These self-centered "me" generation people are really something!

I did some free remodeling work for a young friend about 10 months ago.
Prior to doing this work, my friend assured me he would reimburse me for all
the materials I needed buy to do the work...

When I was done with the work, I gave him a copy of all the receipts for
things I had purchased as well as an itemized list and total amount he owed
me. Again my labor was free.

So the months rolled by and not a single dime came my way. But in the mean
time, my friend purchased all sorts of expensive "toys" for himself (he
makes very good money). Like fancy wheels/tires for his car (the old tires
were fine), a new very expensive entertainment system for his house, and on
and on.

I kept reminding him of the money owed to me...

Well after 10 months of this, he finally mentioned something about paying
me. He said he would total up the receipts I gave him. I again gave him a
copy if the itemized list I have given him 10 months prior.

After a couple of weeks, he called me and said "You can come and get the
money I owe you!"

I think I will try this with my electric bill. I'll call the electric
company and tell them I have the money for their bill and they can come and
pick it up!

Geeze these people are really something!

On Jun 16, 10:26*am, "Bill" wrote:
These self-centered "me" generation people are really something!

I did some free remodeling work for a young friend about 10 months ago.
Prior to doing this work, my friend assured me he would reimburse me for all
the materials I needed buy to do the work...

When I was done with the work, I gave him a copy of all the receipts for
things I had purchased as well as an itemized list and total amount he owed
me. Again my labor was free.

So the months rolled by and not a single dime came my way. But in the mean
time, my friend purchased all sorts of expensive "toys" for himself (he
makes very good money). Like fancy wheels/tires for his car (the old tires
were fine), a new very expensive entertainment system for his house, and on
and on.

I kept reminding him of the money owed to me...

Well after 10 months of this, he finally mentioned something about paying
me. He said he would total up the receipts I gave him. I again gave him a
copy if the itemized list I have given him 10 months prior.

After a couple of weeks, he called me and said "You can come and get the
money I owe you!"

I think I will try this with my electric bill. I'll call the electric
company and tell them I have the money for their bill and they can come and
pick it up!

Geeze these people are really something!

a young friend

If this person is really a friend (or even if not) then you owe it to
him to sit him down and explain the correct way to treat people.

As the older and wiser individual in this relationship, you should
take this opportunity to help him out. Invite him to meet you for a
cup of coffee at a diner or some other neutral location, ask him to
bring the payment and spend a few minutes calmly explaining to him
everything you just told us.

If he takes it as an insult and not as constructive criticism, then he
wasn't a friend. As long as you got your money back, send him on his
way, knowing that you did the right thing by trying to help.

You might be surprised - while he might be insulted at first - as his
defenses take control - your words might sink in eventually.

P.S. Pay for the coffee.

Its a common problem. Next time make sure you have some kind of written
contract, make sure you get some kind of deposit (eg. 1/3 of total), and
be fully willing to threaten to put a lien on the property if you don't
get paid.

Electric company? You don't pay your bill and they will disconnect you,
and some of them will ask for a big fee to re-connect you, and maybe a
security deposit too. And the post office will return your envelope if you
don't have postage on it.

My father did "individual" work when I was a kid (long ago) and he said
that, at least at that time, the worst payers were the doctors and lawyers
at paying their bills.

On Tue, 16 Jun 2009, Bill wrote:

Date: Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:26:15 -0700
From: Bill
Newsgroups: alt.home.repair, misc.consumers
Subject: You can come get the money I owe you...

These self-centered "me" generation people are really something!

I did some free remodeling work for a young friend about 10 months ago.
Prior to doing this work, my friend assured me he would reimburse me for all
the materials I needed buy to do the work...

When I was done with the work, I gave him a copy of all the receipts for
things I had purchased as well as an itemized list and total amount he owed
me. Again my labor was free.

So the months rolled by and not a single dime came my way. But in the mean
time, my friend purchased all sorts of expensive "toys" for himself (he
makes very good money). Like fancy wheels/tires for his car (the old tires
were fine), a new very expensive entertainment system for his house, and on
and on.

I kept reminding him of the money owed to me...

Well after 10 months of this, he finally mentioned something about paying
me. He said he would total up the receipts I gave him. I again gave him a
copy if the itemized list I have given him 10 months prior.

After a couple of weeks, he called me and said "You can come and get the
money I owe you!"

I think I will try this with my electric bill. I'll call the electric
company and tell them I have the money for their bill and they can come and
pick it up!

Geeze these people are really something!

On Tue, 16 Jun 2009, DerbyDad03 wrote:

Date: Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:39:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: DerbyDad03
Newsgroups: alt.home.repair, misc.consumers
Subject: You can come get the money I owe you...

