We’ve all known those people who love to complain or who love to turn a fairly simple situation into a problem.
Sometimes these people come in the form of service workers and surprise us at our homes, pointed out the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA) subReddit.
Redditor axthetix was surprised to be confronted by their pizza delivery guy about his shoes being ruined in their yard, even though they had a sign outside providing people from walking there.
When he refused to leave without compensation, the Original Poster (OP) was at a loss for what to do next.
They asked the sub:
“AITA for not replacing the delivery guy’s shoes?”
The OP was adamant about people staying off their lawn.
“This just happened a few hours ago and I’m still seething with anger. I ordered pizza for delivery for dinner from a local place, a place my family orders from often. I got 2 pizzas for my family and waited for delivery.”
“25 minutes later, I went to greet the delivery driver at the door. I have 4 dogs that are free to poop in the yard, so I have a sign that tells people to keep off the grass. I have the sign so people who aren’t my friends/family stay off the grass in general. I don’t want people who I don’t know on my grass.”
“Also, I haven’t cleaned up the dog poo due to the constant rain and it is extremely cold outside. I have a walkway that’s very large and lit up. The sign is lit up as well.”
The pizza delivery guy didn’t listen to the yard sign.
“Especially considering it’s been rainy and muddy the last few weeks, I never would have expected the delivery boy to walk through the grass.”
“He did. Once he got to the door, he began complaining that he stepped in dog poop and that his new shoes were ruined.”
“I looked at his shoes, and he indeed had dog s**t on them.”
“I shrugged and pointed to the sign that said to keep off the grass.”
“I tried to hand him the cash and get the pizzas, but he refused.”
“He told me I needed to pay for the shoes to be replaced as they were around $120.”
“I laughed in his face. Thinking he must’ve been joking, I brushed it off and once again tried to get the pizzas.”
“He didn’t budge and told me that he was taking the pizzas back and would be back to get the money later.”
The argument didn’t end there.
“I was angry with what happened, but I made alternate dinner plans and let him leave.”
“He pulled in again and demanded payment for the shoes, and I once again declined.”
“My husband came to the door as well, on my side. I wasn’t going to pay because the delivery driver was careless.”
“While I continued to argue with the driver, my husband called the pizza place and put them on speakerphone. He asked to speak to whoever was in charge and was informed that it was the owner on the line.”
“My husband let him know about the situation, but to our surprise, he sided with the delivery driver. The owner was clearly angry as well and said, ‘If you don’t pay my son for his replacement shoes, your address will be blacklisted from our restaurant.'”
“My husband ended the call and we decided to just ignore them and not eat there anymore.”
The OP wasn’t sure what to do next.
“The driver clearly was not going to leave, after another hour and a half of arguing.”
“I told him I would call the police if he didn’t leave our front door.”
“Now he’s parked on the street, technically not our property, and sitting there. It’s been another hour.”
“Police can’t remove him since it’s not our property, but I’m very uncomfortable.”
“I told my family about the situation and my brother-in-law told me I’m acting like a b***h.”
“AITA for not paying?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NTA: Not the A**hole
- YTA: You’re the A**hole
- ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
- NAH: No A**holes Here
Some said the pizza delivery guy should have listened to the sign and been more prepared.
“I worked at a few restaurants where they let us wear jeans as part of the uniform. Everyone has their casual pair and then their bougie pair. You never wear the bougie pair to work. Didn’t think that needed to be a Pro Life Tip.”
“If you are a dumb-dumb and wear the super nice ones, and something bad happens to them while on the job, you can only blame yourself.” – JrCoxy
“NTA.”
“Hasn’t everyone stepped in dog poop at some point or another? While it’s super gross, it washes off. It doesn’t ruin shoes, especially sneakers that are generally pretty durable shoes.”
“I usually wear Tieks ($200 flats) to work. A few weeks ago, someone let their 900-pound dog s**t on the sidewalk and didn’t clean it up. I wasn’t paying attention and stepped in it while walking to my car.”
“It encased my entire shoe and was encroaching on touching my foot. I carefully took the shoe off, ran inside, and thoroughly washed it off.”
“And what do you know, once it dried it was good as new. The whole ordeal set me back 5-10 minutes.”
“I can’t see waiting hours to get vengeance on the poop offender (especially when in OP’s situation, there was a sign and he still chose to walk through their grass instead of the walkway, which is rude in and of itself).” – CaffeinatedCannoli
“If he DID wear $120 shoes to deliver the pizza, and wasn’t just tossing out a high number in the hopes of scamming a few extra bucks out of the OP. His unhinged behavior suggests that to me!”
“And, as many people have pointed out, why wear nice shoes right after it’s been raining? Lawns will be muddy (duh!) and you’ll get that mud on your footwear. A pair of rainboots that can be hosed down afterwards is a much smarter choice!” – Marzipan-Shepherdess
“Seriously NTA. Have you ever worked in a pizza restaurant? Why would you wear 120 dollar shoes to a place where grease and cheese and oil is FLYING EVERYWHERE??”
“I delivered pizza for 2 different restaurants when I was younger and not a single item of clothing came out unscathed. Not to mention actually going out in the elements.” – Deflorma
Others suspected the pizza delivery guy had done all of this on purpose.
“He just wanted new shoes and thought it a brilliant idea to try to scare you into paying for them. And got daddy on board.”
“How absurd his complaint sounds. He could even have them dry/wet cleaned and they would be just as good, for a fraction of the cost. But I bet he wouldn’t take those offers, he Has To Stand His (play)Ground.”
“NTA. And I think you could start documenting his harassment with photos, videos, recordings. Talk to your lawyer and be prepared for some revenge in the coming days.”
“I think you should name and shame them on social media.”
“NTA.” – EchoWillowing
“This kinda sounds stupid enough that I’m wondering if he had previously damaged the shoes and then deliberately wore them through the yard to try and make OP pay to replace them rather than admit it to his parents, or it’s an ongoing scam from the entire family.”
“Anyone who cares enough dog poop (which washes off just fine) also cares about mud.” – KahurangiNZ
“He purposefully took the opportunity to find a way to a) get a new pair of kicks or b) blame someone else for messing up the overpriced sneakers daddy bought him. Sounds like the whole fam is in on it. May have a track record for being scammers. OP def NTA.” – kikibannedthis
Some recommended writing a review or filing a report.
“I recommend leaving a review warning other people who have yards. Wouldn’t want them to make the same mistake.”
“NTA.” – YourCaptainSpeaking_
“‘Son of Pizza Place owners delivers pizza and will stomp through your muddy lawn and ruin your grass. Even if you have signs about not walking on the grass because it’s also a dog bathroom.'”
“‘Will then complain about having dirty shoes and attempt to extort money for new shoes. Will stalk and harass you by sitting in his car at your property line for hours. Pizza place owner will support Son in all of this.'”
“I hope OP documents everything, and if they hear another peep from these people, will file a police report for harassment/menacing.” – AQualityKoalaTeacher
While the OP was unnerved with what was happening in their driveway and wondered if they should simply honor the pizza delivery guy’s demands, the subReddit did not think it was the way to go. Rather, they felt documenting, reporting, and reviewing were.
After all, the shoes likely could be cleaned, not to mention the fact that there was a sign expressly forbidding people from walking in the yard where all of this took place.