Free or Not

[rims421]

I was recently approached by an aquaintence who was looking to get some work done at his house. He had a new well installed and the contractor left a big mess. I would need to bring the tractor with FEL and 7' rock rake. He is looking to get the debris removed from his front lawn and dumped in the woods and have the area leveled off. He lives approx. 12 miles away. He is a friend of a friend that I have biked with a few times but I would not call him a close friend. My dilemma is whether to charge him for my services or not. I would probably end up spending the better part of a day to get all my equipment loaded up, drive there, unload do the job load up again and drive home. I have no problem helping a friend in need but where do you draw the line? I have a ton of work to do at my own house and it would be time taken away from that project. He had done an appraisal on a home purchase for my parents recently that he provided at a discount ( but not free) I was thinking that if I charge him I would give him a discount as well. What do you guys think?

 

[shvl73]

Find out what a days rental would cost, including fuel & delivery & charge him a discount off that. Maybe you could have him get the pricing so he knows the value of the favor & he's getting the bonus of an operator.

 

[Golfgar4]

There seems to be a number of questions that need to be answered before any good responses might be offered.

When this "acquaintance" approached you, did he ask how much you charge for this kind of service? Did he just ask you to do it as a favor? Do you do this kind of work for other people for pay? Do you have insurance for working with your equipment off of your property? Did you ask him to do the appraisal on your parents property, or was that just a coincedence?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not telling you not to do this. But I think there are a number of issues that you need to consider in making your decision.

I think the most important is whether you have insurance that covers you working off your property. Most homeowners insurance policies will not cover the use of the equipment off the property. You would typically need some type of commercial insurance for coverage. And if you don't have adequate insurance, there is your answer right there. You can't do the work since your insurance company will not cover it. AND DON'T CONSIDER DOING THE WORK UNLESS YOU HAVE INSURANCE!!

Now, if you do have insurance, then you just need to decide how much of an "acquaintance" this fellow is. If you normally do charge for this kind of service, giving him a 10% or 15% discount probably wouldn't hurt any, but will still cover your costs with a little extra. I certainly wouldn't consider doing this kind of "favor" if I was going to lose money on the deal. I'd at least make sure I would break even.

But also remember something else. Once you say yes, it gets harder to say no each time the guy comes back in the future! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Poppa]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( AND DON'T CONSIDER DOING THE WORK UNLESS YOU HAVE INSURANCE!! )</font>

That is the best piece of advice. Read it again and don't forget it. Things can go from good to bad in a moment and you want to be covered.

As far as charging, it seems to me that if you have to ask yourself this question then the answer has to be yes, charge at least something. Otherwise you are going to be sitting there thinking about all the things you would rather be doing at your own place. By charging the guy you will still be thinking that but you'll know you are getting something out of the deal besides seat time.

Mike

 

[Nasty135]

Well personally if the guy would be willing to cover the cost of what I make in my day job I would consider it ,But also the insurance dilema would be of concern especially since you really don't know this guy too well? Is it an all day job or just a couple of hrs.? Do you really have the time? Or is it just hard to say no?(I know the feeling,Like to help if U can),But U have to draw the line somewhere... Good luck /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

DONT DO IT!!! there now the pressure is off...

 

[NIXON]

When I got insurance for my tractor ,my agent specifically told me that I could use my machine on other properties . But He also stated that if I did it for hire , I wasn't covered .
And, maybe it's just me ,but I feel uncomfortable taking money from folks . A couple Of times each winter I have to plow out my mail box that gets buried by Pen Dot . On the way back I usually do my neighbor's drive as he doesn't have a tractor . He's offered to pay me . But like I said .. It just doesn't sit right with me . I'd rather have a neighbor than a Client . Besides , when it comes time to build my garage , I think He'll be a good hammer operating tech /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Rims , your situation is different in as much as you'll have to haul your machine there and back . Plus spend a lot of time doing the task . It's a tough call to make . But if It was me , I'd either do it out of friendliness or not at all. Once you take money , you become more or less obligated . John

 

[mahlers]

When I'm faced with things like this, I just tell it to them straight - just like you did in your post. I'll say something like "it's hard for me to commit to taking on a day's worth of work for a friend because I have a hard time asking a friend to pay me for my time, even if it's just to cover my costs." Just about every time, these 'aquaintances' will then come up with an offer that is totally fair. One way or another, it's totally up to you whether you want to take it on or not.

 

[BigEddy]

I look at it this way. Would I have offered if he hadn't asked? Yes - Free. No, then no way it's free.
And I would never offer to trailer my equipment 12 miles to do work for someone for free, unless they were a very good friend! - Insurance or no insurance.

I clear snow for my neighbour whenever I do my drive. He offers to pay - I refuse. I clear it next time as well. But if I'm in a rush or don't think there's enough snow to bother with, he does his own, and doesn't complain.
My kid mows his grass every week - He offers to pay, my kid accepts. He expects him to show up, my kid spends an hour. It's a job for him.

If it snows a ton, I clear about 20 drives on my road - I have a tractor - they have shovels. I still refuse money - but they never asked me to clear their drives. I figure the good karma and seat time is reward enough. But I wouldn't feel bad if I went out of town and they had to do their own. It's not a job.

Whatever you do, don't feel obligated to do it for free just because he asked. You'll soon find you have a lot of "friends"

As for insurance, my broker says I can help out my neighbours off my property and be covered. Insurance companies understand people helping out neighbours. But he also said that he doubted they would cover me if I trailered it 10 miles around the bay - even if it was to my best friends place. No longer considered a neighbourly favour. And if money is involved, I'm not covered -liability or equipment.

 

[DocHeb]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( As for insurance, my broker says I can help out my neighbours off my property and be covered. Insurance companies understand people helping out neighbours. But he also said that he doubted they would cover me if I trailered it 10 miles around the bay - even if it was to my best friends place. No longer considered a neighbourly favour. )</font>

That is a pretty vague definition - it sounds like a broker trying to be friendly - and not wanting to tell you that the home office will deny any claim. It has been my experience that the word "understanding" is not typically used to describe insurance companies. If it isn't in writing and it comes to $$$, you'll lose.

 

[nobull1]

That is what I would do "discount rate".I do not work for free, 95% of the time you will pay on a sliding scale depending who,what and when I have to do it.Now not to sound like I rip off my friends, when I need work done at my place you get paid usually on a sliding scale.So when you leave my place you were compensated and I owe you nothing else.I find this works for me due to the fact I have little spare time and hate to feel obligated to someone that I cannot go and help when they need it.I also find people work harder if they are getting at least some money. I also find people appreciate your time more if they are paying a discounted rate.When you work for free a lot of people think it has no real value /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
Just my 2 cents worth, well actually 4 cents but a 50% discount for TBN members /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif