A man was left gobsmacked when his “entitled” neighbour made an outrageous demand, and when he said he would do what she asked if she paid him, she claimed he was being “rude”
We all want to live cordially with our neighbours, but sometimes they can do things that make it difficult to get along with them. Offering your neighbour a tool they need to complete a DIY project, or agreeing to water their plants while they’re on holiday, are all important parts of community living, and you’d expect them to do the same for you. But favours between neighbours should be kept small and reasonable, or else you might get branded as a neighbour from hell for making outrageous demands. One man has branded his neighbour “entitled” after she asked him to do something for her and then criticised him when he asked for payment.
In a post on Reddit, the man explained that he was recently out in his garden mowing his lawn when his neighbour “from across the street” waved at him to get his attention.
She then asked him if he would mind mowing her lawn, too, since he already had his lawnmower out. When he laughed it off because he thought she was joking, she simply doubled down on her request.
He wrote: “I was mowing my lawn Saturday afternoon, sweating like hell, and just trying to get it done before it hit 90°F [32°C]. The neighbour across the street waved me down and said, ‘Hey, since you already have the mower out, mind doing mine too?’
“I laughed a little as I thought she was joking. She wasn’t. She added ‘It’s like, not even big, just the front part’.”
Not wanting to mow his neighbour’s lawn in hot weather without anything in return, the man tried to make another joke and asked if she was going to “hire” him to carry out the work, meaning he’d get paid for it.
He added: “I said, ‘Sure, no problem … Are you hiring me now?’ She looked at me like I was the rude one and just walked back inside.
“That was like three days ago, [and her] grass is still looking feral. Guess the mower being out wasn’t quite convenient enough.”
Commenters on the post were largely on the man’s side. Many said they would have offered to help if the neighbour had asked more sincerely, or if it had been an elderly neighbour who was struggling to keep up with their housework.
One person said: “If my neighbour were elderly or otherwise in a situation that made it difficult for them to mow their front lawn, I’d likely consider it. Guessing in this case, though, she’s just lazy.”
Another wrote: “I do both my neighbours’ lawns from time to time. I don’t mind being ‘neighbourly’, but I don’t want to be taken for granted.”
However, others said his neighbour was “entitled” to ask for the favour in the first place, and should have let it go when he laughed it off instead of pressing further.
A third posted: “There are some people who think that they can ask for anything, and it is your job to tell them no, instead of self-monitoring and realising that some things are not things you should ask for. It sounds like your neighbour is one of these.”
And someone else shared: “It’s a bit like when you’re washing the car and they tell you that theirs needs doing too. Laugh and ignore!”
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