I'm stranded... Gimmie free stuff

[MadMike]

I had someone knocking at my door just before midnight awhile back. I guess he saw my light was on and figured someone was awake. I opened the door just a crack, and there was a guy telling me he lived by a certain ball field in my area, and he was just about out of gas, and could I spare a few bucks so he could get home.

I wanted to tell him to fuck off, or at least point out that the field he claimed to live by was close enough to easily walk back to, but I didn't want to antagonize him since he knew where I lived. I took the safe approach and told him I didn't have any cash in the house.

[Argabarga]

That occasionally happened around here after football games, guy would come up to you and explain his car was out of gas/had a bad battery, and he just needed $10 and then he'd have enough to get started and get home to the usual really sick wife/baby/whatever.

Offers of jumper cables or free rides to nearest gas station since lead-acid batteries and cartons of liquids were unwieldy things to try and carry around and would certainly delay your speedy return to that sick family were always turned down, see, he didn't want to "trouble" you, he just wanted that $10 and he'd do the work.

Turning him down a second time usually resulted in you being called an "asshole" or "racist" depending on your ethnicity, and he'd shuffle off to his next mark

[MoonCat]

Yeah, that's a common theme of the panhandlers here. "Excuse me, miss, I came into the city from [insert rural town] to meet my buddy/girlfriend/boyfriend/whoever and they stood me up, and I'm short by $1.46 to get home..." Or some variation of this. Always some weird random amount of money, no doubt hoping that the mark will just round up and hand over $5 or something.

[cleorose]

Its a common scam. People near military bases will open their car hoods and claim to be broken down after visiting their soldier and they have to get home to "insert far away place" or they claim to be a wife of a soldier or husband of a soldier who is deployed. They have no way to get back home etc. Can we spare a few dollars for cab ride /tow / a hotel til they get enough money to get home / greyhound.

I have seen about 30 variations of the above scam. We were in Manhattan and had a woman claiming she needed to get home to Salina. Well we lived in Abilene and Salina was only 20 miles out of our way. So why not hop in and we give you a lift.

NO THANKS

Didnt matter that we had two kids and myself and hubby. They only want $$ or freebies.

Hubby is a mechanic and offered to take a look at their car to see if it was something like a slipped belt or hose that could be fixed easy and cheap. She wouldn't even turn on her car.

So yeah scammers be everywhere.

[dalesys]

AKA "I bet all my get home money on sure things."

[bhskittykatt]

When I worked at Hotel 4+2, I got these all the time. Sorry, we're a business, not a charity. Your car broke down literally on the other side of the fence and you're from out-of-state? I'll cut a sweet deal. Your someone I can legitly recognize as homeless and it's freezing out and you only have $40? I'll cut you a sweet deal. You come in with a police officer who has literally spent the last two hours finding out every emergency housing shelter is full? I'll cut a sweet deal. You come in wanting free stuff just based on your word? GTFO! Even the lady with her family that came in with the officer was willing to pay something.

[taxguykarl]

I've seen panhandlers with signs claiming that they were stranded--one for two years. Definitely a scammer

[Seshat]

SC: I'm stranded here...

.... that's what travel insurance is for.

[Anakah]

So its a busy weekend and this lady comes to my window and further drops my faith in humanity.

SC: I'm stranded here, can I get a buffet comp?

Me: Uh, not here that would be the ace play... but I don't think they can just give you a comp. Do you have any play on your card?

SC: No! I don't play here!

Me: well... I don't think they can help you then.

SC: Whatever!

Why should we give her a free buffet just because she got herself stranded? I wasn't too sure exactly how "stranded" she was but not enough to be homeless or starving.