So, I'm pumping gas at this station around the corner from The Day Job. It's an uncharacteristically cold and rainy Fall afternoon in DC. More specifically, it's like low 40's and a monsoon. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy (not that I have any) to be stuck in this sorta weather.
So, when a young, well-dressed sister walks up to me and asks for some gas money because she's stranded and needs to get home, I don't hesitate. She doesn't give off a crackhead vibe, she speaks good English, and she really looks like she's just in dire straits. I pull out my wallet, and without really thinking, give her my last $5.[1] I'm just
She takes it, without so much as looking back at me or saying a simple "thanks" and walks off. I'm like "whatever", and keep pumping my gas.
She takes my $5 and goes over to her car, where she proceeds to pull start pumping gas. I suddenly notice that there's a grown assed man sitting behind the wheel (the windows of this late model Pontiac were darkly tinted). He appears to be laughing and playing around on a SideKick.
My Negro Antennae go up because:
1) What sorta "man" gets himself and his girl/wife/babymama stranded on a cold and rainy day because he has no gas money?Suddenly, none of this sh*t is adding up.
2) What sorta "man" drives around in a late model Pontiac, and has a data plan for a SideKick, but has no gas money?
3) What sorta "man" makes his girl/wife/babymama troll around a gas station parking lot for gas money in the cold rain while he sits his ass inside and plays with a phone?
4) What sorta "man" sits his ass inside the car and plays with a phone while his girl/wife/babymama pumps gas on a cold and rainy day?
I finish filling up my car, and realize they're still pumpin'. Last time I checked, $5 didn't buy you a tankful of gas. And the girl has cash, but hasn't walked inside to pay, although there's clearly a "pay first" policy at this station. I get back in my car, and watch from afar as the girl finishes pumping her gas (this takes, like, another 5 minutes), the car starts and pulls off. Oddly, they drive to the far end of the parking lot, the car stops, and the girl gets out and walks off in the pouring rain, while the car pulls off and goes in the opposite direction.
I know I have just got GOT, but I have no idea how. All I know is I want my
Question: What Would YOU Do? What exactly just happened? How did I get GOT? Would you run this broad down in the rain and demand your $5 back, or charge it to the game?
[1] By "my last $5", I mean "the only cash in my wallet". Just clarifying. I didn't steal my gas either.
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Just float on, man. Like it says in the song:
A fake Jamaican took every last dime with that scam...
It was worth it just to learn some sleight-of-hand.
I've learned that when giving to people in need, the best thing to do is to just buy what it is they want for them instead of just giving them cash. For example when a homeless person asks me to give them money for a bite to eat, i'll tell them i don't have cash, but i'll go inside the nearest convenience store/fast-food restaurant to get them something. You're still out of money, but you at least you know you're not just giving them cash for no reason besides them scamming you.
You should have told the woman that you didn't have cash, but that you'd put $5 on her pump. Like I said, you're still out of $5 dollars, but at least you know they're not using you to just get cash. And if you don't have time to do this, a simple "i don't carry cash, i only have plastic" usually deters them.
Also, I forgot to add, that when people are lying or scamming, they usually don't think their lies all the way through. The best way is to ask them a series a questions like "where are you headed?", "where are you driving from?", "how long have you been on the road?" If they seem to have difficulty answering these simple questions, then there's a good chance they're lying.
At this point, stop "searching" in your wallet and pretend that you realize you don't have any money after all or you don't have smaller bills to give :(
What would I do? just let it go. I just got back from Europe and it took me THREE dudes-who-have-sleeping-puppies-in-their-lap-with-the-exact-same-sign to realize that i had just been got. nothing i could do except shrug my shoulders.
(actually it was my wife that finally figured it out...i would still probably be getting got if it hadn't been for her.)
I remember going to a store once and some guy walked up asking for beer money. Then, this cat tries to play fortune teller by asking to look into my eyes for some soul-searching, though his were about as blood-shot and glassy as an over the limit BAC. The woman at the front counter proceeds to tell me she's been trying to get rid of that panhandler for a while since he tries to come in and beg for beer.
You can usually spot them from a mile away, as evident in another encounter I had while entering/leaving a convenience store (saw perp next door at McD's giving me the eye). Sho'nuff he's waiting near my car as I exit w/ my own beer. I know the economy may be in rough shape, but it's not to the point where everyone is lining up at the soup kitchen. Just tell 'em you have no funds due to bills piling up, put on a sad face, and head out...with beer in hand!
