Kid Cuts Neighbors’ Lawn To Earn Some Cash, Man Refuses To Pay Him, Mom Goes Livid
Interview With Expert“A fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work” has long been the aim of the labor movement, trade unions, and other workers’ groups. It’s also a motto of the American Federation of Labor and is at the heart of cutting an equitable deal.
For one guy, he was confused when a neighborhood kid showed up and started cutting his front lawn out of nowhere. After confronting him, the kid said he does it for all the neighbors and they pay him $5. Having struck no such deal, the guy refused to pay him, and then the kid’s mother got involved.
More info: Reddit
These days almost everyone needs a side hustle, but for this neighborhood kid, his grass-cutting gamble didn’t pay off
Image credits: user18526052 / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Without asking or being asked, he started cutting a guy’s lawn until the guy saw and stopped him, then demanded $5 for doing a quarter of the job
Image credits: Karolina Kaboompics / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The guy told him they hadn’t made any kind of deal upfront, so he wouldn’t be paying him
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The kid left quietly, but the next day his mom showed up at the guy’s door angry that her kid didn’t get paid
Image credits: Acceptable-Essay-490
He told her there was no prior arrangement made so there would be no payment, but now wonders if that was a jerk move
OP begins his story by telling the community that he recently bought his first house, likes the neighborhood and is settling in nicely. He adds that a few neighbors even came by to introduce themselves, including a woman in her early forties and her 13-year-old son.
Not long after that, OP was kicking back on his couch when he noticed the teen cutting his front lawn. When he confronted him, the teen told him he does it for all the neighbors and they pay him $5 a cut. OP thanked him for his partial work but explained he wouldn’t be paying him because he hadn’t asked for his services.
The next day, the kid’s angry mother showed up on OP’s doorstep and asked him why her son hadn’t been paid.
OP told her that her son hadn’t offered, and he hadn’t asked, but she wouldn’t accept his reasoning, telling him $5 isn’t a lot of money and he could have just paid it. OP responded by saying an arrangement like this needs to be made upfront, otherwise it’s nothing but a random demand for money.
OP says the woman basically tuned him out and walked away from him while he was talking to her, leaving him surprised that the adult in the situation was handling it worse than her literal child.
Since then, she’s been staring daggers at OP and crossing the street whenever she sees him. OP says he has no desire to speak to her anyway but is thinking she might try to send the kid over to ask for the money or mow the lawn again.
He’s vented to friends and family about the situation and, while most seem to agree with him, others say he should’ve just paid the kid and told him not to cut the lawn again. Now OP’s wondering if he’s the jerk in the situation and has turned to netizens for advice.
You can’t knock the kid for having an entrepreneurial spirit, but if he’s going to have any real success, he’ll need to brush up on some basic business skills, starting with the art of negotiation.
Image credits: Wynand van Poortvliet / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
As it stands, he didn’t give OP the chance to strike any sort of deal and just went ahead with an unsolicited job before demanding payment out of nowhere. That’s simply not the way the market works.
According to the Crimson Education website, teens that start a business when they’re in high school develop essential life skills while navigating real-world challenges.
By honing abilities such as time management, problem solving, decision making, and financial literacy, for example, they lay a solid foundation for future success in both their personal and business lives.
The site goes on to list several tips for launching a successful business while you’re in high school, which OP’s neighbor’s kid is headed to next year, as it happens.
Some of these include identifying your passion and skill set, creating a unique selling proposition that makes your business stand out from the crowd, networking with local businesses and organizations, and offering exceptional customer service.
According to a 2021 study by Junior Achievement USA, a remarkable 60% of young individuals expressed a preference for starting their own business over pursuing a traditional job. The trend has only grown since then.
Who knows, the kid might go on to build a landscaping empire with a shrewd attitude and a bit of luck, but perhaps he should start by firing his mom – she’s terrible at PR.
Bored Panda reached out to Claire Wheeler, the visionary behind Kid Biz Academy to get her take on the situation.
When we asked her what she thought of the neighbor’s decision to not pay the teen for unsolicited work, she had this to say, “I think that on this instance, I definitely believe that it is a good learning experience for the child. I think the neighbor’s decision not to pay, although to the child and his mother may seem harsh, is warranted and a real-world learning experience for the child.”
Wheeler went on to add that, when starting a business, there is great joy and learning that comes with it, such as working out your target market, marketing your services, working on a sales pitch, the confidence that’s built by knocking on the door and selling your service or product, creating flyers, dealing with people when they approach or call your business and negotiating a price.
