rSlash - r/Maliciouscompliance How I Destroyed My Boss's Terrible Business

Episode Date: February 24, 2021

r/Maliciouscompliance In today's episode, OP starts a new job at a tech company. The commute is pretty bad and the pay is even worse, but he's desperate for cash. He quickly discovers that his new boss is absolutely terrible at his job, mean, and just plain lazy. The boss eventually tells OP that they're going to significantly cut his salary, which is the last straw. OP sets in motion a series of events that culminates in his boss's business crumbling into dust. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Welcome to our slash a podcast where I read the best post from across Reddit. Today's subreddit is our slash malicious compliance where OP helps destroy his boss's company. Our next reddit post is from technical biking. This story has a few characters. Chad, the hiring chief technology officer, Richard, the CEO and the brother of Chad. Big bro who is an engineer worker and Eddie and IT and desktop support guy. This takes place near the very beginning of my software engineering career back in 0506. I just been let go from my previous place of employment due to being compliant with directives I just been given. And thus working myself out of a job. I was a young college dropout from a

technical college that hadn't been federally accredited yet. And thus, all my student loans were from bank and loan companies instead of from Uncle Sam, and debts were due. I was also making payments on my very first car, even though it was a beer that the prior owners had already nearly driven into the ground. It was 4 years old with nearly 200,000 miles on it when I bought it. And on top of all that, rant and utilities. The job I'd been let go from already had me working paycheck to paycheck as they paid far under average rate. But I was still a new professional so I couldn't be very choosy. I was also living in LA so the cost of living was so bad I was having to choose which bills were going to be laid on a monthly basis.

Specifically I was living in a town called San Pedro, a small town tucked fairly out of the way. After blasting my resume to all the job boards I got a call from a startup who seemed interested in my resume and wanted me to come in for a base-to-face interview skipping the call screen entirely. In my desperation, I agree. I'm given an address, which is all the way up in Woodland Hills. I check online, and it's a 55-minute drive if there's no traffic.

With traffic, it looks like the commute will be closer to an hour and 45 minutes each way. I'm desperate, though, and literally nobody else has reached out to me about my resume or responded to my application. So I go to the interview. I arrived to a mostly empty office complex, maybe six or seven other cars in a parking lot capable of holding at least 50. I go into the building mentioned in the address and call the phone number I was given to let them know I'd arrived. Inter Chad. Chad comes to meet me and he seems excited that I'm there. He has course me through the building to an office. Mind you, as far as I can see, we're the only two

humans in the building. He gives me the pitch for the company and tells me that he built the software being sold, but it's not scalable. And he needs someone who can rewrite it. After we go through the whole interview song and dance, he offers me the job on the spot. The pay is marginally higher than the last gig, so I figure gas would be covered for the commute. I agree and we shake hands as I'm going to be starting the next Monday. Red flag started appearing from the very first minute that I arrived on Monday. First, I'm giving a tour, which consists of the 14 by 14 office I'm going to be sharing with Chad, as well as another engineer who's going to be starting the following Monday. First, I'm given a tour, which consists of the 14 by 14 office I'm going

to be sharing with Chad, as well as another engineer who's going to be starting the following Monday. I'm not a fan of having someone able to look over my shoulder, it makes me nervous. I ask why each engineer's desk has two computers and Chad replies. Because the one you'll be writing code on doesn't have internet access for security purposes. Note, this was pure paranoia. There was nothing about this software that required such tight security. We weren't doing any government contracts or anything of the sort. Then, a messcorded clear across the building to meet with the CEO, Richard, the IT guy, Eddie, and the sales support team. I'm told that half of the team is supporting the existing version of the application, Two people are selling the existing version to new clients or trying to.

And one person is explicitly tasked with selling the new version. The one that I haven't even started on yet. I'm still young and dumb at this point, but even I know this means a sales person is probably giving out a date when the customer should expect their purchase to be filled. Chad said, It's a good thing you started when you did. We've been telling customers it'll be ready in June. Did I mention that all this happened in February? Apparently, I've agreed to rewrite,

test, and package an entire application that I've never seen before, and approximately four months. So, the tour being done, I said down to get to work. After jumping through a bunch of hoops of getting the software, I prefer to download it onto the actual work machine, as well as the code. I said about reviewing codes so horrific, I've not seen it's like since. And there wasn't a single comment in the entire thing. Before I can ask Chad a single question,

he tells me he's headed to downtown LA to scalp some tickets for a Lakers game, and that'll see me tomorrow. So now I'm left alone in the office with this abomination. A machine that's been completely hamstrung and the only thing I've got to control myself is the fact that at least I'm employed again. Fast forward a week and I documented the book of the code because there wasn't any documentation and the boss and I do not get along.

