All work must be paid - this is one of the basic principles on which the world economy rests. A person invests strength, time, skills and energy in their work, and in return, they definitely must receive a predetermined amount of money, otherwise, in principle, the meaning of any work is lost.
On the other hand, the employer always has the right to count on a conscientious and qualified performance of this work - because otherwise the money will actually be thrown away. This is also a fundamental principle of economics, and it is not recommended to violate it. But many workers, hired and not only, unfortunately, ignore this particular principle...
Let's say like one of the heroes of this story, recently told by the user ntMkeMeUseMyHRVoice in the AITA Reddit community. The original post got over 3.8K upvotes and nearly 500 different comments in less than two weeks, so it's safe to say that people were interested in it. So, let's figure out what's what here...
More info: Reddit
The author of the post was leaving town for several days so they asked their neighbors' 16-Y.O. son to petsit their cat and dog
Image credits: Nicki Dugan Pogue (not the actual image)
Image credits: u/DntMkeMeUseMyHRVoice
The authors of the post were away from home for some time, so they asked the 16-year-old son of their neighbors to look after their pets - a dog and a cat. The work, frankly, was not very difficult - it was only necessary to feed the animals daily, give them water, and also walk the dog. The cat, as the owners told the teenager, was an indoor cat, so the main task here was, on the contrary, not to let her out on the street.
Image credits: u/DntMkeMeUseMyHRVoice
The boy turned out to be unlucky as he lost the house key and then the cat ran away
The problems began as early as the second day, when the boy said that he had lost the key to the house, which had been left for him. They had to tell him the garage code so he could get into the house. However, now there was a new risk - as long as the garage was open, the cat could escape into the street. Which, in fact, appeared to have happened when the owners returned home two more days later.
Image credits: Iain Farrell (not the actual image)
The hapless petsitter said he last saw the cat in the morning of the same day, but the Original Poster checked the security cameras and saw the animal outside the house at about 5:30, before the garage doors were reported to open. Accordingly, the cat ran away at least a day before, and the boy lied. For the first time, that is.
Image credits: u/DntMkeMeUseMyHRVoice
The owners checked the security cameras and found out that the boy lied to them, and then discovered another lie when he told them he'd find the lost cat
The teenager promised to urgently find the lost cat and left. In fact, this turned out to be his second lie - after all, after some time, the author of the post just saw him with a grocery bag - so he, obviously, had not gone to look for anyone.
Image credits: u/DntMkeMeUseMyHRVoice
The owners began to get very worried - after all, not far from their house there was a place where coyotes gathered, and the cat was very small, so it could well have been attacked. However, very soon she came home herself, so the owners were incredibly happy.
Image credits: u/DntMkeMeUseMyHRVoice
Finally the cat came home herself, yet the owners decided to refuse to pay the boy
And then the question arose - is it worth paying the petsitter at all? Now not only will they have to change the locks in the whole house, but also, the employers had to endure many unpleasant hours in search of their pet. In the end, the owners decided not to pay the boy at all - after all, he actually did not do his job, and caused a lot of problems for his employers in addition.
By the way, in order to prevent such cases, pet-sitters are strongly recommended to insure their services. Yes, it costs money, but it guarantees protection in any unforeseen situation. "Not having insurance coverage if a situation did arise would likely result in legal action by your client and could lead to financial ruin from your company," experts at petsit.com say.
Image credits: Jean-Francous Gornet (not the actual image)
Most people in the comments agreed with their decision and backed the pet owners
We must say that in general, people in the comments supported this decision, stating that it would probably be worth creating a special list of items that the guy was supposed to complete, and specifying the fee separately for each of them. Accordingly, after all, he should have received some kind of payment, because, at least, he fed and watered the dog.
Some other commenters noted that the author of the post should probably have honestly explained the situation to the teenager and said that he would not receive anything, and that this story should be a lesson for him anyway. If the guy started to get indignant, then they would have to tell them what they know about his two lies, and that it is better to agree after all. Be that as it may, it remains to be hoped that in the future, the teenager will be more responsible for his upcoming jobs.
As always, we look forward to your comments, and in addition, if you have experienced the same or a similar situation, then please tell us your story in the comments on this post.