Just charge it to the game.
Hopefully this doesn't deter you from continuing to be generous. I'm sure next time you will be cautious.
Just leave it alone, you got got, it happens. I NEVER give money. Just a rule of thumb, there's enough people who make the same mistake you did out of generosity to keep the con artist's hope alive. I just choose not to give and I'm pretty comfortable being that way.
I give at the office and to Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts and do volunteer work.
Other than that, I don't give money.
It's not an honest living but they're not making what Credit Card execs make and that's not a very honest living either. Chalk it up to helping your local economy. Whether you got got or not is all psychological.
I just don't get why the guy had to be on his Sidekick. To rub it in??
You may have gotten got, but she may have gotten her head knocked off if she didn't come up with that five dollars. So you did help her out.
Hi AverageBro!
This scam occurs all over the country...
I am surprised that people are unfamiliar with it. It's been played and replayed for years!!
Peace, blessings and DUNAMIS!
Lisa
Don't even acknowledge people when they come up to you asking for money, the time, a light, etc.. There were several incidents in NYC where a guy asked someone what time it was and when the fella looked at his watch, the askee slugged him then robbed him. I keep the 1000 yard stare going at all times. keeps people away. If I don't know you, I don't want to know you.
I'd pass. Unless I know the person or work with them. I don't give out free cash like that.
Call me callous, but that's the world we live in.
EG
To answer you question, I don't know what happened. That whole story is suspect. Perhaps she owed him money and was filling up his car as part of the pay off. She was still five dollars short, so she approached you. Anyway you cut it, the entire situation is sad.
charge it to the game and let her know she effed it up for everyone else in the future, lol
This is why I never carry cash. I had someone approach me at the gas station with their sob story about needing to get to the other side of Raleigh, and do I have any change to give them. I didn't feel bad for saying no because 1)it was the truth, I didn't have any change. but 2.)there were 2 other adults with him, and I couldn't believe neither of these 3 people left the house without at least access to cash. As for what happened, sounds like that lady owed him money.
I do have to say I'm glad I don't live in NYC. Here in Texas you say 'hey' and make some eye contact with people. That east coast bubble of silence just makes people look like asses.
The LA/SanFran people have it too, and you can tell them on the street. I can pick out a Cali native in 30 seconds... they're the ones with a frown on their faces, eyes locked dead ahead, and not looking back or speaking a word when they bump into somebody in the crosswalk.
Pro tip for people visiting Texas: If somebody stands in your way and goes "Hey!" and it makes you mad, it's a pretty good bet they already know you're not a local, and what they said in their heads was "I bet I can piss this guy off just by saying hello".
Just say "nice weather huh?", flash a smile, and cruise on. Trust me, you'll feel better for it and you'll be attacking regional stereotypes! It's win-win.
I rarely give, because I'm usually by myself.
I'd charge it up to the game. I've had this one dude approach several times from every part of town for the past decade telling me he 'just got out of jail.' He's gone from an afro, to locks, and to a low cut. I just say 'no' before he even gets a chance to plead his case or I'll just pull out the phone and pretend I'm on a call.
@ Spool:
I don't enjoy the urban "stone wall" either. (There seems to be some law against smiling on the subway :) I'm always caught off guard when the rare person comes up to me and just says "Hi," for no reason. I feel like I've been bothered, and then I feel ashamed for thinking like that. It's like "Dude, he was just being friendly! Lighten up!" But that initial reaction has more to do with me personally having trouble gaging these things than with me bein' a Noo Yawkuh.
(Ironically, I have no trouble being friendly to total strangers out of nowhere. How's that for a contradiction?)
@ EG:
I give something (rarely more than 50 cents though) if the person really does seem to be destitute. It's so hard to tell, though.
I give myself some psychological cover by making sure that whenver I'm handing over the change, I'm wearing the meanest scowl possible.
I simply don't give money to anyone, any charity, for any reason, ever. That's my policy, and I have far fewer regrets than when I helped some people but not others.
I for one never give money to anyone on the street because there are so many hustlers, drug addicts, ect. Yes it may be an instance where someone who is genuinely in need may get turned down but that’s a risk I’m will to take.
I’ve seen too many times a guy on the street who I gave money to standing in line at the convenience store to purchase some Old English 800. If you want to feel better it’s better to do some research and donate to a reputable charity than just handing out dole to any stranger on the street.
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