He's mad because I haven't written any substantial code and I'm frustrated because I'm just trying to understand a lot of what this code is trying to do. And he's routinely leaving around noon to go sell his tickets for Lakers games, or he's just not in the office because he's chatting with someone else. When he's in the office, I show him my documentation and I try to get him to verify or describe the purpose of the code where all I can say is what? But the end of the office, I show him my documentation and I try to get him to verify or describe the purpose of the code Where all I can say is what? By the end of the week, I covered about 30% of the project in a wiki-like document

And I've taken the leaving after sunset so I can A, get more done B, have a shorter commute, and C, drive when my car isn't enough in. My C didn't work I've barely managed to convince the CTO that what I'm doing is necessary so the engineer starting the next Monday doesn't have to do all the stuff that I did, which would make us a much more efficient team. Monday arrives, and in comes Big Bro. I call him this because he was a much more experienced engineer than I was. We spend the first day with him getting set up than us reviewing what I've documented. He manages to answer some questions that the CTO never did, just because he's that

much better, and I start to feel more confident. Over the next few weeks, Big Bro took me under as wing as an engineer, teaching me best practices, standards, and where my plans are good and where they could be better. If it hadn't been for him, I'd have gone insane! I ended up joining him outside for smoke breaks, even though I don't smoke, just so I can get a breath of non-office air. He and I discussed the project, and we also make friends with Eddie who makes us laugh by telling us horror stories about the CTO and CEO.

Apparently, he was a school friend of theirs and basically worked with him because they paid him to do something that he felt was super easy. April rolls around. I've got a special occasion that I need the day off for, which happens to be a Wednesday that year. I'd advise the CTO when I first started and he'd been cool with it. I remind him on April 2nd and he LOOSES it. He goes off on a rant and straight up informs me that he regrets hiring me, claiming that I didn't have the skills that I told him I did, and I wasn't worth what I was being paid. How were definitely not halfway done, more like one third.

And it's already been decided that Juno's a lost cause and that we're shooting for August now. By the way, that happened that I started before, of leaving after the sun went down. Yeah, that never stopped. I was arriving at 9 a.m. every day and leaving around 10 p.m. every night, trying my best. Big bro was the same and he would stay late with us just because we liked hanging out together. So it would be understandable that I was very close to losing it right there. In a strained yet diplomatic voice, I told him that if he put in the same amount of work to help us as we put in to rewrite his code, we'd probably be a lot closer to done than we were, especially given the 12 hour days.

He was not a fan of that and switched straight up yelling, blaming us for the lost sales and refund due to delays, and that the only way he'd get us off our backs was to get the project done. This entire time, Big Bro was just sitting there and said nothing to back me up. Chad didn't let the office for a bit and I just declared that I was taking my lunch and would be back in an hour. I felt frustrated by Chad and betrayed by Big Bro who I felt rightly or not should have had my back since we were in the same boat.

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sharing peppermint mocus, or closing up for family movie night with hot chocolates and caramel brule la latte. There's a holiday flavor to savor for every moment. Sharing the joy and sip on some magic all season long with the Starbucks app. When we were both back in the office, Chad apologized for yelling and told me

that since he agreed when I was hired, I could have my day off. I apologize to, although not for anything specific. I just didn't want to talk to him anymore and figure that was the fastest way to end the conversation. Fast forward to June and the opportunity for malicious compliance. Over the last two months, Chad has been getting

worse and worse. He's yelling nearly every day and still leaving early too. Big bro and Eddy are also feeling the pain. Nobody is safe from his ego. The smoke breaks in the afternoon and evening portion of her day are when we're the most productive because nobody can focus until Chad leaves. The first Monday in June rolls around and Chad and Vice-Middle go on a walk outside for a one-on-one meeting. I figured I'm being fired. At this point, we've had to refactor the rewrite almost entirely due to a missing critical chunk of functionality, and we're still only 60% done.

August release is looking less and less sure. Chad informed me that he hired a third engineer, but in order to stay in the budget and pay him, he's cutting my salary in half. I stop on the spot and just give him a blank look. Are you serious? I ask, I'm barely able to pay for my bills and the gas required to commute here as it is.

If you cut my salary at all, I won't be able to afford to live. At this point, the fact that I would have to be less productive to help onboard the new engineer so he can help us meet the deadline doesn't even occur to me. Although, in hindsight, that would have also been a pretty major issue. Chad brushes me off. That's not my problem. The fact that you missed one deadline and look like you're gonna miss another is.

If you've got a problem with that, you're more than welcome to go find another job. The new guy starts in two weeks. And with that, he walks inside. I had just been told that I had two weeks left of job at my current salary. So that day, I do something that I hadn't done since I first started. I left while the sun was still up, specifically 5 p.m.

