Running a small business often means learning that doing your best still won’t satisfy everyone, no matter how reasonable your process is.

One woman, just months into launching her own private swimming lesson company, had already prioritized returning clients over new ones exactly as promised, but only for those who actually filled out the registration form she’d posted.

One returning client had notably neglected to submit the form in a timely manner and only mentioned her interest in person after scheduling was already underway.

Despite being at full capacity, the instructor still managed to squeeze in one of her two kids.

But instead of gratitude, she got a passive aggressive email expressing disappointment that returning clients “should have been prioritized.”

You’ll want to keep reading for this one.

AITAH for not wanting to do lessons for a family after the mom sent me a passive aggressive email

I recently started my own private swimming lesson company and have been learning to navigate registration and such.

Soon she starts to face some backlash.

I had a Mom (one of my returning clients) send a passive aggressive email to me as she was upset I didn’t prioritize her for lessons.

She’s quick to mention that this lapse was entirely preventable.

The thing was that I posted a Fall Registration Form that clients were intended to fill out if they were interested, she didn’t fill it out. I had already made a tentative schedule for the clients that filled out the form when she mentioned in person that she was interested.

I did my best to find her a spot and was able to fit in one of her two kids into a spot despite being at full capacity.

Still, this mother is doing mental gymnastics to avoid taking responsibility.

She just responded to the email saying they were not interested, and that she was disappointed because she “thought I would have prioritized returning clients.”

Mind you, when I was scheduling clients that did fill out the interest form, I gave first pick to my returning clients over new clients.

Now she’s considering dropping this mom entirely.

AITA for not wanting to ever do lessons for them again? Maybe I’m being dramatic, but I just felt like that email was really passive aggressive.

I feel guilty for not being able to find a spot that works, but also I can’t please everyone.

This mom really needs to get a grip.

What did Reddit have to say?

This user raises a good point about being self employed.

There’s an old adage that’s very relevant in this situation.

It’s time to just tell it like it is.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a friend who is upset they missed out on cheap festival passes due to her pal’s indecision.

She should lead with the objective facts.

Prioritizing returning clients only works if those clients actually follow the process designed to prioritize them.

Ultimately, this instructor did exactly what she said she would by making room for even one child, despite being at full capacity.

So when the client still responds with entitlement, dropping her entirely starts to look like the only reasonable next step.

Being accommodating shouldn’t mean being endlessly available to absorb someone else’s disorganization.