Returning a Lost Item to a Parent

[Anonymous]

I have had numerous items left at my house by kids and the parents never come and get them, generally I end up driving around dropping them off just to get them out of my house. An hour is a little far, but with nothing going on these days maybe you could combine it with another trip.

[Anonymous]

Is the mom who complained one of the parents of the boy?

If she is she should be more concerned with her kid leaving equipment everywhere.

IF she isn''t she needs to myob and stop trying to create drama

As for your husband, he was blunt, but I don't have a problem with what he said.

The only thing differenlty I would have done is put in the initial message the bat can be picked up at our residence or in the future when the team meets.

[Anonymous]

If it was a small item like a book or even a baseball glove I might consider mailing it. But a baseball bat? The length of it alone will make the package irregular and expensive, no one has a box lying around that will fit that, you would have to get a special one at the post office. That’s weird. Agree with others above that your husband is correct but the delivery didn’t help. I might’ve said “we live a significant distance away And this is a difficult object to mail. You’re welcome to pick up, or please reach out and let’s coordinate a handoff”. Or some thing similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just say the shipping costs are $XX. Glad to ship it for you after I receive you Venmo for the shipping otherwise I'll just hold on to it till next year.

Agree!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your husband is right.

But could have worded it better and not sent this reply on a group text.

Stay on the topic. The issue is not with the husband, it's with the other family's entitlement request.

Just tell the other family that you're busy (or another excuse) to send the bat, and let them figure out how to get it back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If it was a small item like a book or even a baseball glove I might consider mailing it. But a baseball bat? The length of it alone will make the package irregular and expensive, no one has a box lying around that will fit that, you would have to get a special one at the post office. That’s weird. Agree with others above that your husband is correct but the delivery didn’t help. I might’ve said “we live a significant distance away And this is a difficult object to mail. You’re welcome to pick up, or please reach out and let’s coordinate a handoff”. Or some thing similar.

+1 What a weird object to mail. And you are going to stand in the line at the post office to do so? No thanks.

[Anonymous]

I had a mom do the exact same thing to me. I told her I would put in in my car and drop it off when I was out her way. I was never within 30 minutes of her home. About two months later the girl started bugging my daughter about it. I emailed the mom and said I hadn't been out her way and I was going to leave it on my front porch for her to pick up when she had a chance. Took a week for her to come by.

[Anonymous]

If those parents can afford to spend $250 on a f—-ing bat they can Venmo you.

[Anonymous]

I think this could have been handled better all around, but you can't control the other family. You do however have some responsibility for correspondence that goes out as part of your family.

If this happens again, maybe set better expectations from the start.

"Hey team. Great season. We were the last ones to leave and grabbed an XYZ bat that someone left behind. Happy to mail it if you can Venmo postage or can leave on our porch in Stafford."

Lay out the options before they have a chance to ask you to drop off

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had a mom do the exact same thing to me. I told her I would put in in my car and drop it off when I was out her way. I was never within 30 minutes of her home. About two months later the girl started bugging my daughter about it. I emailed the mom and said I hadn't been out her way and I was going to leave it on my front porch for her to pick up when she had a chance. Took a week for her to come by.

Yep this. Tell her you aren't in her area often, if you happen to be, you'll drop it off. Otherwise she can get it from your house anytime. And then never be in her area.

[Anonymous]

Other family is rude for telling you to mail it, third party woman is rude for trying to police your interaction. You guys are fine. They can pick it up or you can bring it to the first practice in the spring. SMDH.

[Anonymous]

I would not be inclined to address the shipping request since they did not address the cost. I'd simply state "we will ensure that the bat we retrieved for you is kept safe at our residence until you can find the time to retrieve it." Then I'd leave it at that. You did them a favor and they aren't being very gracious about it. Thanks to you they are not out the money for the expensive bat. It's up to them to come get it. Let them know where you stand and then don't engage any more talk about you going out of your way to get the bat to the person who left it behind.

[Anonymous]

Suggest to the mom who texted you on the side that maybe she would like to pick it up and drop it off to the family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it was a small item like a book or even a baseball glove I might consider mailing it. But a baseball bat? The length of it alone will make the package irregular and expensive, no one has a box lying around that will fit that, you would have to get a special one at the post office. That’s weird. Agree with others above that your husband is correct but the delivery didn’t help. I might’ve said “we live a significant distance away And this is a difficult object to mail. You’re welcome to pick up, or please reach out and let’s coordinate a handoff”. Or some thing similar.

+1 What a weird object to mail. And you are going to stand in the line at the post office to do so? No thanks.

Yeah, if it's something I can shove in a priority mailer, sure, I'll do that. But trying to package and send a bat is going to be a total pain. I can't even deal with my own annoying errands at this point.

[Anonymous]

Both of those (original and response) are so rude!