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AITA for refusing to fix my neighbor’s laptop for free after he told everyone in the building I’m the neighborhood IT guy?
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The image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
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Anyone who has ever had a professional or trade skill, whether in tech, electrical, construction, or design, has likely found themselves inundated with requests from friends, close acquaintances, friends of friends, family members, and their family members' friends. And it seems like the more you do to help people out, the more the word spreads and the more requests you face. Small asks for fixes or assistance turn into larger ones.
This is one thing when it's a hobby-type skill, but when it's your profession, your livelihood, and literally your means of making ends meet, it becomes a more complicated picture.
I've heard it said, "Never ask for free things from your friend's business; if anything, they're the ones you should be paying the most." Working as a contractor or small business owner is hard enough. Long hours, admin, tight margins, and taxes, oh boy, the taxes. So, if your friend is running their own business, the best thing you can do, as a friend, is support their business, not add to their already-long list of requests and demands for free goods and labor.
When you're the one being asked to do the work, being asked to do work for friends and family feels good, and you're generally happy to do it, but there is a line in the sand somewhere that isn't exactly clear where the requests for what is essentially free labor become inappropriate and unmanageable.
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The image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
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"He told me I’m being neighborly-challenged and that since I'm just sitting at a computer all day anyway."
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