"My car broke down. Can you help me with gas?"

[SandEagle]

so i stop by the gas station and there's this dude sitting on the sidewalk, no shirt, holding a 2 gallon gas container. he stops me and tells me he's from out of town and his car ran out of gas a few miles away and he needs money for gas to get home. i told him to stop by my pump in a few minutes and i'd fill up his container. he paused for a second and asked if i could just give him cash instead. :\ w.t.f.? clearly he was trying to play me for a fool.

come up with a better sob story next time buddy. this is why i hate being the good samaritan.

 

[trmiv]

Ahh yes, the old I need to buy gas story. I've been hit up at many gas stations by that one.

 

[Juddog]

Classic gas story. Reminds me of a homeless looking dude asking my friend for money because he's starving; so my friend says I'll buy you some food and the homeless dude just wants money instead.

 

[highland145]

Should have said,"I've got herpes. Want some?"

 

[Jeeebus]

An old favorite. Modified in DC by the homeless guys walking along the metro/subway platforms with a fare ticket, pleading for change because they need to put more money on so they can get home.

 

[SagaLore]

Years ago I had a guy wave me down in the middle of a downpour, told me he was from (city a few hours away) and his engine broke down, he needed $200 to fix it and would send me the money back in the mail when he got back to (city a few hours away). I guess he never heard of financing.

 

[rudder]

He wants gas in his tank... the Mad Dog 20/20 kind.

 

[disappoint]

I usually just tell them I'm a hedge fund manager and walk away. They'll understand.

 

[PingSpike]

LOL....holding the gas can to look the part and at a gas station, why wouldn't he expect some one would buy him some actual gas?

 

[Gibson486]

A few months ago, I was at Downtown Crossing. I was asked if i could help a woman buy food....just bread. She looked poor, so I felt bad. I said, "fine, let's go to 7-11". While we are walking, she starts hugging me and thanking me. Then she says, "Oh, one more favor, could you buy me a pack of cigarettes?" I just paused. I respond, "Ahhh...No. I'll buy you bread, but not cigarettes". She then goes, "fine, just buy me the cigarettes....PLEEEEAAASSSEEE!". I said, "You know, I am just going to leave. Find someone else to buy them for you". Then she gets really close and says ,"You know, if you buy them for me, we can put something in my mouth besides a cigarette". I literally just jumped away and said bye.

 

[Juddog]

A few months ago, I was at Downtown Crossing. I was asked if i could help a woman buy food....just bread. She looked poor, so I felt bad. I said, "fine, let's go to 7-11". While we are walking, she starts hugging me and thanking me. Then she says, "Oh, one more favor, could you buy me a pack of cigarettes?" I just paused. I respond, "Ahhh...No. I'll buy you bread, but not cigarettes". She then goes, "fine, just buy me the cigarettes....PLEEEEAAASSSEEE!". I said, "You know, I am just going to leave. Find someone else to buy them for you". Then she gets really close and says ,"You know, if you buy them for me, we can put something in my mouth besides a cigarette". I literally just jumped away and said bye.

Jumped away? Hell a pack of cigs for a BJ is considered a bargain in my area!

 

[Gibson486]

Jumped away? Hell a pack of cigs for a BJ is considered a bargain in my area!

If she was Mila Kunis, yeah, but she was the exact opposite.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Classic gas story. Reminds me of a homeless looking dude asking my friend for money because he's starving; so my friend says I'll buy you some food and the homeless dude just wants money instead.

90% of the time, this is always the case.

 

[Aikouka]

I had a woman come up to me in the Target parking lot a week or two ago. Man, this one must have taken some good bullshitting classes or something, because she really laid it on thick.

She starts off a bit apologetic for bothering me and explains how she only made $17 last night at Cracker Barrel (I think that was it). Apparently, some sitter was watching her kids (was either 4 or 6 of them...), and if she didn't come pick them up in 30 minutes, the sitter was going to call DHR (child services) on her. She said she needed $42 to rent a room at the Red Roof Inn, and that I could call to confirm that's how much a room is. I heard how she's actually from Richmond, VA, and she's down here for some reason I can't even remember.

I think at this point, she saw me hesitating a bit, and she'd need to resort to even more tactics. She told me how a woman spat in her face... a man spat in her face, and another guy said he'd help if she got between his legs. By this time, I almost thought I'd have to call the utilities company, because the waterworks had sprung quite a leak!

