This Reddit user shared her tale of how she maliciously complied with some unfair rules set by her boss.
He’s Friends With the Boss
She’s a former regional airline employee who has a story to share about a particularly slimy businessman whom she calls SB.
SB was well 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 SB would turn up, the staff would roll their eyes; they knew what was coming.
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 used to always use the business class check-in line even when he was in economy. He didn’t have frequent flier status, but as he was friends with their VP, he could pull the strings when he wanted.
Demanding a Free Upgrade to Business Class
One day, SB showed up at the check-in counter and asked for a free upgrade to business class, citing his friendship with VP Karen as the reason why he should get one.
Unfortunately for SB, he was traveling on a discounted ticket that wasn’t eligible for an upgrade, even with an upgrade coupon, which he didn’t have.
The original poster (OP) informed him that he wasn’t eligible for an upgrade and gave him his boarding pass, sending him on his way.
If There Is Room
Of course, SB 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 OP was irritated but begrudgingly put SB on the upgrade list anyway. SB returned to the check-in counter with a smug look on his face, but then VP Karen’s words clicked with her: “if there is room.” A plan immediately formed in her head.
Happily Surprising a Polite and Unsuspecting Teacher
The next passenger she checked in was a super nice lady, 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.
The OP decided to do something nice for this teacher. 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!”
The teacher 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.
Sorry Sir, Business Class Is Full
By the time they went to board the flight, they had to tell SB that business class was full, and they couldn’t offer him an upgrade after all! The perfect malicious compliance!
When the business class passengers were boarding, the teacher thanked the OP again; she was so grateful for the upgrade. Little did she know that it had made the OP’s day too.
The 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.
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.
Check His Luggage
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!
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.
It’s a reminder that kindness goes a long way and that treating people well can pay off unexpectedly. It’s likely that the teacher still tells people about the lovely woman who upgraded her to business class and how much of a fantastic experience she had.
Getting One Over on him!
Reddit users loved this ex-airline workers story. They particularly enjoyed the fact that the OP was able to make the teacher’s day while also getting one over on SB!
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!
One Redditor said: I always try to give extra special service to the nice customers. They earned that reward.”
What do you think about this story? Isn’t it great how one act of kindness can change someone’s entire day? Would you have done the same?
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The post His Rude Demand for Upgrade Backfires Spectacularly When She Refuses Him With Kindness first appeared on The Net Worth Of.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / smoderek. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: Reddit