The Weirdest Reaction Ever
In my 20s, I worked as a pool and spa technician. During this period, I worked at a property that included a 10-bedroom mansion with 14 bathrooms, a saltwater swimming pool, tennis court, guest house, and a four-bedroom servants’ home with five baths. But that was not the most amazing part of this property.
For two years, no one was ever at the property. It was owned by a middle-aged single woman who lived about four hours away. She didn’t visit the property because she was too busy working. A multi-multi-multi-million-dollar compound, just empty. Every day. After two years I finally got a phone call from my manager on my day off.
He asked me if I would go to his house to store some pool floats. He apologized because it was my holiday, but said that the owner would pay $500 for me to put them away. I was puzzled as to why the pool floats were out, since nobody was there. But I thought who cared; $500 for ten minutes.
When I arrived at the home, the woman’s children with 10 kids were all there having a pool party/cookout. I awkwardly approached one of the parents and said, “Sorry. It must have been an error. I was asked to come remove pool floats, but it’s obvious that you’re here, so I’ll go.”
Instead, I received the strangest response. Her adult son replied, “Oh no, we are getting ready to go.” “You can take them,” he said, then instructed the children to push them toward me. I grabbed four pool noodles and one inner tube float, carried them 10 feet to the pool house and stored them. I said, in a confused manner, that they were ready to go and left.
The son gave me $20 folded in a mass. It was $400. I expected $500 in payment from my boss, but $400 was still a lot of money for the work I did, so I didn’t mention it. My boss gave me an additional $1,000 the next day. I told him that my son had already given me $400.
He said the son had told her what a good job I’d done, so instead of $500 she wanted to give me $1000, and that $400 was a tip. For 10 minutes’ work. The next day, she called my boss to ask for reimbursement of gas because it was only 15 minutes away from my home. I told him I was ready.
