To be getting irritated with a friend endlessly asking small favours?

I don’t think you’re being petty. Friends don’t take the piss. We know a couple who constantly ask for big favours I wouldn’t dream of asking. They have also borrowed a big expensive item, broken it, failed to mention it/ apologise/ replace it.
Haven’t heard back from my friend since I declined her kind suggestion that I look after her kid all day and evening on my only free day in a month. Offered to pass on details of our babysitter - haven’t heard from the friend since!

Asking work questions seems fair enough. Just say no about the holiday home. 'Sorry we will be there for the bank holiday'. If you say no why would she keep asking? If you haven't said a firm no then I can understand she would keep asking as she needs to know or make other arrangements

Just say you've now realised it's bank holiday weekend and you never lend it out then. As for the work queries, I would keep saying you don't know in the cheeriest possible tone, adding brightly 'Actually, that's the sort of question I might be asking you!'

If you don'teven work with her, much less for her, it ought to be plausible enough for you yo steo back a bit from contact, especially if current contact is only about favours!

then say that: sorry we don't lend it out like that, we visit WITH our friends

Wrt work, bat the queries back to her:

"I can't help you with that, not in my sphere of knowledge/ask jenny, she's the letter folding queen/do you need to get training, look here's Pete - yooohooo Pete, Liz here wants to know about advanced letter folding"

Wrt the hol home, I think you are giving out conflicting signals, by saying yeah am cool with folk asking but then getting irritated when they DO ask.

Jus say you are using it then.

Those aren't "small favours"!

Why don't you just say no?

I am sure she is a bit pushy and irritating but if you're not straight with her you are putting yourself in this predicament by being passive.

YANBU at all...she sounds annoying but like so many of have said, when it comes to the holiday home, you need to be quite clear that you are using it i.e. block her from going there again. Make up excuses if you can't be that direct.

I feel the need to respond to the point about her asking you technical questions to do with work. I have an old college friend who did this for YEARS and it f*ed me off no end. I was always ahead of her in college and in my career, and so when she was going for job interviews and networking, she was always looking for help/favours. Up until quite recently she was still asking for help with work projects etc and then last year, she cheekily asked me for some informatino to help with her husband's evening diploma homework.

I emailed her very bluntly to say no, I don't have any information on that and didn't I already give her something similar a few years ago? She hasn't asked for anything since thankfully. I had a 'cooling off' period from her too but now we are slowly going for coffees etc, while previously I didn't really want to meet her alone anymore as it was all about favours.

Respond politely that you cannot give too much information away as it is confidential to the company etc, plus you can't remember.

Just tell her you will be using it.

I remember the other thread, I think the op in that one didn't work with the cheeky friend though. That makes it a bit trickier as you have to keep things professional (even though she's not!)

Still... Its not that hard: "Oh, I didn't realise it was a bank holiday. We don't lend it out over bank holidays."

Did you offer her the use of your holiday home?

Just say no?

I'd just say sorry the house is in use then. If you let her have it it will just rankle.

I think your being pedantic. Everyone knows generally when the bank hols are. You are perfectly within your rights to say sorry you are using home. Not sure about the work info situation. I like to be helpful so it wouldn't bother me - except if she was getting annoyed if I didn't know.

Must have been someone else. Was the August bit that made me remember, sorry! The other poster, it was more of a home from home, near the beach I think, and her friend had already borrowed it once previously.

Similar thing, but not much good to you, because I can't remember what the outcome was!

YANBU to be irritated but YABU to think that lending your holiday home on a bank holiday weekend is a small favour. It's really quite a large one. Even if they were just small favours, asked too often they all add up into a big one. Just say no if you don't want to.

I think I remember your other thread. Was your holiday home not very special to you and really more of a home from home, rather than somewhere you might 'let' or continually have others fill when it was empty? Also did she not borrow it before, then use all your personal stuff?

I think you should simply just tell her, "sorry, but I'd better say no, as I don't really know yet what our own plans are or those of our families, and I wouldn't want to let you down at the last moment".

It's always great to be able to do a favour as you have 'one in the bank' iyswim but if it's not convenient/ puts you out/ you don't want to then say NO!