Redditor’s company was a ‘mess’ and yet demanded he write a company review. So he complied to write a ‘brutally honest, mathematically precise review’

A recent story from the subreddit Malicious Compliance gives an example of what happens when a boss pushes a former employee too far. A Reddit user known as Hopplafish shared his experience of working as a specialist at a small planning and design firm in Germany, where he alleges the environment was a total mess. 

According to him, the pay was a joke, and the leadership was completely unpredictable. Additionally, the firm allegedly expected him to handle the duties of a fully qualified project manager without the appropriate support or compensation. He claimed that the turnover rate at the company was quite high. He wrote that three colleagues left around the same time as him. 

During his four years there, he alleged that his boss went through five different assistants. Eventually, he decided to move to a different city for a fresh start. Interestingly, a week after his last day, he stated that his former boss reached out via text to casually ask him to “please leave a review” for the firm on a local job review site. Hopplafish noted that his boss seemed to genuinely believe that they parted on good terms and expected a 5-star rating to boost the firm’s score.

He was spurred into action not long after

Hopplafish wrote that he initially ignored the request, but things changed when he checked the company page a few days later. Apparently, he discovered three new 4.5-star reviews posted in the same week that he believed were clearly faked by management. He observed that the reviews used identical HR buzzwords. Phrases like “great work-life balance” and “amazing health benefits.” He pointed out that the latter was just 15 minutes of stretching on Wednesdays. 

That is when he remembered the earlier text and decided it was time to comply. “I sat down and wrote a brutally honest, mathematically precise review. I kept it completely professional and entirely subjective (“In my experience…”, “I felt that…”) so they couldn’t legally sue me to take it down. I gave them 1 and 2 stars in almost every category, explicitly mentioning the lack of support, the horrible communication, and the heavy workload.”

He told Reddit that he then “reported the three new 4.5-star reviews for manipulation, pointing out the identical wording and the fact that they were posted at the exact same time.” Less than four hours later, two of the three fake reviews were deleted by the platform. He stated that they were likely caught by the platform’s automated spam filter. He alleged that the boss likely posted them from the same office IP address. 

With his honest 1-star review dragging the average down, he claimed that his former boss entered a state of panic. The boss texted him again, this time with several typos, desperately asking for a positive review. Hopplafish left the message unread once more.

According to Employer Branding News, review sites are now an integral part of how employees and consumers make decisions. Much like travelers using TripAdvisor, job seekers are reportedly turning to platforms like Glassdoor to vet potential employers. 

The data shows that 86% of job seekers are likely to be influenced by reviews when deciding where to apply. Ignoring these platforms or attempting to manipulate them can reportedly lead to significant brand damage and talent drain.

Reddit loved Hopplafish’s actions. One commenter wrote, “Bravo sir. This was well-played malicious compliance. And as they say, be careful what you wish for.” Others shared their own frustrations with fake reviews. One user wrote, “My company has asked the same thing after someone left an honest bad review. I can tell who left good reviews after asking us to leave good reviews…it should be illegal.”

Ultimately, the firm’s attempt to force a positive reputation seemed to backfire. A colleague still working at the firm told Hopplafish that his review hit the nail on the head. After that, the management apparently became more accommodating out of fear that other staff might follow him out the door. The firm did not comment on the story.

As Employer Branding News suggests, companies should focus on encouraging balanced, honest feedback. Resorting to faking reviews only increases the risk of further tarnishing their reputation when the truth comes to light. 

Recently, a Colorado TikToker shared the meeting where she publicly quit in front of the staff, and last year, an insurance salesman became an instant hit for exposing his ‘toxic manager.’