Diaries of a Temp, Chapter 18, Desperate Times Call for Facebook Panhandling
2009 April 30
I remember when Facebook first came out. How hard we laughed when we formed groups, poked each other, and changed our relationship statuses to “Its Complicated” with our best friends. We were hilarious.But with all of the changes the ‘ol FB has been through over the years, never could you have told me that one day people would be using it to handle their personal finances. Or lack thereof.
I now bring you the harrowing tale of what happens when an economy full of people down on their luck meets one of the worst forms of communication since the pager: the Facebook message.
As impersonal as it is impractical, the message function on Facebook has been haunting its users for years. But this time it has gone too far. My friend Maureen Bulmer found out just what happens when technology falls into the wrong hands when she received a loan request from a former colleague through a FB message. The following is my interview with Maureen.
LR: What did u think when you first saw the message?
MB: I was shocked. First she messaged me and asked if she could ask me for a huge favor. I said sure. I thought she was going to ask me about Chicago job connections or something. I certainly didn’t expect that my manager from Wet Seal from 9 years ago would be telling me that her car had been repossessed, she had fallen on hard times, had medical issues and needed my help.
LR: How much did she ask to borrow?
MB: She didn’t ask for a specific dollar amount–but it sounded like it was more than $20 that’s for sure. She asked if I or anyone I knew could loan her money. A. I can’t loan you thousands of dollars and B. I’m not gonna pimp out my friends and family to do so either.
LR: What was your relationship like with this manager?
MB: Well she was 3 yrs older than me, which, in high school was a big difference. Come to think of it, she was always kinda mean to me and had an ego trip cuz she was in a higher position. We never hung out outside of work. Just gossiped in between folding pleather pants.
LR: When was the last time you spoke?
MB: She asked to be my Facebook friend about a year ago and we exchanged Hi’s. Before then it had been about 8 years.
LR: What did you respond to her loan message?
MB: I haven’t responded yet. Every time I start to respond I think, “Is this for real?” I don’t wanna be insensitive if shes in serious need but at the same time i keep thinking there has to be someone else she can ask, right? I was 16 years old when we knew each other!
LR: What did you get paid at Wet Seal?
MB: I started at $6.25 and when i left i was making $7.50. Kind of a big deal.
LR: Why did you work at Wet Seal? And wasn’t it in fact Contempo Casuals at the time you started?
MB: Growing up in Wichita it was either that or LL Bean. Contempo Casuals was a big deal when it came to the mall. I was on the ground breaking staff for the opening store. I started out as the face of the store. I wore a blue Hawaiian print halter top and white tight laced up pants. Oh and wedge heels of course.
LR: What do you think of Facebook messages?
MB: I used to like them but I’d rather have people email me. Chain Facebook messages are the worst. But a thousand dollar money request is indeed rare. I think the general rule is, If you don’t have my phone number, then we’re probably not close enough for you to ask me for money.
LR: Is this the oddest request you’ve received from a Facebook message?
MB: Hands down.
LR: What will you do if she pokes you?
MB: Call the cops. Or giggle and give in.
LR: Can I borrow some money?
MB: No.
LR: Will you loan me some money if I send you a Facebook message?
MB: No.
LR: Well that’s pretty rude of you.
LR: If you get fired from your current job will you go back to Wet Seal?
MB: Those were the glory days…and they cant be tainted. But no, unfortunately I think I have outgrown it.
LR: Any advice for people out there thinking about asking an old acquaintance for money?
MB: If you don’t have their phone number, don’t do it. It’s as simple as that.
**Editors Note: Other forms of communication not recommended for loan requests: Singing telegram, AOL Instant Messenger, writing on the wall, during a game of ‘telephone’, carrier pigeon, text message, YouTube.
Whatever I Can Get,
LR
To see more of LR’s musings, check out her blog!
What about you? Any horror stories of random people in your life asking for money in tactless ways? We’d love to hear about it!
5 Responses
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lol, I remember those times, good post.
I have a good story. Since I have been out of work, I have had family members who are also out of work and approaching me for monetary assistance. How should I turn away family who is in worse financial standing than me?
A few years ago when I was previously unemployed, I attended an “employment workshop” and job-hunting class with a number of other similarly unemployed people. Well a group of us got to know each other a bit and became “friends”. One member of our little group was a very attractive single mom who was managing three kids. One day my cell phone rings and it’s her, asking me if she could “borrow” $40 to buy food for her kids. I told her at the time, that I was still unemployed and really couldn’t afford to give her a loan. She started crying on the telephone and I finally said okay. At the time, I was at a shopping mall and told her that she could meet me there in half an hour to get the money. Well, she showed up early, dragging her littlest daughter with her. And when I gave her the money and mentioned that the grocery store in the mall had a special on chicken, she actually looked surprised, like “what are you talking about”. She promised to pay me back with the money from her first check as she had very recently started a new job as a recruiter with a temp agency. When that date arrived, she called me to tell me that she had “forgotten” her purse at work and would pay me the next week. Next week came and another story. I never got my $40 back but I learned an important lesson. Never to lend money to an acquaintance and to look higher than someone’s chest. Mea culpa.
I must be the only person on the face of the planet who doesn’t have a Facebook account, and seeing crap like this makes me glad I don’t.
My husband however, DOES have a Facebook account. What used to be a few “hi, how are you doing? I haven’t seen you since high school!” type of messages have become pleas from people (who are now strangers) asking for jobs, is his business hiring? etc. My husband runs his own business, and I told him he should NEVER have put that info on his Facebook account, because now all the skeezers are coming out of the woodwork looking for jobs.
I’m with the author of this article, if you don’t have my phone number, haven’t bothered contacting me in years, why the h*** are you asking me for a job out of the blue? And don’t ask me for “loans to help feed your family” either, or send me multiple baby shower invites.
Did you know you can now Twitter payments to anybody through TipJoy.com? It’s so easy even a street panhandler could take in money this way. A cardboard sign could contain all the instructions: “Tip me by Twitter. Give $1 on TipJoy.com to ‘FreewayBum@gmail.com.’” Then get to the library computer . . .
May try it out, purely as a social experiment.