A Teen Mowed A Man’s Lawn Without Permission & Then His Mom Came Over To Ask Why He Wasn’t Paid
“I was amazed the adult in the situation was handling it worse than the literal child was.”
Robin Craig | Shutterstock Doing a good deed for someone else is usually appreciated. However, doing a good deed with the expectation of something in return is a little different and far less selfless.
A man new to his neighborhood found himself in such a situation after a teenage neighbor did something that seemed kind but then expected money in return. Apparently, the teen mowed his lawn without being asked and then expected his neighbor to pay him for the chore.
The 13-year-old mowed his neighbor’s lawn without permission, expecting money in return.
“I recently bought my first house,” the 29-year-old man shared. “I’m settling in and like the neighborhood, and a few neighbors even came by to say hello. They included a woman and her 13-year-old son.”
Unfortunately, what could have been a great neighborhood dynamic quickly turned sour. “Not long after, I was on my couch one afternoon and saw the son outside, mowing my front lawn,” the man wrote. “I was confused since I’d never asked him to and he’d never offered.”
The Redditor decided to get to the bottom of the strange situation. “I went out and politely asked him why he was doing it,” he recounted. “He said he did it for lots of neighbors, and quickly added they give him $5 for it.”
The man wasn’t prepared to pay the boy, especially since he didn't ask before starting the unwanted yard work.
Robin Craig | Shutterstock
“I found it really weird, so thanked him for the partial work he’d done, before explaining that since I hadn’t asked or wanted him to do it, I wasn’t going to be paying him," he recalled. "He said OK, and quietly left my lawn."
While there's no denying this young teen had an entrepreneurial spirit, it probably would have worked more in his favor had he given the new neighbor his first mow for free.
He could have called it a welcome to the neighborhood gift and then let him know he spends his free time doing yard work for while sharing his rates.
The next day, the man got a visit from the teen's mom, demanding he pay her son.
“I figured that might be the end of it — just a kid trying to make some money, resolved with no harm done, end of story,” he wrote. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
“The next day his mom arrived on my doorstep and angrily asked me why I hadn’t paid her son,” he recalled. “I basically repeated what I’d said to her son, but she wouldn’t accept it. She just kept saying that it was a kind gesture and that he does it for all the other neighbors.”
Despite what this woman insisted, the boy's kind gesture did not require payment.
“She also said $5 isn’t a lot of money and I could have just [given] it to him,” the man added. “I kept trying to explain that an agreement like that needs to be set up ahead of time, otherwise it’s nothing more than a random demand for money, but she basically tuned me out and ended up walking away as I was talking.”
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Now, this has become a full-blown issue.
“I’m wondering how much longer this will go on for,” he mused. “That was last week. Every time I’ve seen her since she’s stared daggers at me or made a show of crossing the street to avoid me."
This man should not feel obligated to pay the teen.
At the end of the day, he didn't hire the teen to mow his lawn, nor did the teen ask, and he doesn't have to pay for the unwanted lawn services.
According to Angi, “Most lawn care professionals charge between $50 and $350 to mow a lawn or $30 to $65 per hour.”
By this estimate, $5 is a great price — had the boy been hired.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer who covers psychology, news and human interest topics.