Feeling sorry for the customer....

[Electricalserv]

Just went to a call out...Landing light not working. Arrived to find 2 pensioners. Took all of 5 minutes to find a loose connection at switch and rectify it. Straight away I thought times are hard but I can't charge the earth for something that took me 5 minutes to rectify, especially to an old couple. Ended up charging 20 to cover petrol etc....

Came to my head straight away that other sparks would probably have hit them for a hell of alot more...call out charges etc...

 

[voltage]

Good on you mate. I had a similar experience about 2 months ago arrived at house old dear living on her own problem with a fluorescent.
The only problem was that the tube was not correctly in one end and obviously she could not get up on a ladder etc.
So i just ended up doing it for free she was very happy bless her.
It's a tricky one as i for one have a heart and class myself as a decent loyal honest person but as you quite rightly said their would of been many people prepared to make a quick buck off of a pensioner which makes me sick.
So once again good on you mate

 

[alanl]

FWIW, I wouldnt have charged anything.
I was talking about this last week with my mate who is a gas fitter. He said the same - it isnt worth the bother of an Invoice for less than £45, and 5 minute jobs are just not worth charging for, just give the customer a pile of your business cards, and ask them to recommend you to their friends (but tell them you do charge normally!).
It makes you and them feel good, and hopefully you'll get more work in the future.
Alan.

 

[mayfair]

Yep well done, if they need a re-wire sure they will think of you first. Its nice to be nice ............well sometimes

 

[Electricalserv]

FWIW, I wouldnt have charged anything.
I was talking about this last week with my mate who is a gas fitter. He said the same - it isnt worth the bother of an Invoice for less than £45, and 5 minute jobs are just not worth charging for, just give the customer a pile of your business cards, and ask them to recommend you to their friends (but tell them you do charge normally!).
It makes you and them feel good, and hopefully you'll get more work in the future.
Alan.

Problem was It probably cost me half of that in petrol

 

[pennywise]

I have this experience almost on a weekly basis, I made the mistake of advertising in the local parish magazine now I get inundated with jobs like this. The other week I had an elderly women that has basically gone senile getting me around telling me her socket isn't working, turns out she hadn't turned it on at the plate, you feel better having helped them out but when it's such a regular occurrence it drives you potty. Never advertise in the parish magazine!

 

[Mr Mike]

Well done guys, those people will remember you for your kindness and when their children or friends require you WILL be top of the list.
Great to read, tradesmen with a heart.

 

[baldsparkies]

Been in a similar situation and ended up with a large ongoing contract as a result, with a friend of a friends son in law.
A kind deed can often be rewarded in the strangest of ways.
Its a gut instinct, and you know when its the right thing to do.

 

[Newsome3]

I've had this

I said done pay me I was only here 5 minutes but this old bloke was insisting on giving me £30
Said he'd be more offended if I didn't take it

 

[simpson93]

saw something like this on rogue traders not to long ago a loose connection in a pendant , guy replaced the switch and pendant and charged 400 quid.
it actually made me feel sick.

 

[Electricalserv]

saw something like this on rogue traders not to long ago a loose connection in a pendant , guy replaced the switch and pendant and charged 400 quid.
it actually made feel sick.

You never know whos in the cupboard!

 

[pushrod]

You never know whos in the cupboard!

Well guess you won't be starring on the telly! Would be nice if they occasionally ran a program called "super traders"

 

[alarm man]

top man in my book,if only the majority had the same way of thinking the world would be a much better place...

 

[Notsosmart]

I've had this

I said done pay me I was only here 5 minutes but this old bloke was insisting on giving me £30
Said he'd be more offended if I didn't take it

Sounds like Nana from the Catherine Tate show ~ king liberty! Some of the older generation are very proud and don't want to be a burden upon anyone.

Just think of freebies as good Karma (what goes around, comes around)

 

[brucelee]

Nice one mate

A good deed you have done i have done countless jobs for free never made me rich but at least they know i wouldnt rip them off

hopefully 1 day you will be repaid for your thought and kindness

good on ya matey

 

[Phil]

You never know whos in the cupboard!

with some of the places i have worked i would hate to think of who was in the cupboard

 

[Guest123]

You'll find that mind......some folk take more offence at you trying to do it for nothing.

