OT Story

[jdeasy]

I was working in Evansville, In today and it was really hot. Especially for Sept. I stopped for a bathroom break at this little market on the bad side of town. I was checking some messages on my phone when a dude knocks on the car window. Dude looks like a bum and when I got out of the car I see has a push mower and can of gas sitting by the curb.

He gives me this story about how he is $8 away from getting his water turned back on and he hasn't been able to find customers all morning to mow for. He ask me for the $8. I just tell him no and move on. After doing my business inside and I come back out he's still there but hitting on another customer for the $8. That guy is telling him no just as I did.

So I have an idea. I go over to the guy and tell him that I still don't belive his story but I do admire the fact that he's out there at least making an attempt to earn money and not just begging. There's a home next door with an older man siting on the front porch. The yard needs mowing. I asked the guy if he had asked that man for work. he said he had but the guy didn't have any money either.

I asked him how much he would charge to ow that yard and he said $20. I went over and asked the man if the guy could mow his yard if I paid for it. he readily agreed. Not having time to hang around I paid the guy $20 in advance and told him to get to it. I then told him that I was going to be down the road for an hour or so and would come back. If that yard wasn't mowed he better hope I couldn't find him again. He assured me that it would get mowed.

It was more like 2 hours before I got back that way again. Yard was mowed. No sign of the guy with the mower again.

I hope he got his water turned back on.

 

[The Gimp]

I was working in Evansville, In today and it was really hot. Especially for Sept. I stopped for a bathroom break at this little market on the bad side of town. I was checking some messages on my phone when a dude knocks on the car window. Dude looks like a bum and when I got out of the car I see has a push mower and can of gas sitting by the curb.

He gives me this story about how he is $8 away from getting his water turned back on and he hasn't been able to find customers all morning to mow for. He ask me for the $8. I just tell him no and move on. After doing my business inside and I come back out he's still there but hi/tting on another customer for the $8. That guy is telling him no just as I did.

So I have an idea. I go over to the guy and tell him that I still don't belive his story but I do admire the fact that he's out there at least making an attempt to earn money and not just begging. There's a home next door with an older man siting on the front porch. The yard needs mowing. I asked the guy if he had asked that man for work. he said he had but the guy didn't have any money either.

I asked him how much he would charge to ow that yard and he said $20. I went over and asked the man if the guy could mow his yard if I paid for it. he readily agreed. Not having time to hang around I paid the guy $20 in advance and told him to get to it. I then told him that I was going to be down the road for an hour or so and would come back. If that yard wasn't mowed he better hope I couldn't find him again. He assured me that it would get mowed.

It was more like 2 hours before I got back that way again. Yard was mowed. No sign of the guy with the mower again.

I hope he got his water turned back on.

Good stuff. I like it.

 

[houcoogster]

That's pretty cool, made his day, and the homeowner's.

 

[rousemark]

Great story.. Quite different form the experience folks have had with the guys standing around with "Will Work for Food" signs around here. One guy was offered work so many times (which he refused), he changed his sign. Saw him the other day and the sign read, "Homeless, Hungry, Please Help, God Bless"

 

[xrac]

I was working in Evansville, In today and it was really hot. Especially for Sept. I stopped for a bathroom break at this little market on the bad side of town. I was checking some messages on my phone when a dude knocks on the car window. Dude looks like a bum and when I got out of the car I see has a push mower and can of gas sitting by the curb.

He gives me this story about how he is $8 away from getting his water turned back on and he hasn't been able to find customers all morning to mow for. He ask me for the $8. I just tell him no and move on. After doing my business inside and I come back out he's still there but hitting on another customer for the $8. That guy is telling him no just as I did.

So I have an idea. I go over to the guy and tell him that I still don't belive his story but I do admire the fact that he's out there at least making an attempt to earn money and not just begging. There's a home next door with an older man siting on the front porch. The yard needs mowing. I asked the guy if he had asked that man for work. he said he had but the guy didn't have any money either.

I asked him how much he would charge to ow that yard and he said $20. I went over and asked the man if the guy could mow his yard if I paid for it. he readily agreed. Not having time to hang around I paid the guy $20 in advance and told him to get to it. I then told him that I was going to be down the road for an hour or so and would come back. If that yard wasn't mowed he better hope I couldn't find him again. He assured me that it would get mowed.

It was more like 2 hours before I got back that way again. Yard was mowed. No sign of the guy with the mower again.

I hope he got his water turned back on.

Great way to handle it JD. Smart thinking.Did you think to see if the old man was interested in FE? You could go back to that house. See if the guy did a good job mowing and talk to the guy about FE.

 

[somarco]

Great story. Thanks for sharing. Lessons to be learned from this.

 

[jdeasy]

Great way to handle it JD. Smart thinking.Did you think to see if the old man was interested in FE? You could go back to that house. See if the guy did a good job mowing and talk to the guy about FE.

No, I do not bother people about ins. That was the main reason I did not want to get into this business because of how I was approached all the time to buy insurance and I thought that was how all insurance agents acted.

My business comes from leads and referrals. No cold calling, no cold door knocking, no cold intros. I vowed when I got into this business that I would not be one of the ones that I did that stuff and so far I have kept that vow.

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Great story. Thanks for sharing. Lessons to be learned from this.

I actually felt bad about blowing him off the first time after I thought about it. Now I wish I had given him more than the $20 because he was obviously really looking for work. I thought he was just another panhandler.

 

[somarco]

You could have given him more, but he set the price, not you.

 

[bboman23]

He asked for 8 dollars and he got 20. So you gave him more than he needed.

 

[xrac]

.......I actually felt bad about blowing him off the first time after I thought about it. Now I wish I had given him more than the $20 because he was obviously really looking for work. I thought he was just another panhandler.

Most of the people who approach you are panhandlers. He still may have been a panhandler with the mower and gas can his props but if he was he was also ready and willing to work so I give him kudos for that.