My do-gooder project to connect a needy kid with a bike has been delayed repeatedly, and I feared it was a bust until this afternoon. Now, it's only possibly a bust.
Over a week ago, I answered a CL ad from a "Big Sister" looking for a repairable bike for her "Little Sister". I connected her to MMRB, and MMRB was happy to donate a bike if I would do the repairs. I jumped at the opportunity, hustled over and got the bike (thanks again for that, MMRB!) and gave it a once-over. After two conversations and a series of emails, we had arranged for the pick-up to be made on Wednesday. Wednesday was then rescheduled to Thursday. On Thursday she was a no-show (no phone call, no email with an explanation). I left her a voicemail message on Thursday night but didn't get a response to that, either.
Friday and Saturday passed with no word from my "Big Sister" either. Disgusted, I tried her one last time today and was ready to give up on this. To my surprise, she answered ("so sorry - lost my phone; computer broke... no way to reach you...").
"Uh-huh. Are you interested in picking up the bike or not?" I asked. She was. I told her to meet me on Monday and that I wanted to get this one taken care of. She agreed. We'll see.
Unlike most people I know who have ventured through the Looking Glass that is Craig's List, I have had remarkably good luck with people following through on sales. This experience has cooled me a lot on CL, however. I feel like I got jerked around for trying to do a good deed. Maybe I'm too naive or thin-skinned, but the hassle here as now exceeded whatever positive energy I hoped to get out of this transaction.
I just hope she picks up the bike and the kid likes it at this point.
People. Grrrrrrrr.
Accomplishments: March 2024
2 weeks ago
That's frustrating. How annoying when you try to do something nice for someone and it just turns into a huge hassle.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of how each year around Christmas my church tries to round up some presents for kids in rough situations. Sometimes it's as easy as buying a bunch of toys the kids have requested. Other times it's a total pain in the ass where whatever you buy is the wrong size/color/style - and even though you've provided them with a gift receipt, the low-life parents send *you* back to the store 3 times on wild goose chases searching for some toy that may not actually exist. Kinda blows the mood of providing service for someone. You just have to keep reminding yourself: The people who are hardest to serve are *usually* the ones who need it the most.
I have a co-worker who's had similar problems. They put up at-risk families and some are great, others are so used to working the system that they feel entitled. I agree that those most in need can be the most difficult to help.
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