us to ask about that, immunizations, pushing for the + service, using the online app, asking if they know someone to transfer here… basically about 12 tasks per person.

The issue as it always is with district managers is they want metrics but don’t understand how detrimental they are to ask for when you’re also wanting us to get a good score, which also is ranked by how fast we service people.

So we don’t do all of it, but when he comes in, we have to do it. And since he was here a week ago, decided to let him see how slow all this stuff can be.

It was around 3 PM the Friday prior to Memorial Day, so everyone’s getting set to go out of town, including him but he’s stopping in to check on things for reasons.

Anyway, it’s busy and we’re down a person cause of sickness. And since he’s here… well, time to cue the malicious compliance.

I have a patient come up and I ask her EVERYTHING. Got allergies? Medical conditions? Need shots? Have you heard about online delivery? Do you want to? Do you have specific questions on your med? We have an online pet pharmacy, did you know that? Also, in case you change your mind about shots, did you want a report? Need any other refills?

By the time I’m done, she had to get counseled anyway and we had a line of six people behind them. She asked me why there was so much to ask for a simple pick up when I brought her down and I told her “Well this is our district manager and he wants us to make sure you’re well informed! If you have questions while he’s here he’ll gladly listen.”

Yeah he didn’t like that cause she complained. And someone else in line after did the same thing due to the wait.

Anyway, soon after we were asked to “use our best judgment” when it comes down to informing people “for the needs of the business.”

Thanks DM!

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/FurtiveFox88 on 2025-05-31 23:22:34+00:00.

I've read some MC stories pertaining to coffee and decided to share my own.

My family owns a funeral home and I would work there for a Summer job when I was in high-school. While working there, I would show up before everyone and make the coffee for the day and do some light cleaning. The break room where the coffee machine was also had your standard office water cooler so I would make the coffee with the good water.

One day, I was making the coffee and my grandfather (the boss) showed up and asked why I was using the expensive water instead of the tap. I told him the tap water makes the coffee taste like shit. I know because I made it with tap once, took a sip, then poured it right down the drain.

He didn't believe it was that bad. He made his coffee from tap at home and it's fine.

Note: he never drank the office coffee, he drank his at home with breakfast. What he didn't take into account was that while the funeral home was nice and remodeled (very old building), the pipes were not because the water was used to flush toilets and wash hands, not for drinking.

He insisted that tomorrow I use tap. The coffee would mask the taste and no one would tell the difference.

"Okay, your the boss."

The next day I make the coffee with the tap. Now on this day, we had a funeral that morning. Two funeral directors, some members of the family of the deceased, the preacher, and I where in the break room trading small town gossip when one of the directors took a big chug of the coffee (the machine was old, the coffee came out hot, but the hot plate would only keep it luke warm) and immediately spewed it all over the preacher, ruining his white dress shirt. This was also the first time I ever heard a preacher curse lol.

The funeral was delayed 30 minutes while the preacher ran home to change.

Needless to say, I was allowed to make the coffee with the expensive water from then on. It's still something we all laugh about to this day, even the preacher.

edit *layout fixed by user dayatapark

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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/bagelbuytes on 2025-05-31 22:56:37+00:00.

I had a job as a call center agent.

The pay was garbage and the work was horrible. But despite all that I really did enjoy what i did.

The contract changed each campaign, with some being canceled and the call center reps shuffled into the next. If you were really good you were placed in DirecTV. I was placed there.

I could tell you many stories about DirecTV. How they lied to people about movies being HD when sun flares happened "just sell SD no one can tell the difference" How they really thought having the reps highest sellers pick the toppings for the MANAGERS pizza party was a good idea (anchovies. I picked anchovies) was a great idea.

How they forced people to take overtime with prizes that they canceled afterwards. How much of a meat grinder it was, and how it was normal to come into work with wiped screens. I'd survived several "wipes" or that is reset computers and clean desks for the people who could not sell, sell SELL.

But this one isn't about how horrible the place was..

its about an argument with HR.

See I was pretty good at sales as much as I hated it. This alteration was over a remote control I'd waived and how I could have spun it into a sale instead. I went back to my desk with a fake write-up for some BS mistake and pulled up the sales charts fuming. I was pretty sure my time there was coming to an end.

And then I found Dog TV. it was a glitch in the system where it was not high enough to count as anything other than a free for a month offer, available to every customer.. but it counted as a PREMIUM SALE. (probably cause no one in their life ever sold it.)

Dog TV was special. So Dog TV is tv for dogs. Yep its a thing. it bills itself as a show for dogs to enjoy.

Adding it to the account was free for the first month just like some of the other shows except it was cheaper. And it was a very good sale for me, right up there with selling a full account upgrade at full price.

AND adding it allowed me to do pretty much anything I wanted to the account. (It seemed to act like a retention offer)

My sales went parabolic. I'd always been good but now every manager used me as the shining example. All the perks they gave to top sellers were mine. I won gas cards, quality didn't say a word when i made a mistake on a call. My surveys were all 10s as I carefully explained to every customer if by some chance you don't want to pay for DOG TV.. just call in by this date. I waved service calls, offered pretty much anything for free with all exclusive perk of Dog TV. Oh you missed a due date? waived. you need a service call? waived. Want a free upgrade to the best shows, free equipment, free setup, how about an additional remote? waived. I could even offer you a month of service for free if you got Dog TV. and I did.

That's correct, I will give you one month of free service in exchange for adding Dog TV. just call in by this date to cancel it or its going to charge you

I remember one person who called in cause their remote wasn't working. I gave them a free remote, free equipment, free service call, one month of free service and and made sure it was marked as "not rented" in the system, in exchange for a one month free channel of DogTV. They were ecstatic.

"just promise me you mark the survey as ten" I said, quietly marking their service call as priority.

you bet your bottom biscuits! they replied. Fantastic. Welcome to DirecTV would you like a free movie?

I became the top salesperson across the ENTIRE company.

They pointed a camera at my face and asked

"so tell us.. how did you become the star salesman?"

I looked right into the phone camera for the video that would be sent to every employee. Not even employee, I was to be the talking head for all the new trainees to watch. unpaid of course, what an honor!

Tips from the top or some BS. Everyone had to watch it. No one did so they started writing you up if you couldn't answer one "top tip for talented ..i forget the last T."

Well folks its easy. All you gotta do is Sell, sell SELL. Even if its something like DogTV.

What a great answer! and whats your favorite thing to sell?

Why that would be DogTV.

Dog tv.. I've never heard of that one.

oh people who want to to superstar their sales should check it out.

whats it about?

We'll I'll happily tell you for 17.99 a month..

*fake laughter*

As a top salesperson I was able to "buy" many things with points, and before I left I placed a remote control on HR's desk. and then I left the building forever, as I had an interview.

I found out later though a mutual connection that they had techs delete the emails right from peoples inboxes. Dog TV was a sale all right.. one that people called en-mass to cancel. One that caused who knows how many thousands of waivers as hundreds of people caught on, and started selling at the top channel. The leader-board dissolved into chaos as managers had an all hands on meeting as Directv was screaming at them for failing every metric possible while selling to every customer who called.

I'll tell people today I was the top salesperson GLOBALLY for a large company.

Its not a lie. they just they just erased my name from every single mention of the sales charts, and tried to take back the award they sent.