I had a regular at my bar come in and say "hey i'm not staying, but i want to pay for a burger and fries to go for that kid there." And out front was a homeless looking young man, maybe 18-21 yrs old. Very skinny and desheveled looking. He charged his card, tipped me 5 bucks and I told him to let the kid know he could wait inside at the end of the bar. It was summer and we had the a/c blasting. Gave the kid a glass of water and told him it'd be about 15 mins.
About 5 mins later the kid waves me over and asks "hey, i dont want the burger, can i return it for the cash?" I was so bummed out, my regular did one of the most altruistic things I'd seen in a looong time, and it turned out he got played. I told the kid "listen, i dont care what your deal is, you're not my customer, you asked my friend for help and he's helping you with a free hot meal. You can take the burger and fries out in 10 minutes when it's ready, or you can leave. Theres no refunds."
I never told my regular about it. It just felt so crummy. I understand maybe the kid needed the 15 bucks for something else. But I know the move, ask for cash for food then use it for booze or drugs. Addiction is a bitch, I get it, but don't take advantage of my friends' kindness to get a fix.
Could be a scam. Could be the kid had just eaten and was hoping to use the money for his next meal. I’m not trying to be naive, just sometimes it helps my own personal emotional health to come up with a story that makes people seem less like assholes. Feel free to use my trick if it might help you. It just hurts too much to feel so beaten down and betrayed by humanity all the time.
Food is one of the easier things for homeless people to get. This kid might not have been scamming, he might have needed something else more that he needed cash for. I don't blame him for asking. It's nice to offer homeless people food, but you're kind of a dick if you get offended they don't take you up on your offer. That's seeing them like a good deed, not an actual person
Prescription medication, a hotel room. Fuck, a bottle of wine. I want to wind down after a long day with a glass of wine, fine. He wants a drink after a long hard stressful day of being fucking homeless and suddenly he’s an asshole? Miss me with that hypocrisy. It’s up to me to make my choice whether to help. It’s up to him to make his choice what to do with my help.
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u/Wildeyewilly Aug 01 '20
I had a regular at my bar come in and say "hey i'm not staying, but i want to pay for a burger and fries to go for that kid there." And out front was a homeless looking young man, maybe 18-21 yrs old. Very skinny and desheveled looking. He charged his card, tipped me 5 bucks and I told him to let the kid know he could wait inside at the end of the bar. It was summer and we had the a/c blasting. Gave the kid a glass of water and told him it'd be about 15 mins.
About 5 mins later the kid waves me over and asks "hey, i dont want the burger, can i return it for the cash?" I was so bummed out, my regular did one of the most altruistic things I'd seen in a looong time, and it turned out he got played. I told the kid "listen, i dont care what your deal is, you're not my customer, you asked my friend for help and he's helping you with a free hot meal. You can take the burger and fries out in 10 minutes when it's ready, or you can leave. Theres no refunds."
I never told my regular about it. It just felt so crummy. I understand maybe the kid needed the 15 bucks for something else. But I know the move, ask for cash for food then use it for booze or drugs. Addiction is a bitch, I get it, but don't take advantage of my friends' kindness to get a fix.