Engineer agrees to help friend’s mother-in-law with renovation as a favor, quits when she treats him like a servant: '[She] learned that professionals can in fact walk away'

Author image for Isabella Penn
Isabella Penn
May 11, 2025 10:00 AM EDT

Home renovation looks so easy on social media. Every other influencer has a dreamy time-lapse of them turning a crumbling bathroom into a luxury spa in a single 60-second clip. They casually rewire light fixtures, knock down walls, and transform entire kitchens without breaking a sweat (or their budgets). So you think you can try it yourself, but then reality hits pretty quickly. You realize you don't own half of the tools you need, the ones you do have you have no idea how to use, and you end up frantically Googling "how to fix a broken pipe." Not speaking from experience or anything.

Eventually you push aside your pride and decide to bring in the professionals, only to get absolutely shell-shocked by the quotes. Thousands of dollars? Six-month waitlists? Apparently, "simple" renovations aren't so simple after all.

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  • And heaven help you if you try to cut costs by calling in a favor, especially when that favor involves dealing with someone else's impossible in-laws. That’s exactly what happened to this engineer. He agreed to help his friend's mother-in-law with a massive home renovation project, charging them a fraction of what a typical consultant would. But instead of being grateful, the mother-in-law began going full-on Karen mode and making demands he was NOT getting paid enough for. 

    Unsurprisingly, she learned the hard way that most professionals don’t appreciate being treated like personal assistants.

  • Cheezburger Image 10503551488
    via immo RENOVATION For Unsplash+

  • "Entitled Client Learns that Professionals Can Infact Walk Away"

    I work as an engineer. I do some consulting on the side, but typically only for people I know and as a favor. A good friend asked me to help his inlaws who were doing some fairly massive renovations/additions. I
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  • agreed solely because he asked me to. This is not something I have any interest or need in doing except as a favor. Its an old house and had can of worms written all over it with some of the changes. they wanted to do.
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  • Now he warned me that the MIL can be unpleasant, but that was an understatement. She seemed to think that because I was being paid (I charged probably 1/10th what a business would) that she could
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  • snap her fingers at me like a servant. I had a few unpleasant emails with her, but it was tolerable. She was ride when I was pointing out issues with their plans, but nothing too extreme.
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  • That changed when I started trying to find a time for me to stop by and inspect a few areas of the house to verify some information. I offered times to stop by on the weekend, but that didnt work for her. Tried
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  • evening times, still a no. Nope, she wanted me to stop by during my office. work hours because that was best for her. When I told her no, this gets done on the weekends or in the evening she went from r de to incredibly hostile. Telling me that
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  • she is paying me (LOL) and that I work with her availability. Not the other way around. CC'ed my friend in on the chain, told them I was out and to have fun working with whoever they get.
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  • Friend apologized, I said no worries not my problem anymore. She emailed back quite stunned that I was walking away, telling me that its not how business is conducted. I didnt bother responding.
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  • Cheezburger Image 10503551744
    via Centre for Ageing Better For Unsplash+

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • About three weeks later I get an email from the husband now asking me if I would reconsider and he promises that his wife wont speak to me or be involved in anyway.
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  • I hear from my friend that while the quotes came back much higher, which was tolerable for them, but it was how long the wait was. They just bought this house and wanted to move in ASAP, but its an incredibly busy
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  • time of year for the industry. Turns out when companies you reach out to are drowning in work and you have a potentially convoluted and messy project, they arent chomping at the bit to get your business. So
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  • now they are going to lose the trades they lined up because design would be a month or two out. I passed on the request as I struggle to believe she would be kept in check and had no desire to bail her out. My friend didnt
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  • care, said it was nice watching her attitude give her consequences that actually effect her.
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  • Cocoa AlmondsRock Too fun! Love that you did this AND that you stuck to your guns. Also love that your friend didn't care. I expect he was thrilled to see her get some consequences for her behavior.
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  • Radio_Mime Not how businesses is conducted? Businesses will walk away from ab ive customers as often as they can. She fails to realize the money she pays you for a particular job does not mean you must be at her beck and call.
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  • Tom Marvolo_Tomato I wish more tradespeople would fire or walk away from hostile or stupid customers. I've done it a time or two myself, and it's quite a liberating feeling.
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  • Scary-Drawer-3515 I had a client, wealthy and big wigs in DC. She would chastise me if I was on the phone with another client and she had to leave a
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  • voicemail. I am the owner of a property mgmt co and had a housekeeping group going in btwn visits. She accused them of stealing her paper towels and tp and was upset because she had to do inventory on every arrival. The husband
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  • was fabulous and happy but just could not make her happy. I called and told her that I like to "wow" my clients and that I thought she would be happier with another co. She was flabbergasted lol.
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  • Bahnmor • 18h ago . Nope. She burned that bridge. Looks like it would take an engineer to rebuild it, too. Such a shame she can't find one willing to put up with her.
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  • basarita Typical case of a Karen playing FAFO... Good of your friend to remain out of it
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  • Dramatic_Cut_7320 I know this well. I too, am an engineer. However, I am retired. My favorites are the ones that ask for your expertise and then argue
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  • with you about what you're telling them. At this point, life is too short to deal with arrogance and entitlement.
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Tags

customer service job work i quit home renovation client friends petty entitled people karma mother in law karen entitled people engineer
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