Work for FREE!

junquecol · 07-25-2008, 12:08 AM

A customer whose house is for sale sent me the inspector's list this weekend. (They have already moved.) Went over yesterday to see what I would need to do some of the items on the list. Today, at eight AM, met with the customer's wife. (She had to let me in the house.) Went over all of the list. Measured for needed materials and figured out how to straighten out some very "screwed up" wiring, done by the previous owner. Also needed to get some shingles from HD for house. House is in Holly Springs, and only the HD at Cary stocks this color of shingle. Explained to wife that I would have to go to Cary to get shingles. While there I would secure other needed materials. Late this afternoon, she asked me how much time (money) I had in job. When I told her, she said she didn't think I should charge them for time spent getting materials.

I wonder who she thinks should pay me for getting materials for HER house? Needless to say, I will pick up my check for completed work tomorrow. If some one wants to work for free, just let me know, and I will put you in touch with her.

rsitzejr · 07-25-2008, 06:59 AM

Amazing the people who don't think your time is worth money. I had the same issue when I tried to get into the custom fabrication business.

NC Scroller · 07-25-2008, 08:31 AM

Bruce I don't blame you one bit. I think it is scary that so many Americans don't understand how much time and efforts goes into making or repairing things. They think all you do us push a button and out it comes.

russellellis · 07-25-2008, 09:49 AM

I know where youre coming from. Once i had to drive a three hour round trip into SC to pick up some items for a punch list on a house i was working on. They wanted the job done in 3 days total, so they could put it on the market. If i had to have the items shipped, it would have taken over a week. Which they definitely could not have happen. BUT......when i submitted the invoice.....well lets just say it took me months to collect from them. They didnt feel they should have to pay for travel time. Its not like i was charging them for my already hour commute to get to the job. so all told that day i drove 5 housr and only worked 4 hours. This was only a $2500 job, on a house that went on the market at 1.3 million. They were nitpicking over chump change considering what the landscaper designer was charging them for his work in the back garden.

Charles Lent · 07-25-2008, 12:22 PM

I have a friend who got involved in one of those. The house was selling for just over a million and the buyer wanted some repairs made before would buy the house. The repairs were all very small cosmetic items that could have been easily corrected for less than $100 material cost plus about a day labor. One of the items that I can remember from the list was a missing duplex outlet cover. Anyway, neither the buyer nor the seller would back down and the sale finally failed to go through. If I was the agent handling this I think that I would have had the repairs made at my expense, just to be able to get the sale, but it never happened. Some people are total idiots about things like this.

Charley

CaptnA · 07-25-2008, 01:31 PM

Did I tell you about the time my mother got me to help out a 'little old lady from church"?
She called and wanted me to cut her grass. With my mother's HELP (?), I got committed to cut her grass as her 'regular boy' had prior plans.
On saturday I arrived with my trailer, mower, etc and spent 2 hours pushing it, spent another hour on weedeating, then the blower and when she came out she wanted this done, and that done, and could you do something about this, trim these bushes... Then she decided it needed to be raked - All told over 5 hours
When I got done she handed me a $5. I'd used over that much in gas between the equipment and getting there. Okay I kept telling myself, its mother's friend.... I didn't want her money, I just wanted to leave - silly me; like my plans mattered lol I bowed out of going into the house and helping her move some furniture so she could take her rugs up.
Driving away I thought some unkind things about old people, my mother, her friends etc. When I got home there was an answering maching message telling me that she needed me there earlier the next Saturday....
I finally got her on the phone and told her that I didn't do yard work I was a grown man with a family a full time job plans and responsibilities and I wouldn't be doing her yard work anymore. She told me she wasn't surprised if I couldn't do any better a job than I had for her and hung up on me! Mother was mad at me for weeks for being rude to her friend.
Sheesh.... its all good, right??

JohnsonMBrandon · 07-25-2008, 03:05 PM

Ha ha I've been there before, and even deal with some people now. I sold a tool on craigslist and the guy just kept badgering me about the price, tried showing up without the correct amount of money and was fuming when I wouldn't give him the tool for a much lower price. Not to mention he also thought I should throw in a truckload of walnut boards because he spent $50 on a brand new router that was worth $135. I told him i would use it as firewood before I would give it to him.

LeftyTom · 07-25-2008, 05:12 PM

It is a shame it is worse when it is someone you "know". Woman at church asked guy up the street if he could tune up her mower. Guy did the good once over, changing oil, belts, plugs, new blade. He gave he a receipt for parts: $36. The next day, after church, she gave him $40. even if he was getting minimum wage, there is no way you can get all that done in one hour!. of course, I blame him for not including an amount for his labor. Note: this old gal could easily have paid him $60.

jeff... · 07-27-2008, 08:10 PM

Originally Posted by JohnsonMBrandon

Ha ha I've been there before, and even deal with some people now. I sold a tool on craigslist and the guy just kept badgering me about the price, tried showing up without the correct amount of money and was fuming when I wouldn't give him the tool for a much lower price. Not to mention he also thought I should throw in a truckload of walnut boards because he spent $50 on a brand new router that was worth $135. I told him i would use it as firewood before I would give it to him.

Next time use the power of the force and just say NO...

pcooper · 07-27-2008, 08:27 PM

Originally Posted by LeftyTom

Woman at church asked guy up the street if he could tune up her mower. Guy did the good once over, changing oil, belts, plugs, new blade. He gave he a receipt for parts: $36. The next day, after church, she gave him $40. even if he was getting minimum wage, there is no way you can get all that done in one hour!

Some folks don't know, some don't care. I've been there same as you guys, and it gets funny at times, but also hard to feed a family too when you need the money. I feel sorry for those that don't know, some even feel cheated after you explain the situation, and others feel sorry that they made you think you were being cheated on purpose. Then there are those that think money grows on trees and we all have one of them so they needn't bother handing over any of their money for work done. Hey, if we were a communist government, maybe we'd all work for free. I'm glad we aren't!!!

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