A manager at a successful small business was shocked to receive what appeared to be a phishing email: a request to Venmo $100 to the company president. The supposed reason? A collective gift for the owner. But it wasn’t a scam. It was real. And, obviously, not optional.
The Reddit post, shared under r/smallbusiness, came from an employee who had been with the 80-person company for just under a year. The business brings in about $50 million in revenue and has no debt. Although happy with the role overall, the manager was surprised by the unexpected demand.
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“Each person’s contribution is $100. Please Venmo me when you have a chance,” the email read. It was sent to 17 managers, contributing a total of $1,700 to cover a luxury fish subscription for the company owner. The message came from the president, who is also the nephew of the owner and is reportedly preparing to take over the business.
“My first instinct was to report the email as phishing because I thought this guy wasn’t asking us all to Venmo for $100,” the original poster wrote. But on closer inspection, it was legitimate: “The head of HR and IT were both on the line.”
The tone of the email did not make the contribution optional, and the employee questioned the entire premise. “Can’t we just give the guy a tie? Isn’t the labor we put into making him a million dollar salary our gift to him?”
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Commenters flooded in, and the consensus was clear. Most business owners said they would be horrified if their employees gave them expensive gifts. One owner wrote, “This is bat*t unhinged behavior.” “Gifts flow down, not up,” said another. Many employers prefer to give their employees holiday bonuses and thoughtful gifts, not the other way around.
One commenter summed it up: “I’m going to be mad at whoever arranged this and I’m going to pay everyone back.”
There were also concerns about power dynamics. “The fact that this family member is in the top spot collecting $100 seems odd,” wrote another. Some even speculated that Nephew was setting an example for his own leadership style, or worse, trying to pocket the money.
