A woman whose gardener told her there were ‘other ways to pay’ a debt to him has been hit with brutal backlash after she complained online.
The gardener told Shantelle Stephens, from Townsville in far north Queensland, she was ‘cute’ and asked if she wanted to ‘work something else out’ to pay an overdue bill for lawn mowing.
Feeling ‘belittled’, she took to Facebook to gather other people’s thoughts on whether the proposition was unprofessional or if she was simply overreacting.
The 28-year-old explained she owed the gardener $40, but was unable to scrape together the money to pay him on the day of his service on January 11 this year.
Shantelle Stephens (pictured), 28, said she felt ‘belittled’ when her gardener proposed that she pay an overdue lawn-mowing debt in ‘other ways’ than handing over money
She said she offered him an extra $10 for a week-late payment, to which he proposed she pay him in an alternate way.
‘He texts me back saying ‘there are other ways to pay’ and that he ‘thinks I’m cute’,’ her post read.
Screenshots of her conversation with the mower man show him becoming frustrated at the woman’s inability to pay.
In response to her request to hand over $50 the following Tuesday, he suggests they come to a different agreement: ‘Oh! Looks like I got no choice, unless you want to work something else out.’
The Townsville woman faced harsh criticism after explaining her situation in a Facebook post
Ms Stephens assured the lawn mower she would give him an extra $10 for the inconvenience of having to wait a week to be paid
Less than a minute later, he adds: ‘Well! What do you think?,’ and shortly after: ‘What if you haven’t got money next week?.’
Ms Stephens then assures him she’ll be good for the money within the week, but he persists, writing ‘You are cute’ in an additional message.
Despite feeling ‘disgusted’ at what she believed was a proposition to perform a ‘sex act’ in exchange for clearing her debt, she thanked him for the offer.
‘Thanks 🙂 I have a boyfriend though,’ she replied.
The 28-year-old thought it was ‘unprofessional and degrading’ of her gardener to suggest an alternate form of payment
The opportunistic lawn mower was clearly disappointed at not being paid, so sought reimbursement in what Ms Stephens described as ‘sex acts’
When taking the matter online, Ms Stephens faced harsh criticism from commenters who predominantly sided with the gardener.
Her post received more than 830 comments, most of which encouraged her to have her finances sorted before seeking out services she knew she couldn’t afford.
‘PAY WHAT YOU OWE OR DON’T USE THE SERVICE,’ one social media user told her.
Another suggested she wasn’t the only one entitled to feeling peeved by ‘degrading’ and ‘unprofessional’ behaviour: ‘If you think it’s unprofessional and degrading then maybe he feels the same way about doing you his services!.’
Someone else suggested if she wasn’t into paying in ‘sexual favours’ she should ask to use AfterPay.
Most critics encouraged her to have her finances sorted before seeking out services she knew she couldn’t afford
Ms Stephens was even encouraged to up the stakes and see how the ‘poor bastard’ felt about ‘coughing up’ $2000.
‘Can you blame him for trying? Poor bastard probably hasn’t seen any action in a while if he’s resorting to this,’ they wrote.
‘Tell him you’re game if he coughs up $2K.’
Ms Stephens said she won’t be having anything to do with the gardener when her debt is finally paid off.
‘He asked if I still want him to do my lawn in the future. I haven’t replied,’ she said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the gardener for comment.
Ms Stephens was even encouraged to up the stakes and see how the ‘poor bastard’ felt about ‘coughing up’ $2000