If they insist I always say 'call it a tenner to cover my fuel'

 

[millwall ken]

I'm a firm believer in what goes around comes around mate, so nice one.

 

[Goody]

Use a small fish as bait and you will end up catching a big one. Be kind to the penioners & hardup ones and they will pass the word around resulting in more business.

 

[Steve1412]

Fully agree...well done buddy.......................in many years time when ur too old to wipe ur own butt and ur light goes...some young spivvy sparky will come along and try and charge you a small fortune...but u can be a crabby old **** and say " u cheeky young git" i used to do these for free!!!!!!!!!!! lololol

 

[Octopus]

Last time I did someone a favour they insisted on giving me some money - so I accepted £10.00 for going down the pub later. Job had taken me less than 10 minutes!

 

[telectrix]

nice one. done the same, £10 for diesel if local. if its 20 miles away i would have to ask for a bit more. have done a couple of locals for free though. 1 mile down the road, 10 minutes.

 

[Ponty Massive]

It does work. About a week after seeing that guy on rougue traders I had a call, can you come round my lights not working? Called in on my way home and the wire had come loose in the pendant. 2 mins later all working. Didn't charge her but gave her some cards. 2 days later her daughter called to thank me and could I change her fuse board for her? Ended up doing her's and next door's.

It good to see the system works !!!

 

[Roger]

Had a call bathroom light stopped working,will not click when i pull the cord.Think the switch has had it she said.Ok your just up the road see you in a minute.Old lady on her own,looked at the job the problem was that they had put a little eyelet on the door frame so the cord was out of the way of the opening door.It had obviously been let go,sprung back and the cord had wrapped itself around the eyelet.Simple unwrap it and it worked. here eyesight was so bad she could not see it.
I'd sussed it in about 3 minutes,how could i charge ?.
She made me 2 slices of marmite on toast as she was just having her breakfast.

2 weeks later got a job from the neighbour to install power for electric gates,been recommended by the neighbour.

Well worth the freebies,makes you feel good.

 

[Paul.M]

.......have done a couple of locals for free though. 1 mile down the road, 10 minutes.

But that's just the housewives .

 

[telectrix]

LOL, there's always one.....

 

[PC Electrics]

The vast majrity of my work is within my town (Lutterworth in SW Leicestershire). I see my customers about town all the time and I am recognised frequently.
Now, I've been in this situation many times and like others here i will usually take £10 cash for such a job within town, more if I've had to travel.
i agree that many old folks are too proud to allow you to do stuff for free. It's also not fair on you, at the very least it's cost you some diesel and wear & tear on your van and tools.
I fully agree that if you treat your client fairly (both in monetry and psychological terms), they will do the same for you. When son or daughter wants a tub or bathroom or extension, Mum & Dad are going to suggest 'that nice man who fixed my switch for me'.
i admit that I do alter my 'charge' a little if it's obvious the client has lots or little money.
Many clients, but old folk especially, are woried about overcharging cowboys. Oldies will often fret and worry over the smallest things because they are afraid to call someone in case they get ripped off. Such is the power of 'negative telly'. So when you come along, do a decent job for a reasonable fee, you will find yourself in demand. It can be a bit of a pain going to lots of oldies with piddly little jobs, but look at it as advertising - it's getting your name about and improving your local reputation.

What goes around comes around and it will pay back one day. I've been very lucky and my payback has come round quite quickly. I've done lots of little jobs for oldies on a small private retirement estate nearby. The street light system needed work because it was badly wired and was tripping the MCB due to water ingress and corrosion. I've been commissioned to refurb all the light units and connection points. It'll be about £6k worth of work - I'm about two thirds the way through. When i'm there, the folks all say hello and bring me cuppas and biscuits. Top stuff.

 

[Paul.M]

LOL, there's always one.....

And its always me if its kamikaze night off


Sorry Telectrix but I know you'll get your own back.

 

[telectrix]

pee into the wind usually works.

 

[SMB]

Of course everyone has to pay for their costs, fuel etc. But being nice has a knock-on effect. Life is not all about money.