On Jun 16, 10:26*am, "Bill" wrote:
These self-centered "me" generation people are really something!

I did some free remodeling work for a young friend about 10 months ago.
Prior to doing this work, my friend assured me he would reimburse me for all
the materials I needed buy to do the work...

When I was done with the work, I gave him a copy of all the receipts for
things I had purchased as well as an itemized list and total amount he owed
me. Again my labor was free.

So the months rolled by and not a single dime came my way. But in the mean
time, my friend purchased all sorts of expensive "toys" for himself (he
makes very good money). Like fancy wheels/tires for his car (the old tires
were fine), a new very expensive entertainment system for his house, and on
and on.

I kept reminding him of the money owed to me...

Well after 10 months of this, he finally mentioned something about paying
me. He said he would total up the receipts I gave him. I again gave him a
copy if the itemized list I have given him 10 months prior.

After a couple of weeks, he called me and said "You can come and get the
money I owe you!"

I think I will try this with my electric bill. I'll call the electric
company and tell them I have the money for their bill and they can come and
pick it up!

Geeze these people are really something!

a young friend

If this person is really a friend (or even if not) then you owe it to
him to sit him down and explain the correct way to treat people.

As the older and wiser individual in this relationship, you should
take this opportunity to help him out. Invite him to meet you for a
cup of coffee at a diner or some other neutral location, ask him to
bring the payment and spend a few minutes calmly explaining to him
everything you just told us.

If he takes it as an insult and not as constructive criticism, then he
wasn't a friend. As long as you got your money back, send him on his
way, knowing that you did the right thing by trying to help.

You might be surprised - while he might be insulted at first - as his
defenses take control - your words might sink in eventually.

P.S. Pay for the coffee.


This is fine, but one thing I have found out about _friends_ is that
sometimes its not a good idea to do _business_ with them (and for some
people I do business with, it might not be a good idea to make friends
with them, either), but another thing -- next time around-- is to have a
clear idea established with the guy you're dealing with about just how and
when the guy will pay up.

Another thing: if you're going to do the work for free anyway, then make
the guy at least pay in advance for the materials.

I know some practices in the remodeling business and some of them want
90% deposit (on materials and labor) plus a written contract 9which
sometimes even benefits the seller and not the buyer of the services.

In article g,
Stray Dog wrote:

Its a common problem. Next time make sure you have some kind of written
contract, make sure you get some kind of deposit (eg. 1/3 of total), and
be fully willing to threaten to put a lien on the property if you don't
get paid.

You didn't actually read the OP, did you Dog? This was "free remodeling
work for a friend." The debt involved material costs only.

BTW, unless you're a mormon, top-posting is discouraged, sometimes even
politely.

Bill wrote:

These self-centered "me" generation people are really something!

I did some free remodeling work for a young friend about 10 months
ago. Prior to doing this work, my friend assured me he would
reimburse me for all the materials I needed buy to do the work...

Rule No. 1: Materials get paid for up front, even with friends.

On Jun 16, 9:26*am, "Bill" wrote:
These self-centered "me" generation people are really something!

I did some free remodeling work for a young friend about 10 months ago.
Prior to doing this work, my friend assured me he would reimburse me for all
the materials I needed buy to do the work...

When I was done with the work, I gave him a copy of all the receipts for
things I had purchased as well as an itemized list and total amount he owed
me. Again my labor was free.

So the months rolled by and not a single dime came my way. But in the mean
time, my friend purchased all sorts of expensive "toys" for himself (he
makes very good money). Like fancy wheels/tires for his car (the old tires
were fine), a new very expensive entertainment system for his house, and on
and on.

I kept reminding him of the money owed to me...

Well after 10 months of this, he finally mentioned something about paying
me. He said he would total up the receipts I gave him. I again gave him a
copy if the itemized list I have given him 10 months prior.

After a couple of weeks, he called me and said "You can come and get the
money I owe you!"

I think I will try this with my electric bill. I'll call the electric
company and tell them I have the money for their bill and they can come and
pick it up!

Geeze these people are really something!

This makes me think of an expression that goes something like, "Never
a good deed goes unpunished".

Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience.

Lewis.

*****

DGDevin wrote
Bill wrote

These self-centered "me" generation people are really something!

I did some free remodeling work for a young friend about 10 months
ago. Prior to doing this work, my friend assured me he would
reimburse me for all the materials I needed buy to do the work...

Rule No. 1: Materials get paid for up front, even with friends.

I never do it like that and have never had a problem with not doing it like that.

"Bill" wrote in message
...
These self-centered "me" generation people are really something!

I did some free remodeling work for a young friend about 10 months ago.
Prior to doing this work, my friend assured me he would reimburse me for
all the materials I needed buy to do the work...

