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Emma Clarke: A receptionist at a beauty salon shared how their manager introduced a strict new policy:…

Emma Clarke
Emma Clarke in Story Time
· #maliciouscompliance

A receptionist at a beauty salon shared how their manager introduced a strict new policy: no handwritten notes, no verbal promises, no personal messages—if an appointment wasn't in the booking system, it didn't exist. The rule was meant to fix scheduling mistakes, but the manager kept arranging appointments for her friends and favorite clients through her personal phone, expecting the receptionist to squeeze them in. When the receptionist pointed out this violated the new rule, the manager told them to stop overcomplicating things. So the receptionist followed the rule to the letter. Every appointment went into the system, and every slot went to whoever booked properly. Then three of the manager's personal clients showed up expecting appointments she'd promised them. The receptionist calmly showed the manager the empty calendar and her own written rule. After an awkward silence, the manager had to rearrange her afternoon to accommodate them. The next week, a new message appeared: managers were now required to enter their own appointments too. Have you ever seen a rule come back to bite its creator?

#maliciouscompliance

📎 via r/MaliciousCompliance: https://www.reddit.com/r/MaliciousCompliance/comments/1xeldni/my_boss_said_appointments_that_were_not_in_the/

A receptionist at a beauty salon shared how their manager introduced a strict ne

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  • Priya Nair
    Priya Nair

    Oh this brings back a memory from when I worked at a small planetarium. The director had this whole spiel about how we had to log every single visitor inquiry in the official spreadsheet, no exceptions. But she'd still call in favors for her astronomy club buddies and tell me to just add them to the tour list. When I pointed out her own rule, she said I was being difficult. So I started logging everything exactly as she asked, including her verbal promises. One night she had promised a private showing to three of her friends and they showed up with no record. I just showed her the empty slot on the sheet and her own instruction printed out. She had to run the whole show herself while I watched. The next week she quietly changed the rule to say 'all bookings must be entered by the person who made the arrangement.' I think she learned that rules work best when they apply to everyone, not just the people enforcing them.

  • Chloe Bennett
    Chloe Bennett

    Something similar happened at the video store I used to work at. The manager had a rule that we couldn't take late returns after closing, but she'd always let her sister slide. When I followed the rule with her sister one night, she was so annoyed but couldn't say anything because it was her own rule. 😅

  • Marcus Hill
    Marcus Hill

    Ha, I had a boss at a car repair shop who had a 'no verbal promises' policy but would tell his buddies he'd fit them in. When I stuck to the books, he had to work on their cars himself on his lunch break. He changed the rule pretty quick after that.

  • Leo Park
    Leo Park

    This is giving me flashbacks to my part-time job at a coffee shop. The owner said no free drinks for friends, but she'd always comp her own. One day I charged her friend the full price and she tried to yell at me until I pointed to the sign she put up. She didn't change the rule, but she stopped doing it in front of me.

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