A woman shared her frustration after her neighbour accused her of ruining her daughter’s birthday party because she refused to honour the person’s baffling request
Most of us are no strangers to doing the occasional favour for our neighbours. We might accept parcels on their behalf when they’re not in, so they don’t have to travel all the way to the depot to collect them, or we ask them to water our plants and put our bins out if we’re going away for a week.
Favours between neighbours tend to be small things that don’t take up too much time and aren’t tasks we could just do ourselves. But one woman on Reddit has claimed her “entitled” neighbour recently came to her with a demand that was too big for her to fulfil – and had choice words for her when she refused.
The woman explained she loves to bake and often posts photos of her cakes on social media to share her creations with her friends and family. However, she insisted she only bakes as a hobby, not as a job.
Recently, her neighbour knocked on her door and asked if she would be willing to make 30 cupcakes for her daughter’s upcoming birthday, with the stipulation that she wouldn’t be paid for her efforts.
The woman said she doesn’t take requests and wouldn’t be able to make the cakes, but the neighbour argued she “wasn’t doing” anything anyway, so she should help out.
In her post, the woman wrote: “I occasionally post photos of the cakes I make on social media, and my neighbour saw them and decided I should help out with her daughter’s birthday party by baking 30 cupcakes for free.
“When I politely said I only bake as a hobby and did not take orders, she said, ‘But you are doing nothing this weekend anyway, right?’ When I refused again, she told everyone at the party that I bailed on helping a child.
“Lady, your party planning is not my unpaid internship.”
Commenters on the post were left baffled by the woman’s neighbour. Many said they don’t understand how people can be so “entitled” to expect others to do things for free, while others argued the woman should monetise her skills and agree to bake cakes for other people as long as she’s compensated for her work.
One person said: “The entitlement is wild. ‘You like baking, so obviously you’ll cater my kid’s party for free!’ Next time, tell her you like sleeping, too. Maybe she’ll let you take a nap at her place for exposure.”
Another added: “If she tries it again, say yes, but you will need payment up front. Give her a massively over-inflated bill for ingredients, your time, etc. Tell her you will need the payment the week before to secure the goods. I bet that’ll shut her up.”
A third posted: “Shame is a helpful emotion, some people don’t have enough of it.”
Commenters also praised the woman for standing her ground and refusing to give in to her neighbour’s outlandish demand.
One said: “This really is great that you refused in no uncertain terms. Let the lady spread vitriol, and if asked about it you can honestly set the other neighbour’s straight.”
