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Apr. 1st, 2009 04:00 pmI just fooled the entire office by telling them that I was pregnant. And *everyone* fell for it O_O
Apr. 1st, 2009
(no subject)
Apr. 1st, 2009 04:33 pmLet me introduce to you: The favor trap.
The favor trap is when I promise to fix your leaking pipe for free, or knit you a cap, beta your fic, or just drive you around for errands because you don’t have a car, because I’m your friend or a relative and I’m a nice guy. Aren’t I nice? Yes, I am.
But what if I don’t do what I promised? Half a year later your pipe is still leaking, your head is getting cold for the lack of a cap, and you are getting impatient with your fic. You politely inquire if I don’t have the time for the pipe fixing; you can hire a professional to do the work if I can’t do it. No, I say, of course I will do it, I said that I would! I will do it next week, or I’m just going to buy the yarn for the cap.
So you wait some more because I’m your friend, only to notice that things aren’t looking that good. What then? If you hire someone else, or buy the cap, or ask someone else to beta your fic, you will drive both of us in an embarrassing situation. I will lose my face, and I will probably still keep believing that I would have done the task, and am unable to take the requirement of “in reasonable time” in consideration.
The only solutions are to either wait for me to do what I promised, or that we both, in a silent agreement, pretend that the promise was never made. But until then, you are stuck with my promise. Even if I just promised to drive you around, you can’t change your plans because I already reserved your time. Never mind that I’m three hours late.
And that is a favor trap. Beware of them at all costs.
The favor trap is when I promise to fix your leaking pipe for free, or knit you a cap, beta your fic, or just drive you around for errands because you don’t have a car, because I’m your friend or a relative and I’m a nice guy. Aren’t I nice? Yes, I am.
But what if I don’t do what I promised? Half a year later your pipe is still leaking, your head is getting cold for the lack of a cap, and you are getting impatient with your fic. You politely inquire if I don’t have the time for the pipe fixing; you can hire a professional to do the work if I can’t do it. No, I say, of course I will do it, I said that I would! I will do it next week, or I’m just going to buy the yarn for the cap.
So you wait some more because I’m your friend, only to notice that things aren’t looking that good. What then? If you hire someone else, or buy the cap, or ask someone else to beta your fic, you will drive both of us in an embarrassing situation. I will lose my face, and I will probably still keep believing that I would have done the task, and am unable to take the requirement of “in reasonable time” in consideration.
The only solutions are to either wait for me to do what I promised, or that we both, in a silent agreement, pretend that the promise was never made. But until then, you are stuck with my promise. Even if I just promised to drive you around, you can’t change your plans because I already reserved your time. Never mind that I’m three hours late.
And that is a favor trap. Beware of them at all costs.