# What do you pay "emergency" help?



## Hubjeep (Jan 9, 2002)

A friend of mine has about 15 residential accounts and one truck. He called me saying his truck may not be back from the repair shop and we may get snow, asked if he could ride along with me and do his driveways.

All, good, no prob, I am always ready to help... but then he said he will pay me 50% of what he gets. This threw me, I would be doing him a favor to help him KEEP his customers, not so he can make money on me. 50% sounds like the bare minimum you would pay a (stranger) sub, not someone who is saving your butt last minute.

If he was helping me, I would pay him 100% and be thankful my customers are still happy, as well as him, then make money the next storm.

What do you think?

Thanks.


----------



## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

A cup of coffee while plowing and some beers after.


----------



## Hubjeep (Jan 9, 2002)

grandview;1744269 said:


> A cup of coffee while plowing and some beers after.


I was thinking all or nothing. Friends and money together sucks.

He said he got 50% when working as a sub for a guy, I felt like he wasn't really valuing my effort with that comment.


----------



## quigleysiding (Oct 3, 2009)

Did he say how much half would be .


----------



## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Hubjeep;1744278 said:


> I was thinking all or nothing. Friends and money together sucks.
> 
> He said he got 50% when working as a sub for a guy, I felt like he wasn't really valuing my effort with that comment.


hope he never finds out about that with you.


----------



## Hubjeep (Jan 9, 2002)

quigleysiding;1744279 said:


> Did he say how much half would be .


No, and I don't care if it's $10 or $1,000, just don't lump me into a "sub" category when I am doing you a favor.

Half is probably about $700 if I had to guess.


----------



## 32vld (Feb 4, 2011)

Hubjeep;1744278 said:


> I was thinking all or nothing. Friends and money together sucks.
> 
> He said he got 50% when working as a sub for a guy, I felt like he wasn't really valuing my effort with that comment.


How flushed is the friend?

Does he need half to pay the repair bill?

If you were being hired to sub for someone would you expect to get what that business guy is charging the customer?

Because no contractor is going to sub out work at 100% of the gross.

What goes around comes around and pay back is a ....


----------



## ColliCut (Dec 22, 2013)

Interesting topic. If you were doing doing it for "free" as a favor to your friend, I think some kind of fuel reimbursement would still be in order, at a minimum. I don't disagree with expecting 100% of his charge, though. If I wanted to take a vacation and needed someone to cover my accounts, plowing or lawn care, I'd offer 100% or pretty near it. I think that's appropriate for a one-off favor request. I don't think this request is related to subcontractor rates at all.


----------



## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

So he's a friend and he's giving you $700 to do 15 driveways. Sounds pretty fair to me. Maybe you'll need a favour in return sometime and he will charge you the same.


----------



## maxwellp (Feb 16, 2013)

I always work out the payment ahead of time, that way there are no disappointments afterwards. If you are bailing him out because he does not have the proper backup equipment I think you should get at least 80%. Now after the fact he has offered 50% and you do not like it. Is your friendship worth the other 50%? 
If I asked someone to bail me out last minute, I would pay them whatever they wanted so I had accounts after the fact.


----------



## skorum03 (Mar 8, 2013)

I had this happen to me the other day. My truck was in the shop and I hired a friend to take care of 7 of my properties. Except I didn't ride with him and paid him 100% of what I would have made. He was happy to make a quick extra $200


----------



## jhenderson9196 (Nov 14, 2010)

I'd be ashamed to offer my friend less than 100%. He'll, I'd be ashamed to offer ANYONE less than full amount for bailing me out.


----------



## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

jhenderson9196;1744655 said:


> I'd be ashamed to offer my friend less than 100%. He'll, I'd be ashamed to offer ANYONE less than full amount for bailing me out.


Even better is to agree on a price and at payment time refuse the money.


----------



## Mitragorz (Oct 11, 2013)

grandview;1744269 said:


> A cup of coffee while plowing and some beers after.


This. If he was a real friend of mine, that's all I'd take, even if he offered me money. Hell, this past snow we got, I almost had to call on a friend to drive my truck bc I was out of town. I told him that I'd throw him a few bucks and his response was, and this is a direct quote: "Don't worry about giving me money . I'm sure we will make it up in rounds of beers."

Of course the offer of payment is nice, but I'd never take it from a friend. Coffee and beer is all the payment I need.

Now If I'm left to posting on Craigslist for last-minute help... Then I'll pay whatever it takes to keep the customer.


----------



## BC Handyman (Dec 15, 2010)

How good of a friend is he? My opinion is if he a close friend do it to help him out, if he just a I know the guy & we have talked or hung a few times I'd want what I would charge, even if if more then he make or only half what he would make.