 

[Jurassic Sparks]

I did a job for an elderly couple and said just make me a cup of tea, after all the fuel and costs can be lost through tax
ended up rewiring their daughters house ?
at christmas I was working for an elderly couple, I was installing a covered walkway ( I dont only do electrical stuff) their fridge freezer was faulty and they had called a company to check it as it was an inbuilt one
the bloke fitted the new fridge but the old one was 60/40 split and he supplied a 50/50 split one!!! he also arrived very late at night so of course they were tired and did not think to complain, the lady asked about the doors and he said get your handyman (me) to saw a bit off one and fix to the other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I rang him the next day and said I had waited for you to give you a hand fitting it you were meant to arrive between 1 and 3 yet you came at 7pm and fitted the wrong fridge, he got stroppy with me although I was very polite, I asked him what car he drove he said a range rover vogue hse I said can I come round rip the wing off and fit a spare skoda wing I have, the arrogant so and so did not like that I pointed out the lady is near 90 and looking after her husband who is dying ( now deceased) he reply was if you dont like it get stuffed
he charged her 900 quid for this fridge that did not fit and its an old kitchen so I cant get doors made to fit
luckily her daughter is a senior nursing officer and well scary I told him if he did not deal with me she would deal with him
she turned up at his office and verbally sorted him in front of lots of other clients
he took the fridge away and I got her one for 260 quid that fitted in spot on
the old one is still working in my garage, seems the old lady had knocked the defrost switch by mistake, I had thought so but did not want to upset her
some times the good you do in this world is saved up for the next one
as I am ancient and a coffin dodger I have had experience of this beign nice to some one costs nowt and good words travel further than bad news
if you want proof, I dont advertise and yet I turn work away I am always busy and can pick and choose and I stil do odds and ends for free as its not all about money unless you drive a range rover in which case you have my sympathy

 

[SMB]

Money only hit Britain about 2000 years ago.........

 

[telectrix]

wow, you can remember that?????? thought i was old.

 

[SMB]

smile..

its quite funny though hey Tel?

Money is relatively new in the scheme of being bipedal.




However, I expect people have generally tried to be helpful to eachother since becoming bipedal (apart from the idiots ofcourse).

 

[Jurassic Sparks]

I often get other things in payment
I have had soem nice fruit recently for a few small jobs
a rather nice home made fruit cake from my favourite two ladies who live together!!
called in on the way home on my pushbike ( yes I also cycle a lot keeps me thin and its tax deductable) showed them how to change the lamp in a concealed fitting and had a nice cuppa and was given a cake made specially for me!!
had my haircut for a quick job ( lamp fitted the wrong way by client)
and nicest of all a lovely card and letter thanking me for my honesty when dealing with an elderly couple who were told by a local sparkie ( with a huuge fleet of cars) that they needed a rewire, they did not the wiring was sound it was a supply company fault promptly rectified after a phone call the incoming cable had a poor connection in the main cutout and was sparking
I like to think that I get back more than I give in charitable work
having seen how hard some people work caring for the those less able
a saying a recall from my past
there but for the grace of god go I

 

[SMB]

5 million years of being bipedal.

2000 years of money use.




I find that interesting.

 

[Jurassic Sparks]

Mind I have never been offered anything naughty yet in exchange ofr work
heres hoping
although at my advanced age and state of decomposition I would probably keel over brown bread
soem fo that roman wonga would be nice though

 

[nikmet]

I find it s handy to keep 5 or 6 DIY Will packs in the van, ideal for times like these, available at all good Booksellers ;-P

 

[SMB]

Mills and Boon?

 

[Knobhead]

This one has a bit of a weird twist. As most of you know I’m industrial to the core but I got a call at work “could I pop in and see Mr. --- on my way home to sort his lights out”.
Just turned out to be a dodgy switch, so 5 minutes later I’m sat having a cup of tea with him. We got talking about photography, he was 88 then and had been taking photo’s since he was 9. The 5 minutes turned in to 8 hours as I trawled through boxes of glass plates. He then asked if I could print some of them. I had to involve a film companies research department to get advise. They came up with a special developer for me for free with the proviso I wrote a paper on the development method.

He was over the moon, I got my first technical paper published J and I gained a good friend.
He insisted on paying me and I never bought another roll of film after that!

All Mr. ---’s photographs and 16mm cine films are now part of the national collection after I persuaded him to change his will. The British museum had been trying to get to them for years.

