What do you expect for free?

[evilhomer]

Rhetorical question, I know the answer


I'm doing some charity work for a customer's church. Our customer was donating some used desks that they replaced, we were installing them (for free to keep our customer happy).

I meet the contact at the church and he sends someone over to open up the door for us. The guy deems us untrustworthy and elects to keep an eye over us, insulting but understandable in this day and age. As we're working I see him eyeballing the furniture:

SC: There's a lot of scratches on this stuff.
Me: Yes, I'm sorry, that's just the condition it was in.
SC: **huff... puff**
Me: **continue working**


SC: Look at this door, it's almost falling off.
Me: Please don't touch that sir. I saw that, don't worry, I'll fix it up good as new.
SC: Good as new?!? You mean this furniture is used?!?
Me: Yes, this is the arrangement that was made with the pastor.
SC: **huff... puff**
Me: **continue working**

I'm less than amused with this guy at this point, his job began and ended when he opened the door for us. But I know that he's just looking out for his church; ignorant as he may be, his heart's in the right place. Although I finally have enough of him at this point:

SC: Where are the locks for these drawers?
Me: They were compatible with customer's new furniture so we removed them and used them there.
SC: You took the locks off of our furniture?!?
Me: Yes sir, they're actually quite expensive and seeing as all of this furniture and our time to deliver and install it is being donated free of charge, they wanted to save some money where they could.

I expected "donated free of charge" to humble him at least a bit but...

SC: You should have left the locks in, that's not very considerate.
Me: Well it was all arranged with the pastor and he was very happy to get everything donated; maybe you should talk to him about it.
SC: Yes I'll do that after you leave.

Yes, after we leave, because we're so hardup and downright evil that we're going to steal a.... ummm....... candle from your church as soon as your back is turned. Ah, I can't get too mad at him over that, but he should really be taught not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

[Crazeyal]

Yeah..

just..

yeah...

[counterjockey]

If I'd been there I'd have shot my mouth off...for a good cause.

"Well, ask, and ye shall receive. Bitch, and we'll box it up and take it home."

I'm not even on the Christmas and Easter plan--I'm strictly on the wedding and funeral plan, so if you're married or if you're buried, hey, I'm there.

[Polenicus]

Seriously, if I had been donating the stuff, I would simply have asked him straight up if the items were unacceptable. The minute he says 'yes', I turn around, pack all the stuff back up and take it back.

... Of course, naturally I'd hold onto it and make arrangements to deliver it some other time once someone at the Church who isn't an asshat calls to straighten things out.

My philosophy is 'I'm doing you a favour. If that favour isn't what you want or need, then it doesn't do either of us any good for me to force it upon you, so consider it cheerfully withdrawn. Good day!'

[mariamousie1]

Wow, talk about ungrateful. Did he really expect to get expensive new furniture for free? That would be nice, but take what you get.

[draftermatt]

Why not call the pastor and make a comment about people in his flock being less than Christian.

I know your customer would get mad so you can't, but cripes people.

[Soulstealer]

Why not call the pastor and make a comment about people in his flock being less than Christian.

I'm sure the poor pastor already knows if he has any brains. If he's anything like me he might be trying to euthanise that part of his brain with cheap alcoholic drinks.

[MamaMootz]

This reminds me of the story I read... somewhere... I think it was Etiquette Hell.

Check this out:

A woman posts a vacuum cleaner on Freecycle. She mentions in her ad that the vacuum is about a year old, but she and her husband saved up enough money to buy a Dyson so she's willing to give the old one away, as long as someone is willing to come to her house to get it.

The woman was bombarded with e-mails from a person at a local church, who was actually yelling at her for donating the "used" vacuum for free and kept on telling her that she should be donating the DYSON for free because "churches always get the used and castaway items, and if she were a really good Christian she'd just pony up that Dyson and give it to this lady for her church.

I was flabbergasted, as I think all were who read the blurb.

I will never understand the Giant Entitlement Mentality that pervades our society. Never.

[Sofar]

SC: Look at this door, it's almost falling off.
Me: Please don't touch that sir. I saw that, don't worry, I'll fix it up good as new.
SC: Good as new?!? You mean this furniture is used?!?
Me: Yes, this is the arrangement that was made with the pastor.
SC: **huff... puff**
Me: **continue working**

Oh Lord no, not used. I swear, to most people a used piece of furniture, a used car or even a "used house"* is as bad as used socks.

*I wouldn't even consider living in a house less than half a century old.

[BookstoreEscapee]

SC: There's a lot of scratches on this stuff.
Me: Yes, I'm sorry, that's just the condition it was in.
SC: **huff... puff**
Me: **continue working**


SC: Look at this door, it's almost falling off.
Me: Please don't touch that sir. I saw that, don't worry, I'll fix it up good as new.
SC: Good as new?!? You mean this furniture is used?!?

So he noticed the large quantity of scratches and it didn't occur to him that the furniture was used?

I'm not even on the Christmas and Easter plan--

my friend calls this the Birth and Resurrection Society

I'm strictly on the wedding and funeral plan, so if you're married or if you're buried, hey, I'm there.

so this would be, what, the Hitch and Ditch Society?

I know, that's horrible... But I am also a member...

[Sliceanddice]

*I wouldn't even consider living in a house less than half a century old.

I would on one condition-i was involved with the construction and i got it in the style and quality i want.
mostly because ive noticed alot of the aged homes here can be worst than the new...

[Broomjockey]

as bad as used socks.

*I wouldn't even consider living in a house less than half a century old.

Used socks are bad? Huh... *wanders off to closet*

Oh, and I am with Slice, if it's not an old house, I want it freshly built to how I want it. Because I've lived in a house a bit older than me, and it was so poorly built. Gah, not sure how my parents stand living there. Heck, the building I'm in NOW is less than 5 years old, and it's pretty bad. So, I either want old, or something I had a hand in.

[TKPsycho]

My sister had a customer like this not too long ago. A customer involved with the church we used to go to was claiming to know her and was trying to get a discount on a number of things for the church (actually, he'd already bought the stuff and came back later demanding the discount). She had never met this guy, and he did not ask for her or get her permission to ask for these discounts, and she ended up getting in a bit of trouble until it became clear that this guy was basically being an ass. It's one thing to give her a chance to clear a discount with her boss before getting a discount, but he had never talked to her at all.

[counterjockey]

my friend calls this the Birth and Resurrection Society



so this would be, what, the Hitch and Ditch Society?

I know, that's horrible... But I am also a member...

I can't believe I never thought of "Hitch and Ditch Society."

I'll let you make the t-shirts.

[Rapscallion]

My mother likes to call the announcements section of the local newspapers (births, deaths, and wedding announcements) "Hatches, matches, and despatches."

Mind you, she's a nurse, and they tend to have a different view on things.

Rapscallion