A question about etiquette ...What to expect for a day of helping people?

Kern Dog said
So guess what our grand payment was for our efforts.....
5 1/2 hours, ONE bottle of water.
Yeah....
NO food, NO beer, NO snacks, NO thanks until I told him near the end that he should have been thanking us and offering to pay. I was kidding about the money. I was absolutely NOT kidding about the thanks.
In my experience, the guy getting the help always offers food and drinks, BEER if the guys want it.
I would have refused money.
I would have not refused food. The Wife is flat out pissed to see me help a guy this clueless. Its as if he is a Social Savant...He is either clueless as to social protocol or is a cheap and thoughtless prick.
I am always getting people asking for help with something. If it isn't an all day thing, I'm willing to lend a hand. I see it as karma....Maybe God and the universe sees my efforts and somehow good fortune will come my way.
I have GOT to learn how to say no to people without feeling guilty about it.
This guy bit off waaaaaay more than he could chew and is leaning on everyone he can to build this car. Some time ago he wanted to rebuild the front suspension and convert it to disc brakes. I told him that I would do one side, let him watch and then he would do the other side. All I heard is you are so much stronger, I don't have the endurance that you do and other excuses. The whole story of Tom Sawyer and fence painting came to mind.
The guy had no 1/2" drive tools. You need these for suspension and steering work.
He couldn't figure out how to install torsion bars. He couldn't get the grease boots on. He was able to put the C clips in at the torsion bar crossmember though.
Today we put the engine and headers in, set the 2' level across the valve covers and rocked the engine around until it was level then I hung around about a half hour thinking he would offer to get sandwiches or a pizza.
No, we each got a bottle of water.

In the service, we had to ‘train’ many, many youth social etiquette. Some of the most brilliant ones could complete essay tests in thermodynamics, hydro-mechanics, physics, electric & circuit math-but often fail to simply zip up their pants after using the urinal-let alone the most awful social skills.

I once bitched and ranted on this forum years ago that a young sailor came to work unprepared to stand watch (security) outdoors and demanded that we provide him with a coat when the Navy paid him and it was his responsibility to go and buy a matching jacket for his uniform. ( we have many,many uniforms). The leadership would not support me as middle management to make him go out and suffer his consequences. A perfect example of the social flaw in our society.

Some of the more valuable men still got in trouble fighting imaginary ninjas (in his late 20’s) talking to themselves out loud, and even the general rude, crude arguments and be completely self centered.

As long as they could memorize and regurgitate, perform under pressure, they got promoted...SMH

The sad and simple fact is that many people have children, but do not raise them, do not take the effort and hard path of disciplining their children.
My grandfather always talked smack to me that it would be a problem I would have to deal with, and it is much worse than the worst fools he dealt with.