I drove my oven car through traffic and updated my resume before reactivating my accounts on all the job sites. I'm contacted the next day by a potential new employer and I get an interview scheduled. I decided to tell Big Bro about the new opportunity, and he hits me with news that lets me know just how small of a world we live in. Hey Big Bro, just FYI have I've started looking for a new job. I've already got an interview lined up. Really? Where?

Over at Sushin's such company. Wow, that's why I worked before I came here. That place is pretty awesome, and I left there on pretty good terms. I know the CTO there. Go ahead and use me as a reference. Really? Okay. Turns out Big Bro was true to his word,

and the CTO and I even talked about Big Bro during the interview. Apparently they'd already talked about me and Big Bro had been the ultimate hype man, confirming everything I said about why I was looking for a new job and everything. Everything went well and I signed an offer later that Friday afternoon. Chad had already left for the day, so there was no one to look over my shoulders so I could use a computer that did have internet to get this done at this New job my commute was cut by more than half and it came with a pretty significant raise

I tell Big Bro and Eddie on the last smoke break that I'm done that I found something new Oddly enough, they both smile and wish me luck. No hard feelings. Hope we stay in touch Odd, but I'd stop really caring about anything related to that job So I paid it no mind. I went back inside, packed up my stuff into my backpack, and walked into the CEO's office. Hey, Richard, got him in it? Hey OP, what's up?

Just wanted to let you know that I found a new job, so I'm moving on. Really? Why? We need you! You guys decided that it was cool to cut my salary to a point where I couldn't afford to live. Chad said if I didn't like it I should look for something new, so I did. Richard looking defeated said, well, when's your last day?

Today. Richard, now pissed, says, we need you here to train the new guy who starts soon. Hey, I did train myself and to an extent Big Bro when he first started. The new guy should be able to as well. And with that, I left for greener pastures. Four months later, Big Bro texted me to ask me how things are going. I tell him things are great, and we schedule a lunchtime call because apparently things have gone sideways in a huge way.

Apparently Chad came in on Monday almost violently angry and demanded the Eddie re-image my work machine first thing in the morning, which erases everything that I left on there. Big bro comes in an hour later and he and Chad discuss the new timeline for the project. Somewhere in there, apparently Big bro asked Chad to log into the admin account on my old work machine so we could pull the documents out accumulated about the planned architecture, the existing code, meeting notes, etc. Chad responded by punching a hole in the wall and leaving for the day, probably to go to the hospital to deal with his hand.

Big bro then spent the rest of that week ostensibly working on recreating that documentation from scratch. When I asked how the new guy handled the new documentation, Big bro laughed and told me that there was never any documentation. Apparently he and Eddie had become really good friends in the months that we worked there, documentation, Big Bro laughed and told me that there was never any documentation. Apparently he and Eddie had become really good friends in the months that we worked there to the point where they'd become roommates about a month before I left. More than that though, they decided to start a freelance consulting business together and only had to decide

on when to make that their full-time jobs. Neither of them liked Chad much and they wanted to make their departure hurt as much as possible. So they decided to make Big Bro's last day the day before the new guy starts, and Eddie would quit shortly afterwards, sticking around just long enough to watch the bomb go off. Did I mention that Big Bro never told Chad that he was quitting? Yeah, he just didn't show up on that Monday. He had, however, email that documentation that he'd spent a week writing to Chad. Turns out, he wasn't writing documentation code at all. He'd spent a week writing a letter explaining an excruciating detail why Chad was such a bad

boss. And he'd emailed it to everyone in the company. I asked if he still had it so I could read it and he sent it to me out for the call. Thankfully, like the big helper that he was, Eddie had ensured that the new guy's email was set up in their proper groups before the email was sent. So the new guy's first email in the company was a novel about the kind of person he'd agreed to work for. Apparently, Chad thought it was appropriate to take his frustration out on the new guy,

who'd apparently read a significant portion of the email before Chad shoved him away from his desk and deleted it. Apparently the new guy promptly decided and, rightfully so, that agreeing to work for Chad had been a mistake, packed up his things and quit on the spot. With the new guy quitting, the August deadline was now a little more than a dream within a dream, which, according to Eddie, didn't stop Chad and Richard from trying to find that miracle rock star engineer who could save them from their own situation, which, given what they were offering to pay, didn't exist. So, time advances in its own unstoppable way, and August arrived. Customers found out they'd paid for something that hadn't been delivered yet, and pretty much unanimously demanded refunds, with a few customers bringing legal action

against them. With the amount they had to refund and the money they needed for legal fees, they could no longer afford to pay anyone and were forced to start a business. Also, the way they were incorporated, they were personally liable. That was our slash malicious compliance and if you like this content, check out my Patreon where I publish extra episodes. Also, be sure to follow this podcast, because I put on your Reddit podcast episodes every single day.