ItsHot
Senior Member
- Location
- A little piece of heaven!
Do any of you have friends that constantly want to borrow tools and equipment? Or want you to give large work away, just "because you are friends"? How do you handle this?
How do you handle this?
- Thread starter ItsHot
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Rewire
Senior Member
- Location
- Lake of the Ozarks
I guess alot depends on the friendship.
chris kennedy
Senior Member
- Location
- Miami Fla.
- Occupation
- 60 yr old tool twisting electrician
Please explain, why would a friend request this?
ItsHot
Senior Member
- Location
- A little piece of heaven!
well said
well said
Well said! But were do you draw the line? There is a difference between loaning a socket set and a trenching machine. Or popping in a water heater breaker,or doing a complete lighting job.
well said
Well said! But were do you draw the line? There is a difference between loaning a socket set and a trenching machine. Or popping in a water heater breaker,or doing a complete lighting job.
ItsHot
Senior Member
- Location
- A little piece of heaven!
That is a great question!
chris kennedy
Senior Member
- Location
- Miami Fla.
- Occupation
- 60 yr old tool twisting electrician
Do you mean give large projects away to other contractors or do them at cost for friends?
ItsHot
Senior Member
- Location
- A little piece of heaven!
Loaning equipment to non-trade related friends, or being asked to do sizeable jobs as a favor.
mcclary's electrical
Senior Member
- Location
- VA
I had a friend borrow a Rigid power pony,,,,,with dies. 2" down to 3/4". I never got it back. Be careful
BryanMD
Senior Member
Folks doing this are uninformed about life in general.
You need a better class of friends or to take the time to educate them.
Friends= rather than hiring a stranger and paying them $3000 he hires you.
The inverse is you show him another way to get the job done right and for only $2000.
bradleyelectric
Senior Member
- Location
- forest hill, md
Sounds like you need to explain to someone that you do this for a living. I don't mind lending something occasionally, but if you are being used as a free rental agency then it seems someone needs to use the real rental agency. I will do a days worth of work at a good friends house when we want to do something, but not $5K worth of work. They will get a great job at a fair price when that kind of scope is involved.
triplstep
Member
- Location
- Aurora, Illinois
Bryan nailed it with this post.
Your 'friends' may not know how sideways their behavior is. However, you accommodating them with tools and work is nobody's fault but your own.
Keep this up and you'll be the friendliest guy in town.
AV ELECTRIC
Senior Member
They must understand if they break it they must replace it if its returned dirty or beat up or not getting back to you within a day or two would be the last time he would borrow anything you must make him aware of this before you lend him any tools this is your lively hood . I borrowed a cordless drill from a friend and it got stolen i replaced it with a brand new drill i loaned a hammer drill and he returned it broken he said he was sorry but know new drill. Miss understandings can ruin a friendship.
Cow
Senior Member
- Location
- Eastern Oregon
- Occupation
- Electrician
Tell them no?
If they're really your friends wouldn't they understand why you told them no? You do this for a living, why in the heck would you want to do jobs on your own personal time for free???
chris kennedy
Senior Member
- Location
- Miami Fla.
- Occupation
- 60 yr old tool twisting electrician
ohmhead
Senior Member
- Location
- ORLANDO FLA
Well it takes many years to become a electrician 7 years to become a heart surgen so ask him if you were one would he ask for a free quad bypass ?
That said our company has done a few jobs over the years free for Make A Wish at Disney to help the kids that have terminal cancer but we draw the line on personal gain of friends .
money is money nothing is free .
And chris i dont like electrical work just ask my wife .
That said our company has done a few jobs over the years free for Make A Wish at Disney to help the kids that have terminal cancer but we draw the line on personal gain of friends .
money is money nothing is free .
And chris i dont like electrical work just ask my wife .
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chris kennedy
Senior Member
- Location
- Miami Fla.