“All of these things are great learning, growth and confidence building experiences,” says Wheeler.
We asked Wheeler for one piece of advice she’d offer the budding landscaper.
She responded, “My advice to the landscaper going forward is to not give up! He already seems to have a growing number of clients in the neighborhood and can expand on that with marketing and word of mouth referrals. Most adults are more than happy to support a young person’s business so keep going – just remember to ask and agree on a price first.”
What do you think of OP’s situation? Was it a jerk move, or was the kid’s mom the actual jerk? Let us know your opinion in the comments!
In the comments, Redditors said they felt bad for the kid but slammed the mother for her rude and entitled behavior and wondered if she was keeping the kid’s cash for herself
Poll Question
Thanks! Check out the results:
It's a form of passive coercion - I did X and now you need to pay for it, whether you wanted X or not. Just a step away from a protection racket.
The mom is the AH not the kid. This is learned behavior. You did nothing wrong. The people telling you you should have paid the kid are as bad as the mother. She is trashy.
This is a scam and needs to be nipped in the bud. It's like the panhandlers at traffic lights "washing" windscreens unsolicited and demanding money. It is in no way a "nice gesture" and should not be rewarded. Right now it's a 13 year old asking for $5 bucks for unsolicited mowing, but it's actually teaching the kid a very dishonest and antisocial "business model". OP needs to talk to the neighbours and make sure everyone agrees, and refuses to pay for unsolicited work. Going door to door offering lawn mowing for $5 bucks is great. Mowing without permission and mum extorting money afterwards is the start of a criminal enterprise.
I'd have given the kid the $5, advise him that it's better to ask beforehand, and not to do it again unless he asks first. $5 is pretty damn cheap.
I wrestled with this. I would have paid him too, but I understand why the OP didn't. While you or I may think $5 is nbd, what if someone were in a situation where they were really pinching pennies that month? You've gotta ask first, and hopefully the young guy will learn that valuable lesson. If it were me, and he asked, I would have offered far more than $5.
Load More Replies...OP - "I taught your kid a valuable lesson about basic contracting. That will be $250 for the consult, please."
It could have been a teachable moment. "Kid, just offer to mow lawns for whatever fee and see who takes up the offer."
Load More Replies...It's not "a kind gesture" if you're expecting money in return. That's called a SHAKEDOWN.
Mon reminded me the gypsies here, who arbitrarily change absolutely good windscreen wipers, when the cars are parked out of malls or super markets, and demand to get paid.
I was thinking of the guys who jump out in traffic at red light to "wash" your windshield.
Load More Replies...I don't blame the kid at all. He didn't cause a scene and just left. Maybe he complained to his mom but either way he wasn't an AH to OP. His mom is obviously the AH. Frankly, while it could be considered 'coercion' or whatever and yes he should ask first whether someone wants thei lanw mowed, at least the kid is out there doing something to earn some money. Frankly, I would've just paid and then let him know that I wouldn't need him to mow my lawn in the future.
Mom needs to the pay the kid $5 for sending him over do the job. She contracted him- not OP.
No different from the guys who run up and clean your windshield, and then demand money at the stoplight. If the mother genuinely wanted the kid to do well with this business, she would tell him to mow the new neighbor's lawn once for free and then offer to do it for pay after that.
This smells of child labor or neglect. For hundreds of years this has been a practice of poor parents to send the kids out to do these types of hustles. I would have let him finish and give him a $5 bill and a $10 so he could keep the $10 for himself with the understanding that I like cutting my own lawn.
He should start mowing the lawns before the kid can to put him out of business.
NTA. I hope the kiddo really heard the 'I wasn't asked' part. Kind gestures don't result in expectations of tips/payment. $5 or not, Mom should know better. What if the kid got injured while mowing your lawn? While not on you for that happening, that's another headache 2.0 down the road.
NTA, but I would've just let him do it, pay him, and advise he ask next time. You just moved into the neighborhood and don't want to have bad blood from the beginning. I go to my parent's house every few weeks to mow their lawn. I would GLADLY pay a neighborhood kid $5 to mow their small lawn so I didn't have to lol
I am glad the Ivan explained in excruciating detail what the OP wrote so clearly in his post.
Really? Nta? It's $5. But Reddit peeps are burning to be petty. I would have paid and just asked not to do it again.
