Oh, that satisfying feeling of teaching a person a lesson by doing the same thing that they did to you. While revenge is almost never a good solution, we are still human, and it feels good to feel a small sense of victory over someone who did you wrong.
Some folks tend to create different kinds of revenge plans, but sometimes the best one is simply doing the same thing that person did to you. For example, one Reddit user returned his neighbor’s new laptop to the shipping office after it was misdelivered, as the neighbor did this to him around a year ago.
More info: Reddit
‘Treat others how you want to be created’ - this saying is not only about the good things
Image credits: Liza Summer (not the actual photo)
This man shares that his and neighbor’s house numbers are very similar and easy to confuse, so about a year ago, his order was delivered to the neighbor
Image credits: Polina Tankilevitch (not the actual photo)
After a few days he found out that his order had been left on the neighbor’s porch, so when he went to pick it up from him, he said that he had brought it back to the shipping hub
Image credits: Kindel Media (not the actual photo)
Recently, while working from home, the man noticed a box delivered to his porch which was his neighbor’s, 1-day rush delivery
Image credits: u/JHW7753
So he took the box, went straight to the shipping center, and the next day, when the neighbor came looking for his box, he simply reminded him of his own behavior a year ago
A few days ago, a Reddit user took his story online, sharing his revenge story on his neighbor by returning his new laptop back to the shipping office, as the neighbor had done the same thing to him a year ago. The post caught a lot of attention and collected 19.5K upvotes and more than 1.3K comments.
The original poster (OP) starts his story by explaining that he and his neighbor are not friends, but wave to each other when passing. Also, their house numbers are similar, thus sometimes orders get misdelivered. This one time, OP’s order was delivered to his neighbor’s porch, but to his surprise, when he went to get it, the neighbor informed him that he had brought it back to the shipping center.
He notes that it was very frustrating as it took 5 more days to redeliver. However, around a year passed, and OP noticed a box on his porch. Well, turns out, it was his neighbor’s laptop. So, he picked it up and went straight to the shipping center. He waited until 4:50, to make sure that they couldn’t redeliver on the same day and left it there.
The following day, the neighbor paid a visit asking if OP had received a box. All he said was that he took it back to be delivered again. As you can imagine, the neighbor was not the happiest to hear that. He asked why OP did it, to which he just answered that he had asked the same thing earlier when the neighbor had done the same thing with his order.
Community members loved this revenge story, but also suggested a few alternative ideas as to how it could have been solved. “Maybe I'm wrong but I would have brought it to the neighbor right away and said, ‘See me bringing this to you? Please do the same for me should the situations be reversed. Have a good day,’” one user shared. “And just like that, the neighbor found out Karma is a real thing. Well played,” another noted.
Image credits: Windows (not the actual photo)
“The common saying is ‘Revenge is sweet,’ but psychological research has found the opposite," Nancy Kaser-Boyd, Ph.D., A.B.A.P., who is a clinical and forensic psychologist, shared with Bored Panda. “Those who sought revenge in psychological experiments said that they didn't feel as good as they thought they would.”
She also adds that revenge often ties up the thoughts and emotions of the revenge-seeker and prohibits moving on. “Finally, there may be a cost to revenge, as in apprehension for a bad act, or retaliation. It also may bother the conscience of a person with moral values,” Dr. Kaser-Boyd notes.
Speaking about the psychological factors that may drive individuals towards seeking revenge, Dr. Kaser-Boyd emphasizes that there is likely a difference between those who seek revenge for big issues, such as some serious crime, or small issues, like the one in the story. Also, culture plays a role.
“Keeping to the story, and other similar acts, revenge is often seen in those who are easily angered or irritated and not likely to forgive others or give them the benefit of the doubt,” she notes. “Research has found that these individuals often are low on the personality trait of empathy and they have authoritarian attitudes and react when they are made to feel powerless.”
Finally, Dr. Kaser-Boyd shares that the target of a bad act is probably best served by communicating with the person who harmed them and voicing their feelings. “Those who wish to avoid becoming the target of revenge might think about apologizing, as this goes a long way towards addressing the feelings of the person who feels harmed.”
So while revenge may seem nice, in the long run, it’s not the best option, especially with neighbors - they are people who you meet almost every day and basically are very important for your well-being in your own home. But what do you think about this story?
Redditors applauded the author for his revenge and shared their own stories about deliveries
