What would you do? I love my allotment and get on really well with the folk there. BUT what do you say when people ask to borrow your strimmer of rotovator. Please don`t think me selfish, but the times that I have lent them out they come back not as they should be i.e. broken and not a word. We are really keen and spend a lot of time at the lotty and have some good tools etc. I give plants to people, I strim a couple of paths for people who find it difficult Ive helped erect sheds but I hate lending equipment. What can I say so as not to offend. (I had thought of putting up a notice please don`t ask for loan of machines as a refusal may offend) ??? :-\
don't see why not, we've had to put up a 'do not smoke in the communal shed' notice as there's one person who smokes and insists on doing so when people are eating..
it's very hard but you've paid good money for your stuff..only other thing is to say 'as long as it comes back in the same state you got it '..either way, they might take offence :)
Thanks Manicscourser, glad I not being a "grump" There is always someone ruin it for everyone else. I am nearly to the point where if I`m going to use the strimmer or rotovator I go at the crack of dawn but then the residents nearby would be cross.
I know it could be a bit of a slog - how about just taking it to lottie when you need to use it there, leave it at home otherwise. When they ask - "its not kept here anymore sorry...."
I know the feeling, late husband used to lend his expensive tools and like you he often got them back showing signs of bad handling. In the end he just stopped lending. He would never borrow tools, if it was something he would only use once or twice he would hire if not he would buy his own. I think you just have to say no.
Lorna.
I agree... we used to "hire" out a rotovator as a society but the inability to clean it before return and the damage it got meant we had to stop...
:-\
Best to take it home, then you have a reason to say "no" - you're using it to do something at home which might take some time. I did lend my strimmer once, in fact I offered it, and had no problems, but with someone else, I'm not so sure. I see how some people don't take too much care over their tools and think that's how they would treat something borrowed.
Hi, I would be truthful and very nicely say , I am sorry but I would rather not if you don't mind.
I find people are so taken by your honesty that they apologise for asking and are not at all offended. Then you are not having to search for excuses.
This works for me.
XX Jeannine
My OH's old mate Joe on our site is the same with his. If he feels inclined to lend he asks to see what they are going to rotavate with it and won't let anyone who wants to churn up their weeds use it. As far as he is concerned it's for soil cultivation. That said it doesn't help you much as Joe doesn't care if he offends or not. ::) ;D
Just ask yourself 'How many of those borrowers would lend you their car for the weekend'?
I'm quite happy to lend most garden tools, including petrol-driven ones. I take the view that they're meant to be used, and I don't expect them to be pristine. But people are very often careless with them, which is irritating, and don't point out that something has broken or needs replacing, which is extremely annoying when I next want to use it myself!
But to be fair, when a neighbouring lotty holder stabbed a fork through the bottom of our wheelbarrow recently, they were extremely apologetic and offered to replace the whole barrow. It was easily mended, and I wasn't at all offended, simply because they were honest and didn't try to cover up.
Edit: Thinking about it, I'm quite happy to lend garden tools, but don't ask to borrow my woodworking or mechanics' tools. I'm very jealous of those!
I've not yet been asked to lend out any lottie tools, but have lent out power tools in the past and have had them returned damaged and broken. Have learnt my lesson sadly.
I may have posted this before, and apologies if so, but this is a wonderful site http://www.northerntooluk.com/
It's not so much what they sell as the amusing straplines that appear randomly at the top of each page as you navigate the site. Two of my favourites:
Never borrow tools; never ask for directions.
There's no shame in not owning tools, just as there's no shame in holding your wife's handbag for a minute.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
It explains a lot about why we have a horror of lending (some) tools, and perhaps why borrowers who mistreat equipment just don't "get it". If someone wants to borrow, say, one of my nice torque wrenches, I have to ask the question why they don't already own one. Presumably they don't have much experience of using such a thing, and may well be under the illusion that it doubles as a breaker bar. :o
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Melbourne!!
Love - "dirty fingernails don't make you a man...missing fingernails, now that makes you a man."
my fav - "If power corrupts we can make you a very bad man indeed."
Interesting topic Good Gourd.
Me and my father-in-law have COMPLETELY the opposite views about lending people stuff on the allotment. I'm all for it (I'm an obsessive 'helper-outer') but he's dead against it (he's a miserable bu**er!)
A really good friend of mine came round a few weeks ago to ask if she could use our rotivator. She was 7 months pregnant and couldn't really dig her beds over.
She actually teaches gardening for a living and her allotment is (usually - apart from pregnancy) pristine so I thought it was a fair favour.