----------



## jhenderson9196 (Nov 14, 2010)

There are many servers of friendship. What many people call a friend, I call an acquaintance. I count my true friends on one hand, with fingers left over. You don't take money from friends. On the other hand, true friends don't make a BS offer like that either.


----------



## Herm Witte (Jan 27, 2009)

In over forty years our firm has helped other friends out from time to time while not asking for a dime. "A friend in need is a friend indeed." Just remember he may need to help you out one day as well. Fifteen drives for us is a couple hours. No big deal.


----------



## Whiffyspark (Dec 23, 2009)

Money is probably tight with his truck being down. I would be happy with 50%. 

I help a friend of mine all the time. Sometimes he pays me sometimes he doesn't. But he helps me just as much


----------



## 32vld (Feb 4, 2011)

I have a friend that is 72. He has had me do front brakes for him. He was a mechanic though can not do the work himself any more. I did not charge him. He can not get down and dig and repair a sprinkler leak. I have done a couple for him. I told him to keep the money. He has come out and helped me with some landscape work and snow work when my son's were not available.

When ever he has worked for me he has never asked how much is the pay before he said yes. He has never complained with what I have paid him. Times it was not as well as I would of liked.

He's always been there when I call him. This past fall clean up is where I saw that he slowed down a lot this year. Though he will not slack off. And if he's done with what he is doing and sees something has to be done he just takes it upon himself to pitch in.

To call someone a friend then take every dollar from the work coming in shows that he is not viewed as a friend.

First time I ever heard of someone subbing that expects to get paid the list price that the job went for.

Finally someone worse then USM.


----------



## Plowtoy (Dec 15, 2001)

This is one reason I won't plow with out a "back up" truck ready to go. If my truck brakes down, I just grab the other and use it until I can get my main truck back up and going. 
That being said, 2 saturdays ago, we had a major storm come through and 3 of my residentials were not even accessible until the road to thier subdivision was opened up from cars stuck in the drifts. I call a buddy of mine who used to sub for me and asked him if he would come out with his superduty with a V plow. I told him all he had to do is wait for me to get stuck or open up any part of the drive I couldn't do. All he ended up having to do is make 2 passes on 1 drive. I paid him $100 bucks to "stand by" and wait for me to get stuck. In my opinion, that is a good investment, because if I had gotten stuck, it would have been a long time to get a wrecker there and would have cost me a lot more money.


----------



## Mr.Markus (Jan 7, 2010)

I had a friend call me one fall, all his contracts were signed, he had a lot of work lined up (as did I) and his wife got cancer. He spent the winter shuttling her back and forth to chemo (not nearby for us in the booneys) and I took care of his accounts. We settled on 50-50. When his wife passed he retired from snow and handed me his book of business that he had on the market for sale. A lot of people will tell you that friends and business don't mix but there is a give and take among friends. If you both give then your friends ....but taking what is given with thanks makes you friends for life.


----------



## mwalsh9152 (Dec 30, 2008)

I have a friend that covers the few accounts I have if I am out of town for any reason. I give him my truck to use as he sold his plow, and also give him 100% of the money in exchange for him also clearing my driveway for me.


----------



## Hubjeep (Jan 9, 2002)

Thanks for all the replies!



Whiffyspark;1745312 said:


> Money is probably tight with his truck being down.





32vld;1744516 said:


> ]How flushed is the friend?
> 
> Does he need half to pay the repair bill?


NO! NO! NO! Far from it (which pisses me off about it even more)! If it was a friend in need I would not ask for any money at all, it's that he gave me the "bail me out while I make money off you" offer that made this crappy. My mechanical/welding skills are always available to those I know at no charge, I have helped him out with many repairs and didn't ask for a cent in return.



jhenderson9196;1745240 said:


> There are many servers of friendship. What many people call a friend, I call an acquaintance. I count my true friends on one hand, with fingers left over. You don't take money from friends.


True, he is more of an acquaintance/friend, don't get together much.



jhenderson9196;1745240 said:


> On the other hand, true friends don't make a BS offer like that either.


EXACTLY!



Plowtoy;1745566 said:


> This is one reason I won't plow with out a "back up" truck ready to go.


That's why I have severely reduced the number of driveways I do, don't want a second vehicle sitting around, and didn't like the worry of my only one breaking down.


----------



## hatchmastr (Oct 28, 2011)

what about the friend that before everystorm calls and asks if u got any propertys he can do because has no money cause landscaping this year sucked for him .. i always pass him a couple of propertys<2-3> and give him 100% but when i didnt get paid yet and hes hounding me more then im hounding the property owners we got a problem. 
anyway its all a give or take realationship!!!
i know if i needed he would give me his last so i pay him before i get paid and thank god we are not both in the same predicament .
friends are the guys that bail u out of jail and not tell ur wife about it. lmao


----------

