I had a cousin ask me this once after not talking to me for years and then calling me up and chatting with me for a while. When I asked what she needed it for, she said she wanted to buy a boat to go fishing with.
I said no of course. No because I didn’t have it, and no because it is an unreasonable request. I had laughter when she asked me that because I thought she was joking. I have had many things said to me that were just crazy that someone would ask you.
Another example. Recently a random phone call wanted me to do a sales position. He said that he thought my resume on LinkedIn was perfect for the job. I said I am not a salesman. He said is there someone in your company that does sales? I am a sole proprietor and many times people on LinkedIn think I run a Fortune 500 company with departments they can be referred to. I told him what I was and he then tried to see if I was hiring. Hello? That guy didn’t have a clue what I was about.
These aren’t even the craziest ones. I have been asked when I broke up with a woman I dated if I wanted the ring back that I gave her as a marriage proposal. I said, “Do what you think is right.” She kept the ring. No problem leaving me but keeping several thousands of dollars worth of my money. I am generous but if you don’t love someone, you give the ring back.
Another time someone from LinkedIn wanted to go to lunch with me to talk about business. It was a person of the opposite gender and she was being flirty and I assume trying to lure me with that. I told her that I was a sole proprietorship and she didn’t even respond to my email.
I had a coworker who told me she would go out to lunch with me if I got her a laptop instead of the old desktop system she was struggling with. I made the case to the decision maker and I told her that it wasn’t necessary for that. She got approved and I gave her the computer and she said that she owed me lunch. I told her again I was just doing my job and thanks anyway. I couldn’t go to lunch with her even if I wanted to. She was having an affair with the boss who was married and I wasn’t going to step into that drama.
I had a girlfriend once ask if she could come back to me after the guy she ran out with got tired of her BS after two weeks. I told her if she wanted to clean the house, cook, and contribute which she had never done when I was in love with her. I had a full-time job and she would just sit around the house and do nothing. I asked her to look for a job but she said she couldn’t find anything. However, when she decided to work, she asked to borrow my credit card to buy her clothes for work and found a job within a week. Interesting how that works doesn’t it? Anyway, she didn’t respond because I knew she wouldn’t want to pull her weight.
If you ask someone for something unreasonable, expect to be told no.