Hired a neighbor kid to mow my lawn for $20 and regretted it instantly

Last Saturday I figured I'd give a teenager down the street a chance to make some cash mowing my yard. He showed up with a rusted mower that barely started and started chopping through my flower bed like it was part of the grass. I ran out to stop him but he just shrugged and said 'it's all green anyway'. After he finished, I noticed he scalped half the lawn so bad you can see dirt patches now. My wife is not happy and I feel like an idiot for trusting a 14 year old with my yard work. Has anyone else had a bad experience hiring someone from the neighborhood?

4 comments

4 Comments

zarat371d ago

Ask if the kid offered to fix the flower bed.

jennybailey3d ago

Read this exact same story on Nextdoor last week, wild timing.

the_riley3d ago

Grabbed screenshots of my own interactions just in case. Helped a lot when I had to explain what actually went down to a manager later.

ben_fisher1d ago

Wait, is grabbing screenshots actually that common of a thing? I mean, I get it if you're dealing with a really toxic coworker or something but for normal everyday stuff it feels a bit much. I've always thought that just talking to people directly solves most problems before they blow up. Plus, if you screenshot everything, you're basically walking around assuming the worst about people from the start. That just seems exhausting to me. Maybe I'm old school but I'd rather just handle things face to face and move on.