New accountant forces employee to take 'shortest route' to save $5.85 — racks up a massive bill instead

A user on Reddit shared how their employer forced them to take the "shortest possible route" between two offices to save money, but that change turned into a costly lesson in how penny-pinching policies can backfire. The user, u/newtekie1, explained in a post, which gained 27k upvotes, that their job required them to drive between two offices each day, starting at their main office, traveling to a second location, and returning. "Because I'm using my personal vehicle for this travel, the company pays me mileage," they wrote.

There were two possible routes between the offices — one was about a mile shorter but had tolls, while the other was slightly longer and toll-free. "I always took the 1-mile longer route and avoided the tolls. I did it this way for a year," they wrote. That changed when a new bookkeeper arrived who, according to the post, was "hellbent on saving the company money." The employee said she began cutting costs on every expense report she reviewed, even going so far as to look up cheaper prices online for items like pens and only reimbursing employees for that lower price. "It, obviously, has pissed several people off," the worker wrote.

When she reviewed his mileage report, she deducted $5.85 and told him he had been "ripping off the company" by taking the longer route. From then on, she would only reimburse mileage for the shorter route. The worker asked her to confirm in writing that this was company policy. She agreed, sending him an email before he even reached his desk. Two weeks later, he submitted his report again, this time documenting the shorter route. The company saved $5.85 in mileage reimbursement but had to pay $136 in tolls. The net result was a $130.15 loss every two weeks. 

"It’s been 6 months and I’m still 'taking the shorter route' costing the company an extra $130.15 every 2 weeks," he wrote. Research has shown that this kind of outcome is common when organizations impose rigid rules without checking their long-term effects. A modeling paper published titled What Leads to Administrative Bloat?, found that when companies create new processes to cut costs but fail to review or remove outdated ones, the result is often higher expenses and wasted resources. The authors demonstrated that each additional rule can push employees into less efficient choices, creating new layers of expense.

Commenters called the move both clever and justified. u/mybossthinksimworkng advised, "If they ask you to change to your former route, please make sure you demand you will only do it AFTER they reimburse you the $5.85 they stole from you." u/TellThemISaidHi added, "As someone who travels for work, dear lord this is beautiful. There are few things more annoying than someone who never travels going line by line looking to save twenty cents so they can write themselves up for an award." u/Conscious-Arm-7889 suggested, "You could always play the 'I’m having problems with my car, so can’t use it. If you want me to drive between offices, you’re going to have to supply me with a car at your expense card!"

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