I gave the usual response, "Sorry, I don't have any cash." But this one doesn't give up like the others, "Can you go to an ATM?" Now I needed a good excuse to get out of this one since Target has an ATM inside. "Umm, my bank isn't from around here." Not exactly the most clever excuse, but it's actually true. "What bank is it?" "It's a credit union." Apparently, she has never heard of credit unions before, because she gave up at that point.

 

[TheNinja]

Ahh yes, I feel for that 1 time. I just moved to a big city from a smaller town and gave the guy like 45 cents or something. Now I just tell them to F off and get a gas gauge that works so they don't run out.

 

[feralkid]

90% of the time, this is always the case.

Yogi Berra quote?

 

[Leros]

The funny part is when you see them a few weeks later in different area and you call them out. Hilarity usually ensues.

 

[HN]

Sometimes i just start speaking vietnamese and they're just like

and when one of these threads come up, i like to give a shout out to the "do you have 25 cents?" lady in the san gabriel / alhambra / monterey park area. y'all know the one.

 

[PingSpike]

A few months ago, I was at Downtown Crossing. I was asked if i could help a woman buy food....just bread. She looked poor, so I felt bad. I said, "fine, let's go to 7-11". While we are walking, she starts hugging me and thanking me. Then she says, "Oh, one more favor, could you buy me a pack of cigarettes?" I just paused. I respond, "Ahhh...No. I'll buy you bread, but not cigarettes". She then goes, "fine, just buy me the cigarettes....PLEEEEAAASSSEEE!". I said, "You know, I am just going to leave. Find someone else to buy them for you". Then she gets really close and says ,"You know, if you buy them for me, we can put something in my mouth besides a cigarette". I literally just jumped away and said bye.

Jumped away...to post this in the Hot Deals forum?

 

[Josh123]

Ya I had a guy on the otherside of my pump ask for some cash to gas. I told him I didn't have any but would pay for him to put some in his tank with my credit card. I don't think it was what he was hoping for but oh well lol.

 

[cherrytwist]

The gas line is down to an art form where I live to where they actually carry those 1 gallon tanks around. I see the same guys at the same places all the time and they never remember me.

edit: sorry OP I didn't read your post til after I posted

this subject comes up frequently and my response is always similar. If you're asking me for money for food, you can have some of what I'm eating (pizza for example, this has happened at an outside pizza parlor). His response "Nah, I don't like pizza." Mine was then you're not that fucking hungry.
If you want a cigarette, sure. Hell I've even bought homeless guys packs of smokes. (I've quit smoking since.)

But 99% of the time it's for alcohol or drugs. IF they are honest about it, I would give them a couple of bucks. Shit, they're homeless. My life is pretty good. It's the BS I just can't stand.

My wife and I'd given a fabulously gay man who "needed bus money to get to Fee Fee" once, only for him to return with the same story time and time again when we lived in that neighborhood. He didn't even remember us. From then on we turned "Fee Fee" down.

I always judge on a case by case basis when it comes to people "in need". Usually I don't provide what they're looking for simply b/c they aren't honest about it.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

My wife and I'd given a fabulously gay man who "needed bus money to get to Fee Fee" once, only for him to return with the same story time and time again when we lived in that neighborhood. He didn't even remember us. From then on we turned "Fee Fee" down.

"phee phee" is street slang for crystal meth.

 

[airdata]

Just can't get very far with $10 anymore...

 

[Lithium381]

I had the same story as the guy at 7-11. Walking up from the bus-stop I was approached by a woman who asked if i could buy her a cup of coffee. Sure, it was a cold morning and she looked like she's "needy". So I said let me grab my chips and soda and just meet me up front with your coffee, and I'll get it. She shows up at the front with Coffee and then requests cigs from the clerk. I tell the clerk i'll take care of the coffee, but the cigs are on her. she gave me a look like i just ran over her dog and then came back and pissed on it....... some people.

 

[sygyzy]

The most annoying and slightly scary variation I've seen is where they badger you for a sizeable loan so they can buy enough gas to get somewhere far away (like 1+ hours). That gives them an excuse to ask for more than a few dollars. My friends and I pulled up to a neighborhood bar/restaurant. This guy approached my friend and said his car broke down and he needed to get to a city about 1.5 hours away. He said he had no money for gas and if we could just spot him a $20, it'd really help. But, it wouldn't be a gift. We'd just be giving him a loan. If we gave him our HOME ADDRESS and telephone number, he would mail us a check once he got home!