This week, Reddit user u/InfiniteCalendar1 posed the question, "What is the most ridiculous thing someone has filed a complaint against you or someone you know about?"
And there were so many outrageous responses! Here are some of the top-voted answers:
1. "A colleague complained to my boss that I was mocking her because I had drawn a smiley face on a note to her. My reasoning behind this was to avoid her taking my note as a critique, but I guess she was just searching for a reason to complain."
2. "I worked at McDonald's. A man put a complaint in because I wouldn’t let him in after we’d already closed."
4. "I work at Walmart. A customer complained that I was on my phone the whole time. If you work at Walmart or any retail place, then you know we have those stupid Android handhelds. I use it to make sure grown adults aren’t stealing and to do age checks and stuff."
"My manager looked at the video and was like, 'Yeah. That’s not a phone. It’s just something she needs to do her job.' Customer just couldn’t comprehend that."
5. "I worked at Pier 1. On Black Friday, a woman tried to have me fired for putting her purchase in a paper bag with a tear at the top."
6. "A coworker hugged me when I gave her a birthday present. Later, I was pulled into my supervisor's office because someone reported us for 'inappropriate PDA.'"
7. "Working in retail, I once said, 'You guys have a great day.' I was reported by an elderly woman who objected to not being addressed as 'ma'am.'"
"She also objected to 'have a great day' because she had come into the aquarium store because her fish was dead, and she was upset that someone would tell her to 'have a great day' when her fish had died."
8. "I once was told there was a high-level meeting being held about me…on account of my emails being written too well."
"I can write quick, well-worded emails, and someone in upper management thought that I must have been spending too much time writing my emails, possibly as a means of appearing superior to others."
9. "I made banana bread to share with a group, just to be nice. Someone actually complained to the supervisor that I didn’t bring butter. They were extremely pissed off about it."
10. "A friend was a contract engineer for a tech giant. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, contractors are second-class citizens. If there's a perk employees get, assume that it is off limits for contractors. She did some above and beyond work for an employee, so that employee took her to the admin's desk and let her select a piece of candy as a thank you (the candy jar and contents were paid for by the company)."
"The admin witnessed this and reported her for stealing company property. If the employee had taken a random piece of candy and given it to my friend, all would have been fine. But we can't let the subhuman pick their own treat!"
11. "Nursing assistant here. Had a lady report directly to the hospital supervisor because I told her I’d be back with her ice chips in about 5 minutes and took 15 minutes. It was because a gentleman down the hall was about to piss his pants, and my apology wasn’t enough apparently."
12. "I once had a coworker file an HR complaint against me for reading books at lunch."
13. "While working in retail many years ago, I had a customer complain to my manager that I was too ‘happy’ while helping her at the till, that she believed I was actually being rude and insincere on purpose. I got a verbal warning and a write-up."
14. "My husband is a dentist. A new patient reported him to the Board of Dentistry for recommending that she get her teeth cleaned."
15. And finally, "I’m a firefighter and had a citizen complaint. I wouldn’t take my boots off while entering a lady’s house. It is against our protocol to take off any of our safety gear. Her house was actively on fire when she made the request."
Has anyone made a ridiculous complaint about you before? LMK in the comments below!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.