Manager scolding employee for working on personal lappy steps back after learning whom it belongs to

Deceny is a crucial skill to have in any work setting. Especially when several people handle responsibilities at different levels, a lack of basic courtesy can surprisingly make for funny stories at the workplace. u/smohk1 shared a funny post when their middle-level manager got mad at them for working on the CEO's laptop. The post has gained 17.3K upvotes and 595 comments.

The individual worked in a tech-support role at their company. One day, their CEO walked in and asked if they could repair his personal laptop because it had a "very important thing" on it. Even though it was his personal laptop, the individual complied as they didn't want to get on the CEO's bad books. They write, "Later a middle mangler comes in and asks me to do something and I say "You're number 2 in line" and pointed to the (obviously not corporate) laptop I was fixing."

The middle-level manager did not like this and demanded that the individual call the laptop's owner and highlight how personal equipment could not be worked on in the office. The individual was in no mood to argue and decided to comply. They called the CEO and informed him that the middle-level manager had an issue. At that point, the CEO asked the individual to let him talk to the middle manager himself. The individual handed him the phone.

The manager began talking and his eyes "got real big" before he could finish his sentence when he realized it was the CEO he was talking to. The rest of the conversation was a series of "yes sir" and "no sir" before the CEO finally hung up. Naturally flustered, the middle manager asked the individual why he didn't tell him it was the CEO's personal laptop. They replied, "You didn't give me a chance and demanded I call them RIGHT NOW!"

People on the platform were amused with how the employee handled the situation and shared their insights in the comments section. A Reddit user said, "It's fine to question IT. Don't act like they're in the wrong before you hear the answer, though, or you'll end up in a very long queue for something that typically takes less than ten minutes to clear up." 

u/One_Consideration_44 shared, "That guy will never question you again. When asked why I was doing something, I would always say the top kick wanted it done ASAP. Never an argument, even when it wasn't remotely true. It never got me in trouble and got me promoted fast."

u/AaronRender said, "Many 'manglers' make snap decisions without gathering information first. They think it looks decisive and shows 'leadership.' No. It's stupid, but they get away with it because the repercussions are often delayed. I love seeing instances where the repercussions are immediate!" u/ErraticPhalanges commented, "I love this. Mangler was throwing weight around, trying to make a power move. I don't care what anyone else says- and this is exactly what happens when you can't keep your face in its place. You taught a very valuable lesson today. Good work."