Crafty Employee Turns Tables On Overbearing Boss, Exposes Her Hypocrisy For Using The Very Word She Ridiculed Them For

“It felt so good to throw that back in her face!”

Jesse

• Published in Interesting
• January 11, 2024

Customer service was the perfect blend of professionalism and politeness. Not to blow their own horn, but our narrator (Original Poster) believed they had this art down to a tee—and with no formal training at that.

As a dedicated remote staff, OP took pride in their courteous and professional emails to clients. It was honestly a breeze; as long as you could spell, use proper grammar, and perhaps had a dash of experience, you were good to go.

The problem was OP’s boss didn’t have much confidence in their skills; or why else did she request to be cc’d on every single email?

Her next step was to scrutinize each word with a fine-tooth comb. Meticulously dissecting each phrase and sentence, then dishing out unsolicited corrections with barely any impact.

It was like having a shadowy figure consistently peeping over your shoulder. OP was sick of it but remained unfazed. They confronted this virtual overseer with grace and determination.

One morning, they hopped on a call to discuss a different issue entirely when the unimaginable happened. She suddenly reprimanded OP for using “certainly” in client emails. In her words, it made them sound like “the three stooges”.

It was such a shocker because were the emails on her mind constantly?! Where did that even come from? OP argued it exuded professionalism; they were, in fact, not stopping usage.

A few minutes later, guess who was caught off guard uttering the exact word she denounced? OP wasted no time throwing her critique back in her face.

It might’ve been the height of pettiness, but boy, did it feel so good! 

Let’s dig into the details

A little background

OP’s boss had a habit of nitpicking their phrase and giving harsh criticism. However, OP argued that they were on track with how they spoke with clients

Later on, during one of their conversations, OP took the opportunity to give her a taste of her own medicine

Here’s how the Reddit community reacted to the story:

“Micromanagers are terrified that they will not notice something going wrong so can’t let you use your years of experience to be autonomous.“

“Keep doing it, every, single, time. She might take the hint.”

“Your boss sounds like they don’t have enough work to do if they have the time to go over each of your emails.”

“Good one! Keep pushing back when she's micromanaging. You can maybe break her of the habit.“

“Give them every bit of information. Overload them. They will leave you alone.”

“My favorite form of petty - and it works both ways for me. I will take someone's crap and fling it right back in their face.”

“I will never, ever work where I must cc my boss every email and then tolerate all those corrections/suggestions.”

Redditors slyly unveil the reason behind the boss's constant need to micromanage. She’s a former gymnastics coach turned market research guru—It definitely stemmed from insecurities about being underqualified for the position.

By playfully challenging their boss's critique and turning the tables, OP injects a dose of humor into an otherwise meticulous exchange of words.

Three cheers for petty revenge!

Let us know what you think in the comments.

Jesse