- Occupation
- 60 yr old tool twisting electrician
I should have been changing my own service this weekend. One of my friends that is quite handy will be here to help me for sure when the time comes.
I don't know what kind of 'friends' the rest of you have, but mine are tried and true. Don't at all mind working for them as long as I'm home in time to catch the game.:grin:
jumper
Senior Member
- Location
- 3 Hr 2 Min from Winged Horses
ditto, what he said.
Ridiculous
Ridiculous
If it's idiot proof like a heavy iron bar, I loan it out and see what happens. Come to think of it I'm a couple bars short.
The Sokkia site laser I do not loan to my brothers. I operate the tool. My brothers have my tools in their sheds that they have either forgotten about or think is theirs.
I look at the tools the guy owns. If his collection shows me he cares enough to buy and maintain the best he can, or if he has some odd stuff I may want to borrow, I like to give what I want in return. If a guy does not own and work a truck, it's inappropriate for him to ask me to borrow a screwdriver. If he owns and works big equipment, I am very sympathetic. I generally do not borrow, I buy. I do not want to be involved in borrowing.
I do good sized troubleshooting for pros for what the market can pay, often times nothing. But that's what I want in return , someone to call anytime to pick their brain for their expertise. For my labor when I create a long term asset or value, I charge - no exceptions.
A good guy I met on the job and was sympathetic to, I loaned him my wall jacks and braces for $100, trying to help a guy. Maybe six months go by, no tools. I mention to my friend who's GC'ing that I'm looking for my wall jacks. On his own he tells the guy that he's not getting paid until __dan gets his wall jacks back. Got them back with $100. GC later tells me the rest of the story, the guy had to break into his partners locked barn at night and steal my wall jacks from him for me.
Same deal maybe a year later loan out the wall jacks to the same guy for $100 (no, I was not asking for it, he was one of the good guys). Six or so months go by , nothing. I call and leave a message, bring them back no matter what. I get them back, find them in my yard unannounced, the floorplates were bent. I did not find $100 in the yard, still looking. He had some kind of trouble, guys get into circumstances beyond their control.
Ridiculous
If it's idiot proof like a heavy iron bar, I loan it out and see what happens. Come to think of it I'm a couple bars short.
The Sokkia site laser I do not loan to my brothers. I operate the tool. My brothers have my tools in their sheds that they have either forgotten about or think is theirs.
I look at the tools the guy owns. If his collection shows me he cares enough to buy and maintain the best he can, or if he has some odd stuff I may want to borrow, I like to give what I want in return. If a guy does not own and work a truck, it's inappropriate for him to ask me to borrow a screwdriver. If he owns and works big equipment, I am very sympathetic. I generally do not borrow, I buy. I do not want to be involved in borrowing.
I do good sized troubleshooting for pros for what the market can pay, often times nothing. But that's what I want in return , someone to call anytime to pick their brain for their expertise. For my labor when I create a long term asset or value, I charge - no exceptions.
A good guy I met on the job and was sympathetic to, I loaned him my wall jacks and braces for $100, trying to help a guy. Maybe six months go by, no tools. I mention to my friend who's GC'ing that I'm looking for my wall jacks. On his own he tells the guy that he's not getting paid until __dan gets his wall jacks back. Got them back with $100. GC later tells me the rest of the story, the guy had to break into his partners locked barn at night and steal my wall jacks from him for me.
Same deal maybe a year later loan out the wall jacks to the same guy for $100 (no, I was not asking for it, he was one of the good guys). Six or so months go by , nothing. I call and leave a message, bring them back no matter what. I get them back, find them in my yard unannounced, the floorplates were bent. I did not find $100 in the yard, still looking. He had some kind of trouble, guys get into circumstances beyond their control.
ask for a deposit on the tool and watch them wriggle, after all, it then is a truly mutual trust, or tell them that you will bill them full price for the job, but then they can turn in the bill when you collect a favor from them. Or just joke about doing either, and you may send the message you need to send.
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