The Freedom to Walk Away

There’s a kind of respect money gives people. The freedom to walk away. The ability to reject poor treatment without worrying about whether you can afford the alternative. I didn’t fully understand that until a laundry service lost my cloth.

I’ve always used this laundry service since I moved in. They were cheap, close by and convenient. I never really had serious issues, other than them not properly washing my white shirt, and maybe some poor services that I could overlook.

About two weeks ago, I went to pick up my laundry, and no one was around. I waited for a while, but eventually had to leave because my phone battery had gone flat and I couldn’t call the person in charge. Since the small container where they kept the washed clothes was open, I decided to pick up my laundry myself. That was another thing I never liked about the place. That container is always left open, and practically anyone can walk in and pick up clothes, whether or not they own them.

I picked up my clothes, counted them, and noticed that one was missing. I waited again so I could lodge a complaint, but still no one showed up. After charging my phone at home, I explained all that happened to the laundry owner, only for him to put the blame on me for picking up my laundry without approval. Well, why does management always leave the container open even when they’re not around? Yeah, I got no response concerning that. I was told to come over; hopefully, someone would return a cloth that isn’t theirs, but so far, nothing has turned up.

After that event, I decided never to return there. I had taken enough, from the stained white to other little acts of carelessness I’ve overlooked. And now, their lack of professionalism has cost me my cloth with the blame somehow being pushed onto me. Even if anyone was around at the time of my pickup, my cloth would still have been missing. Their presence would have changed nothing, except maybe to go through everyone’s laundry, which wouldn’t have been an option if they did their job well.

My missing top isn’t the issue, but rather what lack of money made me do. Just last week, I went in search of another laundry service, brought out my laundry, asked for the price, only to realise that this new place charges more than the previous place. I stood there, looking at the laundry man, and doing the maths in my head. That’s more than double what I was paying. Guess who went back to the previous place, me. I went back to where I promised myself not to return, just because I could afford them.

And that was when I realised why some poor business services thrived, it’s because people can’t afford the better alternatives. Sometimes, people don’t stay because they enjoy poor treatment. They stay because leaving is expensive. 

And honestly, many of us do the same in different areas of our lives. We stay in draining jobs because unemployment is scary. We remain in unhealthy relationships because starting over is expensive emotionally, mentally or financially. We’re afraid to switch careers because starting over means starting broke.

This isn’t a result of weakness or lack of ambition. Freedom simply has a price, and not everyone can pay it. The laundry was a small thing. But small things have a way of showing you the bigger picture.

Money buys more than comfort; it buys the ability to choose differently. It buys the freedom to walk away.

I hope very soon we all get the money, the freedom, to walk away from what hurts us.