ANYWAY! I said she could borrow it and told her to ask Father-in-law how to start it etc (I never touch the blasted thing)
He gave her SUCH a roasting about borrowing it, I was embarrassed. "What if you break it? I paid for it you know! Are you going to pay a deposit then?"
He's a big softy really so he gave in eventually (after making her suffer - poor girl!)
The next day, he took it out of the shed to rotivate the bean row ........
AND THE WHEEL FELL OFF ::)
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry!
One of the few times that we've genuinely been upset by carelessness was when we used to have a little holiday house in France, when the children were growing up. It was a lovely place, but not "posh", so we used to lend it to friends and family for holidays rather than ask for rent.
There were always odd breakages and minor problems; some people mended or replaced things, others didn't, but hey, life's too short to get too agitated over spilt coffee.
But on one occasion we'd lent the house to a niece, who was studying languages at uni, and needed to spend some months in France as part of her course. Well, at that time of year, we were glad to have the place occupied. Her parents collected her, locked the place up, and it remained empty for some weeks until the next visitors arrived.
When they did, we got a phone call. The water wasn't working. They'd followed our instructions to turn it on, but no water. We contacted the water company who had turned it off due to excessive consumption! This began to worry us, so we called a plumber. It turned out that when our niece had left, her dad had turned the water off with such force that he broke the stopcock (he'd actually turned it the wrong way, and forced it with a pair of pliers). Water had spurted across the cellar like a fountain. Unable to remedy it, and in a hurry to get the ferry, they'd simply left it like that.
After a few days, the water company detected the leak, and switched it off at the main. The water bill alone was over 500 euros, and the damage to the cellar, plus the plumber's fees took us well into four figures. Negligence isn't insured of course.
We were astonished and asked why on earth they hadn't at least told us about the problem. The response of the culprits? "You must expect some wear and tear", they shrugged.
Classic Trix, GG a polite notice explaining that your fed up with expenditure due to the constant repairs to your tools, should suffice and failing that tell them to bugger off. ;D ;D ;D
We bought a strimmer today and nobody is gonna borrow it. We spent our saved money on and if others want to use one they can bloomin well buy one. Sometimes you have to be straight forward with folks. There are so many folks these days trying to get a free ride on the backs of others. It's not that we are meanies. We will help anyone who genuinely needs it.
John bought a £140 strimmer a couple of years ago,he used it once to cut down some long grass. It sat in the lock up at the lottie, a couple of weeks later someone asked to borrow it,we heard it running for about half an hour then the borrower came and said it didn't go.He said he had tried everything but never managed to start it..fibs as we heard it. It was broken. Why on earth he couldn't just tell us when it stopped and what he was doing at the time astounded me. He had fiddled with it, poured different fuel in and generally messed it up, and it wasn't even dirty when he took it.
XX Jeannine
I don't know yet about lottie neighbours, as nobody has asked yet. That maybe because I haven't actually taken any powered tools up there yet, except a cordless grass trimmer to clear the path. I probably would lend to my immediate neighbour, as he has been good enough to dig some of our plot for us this year.
Relatives on the other hand, I would say a definite NO to in future, unless I can be there at the time. My son and his wife have a garage/cellar full of stuff belonging to us (not only garden stuff). It took me four months to get my petrol strimmer back, and although I filled it with petrol before they took it, it was returned (eventually and only after I badgered them), completely bone dry, and covered in dry grass.
I've never had to ask to borrow, but luckily for me folks have offered to rotovate for me. ;) A new plotholder did ask to borrow my wheelbarrow recently- of course I said yes,(not in same league as power tools) but was slightly miffed to find it still on his plot days later. I shall have no qualms in saying not if he can't be bothered to return it next time he asks.
small sign
please don't ask to borrow as a refusal often offends
or to quote the baird
Neither a borrower nor a lender be; / For loan oft loseth both itself and friend.
My youngest son was funny. At the allotment new neighbours just took over the plot next to us and was moaning about digging their plot. My son says "We have a rotivator but you can't borrow it." I laughed!
I agree with others a polite refusal is the way to go. I think the important thing is to be consistant, if you lend to some on the lottie and not others that's more likely to cause offence than lending to no one.
I've had too much lost or broken in the past. Maybe I was a bit of a mug, but now I won't lend stuff outside family or very close friends. However I figure if I won't lend I shouldn't borrow things either.
Thanks everyone for your advice I get the message, Just let it be known I don`t borrow or lend. Cheers Good gourd.