The Great Warehouse Chair Caper: When Petty Revenge Rolls 500 Meters
Office politics are often a game of subtle power moves, stolen staplers, and passive-aggressive emails. But sometimes, the battlefield is far more tangible—and mobile. Enter the epic saga of “Caren’s Chair,” an everyday tale of workplace pettiness that has Reddit’s r/PettyRevenge community absolutely rolling with laughter. If you’ve ever found yourself fuming over an “assigned” communal chair, buckle up: this story might just inspire you to push the limits of office mischief (literally).
Chair Wars: The Origin Story
Picture a bustling warehouse, a handful of battered chairs, and one employee—dubbed “Caren” for her territorial ways—who treats a particular seat as her throne. The author of our saga, u/HauntingTheVoid, doesn’t mince words: Caren acts like she owns the place, especially the chair she claims daily, even though it constantly migrates between workstations. Most days, it’s a minor annoyance. But one morning, after arriving early and settling in with a pastry, our hero’s patience is tested.
Mid-pastry, Caren appears, demanding “her” chair back—even though there are still 40 minutes before the shift begins. The OP (original poster) offers a compromise: “I’ll bring it over when I’m done.” But Caren persists, escalating the standoff until she finally settles for draping her coat on the chair—her own twist on marking territory, as one commenter, u/Active-Store-1138, quipped: “The coat move is classic, like staking out territory in the wild.”
What could have ended with a simple breakfast instead leaves our protagonist fuming—and plotting.
A Petty Plan Rolls Into Action
Revenge, as they say, is a dish best served cold—or, in this case, on wheels. The next day, OP arrives even earlier, claims Caren’s prized (and, notably, “half-destroyed” per the comments) chair, and embarks on a covert mission: up the lift, across the second floor, and 500 meters away from Caren’s territory. The chair is left in the furthest possible corner, where only the truly motivated would dare seek it out.
Caren’s reaction? She spends 40 minutes searching, combing stairwells, and ultimately settling for another seat. The OP plays innocent, claiming ignorance with a poker face. As the Reddit crowd cheered, u/TicoSoon summed it up perfectly: “Absolutely brilliant. 10/10 no notes.”
But why go to such lengths for a beat-up warehouse chair? As OP clarified in the comments: “The weird thing is this is the oldest chair in the office. It's held together with tape, half the seat is gone. I have no idea why she likes it so much and if she'd let me finish my pastry in peace...she could have kept her crappy chair.” Sometimes, it’s not about the chair—it’s about the principle.
The Community Reacts: Laughter, Ideas, and Memories
Reddit loves a good workplace revenge story, and this one delivered in spades. The top comment, “Oh the vengeance of diminished repose,” from u/CoderJoe1, set the tone for a thread full of wit and commiseration. Many shared their own tales of office chair drama: u/Lumpy_Space_Princess recalled a forklift solution for a lazy coworker’s chair, while u/Wakemeup3000 described the time a coveted seat ended up in the janitor’s closet, solving multiple problems at once.
The petty creativity didn’t stop there. u/Banzai373 suggested, “Hell, I’d take a wheel off it and put the wheel in an unused cabinet,” to which OP replied that the wheels were already busted—a testament to the chair’s questionable glory. Others, like u/duffelbagpete, envisioned taking the caper further: “Take the chair to random locations and photograph it. Anonymously leave pictures of it where she would see them. Never bring the chair back to work.”
Some commenters offered a philosophical take. u/Shot-Tap-4512 mused, “Look at you! Improving morale…for yourself!”—to which OP confirmed, “I gotta say, I had a great day 😂.” And, as u/thenewfoundlandyeti pointed out, the longer Caren searched, the more time OP had to plan the next round of petty hijinks.
The story even inspired nostalgia, with tales of high school pranks involving cars on rooftops and office chair lotteries gone awry. As u/10S_NE1 lamented, “It’s amazing how much drama office chairs can cause,” recalling their own saga of a missing new chair swapped with a stained relic.
The Psychology of Petty Revenge
Why do stories like this resonate so deeply? Maybe it’s because we’ve all encountered a “Caren”—the coworker who wields a flimsy semblance of authority, turning every communal resource into a battleground. Petty revenge, when done with a dash of humor and minimal harm, can feel like a tiny restoration of justice in a world of workplace absurdities.
As OP admitted in the comments, “I needed the exercise.” And perhaps, in the end, Caren got hers too—a forced 500-meter stroll, and a reminder that no chair, no matter how ragged, is truly un-stealable.
Conclusion: Share Your Pettiest Office Tales!
Who knew a broken chair could spark so much drama, laughter, and camaraderie? Whether you’re a veteran of the chair wars or just enjoy a good tale of harmless mischief, there’s something universal about the quest for small, satisfying victories at work.
Do you have your own story of petty workplace revenge or office supply subterfuge? Share your tales below—or let us know which chair relocation strategy you’d try next time the “Caren” in your life gets too comfortable. The r/PettyRevenge crowd is always ready for the next round!
And remember: in the game of office thrones, play petty—but play smart.
Original Reddit Post: Argue over chair? Lose chair