When the Absentee Boss Doubled the Pastries: A Tale of Malicious Compliance and Bakery Mayhem
If you’ve ever worked in food service, you know that there are unwritten laws of the kitchen. The most sacred? Trust the person who knows the pastries. But what happens when an absentee boss, fresh off a four-store tour, struts in and demands double the daily order—against all expert advice? Cue the doughy disaster.
Today, we’re diving into a delicious story from Reddit’s r/MaliciousCompliance, where one bakery supervisor’s hard-earned wisdom was no match for managerial ego. The result? Mountains of wasted croissants, a staff ready to revolt, and a lesson in why you should never mess with someone who knows their scones.
When The Boss Is Out To Lunch (Literally)
Our protagonist, u/lorgskyegon, had spent four years as the bakery lead in an upscale-ish café. They knew the rhythms of the business better than anyone—especially around holidays like Mother’s Day, when sales would skyrocket, only to plummet the day after. A veteran of the “Monday pastry slump,” they had the perfect formula: order two-thirds of the usual amount to avoid waste. A system honed by trial, error, and many a stale danish.
But then came The Visit. The owner, who rarely graced this outlier location with her presence, happened to pop in on the worst possible day: the Monday after Mother’s Day. Seeing the bakery case looking low (as planned), she demanded an explanation. Despite calm, reasoned responses from both the bakery lead and the manager, she wielded her Owner Powers and decreed: double the normal order!
Malicious Compliance: Have Your Pastry and Eat It (or Don’t)
Here’s where things get sticky (and not in the fun, cinnamon-roll way). Our bakery hero, ever the team player, tried to reason with the owner. The manager backed them up. But the owner insisted, so our hero did exactly as told. Double the pastries. Every. Single. Day.
What followed was an avalanche of unsold goods. Pastries piled up. Perfectly good eclairs were tossed. Muffins met their muffin-y doom in the trash. Two weeks in, the owner—blissfully unaware of the consequences of her own command—emailed in a panic: “Why are we throwing out so many pastries?!”
Cue the chef’s kiss of malicious compliance. The reply? “You told me to double my order.”
When the Cream Puffs Hit the Fan
If you’re expecting a storybook ending where the owner learns a valuable lesson and humbly apologizes, well… welcome to the restaurant industry! Instead, our hero was nearly fired (saved only by their indispensable status), stripped of their bakery lead duties, and shuffled to night shifts. The pay stayed the same, but the responsibility dropped—a bittersweet tradeoff.
As for the café? It quickly crumbled like an overbaked biscuit. The manager left for greener pastures, the assistant manager had already jumped ship, and loyal staff followed suit. The owner, it seems, got exactly what she ordered: a bakery case full of pastries and a store empty of people who cared.
Lessons From the Land of Laminated Dough
This tale is more than just a venting session—it’s a masterclass in Why Experience Matters. It’s tempting for owners (especially absentee ones) to think they know best, but expertise isn’t just about showing up; it’s about listening to the folks who’ve spent years perfecting the art of not over-ordering muffins. When you ignore the wisdom on your front lines, you don’t just waste pastries—you waste potential.
It’s also a reminder that malicious compliance is a mighty force. Sometimes, the best way to prove a point is to follow orders to the letter, then let the results speak (and spoil) for themselves.
Have You Experienced a Pastry Pile-Up?
Have you ever been on the receiving end of managerial “wisdom” gone awry? Or maybe you’ve had your own moment of sweet, sweet malicious compliance? Share your stories in the comments! And remember: always trust the person who knows their way around a bakery case.
For the original tale, check out u/lorgskyegon’s post on r/MaliciousCompliance here.
What would you have done? Let’s hear your thoughts below!
Original Reddit Post: Absentee boss wants me to increase the daily order against my suggestion? You got it.