Neighbors can be a wonderful thing—if you’re lucky. But many also have bad experiences. Sometimes you come across neighbors that really make you shake your head. If anyone wants, they can share their story here. Let’s see who takes the crown. Here’s my rather short story:
My company is located right in the middle of a residential area—it’s a retail shop. On Monday mornings, the garbage collectors come by. And I mean really early—often before 7 a.m. This is a problem for me. I can’t easily put the bin out on the sidewalk on Friday because it would sit there all weekend smelling bad on the promenade. But on Mondays, I usually get to work around 8 a.m.—by then they have already come through. So, I talked to them about how to solve this. The solution was: please place the bins on the sidewalk across the street because they only come to that side around 9 a.m. A perfect solution—so that’s what I did!
Recently, my neighbor from across the street came to my door and told me that I’m not allowed to put my bin out there for collection—it belongs on the other side of the street. (We’re talking about about 2 hours where the bin waits for pickup.) I explained the situation to him—but no, he insisted the bin belongs on the other side. I asked him what his specific problem was. “The bin has to be on the other side.”
I was quite puzzled by this repetitive statement. He then said he would complain—where, he did not say. After trying for the umpteenth time to get him to have a reasonable conversation, I had to give up due to lack of time, leaving him with the words, “That’s nonsense—do whatever you want!” Very unprofessional, I know.
My company is located right in the middle of a residential area—it’s a retail shop. On Monday mornings, the garbage collectors come by. And I mean really early—often before 7 a.m. This is a problem for me. I can’t easily put the bin out on the sidewalk on Friday because it would sit there all weekend smelling bad on the promenade. But on Mondays, I usually get to work around 8 a.m.—by then they have already come through. So, I talked to them about how to solve this. The solution was: please place the bins on the sidewalk across the street because they only come to that side around 9 a.m. A perfect solution—so that’s what I did!
Recently, my neighbor from across the street came to my door and told me that I’m not allowed to put my bin out there for collection—it belongs on the other side of the street. (We’re talking about about 2 hours where the bin waits for pickup.) I explained the situation to him—but no, he insisted the bin belongs on the other side. I asked him what his specific problem was. “The bin has to be on the other side.”
I was quite puzzled by this repetitive statement. He then said he would complain—where, he did not say. After trying for the umpteenth time to get him to have a reasonable conversation, I had to give up due to lack of time, leaving him with the words, “That’s nonsense—do whatever you want!” Very unprofessional, I know.
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HilfeHilfe22 Oct 2017 15:57Communication is everything! But in Germany, people tend to communicate more with the garbage collectors and others involved, securing themselves, rather than chatting with their neighbors.
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HilfeHilfe22 Oct 2017 17:59haydee schrieb:
You mean?
I come from a village where everyone knows everyone, and everyone talks to everyone. There are always a few troublemakers, though. Maybe people have a different perception of themselves and are the troublemaker without realizing it… sticking with the first example about the trash bins. If someone suddenly puts their bin in front of my house without asking me, I would be annoyed too. Public ground or not; I helped pay for the street and at least want to be asked.
haydee schrieb:
You think so?
I come from a small village where everyone knows everyone, and everyone talks to each other, only a few troublemakers show up now and then.I don’t see anything in your message that suggests he’s a troublemaker [emoji848]. It sounds more like he’s quirky, which he is – that’s actually easy to handle, right?!
Let him be curious and different. I also hopped over the shell structures and told the builder who caught me that his shower wall was completely crooked (95cm (37 inches) at the front, 80cm (31 inches) at the back) [emoji2].
Another woman looked at us skeptically because we came from her house. When we explained that we were already living here and had built with her construction company, we were on a first-name basis [emoji6].
And if your neighbor is bothering the tradespeople, they should just tell him to leave the site or put up a “No Trespassing” sign.
ypg schrieb:
Let him be curious and different. I also sneaked around the shell constructions and to the builder who "caught" me, ...Well, even though I completely understand your curiosity and interest (I feel the same), you should be aware that not everyone appreciates it when the whole village knows how a house is being built. You may find this attitude narrow-minded and hard to understand, but it must be respected in principle, because the homeowner has the right to control their property. So you are committing nothing less than trespassing... and you must accept the consequences if someone does not appreciate your voluntary site supervision ;-)
Personally, I wouldn’t mind, but one should know what they are doing....
Section 123 of the Criminal Code – Trespassing
(1) Whoever [...] unlawfully enters the enclosed property of another person [...] shall be punished with imprisonment for up to one year or a fine.
(2) The act is prosecuted only upon complaint.