Working for Family and Friends

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Jimmy7

Senior Member
Location
Boston, MA
Occupation
Electrician
How do you guys handle working for family and friends? I'm constantly being asked to by family and friends to perform work, and sometimes the projects they want completed are a real headache. I guess my real question is "How much do you charge friends and family?". Do you give them a real discounted rate? Do you avoid doing their work?
 
When I moved into my new house recently, I was warned about a neighbor who would be coming down, acting friendly and welcoming, and finding out what we did for a living. Once he found out, he would come up with something in his home for neighbors to do and wanted discounts. He told me that he had a receptacle outside that hadn't worked in years and asked me to come take a look at it. I smile and said, "If it hasn't worked in years, then it seems you've been doing just fine without it. I wouldn't fix a thing" :)
 
I once did a side job for my wealthy brother. I showed up late one day (because I had a REAL job too) and he bitched to me about having “handed me a job on a silver platter”. I told him where to put his silver platter, haven’t done anything for him since.

Mom got everything for free, Dad didn’t (he was kind of a jerk once we all became adults). Siblings all live too far away but when I visit, they usually have something that needs fixing so just little minor things that I take care of in exchange for their hospitality.

I have a friend who recently asked me to help with their hot tub installation. I said I didn’t have time and it needed a pro who would take out a permit etc. (I don’t have a license in California any longer). They did, and the guy was an idiot so now they are pressuring me to help them fix his mistakes. (I have a feeling he lied about the permit too). I’m trying to get out of this graciously but it’s hard to do. I’m probably going to go do it this weekend <sigh>.
 
If your a just a j-man or apprentice doing side work I would avoid that at all costs, they have insurance for a reason, there are a lot of things that can come back to bite you.
And I would tell all my friends to call the main company number and mention my name as a reference.
Then if you dont want to work for your friend tell the boss to send someone else.
If your your own electrical contractor then well that's just up to you and what kinda jobs you want to do and who you work for.
 
tortuga said:
If your a just a j-man or apprentice doing side work I would avoid that at all costs, they have insurance for a reason, there are a lot of things that can come back to bite you.
And I would tell all my friends to call the main company number and mention my name as a reference.
Then if you dont want to work for your friend tell the boss to send someone else.
If your your own electrical contractor then well that's just up to you and what kinda jobs you want to do and who you work for.
Click to expand...
BINGO! A state electrical inspector told me years ago, "It's easier to change a no to a yes than a yes to a no".
I once inspected a fire job where a rookie installed an A/C unit. Perfect storm caused the fire.
Point is, I will do ONLY small stuff for the family.

Ro
 
I usually do work for close family at no charge or maybe just materials. Other family at a slight discount (maybe).
Friends, I charge full price with maybe a lesser mark-up.
When I first started I felt like I should give friends a discount. Then got to thinking that I have friends that run a business and I have never gotten a discount from them, nor have I asked for any. I actually talked to one of them and he explained that if he/we gave all our friends a discount, we might as well not be in business.
My philosophy now is, if they are truly your friends, they would want to help you with business as they would have to pay a stranger full price anyway.

I will give discounts here and there, but it is my decision, if anyone asks, it usually "irks" me and I refuse. I have found that those who actually need help or a discount, will never ask, they just suck it up and go on. Those who do not need it are the ones who are always asking.
 
It usually goes something like this: "I can help you no problem -looks like you need a such and such and to get that taken care of you'll need to hire someone like XXXX." Then in response to the 'oh I thought you could do it', or some variant thereof the response is "Due to my workload and overhead I would have to charge you more than I would be comfortable with, I can't do this type of work sorry"
 
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