This Reddit user shared her tale of how she maliciously complied with some unfair rules set by her boss.
An Airline Employee Speaks Out
She’s a former regional airline employee who has a story to share about a particularly slimy businessman whom she calls Scott.
He Was a Dodgy Guy
Scott was known for his shady dealings and his habit of name-dropping to get what he wanted, and he always made a point of letting everyone know that he was friends with their Vice President.
Whenever Scott would turn up, the staff would roll their eyes; they knew what was coming.
An Unfavored Customer
He would ask for all kinds of special treatment, like free upgrades, extra baggage, and last-minute discounts, and if he didn’t get what he wanted, he would call the VP, and she would usually approve whatever he was asking for.
He Pulled the Strings
He used to always use the business class check-in line, even when he was in economy.
He didn’t have frequent flier status, but since he was friends with their VP, he could pull the strings when he wanted.
The Day in Question
One day, Scott showed up at the check-in counter and asked for a free upgrade to business class, citing his friendship with VP as the reason why he should get one.
Unfortunately for Scott, he was traveling on a discounted ticket that wasn’t eligible for an upgrade, even with an upgrade coupon – which he didn’t have.
She Stood up to Him
OP informed him that he wasn’t eligible for an upgrade and gave him his boarding pass, sending him on his way.
Of course, Scott immediately pulled out his cell phone and called their VP, who authorized OP to upgrade him to business class, “If there is room.”
The flight that day wasn’t very busy, and there was only one person booked in business class, leaving five open seats.
The Key Words…
OP was irritated, but begrudgingly put Scott on the upgrade list anyway.
Scott returned to the check-in counter with a smug look on his face, but then VP’s words clicked with her: “If there is room.” A plan immediately formed in her head.
Her Plan in Action
The next passenger she checked in was a super nice lady, Deborah, and they had a friendly chat as she processed her ticket.
She was a teacher going to see her family for the first time in over a year, and she was going to meet her new little nephew for the first time too.
An Act of Kindness
OP decided to do something nice for Deborah.
She typed in a few things into the computer to make it look like she was checking something about a connecting flight and then said, “Oh, you have been selected today to receive a free upgrade to business class!”
She Was Ecstatic
Deborah was overjoyed! She’d never flown business class before and was amazed!
Over the next 20 minutes, OP found excuses to upgrade four other passengers, including one who worked for one of their top corporate accounts, and another who was a frequent flyer.
I’m Sure She Was Smug!
By the time they went to board the flight, she had to tell Scott that business class was full, and they couldn’t offer him an upgrade after all!
The perfect malicious compliance!
The Lovely Teacher Made Her Day
When the business class passengers were boarding, Deborah thanked OP again; she was so grateful for the upgrade. Little did she know that it had made OP’s day too.
She Got off Scot-Free
OP explains that there were no repercussions to their actions, as they rarely upgraded passengers randomly, and it wasn’t something that caught management’s attention.
Furthermore, management trusted their judgment on these sorts of things.
Retail Staff Know the Score
Like many customer-facing jobs, if people were nice, the staff would go out of their way to help them, and if they were not nice, they would apply the rules strictly.
The only thing they really had to watch out for was baggage, as their boss was very strict about making sure they collected excess fees for extra baggage tags!
Kindness Goes a Long Way
Overall, it’s a heartwarming story of OP going out of their way to make someone’s day while sticking it to a slimy business person in the process.
She’ll Still Remember It
It’s a reminder that kindness goes a long way and that treating people well can pay off unexpectedly. It’s likely that Deborah still tells people about the lovely woman who upgraded her to business class and how much of a fantastic experience she had.
Particularly this story conjured up many positive memories from people who had experiences with other friendly airline employees who had upgraded them to business class. It goes to show that an act of kindness can affect people’s lives in unique ways!
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The post He Tried to Throw His Weight Around, but She Cleverly Got Out of Helping Him first appeared on Career Step Up.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Prostock-studio. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: Reddit
