Her boss refused to fire the ‘nightmare client’ who ruined Thanksgiving every year, so she took the holiday off. He returned in tears with one request
'It took five years for him to understand'
A worker (u/lil_tink_tink) at a printing company gave their boss a taste of their own medicine after he constantly refused to fire a “nightmare client.” Every year, on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, this client would send the company artwork for use in winter concerts, and the team had to bear the brunt of working on holidays. When they discussed the matter with their boss, he dismissed their concerns. Ultimately, the worker had the last laugh when one day he returned from a meeting with the client, with tears bursting from his eyes. Their October 1, 2026, Reddit post has since amassed over 25,000 upvotes.
Grinding during the holidays
This was a former company where the worker was employed and one of the clients was the director of a college. Every year, the director would send them the artwork on Wednesday noon before Thanksgiving, which kept the employee and their team grinding during the holidays. This continued to happen for four years, and the employee was now fed up. At this time, usually, their boss would be out of town to celebrate his anniversary.
That year, however, he wasn’t, so the worker tried to communicate the matter to him. “We were a startup when we got her as a client. We were desperate for the work in the early years, but by year 4 we were in a much better place and didn't need her business as bad, which is why I pushed so hard to fire her,” the author recalled.
Bearing an unjustified stress
Despite loving the company, the employee was frustrated with this client. The boss shrugged off the complaints until the employee took the matter in their own hands and said, "Since this project isn't that difficult, I figured I would let you know I'm taking this week off next year," they recalled. The boss drifted into a sullen and blaming mode. A year later, he received poetic justice for his dismissals when he visited the client and returned drenched in puddles of tears. She had humiliated him over his inability to manage his time around her projects. “He came back to the shop in literal tears, stating he had never been treated so horribly in his life,” the author described.
That year, he finished the project to maintain his company’s reputation in the school. But the following year, the worker took the matter in their own hands and charged the director $3,000 and $1,000 extra if she failed to send them the artwork on time. The employee snapped back and said, "He put me in charge; I'm the manager now." Cards had been flipped. Fuming, the director warned her to take her projects to some other company. Their purpose was served, and they were now celebrating it. Later on, she was put on a retirement notice. After this incident, the owner gave full authority to the employee to fire clients.
Priorities set right
Prioritizing employees over clients is a surefire way to ensure a company’s long-term success. Yet, a study by Columbia Business School analyzing S&P 500 earnings call transcripts found that corporate executives discuss customers 10 times more frequently than they discuss employees. On the flip side, a survey by Argyle, cited by HCA Magazine, found that 71% feel their employer extends that same level of care toward employees as their customers.
'It only took 5 years'
Reddit readers were relieved to hear that the author’s boss finally saw through the director’s narcissistic mask and stood up for his employee, although it took four years for him to understand. u/Suckerfornoirrobots commented, “Sounds like that boss owed you and your team several years' worth of apologies for dealing with her.” u/klydsp said, “This is the reason why I like being in a small agency office. My boss is present for day-to-day happenings, and if a client becomes a problem, they are told to go elsewhere. I love making that note in their file to not contact them in the future and cancelling their accounts.”
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