Hopefully my good deed goes unpunished....

[SparkDr]

Was at the seasonal campground Sat morning enjoying a cup of coffee and warming up by the fire with my friend / neighbor when an elderly woman from a couple of sites down approached us and asked if we were electricians by any chance. Little did she know, she had just hit the jackpot. Sure enough, we both have spent several years in the trade. Even though it's been several years since I've actively worked the field, I still always carry my tool pouch and meters in my truck wherever I go. To make a long story short, a quick diagnostic indicated that her inverter had failed. With an ailing husband back in Connecticut and being hundreds of miles from home, there was no way we weren't going to take care of her. We sent her off the the local RV dealer to grab a new inverter and had it installed for her in less than 15 minutes upon her return. Despite numerous offers to pay us, we insisted that home-baked cookies are worth more than any amount of money for our services and she could square up with us whenever her next baking event may occur. The problem is this.....the wonderful woman is the prototypical social chatterbox. Everybody at the park loves her and soon enough, word is going to get around the campground. Quite frankly, I fear being known as the on-site electricians going forward. What does one do? I'm here to relax & not work, and my days of charging for my services are behind me. So, how do you help one and not another once the word gets out? Hopefully, I'm all stressed about nothing.

[stateboy]

Make sure the neighbor who helped you is not around and tell the next request that comes in you don't work alone. [emoji2]

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[jkaras7]

It was no coincidence that you were there at that RV park that day. It was by God's will that you were there to help that woman. Put it in His hands.

[Marcm157]

It is definitely a slippery slope for sure. Just be firm and diplomatic with further requests and hope that people will respect your position. Maybe talk someone through something so they can lean to handle on their own. Be there for guidance but not actually doing the labor...

[DanNJanice]

You should have accepted the money, maybe started your own little side business, to keep you out of trouble. Unfortunately, you set a precedence that you work for cheap/free...oh well. I would have done the same.

[norty1]

I have known 2 friends who had the same problem. One worked for beer and the other for soft drinks. One was a retired barber another a retired electrical engineer.
They enjoyed it and had storage compartments full of beverages.