This is a tale of unrealistic expectations. It's an unreasonable, self-absorbed behavior that is consistent with a highly entitled attitude that, while not spendypants in itself, still correlates with spendypants behavior.
There's an application called "Nextdoor" that connects people with neighbors and people in the immediate area. It's useful for finding lost pets, advertising garage sales, exchanging referrals for lawn or home care, or-- in some cases-- selling or giving away unwanted items.
A couple days ago, I saw a rant written by someone who was upset. A person had posted a free item to give away, he'd contacted that person to assert that he could pick it up the following morning, and he didn't hear back from the giver. Instead of coming to the conclusion that someone else had obviously already picked up the freebie, he decided that he wasn't receiving good enough customer service.
Now, in my city, it's extremely difficult to give things away using this form of social media, or other bulletin boards such as Craig's List. That's because there are lots of people who like freebies if it's something of value. If you offer to give something away, people typically start contacting you within the hour to "reserve" the item. They want you to hold it for them, fend off anyone else who might want it, and then either deliver it to them or wait around for them to pick it up. They almost always don't show up. Then the cycle repeats. Basically, there are lots of freebie-takers who tend to jerk the giver around. There's a reason behind this behavior: human beings don't value things that are given to them for free, and they also don't value the person who's doing the giving. The cost-to-exchange, to the receiver of the gift, is nil. So, when you respond to an offer of a freebie, the person doing the offering has probably already been jerked around by lots of other people and will often feel as though they're in the middle of a feeding frenzy. Giving the item away takes a lot of time and effort, during which time it's almost impossible to get anything else done because the phone or computer is pinging relentlessly with communications from people who want to call dibs on the item. Frequently the item just sits there and doesn't get picked up despite all the people who are "gonna" come get it.
The person most successful at snagging freebies-- often someone who makes a living as a reseller-- tends to do a few important things. First, they watch the listings and are among the first to call to ask about the item. Second, they treat the giver like a human being. They use the giver's preferred means of contact. They don't E-mail if the giver asked for a phone call, and they don't call if the giver asked for text. They introduce themselves and give their name and contact information. Third, they treat the giver as though the giver's time and attention are valuable. They don't ask the giver to "hold" the item or reserve it for them. Instead, they drop everything and head over to pick up the item immediately, or they set up a time that works for the giver. Finally, they arrive when they say they will arrive, and take away one or more of the unwanted items. Sometimes they even bring something nice such as a gift of fruit, a craft item, a food or drink coupon at a local restaurant, or some other token of their appreciation. In short they make themselves easy to give to. They also act like a member of the community who expects to cross paths with the giver again.
Successful receivers and freebie-snaggers do *not* behave as though the givers ought to be catering to them. They don't treat the givers like retail establishments that exist solely for their convenience and that have nothing better to do than to stand around waiting for a customer to show up. If a receiver wants a retail-like level of customer service, they generally do have to be a customer who's paying for the item or exchanging something of similar value. They also need to be interacting with a professional seller who's being paid for his or her time. That level of customer service just isn't reasonable to expect from a random person who's trying to offload a valuable but unwanted item. They really do just want to get rid of the damn thing (whatever it is) as quickly as possible and with as little hassle as possible.
So, I explained to the aggrieved complainer what the giver was most likely dealing with, and why he wasn't receiving as much attention and interaction as he felt was his due. I explained that his expectations were too high, that beggars can't be choosers, and that if he wanted to reserve items or come pick them up at his own convenience he'd be better off buying them from a retail shop. He still truly believes that it ought to be the giver's job to cater to him, to be nicer and more proactive toward him, and to behave as though he's a valued customer of some kind instead of the means by which an unwanted item disappears.
I don't think there's hope for the lad.
