Always late but obsessed with punctuality — a candidate called out boss in front of the staff

A restaurant manager had a hardline rule she enforced on everyone except herself: punctuality. She would get so annoyed every time someone showed up late for an interview, but wouldn't mind making candidates wait for her. A bartender noticed it and decided to teach her a lesson. Every time a candidate left the interview before the manager arrived, they would make up stories and indirectly blame her for showing up late. Things escalated when they almost missed out on a strong candidate because of her tardiness. In the end, she had to call and practically beg the applicant to come back. The bartender (u/stewed-abuzz0a) shared the story on February 15. 

The manager would show up late to meetings without any genuine reason. In fact, she would either be in the back office doing nothing or be at home, yet wouldn't arrive on time for interviews. Once, the bartender noticed a guy waiting for her for over 30 minutes while the manager wasted time strolling around the restaurant. She even grabbed something to eat, spent an hour on the phone discussing a "non-urgent order," and then chatted with a regular customer for 15 minutes before even thinking about the interview. Frustrated, the candidate turned down the job. That's when the bartender came up with a perfect plan. "From then on, every time she was late and someone didn't show up, I'd make something up. I would tell her the person arrived right on time, waited a bit, and then left because she wasn't there," they explained. However, the manager would react as if nothing happened; ironically, she would accuse the candidates of not being responsible enough. "Her reaction gradually changed from dismissive, 'I guess they didn't want the job that badly' (by the way, we desperately need people), to confused, 'Why is everyone leaving? I was only a few minutes late,'" they recalled.

A few days later, a female candidate arrived for an interview and waited for about 15 minutes for the manager. The bartender approached her and said she could leave if she wanted to. The candidate said she would go down for a coffee, and the manager can call her back if she arrives within the next few minutes. "...my manager arrived 10 minutes later, and I told her the woman had just left, but she might be able to catch her if she called," the bartender recalled. In the end, the manager had to call the candidate, literally begging her to return. Once she arrived, the manager tried to act cool, but it made the situation even more awkward. "You know how Tuesday traffic is in this town! Haha," she justified herself, only to hear the candidate taunt her, "Yes, I do. That's why I left home early to make sure I'd be on time." Since that day, the manager has always shown up on time. She even offers them water or coffee to make them comfortable before the interview. 

Hypocrisy is something employees experience more often than not in workplaces. A survey of 1,000 U.S. employees by Resume Now found that the so-called rules that are supposed to be the same for all are often not upheld consistently or ethically. In fact, 70% of respondents said their leaders bend rules or play favorites at work. The survey also revealed that employees are holding back to avoid conflict or consequences. While 41% are comfortable raising ethical concerns, 11% fear retaliation if they confront management, and 54% feel pressured to act a certain way to fit the company's image.

Meanwhile, reacting to the Reddit post, u/captfattymcfatfat commented, "Good on you. People deserve to be respected." Similarly, u/substantialmark885 shared, "This is called managing up and shows that you could be quite ready to step up yourself if you wanted that." u/ok_ingenuity_9313 wrote, "It sounds like the manager had a screening strategy to hire staff that she could push around."

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