Sorry for the long-winded question. Weird dynamic here.
Yesterday, when I was giving my lawn its first cleanup and mow of the season, my neighbor slipped $20 in my pocket to mow an overgrown section of his lawn adjacent to mine.
His driveway was widened over the winter, redrawing the common-sense line that has divided where I mow from where he mows. I think this $20 was a courtesy, because I’ll have a little more to mow from now on, which is not a problem.
The problem is, in our little neighborly chat, he insinuated that his health will be preventing him from taking care of the rest of his lawn too, and he told me his former lawn care guy just retired.
He’s working up the nerve to ask me, next week, to be his new lawn care contractor. I can tell.
Now, while I’m a good neighbor—the kind to shovel a nice old lady’s driveway every snowstorm for ten years and never want a dollar for it—this guy’s a big racist who called my friend a “ni__er” once, so I don’t even care that he has cancer; he’s gonna have to pay me.
What’s a decent asking price, week after week, under these circumstances? I don’t want to let a racist take advantage of me, but I don’t want to take unfair advantage of an old person dying of cancer, either, and I don’t want to leave money on the table. Lawn isn’t huge or special, maybe 3,500 to 4,000 square feet. I’m right next door, with a battery-powered push mower and string trimmer and plenty of batteries. In New Jersey.
Thank you.
Yesterday, when I was giving my lawn its first cleanup and mow of the season, my neighbor slipped $20 in my pocket to mow an overgrown section of his lawn adjacent to mine.
His driveway was widened over the winter, redrawing the common-sense line that has divided where I mow from where he mows. I think this $20 was a courtesy, because I’ll have a little more to mow from now on, which is not a problem.
The problem is, in our little neighborly chat, he insinuated that his health will be preventing him from taking care of the rest of his lawn too, and he told me his former lawn care guy just retired.
He’s working up the nerve to ask me, next week, to be his new lawn care contractor. I can tell.
Now, while I’m a good neighbor—the kind to shovel a nice old lady’s driveway every snowstorm for ten years and never want a dollar for it—this guy’s a big racist who called my friend a “ni__er” once, so I don’t even care that he has cancer; he’s gonna have to pay me.
What’s a decent asking price, week after week, under these circumstances? I don’t want to let a racist take advantage of me, but I don’t want to take unfair advantage of an old person dying of cancer, either, and I don’t want to leave money on the table. Lawn isn’t huge or special, maybe 3,500 to 4,000 square feet. I’m right next door, with a battery-powered push mower and string trimmer and plenty of batteries. In New Jersey.
Thank you.
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