Kindness doesn’t always go as planned, and sometimes good intentions can lead to unexpected and even surprising outcomes. We found 10 stories of how acts of generosity didn’t turn out the way people had hoped. Even the kindest gestures can occasionally backfire, leaving everyone involved with a story they’ll never forget.
1.
I was in the parking lot of a store when a lady dropped a bunch of stuff off her cart. She was having trouble picking up a box of bulk items. I told her that I’d help her, and we both picked the box up and put it in the trunk of her car.
She then sprayed me with pepper spray and screamed. I was confused at why I was attacked as she almost ran me over driving out of there.
2.
My wife donated a kidney to a stranger, all bills were supposed to be taken care of by the recipient. We’ve been told that their insurance didn’t pay enough, and a collection agency is after us for $10,000. This started 9 months ago.
3.
The bus was full and I was sitting. A woman enters (40-ish years). As a 20 y. o. man, I was thinking to myself, “I could offer my place to the lady. Ladies first.” So I get up and ask her if she wants my seat. Big mistake. She looks at me and says, “What? Am I that old?!”
At first, I thought she was joking, but she kept hammering me with such remarks until I reached destination (like 5 minutes later). I could see the face of the people going “poor boy what have you done” and from now on I’m having a hard time trying to be a gentleman.
4.
A guy walks up to me while I’m pumping gas and says he’s stranded and needs money for the bus. I give him $2.
He walks inside the gas station and buys some Mentos (candy). We make eye contact when he leaves. His smirk is engrained in my memory.
5.
A guy, a woman, two young children were waiting under an awning outside a movie theater as torrential rain pours down. I walk up under a nice umbrella. Feeling good, I hand it to the guy, basically a “here you go, keep it and pass it along.”
He thanks me profusely and walks off to his car all dry. He wasn’t with the woman and her kids like I thought.
6.
Was in a bus and saw this girl on her way to school with a caterpillar creeping on her shoulder (I don’t think she was aware of it). I removed it without her permission. She started to cry. Awkward.
7.
I flagged someone down on the highway who was driving with a flat tire. We both pulled over, and they explained they didn’t have a spare. I offered to drive them to the closest convenience store and back for a can of fix-a-flat. Not only did they ride in my car silently, offering no thanks, but they also stole my wallet out of my console when I wasn’t looking.
8.
I’d just received a raise at work and was in an incredible mood. I decided to buy coffee for the next 10 people behind me. Not a single person said thank you, which wasn’t a big deal.
Then a girl who got one of the free drinks comes up and tells me that I’m creepy and weird and this isn’t a bar, and it’s creepy to buy people drinks. She walked away laughing and pointing at me with her boyfriend. She said this while sipping from the coffee I bought.
9.
Building a computer for a coworker. She was talking about how she was going to buy one for like $1000, and I said I could build it for half the price.
Things went bad during the building process, the motherboard being bad upon arrival, and I ended up having to give her tech support for years. Any time anything went wrong, it was because I built it incorrectly, and it would have been better for her to just buy one. Lesson learned.
10.
I was a culinary student, and it was the middle of winter in Pittsburgh. I was walking back to my dorms, across one of the bridges. Being a culinary student, we could always take food home if we had some left over. That week, we’d just finished a week of duck, and I was carrying home some elaborate meal.
Passed a homeless person, sitting on a bridge, asking for food and money. I thought, “I don’t really need this.” So I gave it to the guy. He looked at it and threw it over the bridge, saying, “I don’t want this, give me money.”
Some experiences stick with us forever and shape who we become in ways we didn’t see coming. In this article, 10 people share stories about moments that left a lasting impact on their lives. Each one shows how a single event can change someone for good.
