Sometimes, I want to be a mountain man
Dear annoying neighbor who has been pimping his lawn service business since we moved in,
I apologize for offending you by asking if I could borrow your mower this evening. As I explained, ours has been in the shop for a month, and was in for service AGAIN today and despite that STILL cut out halfway through mowing the lawn. We have neighborhood ordinances with which we've been trying to comply, and here I was with a half mowed lawn and you happened to be out with your garage open, so I asked for help.
Yes, I know you run a business, as you've been pimping it quite literally since we moved in. What I didn't realize is that you took offense that we haven't hired you to service our yard. You mentioned that you've told us about your business, and we've heard you each time, as I've noted here. You have also noted frequently that we get another company out to fertilize. We do, but this is not a rejection of you... it's a question of laziness. We are in their books because we used them at our old residence... I'm not MARRIED to them. I even kept your card to ask you for a bid, but just kept forgetting to talk to you about it.
No, I don't want to call them to help us while our mower is on the fritz. We don't have them mow our lawn for the same reason we wouldn't have you mow it. It's not because we think we can do it better... it's because we ENJOY the physical activity of mowing the lawn. And shoveling the driveway, too, which is, incidentally, why we didn't take you up on your offer to snowblow our driveway "for free" two years ago. Clearly, this rejection stung, as you brought it up today as an example of why you weren't willing to loan me your mower.
You said you didn't want to be "unneighborly," by extension implying that our reaction to your overtures has itself been unneighborly. I appreciate that you are trying to run a business. But it seems that the best way to earn new clients isn't to pimp your services constantly and then act offended when someone who isn't on your client list asks you for assistance with a one-time problem. Perhaps by being helpful and a "good neighbor," you'd establish trust and convince non-clients to approach you with work. "Wow, that guy's a cool... maybe I should ask him for a bid to do our lawn." Instead, there's now a bad vibe between us that will make me less likely to talk to you when I see you outside. And my husband has never liked you in the first place. Even if our conversation had guilted me into asking you for a bid, he'd talk me out of hiring you.
So I won't ask you for a favor again. Our neighbors down the street have been more than willing to help; I'll go to them next time. Oh, and I won't be giving you any new business either.
No love,
Your neighbor with the broken mower
I apologize for offending you by asking if I could borrow your mower this evening. As I explained, ours has been in the shop for a month, and was in for service AGAIN today and despite that STILL cut out halfway through mowing the lawn. We have neighborhood ordinances with which we've been trying to comply, and here I was with a half mowed lawn and you happened to be out with your garage open, so I asked for help.
Yes, I know you run a business, as you've been pimping it quite literally since we moved in. What I didn't realize is that you took offense that we haven't hired you to service our yard. You mentioned that you've told us about your business, and we've heard you each time, as I've noted here. You have also noted frequently that we get another company out to fertilize. We do, but this is not a rejection of you... it's a question of laziness. We are in their books because we used them at our old residence... I'm not MARRIED to them. I even kept your card to ask you for a bid, but just kept forgetting to talk to you about it.
No, I don't want to call them to help us while our mower is on the fritz. We don't have them mow our lawn for the same reason we wouldn't have you mow it. It's not because we think we can do it better... it's because we ENJOY the physical activity of mowing the lawn. And shoveling the driveway, too, which is, incidentally, why we didn't take you up on your offer to snowblow our driveway "for free" two years ago. Clearly, this rejection stung, as you brought it up today as an example of why you weren't willing to loan me your mower.
You said you didn't want to be "unneighborly," by extension implying that our reaction to your overtures has itself been unneighborly. I appreciate that you are trying to run a business. But it seems that the best way to earn new clients isn't to pimp your services constantly and then act offended when someone who isn't on your client list asks you for assistance with a one-time problem. Perhaps by being helpful and a "good neighbor," you'd establish trust and convince non-clients to approach you with work. "Wow, that guy's a cool... maybe I should ask him for a bid to do our lawn." Instead, there's now a bad vibe between us that will make me less likely to talk to you when I see you outside. And my husband has never liked you in the first place. Even if our conversation had guilted me into asking you for a bid, he'd talk me out of hiring you.
So I won't ask you for a favor again. Our neighbors down the street have been more than willing to help; I'll go to them next time. Oh, and I won't be giving you any new business either.
No love,
Your neighbor with the broken mower