Unbelievable

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jeff43222

Senior Member
Location
Minneapolis, Minnesota
So I did a job for my friend's sister, which she wanted done right away. She also told me she expected the "friend discount." Of course, I gave her the standard friend discount of 0% (she didn't know that she didn't rate the "close friend discount"), and I did the job. I got a rave review on the work I did.

Then, weeks go by, but no money showed up in my mailbox. I tracked her down, and she asked if she could pay half this month, and half next month. WTF? I hop to it to get the job done ASAP, and now she wants to pay installments?

Yep -- she just went on my list of people I take my time calling back.

I've done jobs for friends before and haven't had any problems getting paid, but the chutzpah here really surprised me.
 
Re: Unbelievable

The only thing funnier is an aquaintance trying to cop a freebie at the business (part of a national corporation) that they manage.

There's nothing funnier than someone trying to get free work with a whine and a flutter of the eyelids. The person in my scenario actually had the audacity to claim that this business (which probably pulls in hundreds of thousands of dollars per month) "had no money" for a ballast swap. :cool:
 
Re: Unbelievable

Which further reinforces my motto of "Friends and family - free or nearly free."

And if you can't bring yourself to do a job for free, walk away.
 
Re: Unbelievable

Yeah, that's my policy as well, but only a select group of actual friends rate the freebie. I can count these friends on one hand. These friends have done plenty of favors for me over the years, so they deserve freebies from me. In fact, all of the friends on my freebies list have gotten me lucrative jobs through references they gave out for me without me even asking them to.

Where it gets problematic is when the friends of friends, the sisters of friends, etc. expect preferential pricing. These are people who haven't done anything for me and who I only know casually. Basically, they get the 0% discount.
 
Re: Unbelievable

Originally posted by jeff43222:

Where it gets problematic is when the friends of friends, the sisters of friends, etc. expect preferential pricing.
Click to expand...
Don't hesistate to turn them down if they are going to be expecting "favors" from you.
 
Re: Unbelievable

don't feel bad about charging her,,why would you lose money for her,,"being there not getting paid & not being on another job making money,"
reality reveals its ugly head,life's expensive,,
bartering also works,what can she do for you???
 
Re: Unbelievable

I get sick and tired of the "friends" that feel you should give them special consideration because they're a "friend". I have had so many "friends" ask me to take shortcuts because of their "friendship". Well I always tell them, "If you consider yourself my friend, don't ask me to put my job or life in jeopardy by taking a short cut".
 
Re: Unbelievable

I certainly never take shortcuts for jobs I do for friends, and I always pull permits when required by law. All I have to do is tell people I'm not about to put my license and livelihood in jeopardy.

The friends on my freebies list know they are on my freebies list, but they don't take advantage of it, and they do plenty favors for me in return. It all balances out in the end.
 
Re: Unbelievable

Whenever I get a call from a "friend" who needs electrical work done, I subject the call to the following filter. Has this "friend" called me within the last year just to catch up on how myself and family are doing?. Has this "friend" done me favors without expectation of any return?. Would this "friend" lend me money if I ever asked for a loan?. If the "friend" doesn't pass the filter, then they are an aquintence looking for a cheap price, and therefore I make sure I charge them more than if I didn't know them at all. I have a favorite saying, " I do not have any "friends", only clients."
 
Re: Unbelievable

Jeff, Did you give this lady any idea of what the job could cost before doing the work? I have found that some people have some unrealistic ideas about the cost of labor. She may actually feel that you are the one taking advantage if you don't get things understood up front. I have people choke all the time when I am honest about expected job cost but I would rather that they choke before the job starts. In the future ask when and how payment is to be made. Never offer credit because there are no debtor's prisons in the U.S. and people know this.
 
Re: Unbelievable

Prior of doing a favor just check the risk/balance ratio in ?The Favors Bank? (NYC term). Any discrepancy should be covered with a dollar ammount.
 
Re: Unbelievable

I told her exactly how much the job would cost before any work started. She immediately went into cardiac arrest, and after I resuscitated her with my homemade defibrilator (18V cordless tool battery, circuit breaker, two lug nuts, and some Romex), she whined about how expensive it was. She then asked if it included the "friend discount" she expected, and I told her it did. I just didn't mention she's in the "friend" category where the discount is 0%.

To give you all an idea what we're talking about, the job was to install a new circuit in the garage, which was finished with a mortar-on-lath surface. I couldn't bust open the walls, so everything had to be in EMT. I installed a total of four receptacles -- two singles for the two garage-door openers, and two duplexes for general use. Total bill was $700 + $60 for the city permit. My material cost was about $100, and the job took a full day.
 
Re: Unbelievable

The work you did doesn't matter. The point of this is You told her How Muchbefore you started and now she's not paying--promptly.
Get your money and don't work for friends of friends of friends or sisters, etc.
 
Re: Unbelievable

I have no shortage of work from people who do pay me when the work is done, so it's not like I need more work from her. Maybe if business slows down, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen anytime soon.

If she can't afford to pay for the work, she should either get a loan from someone or just not have the work done. I don't remember implementing any interest-free financing programs as part of my business.

The funny thing is that she's a Realtor and claims she'll be swinging lots of business my way (a claim she's made for over a year), but she doesn't realize that her actions here make it far less likely that I'll be available the next time she calls.

I got a call one day from my friend's husband's brother-in-law, a landlord who needed an electrician at a duplex he owns. Instead of trying to glom onto a "friend discount" and play other games, he whipped out his checkbook when I fixed the problem and immediately paid me for the service call.

Which one of these two people do you think is going to get prompt service from me the next time they need an electrician, and which one is going to maybe get called back when I get around to it?
 
Re: Unbelievable

Jeff, it sounds like you did everything right. I guess I would take the half that she offered so it would not be a total loss ( I always try to cut loses ) and if she ever pays the balance I would put her on my cash up front list.
 
Re: Unbelievable

I had a few of those realtor "friends." RUN!!! They will want the discount for their customers and they will want the job done yesterday. Permit? You want me to get a permit?????
 
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