A few years later the same film company published my 2nd technical paper on film development so the free film just kept on coming J It got to the stage that I was taking the film to my local camera club and giving it away.

 

[malcolmsanford]

Well I must be doing something wrong as I'm out in Saudi working again as my little bit of commercial enterprise when the journey in 2009 all down to not charging most of the time for those little jobs ....................but I would never change a thing.

I had one like Tony. A guy I know from the local knew I was a sparks and asked if I could look at a job in his neighbours house, the guys wife use to go in to help out the old lad and noticed he was .....well a little unkept, it seemd he could not get in and out of the bath anymore.

They tried to get a company in to remove the bath and fit a walk in shower unit. They wanted thousands for this, but fair do they said that if the got the electrics done by a sparks it would bring the price down. Would I take a look.

Well no problems went to see the guys wife who took me in, and this old lad was a real pain, until he found out I'd worked at the pit. Anyway I said I would do the job, and looking around thought this old lad as not got much. I said I would do it on a Saturday morning, I have some spare bits and bobs knocking about and would keep costs down. So we agreed on 150 pounds the lot.

Up in the loft on the Saturday moving bits about I saw an old local newspaper from 1st world war in mint condition. It had about 4 or 5 pages of pictures of troops leaving for France. When I finished I made us a cuppa and was chatting and asked him about the paper, it was kept by his mum as there was a picture of his dad in it, who never came back, the old lad was born in 1912 and never knew his dad, so I said why is it up there then. His mum was never the same and they just could not throw it away so they left it in the loft.

He ask me to get it down so he could show me his dad, by this time I was a mess lol. Anyway he said he needed to get money out of the bank on monday to pay me would that be ok. With this paper was a copy of an 1886 Times and it was in mint and i love thing like this. So I said if he would let me have this we could sort out a discount on the work, ok.

So that was my payment for that Saturday morning and material, an 1886 times. It cost me another 100 odd pounds to get that picture of his dad framed for him, but he gave me the others to frame for myself, god only knows how many meals from my lass, who is now great friends with the next door neighbours wife, or how much it cost me with some little bits and piece my lass would get him while doing our shopping.

My middle daughter became his un-official housekeeper for 3 years before going to Uni...and you know it was perhaps one of the most satisfying jobs I ever did, and the most rewarding knowing this great old lad ...........

 

[rsmck]

It's good to see there's a lot of honest electricians out there ... I seem to get called on by my elderly grandparents (and their friends) to fix minor things (loose connection, wire a plug etc) but one of her neighbours got someone who was definitely worthy of rouge traders... she called because all of her sockets had stopped working (breaker tripped) - the guy was there 3 hours and charged over £200 because she was "lucky he had another one in the van". All he did was reset the breaker.

My grandmother called me when the same thing happened to the same woman again, turned out her kettle was faulty and caused it to trip... called out the same 'electrician' but this time I was there and she got her £200 back...

I do wonder how these people can live with themselves.. it's nice to see the other side of the coin

 

[telectrix]

sounds like mr.electrics pricing structure.

 

[p11jor]

Had something similar, young girl just bought a flat, stretched right out to the limits cash wise, got a call saying no electric, in the middle of a job tools down, left partner on job, 35 minute drive, £1.40 tunnel fee, turned up and after asking on the phone was it the rcd flipped downwards it turns out I was !!! Quick flick back up job done, couldn't charge anything when asked how much..... Following day got a call, was the customers mum asking to give her a price to firstly rewire her house, then a price to put in a shower feed for her daughters flat and ended up fitting a whole new bathroom, tile the bathroom and hang 4 doors as a Xmas present for her daughter!.....more often or not a good deed will be returned as when we submitted our price we advised them to get a couple of quotes and there comment was "no you give us your price, we want you to do the job"

 

[telectrix]

had one last week. fitted a CU in a old boy's cottage about 4 years ago ( 16th ed. , 6 way ). had a call from him the other week, no electric. reset RCD, all OK. asked him when it had tripped and he said " this morning , when i was making a brew. OK, so switched kettle on, tripped. " looks like a trip to argo" he says. " what's the damage. ?" " nothing," says i. . he insisted on giving me £20.