Barista's reply to chef making life miserable for staff is diabolical in its simplicity

No matter how good your job or work environment might be, everyone faces challenges at work. Whether it's a toxic boss, strict policies, discriminatory management, or unprofessional coworkers, work-related issues are something we all encounter. For a Reddit user, u/ProfessionalSky8494, the problem was an unprofessional chef whose inappropriate actions weren't addressed by management. Faced with this, the barista had to decide whether to handle it themselves or rely on management. They chose to take matters into their own hands.

This barista worked as a senior employee at a restaurant when things took a turn for the worse after a new chef was hired. The chef's rude and entitled behavior soon became a problem for several employees. "He spoke to the front of house and kitchen porters like trash because apparently, he used to work on some big yacht as a private chef," the barista shared in their post. But the chef's rudeness was just the beginning—he also harassed young female employees, frequently flirting with those between 16 and 20 years old. "He was in his late 40s and would always hit on any young girl... it got so bad he started cornering them in the kitchen and trying to 'flirt,'" the barista added. 

Naturally, the workers believed that it was best to report the "unprofessional" chef to the management. To their dismay, the management "didn't care" about the issue, which drove the barista to get back at him in their own style. "So I thought the only way I could get back was by making his 12-hour shift miserable by always giving him decaf and I told the other baristas to do the same," they revealed. For five months the "decaf" revenge was executed to perfection. The barista added, "He'd have 4 coffees and still be yawning." They mentioned in the comments that the chef's nuisance made some of the girls who worked at the restaurant quit. "He was fired for something else eventually. I did what was within my power," they added.

While this may sound like a sweet revenge, some did not find it acceptable. "I don’t find this funny. Don’t mess with people's drink or food. Period. End of discussion," said u/ZealousIdealEntry870. "No matter the reason, if you mess around with people's food/drinks, you deserve to go to jail and suffer hard. No sarcasm," remarked u/amigdala21. Responding to this comment, the barista replied, "To jail? I would never mess with a paying customer's food or drink. This was a chef who treated people around him like s**t and preyed on young girls even after being spoken to. Can we all have a little perspective here?" 

Others felt that the perverted chef deserved this punishment and even suggested hilarious alternatives. "I've heard of other people doing something similar but after a couple of months, they switch him to something with lots more caffeine and watch him zoom all over. Then back to decaf so the withdrawal causes him issues," said u/Toddw1968. "This is my go-to for rude people as a server! If you’re not talking to me like a human and you’re drinking coffee, you’re getting decaf today baby!" quipped u/kalrev. "He must not be very smart to not be able to tell the difference between caf and decaf. They can taste the same, but you can usually tell the 'bite' of it," chimed in u/DanteJazz.