I would have done the same thing, but only because he's a kid. If an adult mowed my lawn unsolicited and asked for payment I'd tell them to f**k off. I'd thank the kid and give him the five bucks but I'd politely ask him not to come back. It takes me ten minutes to mow my front lawn, it's not a job I need to contract out.
Load More Replies...This has nothing to do with the amount the kid is charging. If you do not see that then you are just as bad as the mother in this story.
Load More Replies...It's a form of passive coercion - I did X and now you need to pay for it, whether you wanted X or not. Just a step away from a protection racket.
The mom is the AH not the kid. This is learned behavior. You did nothing wrong. The people telling you you should have paid the kid are as bad as the mother. She is trashy.
This is a scam and needs to be nipped in the bud. It's like the panhandlers at traffic lights "washing" windscreens unsolicited and demanding money. It is in no way a "nice gesture" and should not be rewarded. Right now it's a 13 year old asking for $5 bucks for unsolicited mowing, but it's actually teaching the kid a very dishonest and antisocial "business model". OP needs to talk to the neighbours and make sure everyone agrees, and refuses to pay for unsolicited work. Going door to door offering lawn mowing for $5 bucks is great. Mowing without permission and mum extorting money afterwards is the start of a criminal enterprise.
I'd have given the kid the $5, advise him that it's better to ask beforehand, and not to do it again unless he asks first. $5 is pretty damn cheap.
I wrestled with this. I would have paid him too, but I understand why the OP didn't. While you or I may think $5 is nbd, what if someone were in a situation where they were really pinching pennies that month? You've gotta ask first, and hopefully the young guy will learn that valuable lesson. If it were me, and he asked, I would have offered far more than $5.
Load More Replies...OP - "I taught your kid a valuable lesson about basic contracting. That will be $250 for the consult, please."
It could have been a teachable moment. "Kid, just offer to mow lawns for whatever fee and see who takes up the offer."
Load More Replies...It's not "a kind gesture" if you're expecting money in return. That's called a SHAKEDOWN.
Mon reminded me the gypsies here, who arbitrarily change absolutely good windscreen wipers, when the cars are parked out of malls or super markets, and demand to get paid.
I was thinking of the guys who jump out in traffic at red light to "wash" your windshield.
Load More Replies...I don't blame the kid at all. He didn't cause a scene and just left. Maybe he complained to his mom but either way he wasn't an AH to OP. His mom is obviously the AH. Frankly, while it could be considered 'coercion' or whatever and yes he should ask first whether someone wants thei lanw mowed, at least the kid is out there doing something to earn some money. Frankly, I would've just paid and then let him know that I wouldn't need him to mow my lawn in the future.
Mom needs to the pay the kid $5 for sending him over do the job. She contracted him- not OP.
No different from the guys who run up and clean your windshield, and then demand money at the stoplight. If the mother genuinely wanted the kid to do well with this business, she would tell him to mow the new neighbor's lawn once for free and then offer to do it for pay after that.
This smells of child labor or neglect. For hundreds of years this has been a practice of poor parents to send the kids out to do these types of hustles. I would have let him finish and give him a $5 bill and a $10 so he could keep the $10 for himself with the understanding that I like cutting my own lawn.
He should start mowing the lawns before the kid can to put him out of business.
NTA. I hope the kiddo really heard the 'I wasn't asked' part. Kind gestures don't result in expectations of tips/payment. $5 or not, Mom should know better. What if the kid got injured while mowing your lawn? While not on you for that happening, that's another headache 2.0 down the road.
NTA, but I would've just let him do it, pay him, and advise he ask next time. You just moved into the neighborhood and don't want to have bad blood from the beginning. I go to my parent's house every few weeks to mow their lawn. I would GLADLY pay a neighborhood kid $5 to mow their small lawn so I didn't have to lol
I am glad the Ivan explained in excruciating detail what the OP wrote so clearly in his post.
Really? Nta? It's $5. But Reddit peeps are burning to be petty. I would have paid and just asked not to do it again.
I would have done the same thing, but only because he's a kid. If an adult mowed my lawn unsolicited and asked for payment I'd tell them to f**k off. I'd thank the kid and give him the five bucks but I'd politely ask him not to come back. It takes me ten minutes to mow my front lawn, it's not a job I need to contract out.
Load More Replies...This has nothing to do with the amount the kid is charging. If you do not see that then you are just as bad as the mother in this story.
Load More Replies...
39
36