When I was done with the work, I gave him a copy of all the receipts for
things I had purchased as well as an itemized list and total amount he
owed me. Again my labor was free.

So the months rolled by and not a single dime came my way. But in the mean
time, my friend purchased all sorts of expensive "toys" for himself (he
makes very good money). Like fancy wheels/tires for his car (the old tires
were fine), a new very expensive entertainment system for his house, and
on and on.

I kept reminding him of the money owed to me...

Well after 10 months of this, he finally mentioned something about paying
me. He said he would total up the receipts I gave him. I again gave him a
copy if the itemized list I have given him 10 months prior.

After a couple of weeks, he called me and said "You can come and get the
money I owe you!"

I think I will try this with my electric bill. I'll call the electric
company and tell them I have the money for their bill and they can come
and pick it up!

Geeze these people are really something!

The way I have solved that kind of problem is by giving the guy a shopping
list.
"Any questions? Call me when all the stuff is at your house and I'll be
over"

Charlie

On Tue, 16 Jun 2009, Smitty Two wrote:

Date: Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:33:59 -0700
From: Smitty Two
Newsgroups: alt.home.repair, misc.consumers
Subject: You can come get the money I owe you...

In article g,
Stray Dog wrote:

Its a common problem. Next time make sure you have some kind of written
contract, make sure you get some kind of deposit (eg. 1/3 of total), and
be fully willing to threaten to put a lien on the property if you don't
get paid.

You didn't actually read the OP, did you Dog? This was "free remodeling
work for a friend."

You didn't read my part about sometimes doing business with friends is not
a good idea.

The debt involved material costs only.

Debt is debt, if the friend was a friend, he would have paid up way before
this.

BTW, unless you're a mormon, top-posting is discouraged, sometimes even
politely.


Someone out there will always come back with their own favorit idea about
posting practices.

On Tue, 16 Jun 2009, DGDevin wrote:

Date: Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:35:40 -0700
From: DGDevin
Newsgroups: alt.home.repair, misc.consumers
Subject: You can come get the money I owe you...

Bill wrote:

These self-centered "me" generation people are really something!

I did some free remodeling work for a young friend about 10 months
ago. Prior to doing this work, my friend assured me he would
reimburse me for all the materials I needed buy to do the work...

Rule No. 1: Materials get paid for up front, even with friends.




I hope the guy who thought friends mean they can freeload on you is
reading this.

P.S. I've been there on this problem.

On Tue, 16 Jun 2009, Charlie wrote:

Date: Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:16:11 -0400
From: Charlie
Newsgroups: alt.home.repair, misc.consumers
Subject: You can come get the money I owe you...


"Bill" wrote in message
...
These self-centered "me" generation people are really something!

I did some free remodeling work for a young friend about 10 months ago.
Prior to doing this work, my friend assured me he would reimburse me for
all the materials I needed buy to do the work...

When I was done with the work, I gave him a copy of all the receipts for
things I had purchased as well as an itemized list and total amount he
owed me. Again my labor was free.

So the months rolled by and not a single dime came my way. But in the mean
time, my friend purchased all sorts of expensive "toys" for himself (he
makes very good money). Like fancy wheels/tires for his car (the old tires
were fine), a new very expensive entertainment system for his house, and
on and on.

I kept reminding him of the money owed to me...

Well after 10 months of this, he finally mentioned something about paying
me. He said he would total up the receipts I gave him. I again gave him a
copy if the itemized list I have given him 10 months prior.

After a couple of weeks, he called me and said "You can come and get the
money I owe you!"

I think I will try this with my electric bill. I'll call the electric
company and tell them I have the money for their bill and they can come
and pick it up!

Geeze these people are really something!

The way I have solved that kind of problem is by giving the guy a shopping
list.
"Any questions? Call me when all the stuff is at your house and I'll be
over"

Charlie




This, above, is an excellent way to go, too.

Charlie wrote:
"Bill" wrote in message
...
These self-centered "me" generation people are really something!

I did some free remodeling work for a young friend about 10 months
ago. Prior to doing this work, my friend assured me he would
reimburse me for all the materials I needed buy to do the work...

When I was done with the work, I gave him a copy of all the receipts
for things I had purchased as well as an itemized list and total
amount he owed me. Again my labor was free.

So the months rolled by and not a single dime came my way. But in
the mean time, my friend purchased all sorts of expensive "toys" for
himself (he makes very good money). Like fancy wheels/tires for his
car (the old tires were fine), a new very expensive entertainment
system for his house, and on and on.

I kept reminding him of the money owed to me...

Well after 10 months of this, he finally mentioned something about
paying me. He said he would total up the receipts I gave him. I
again gave him a copy if the itemized list I have given him 10
months prior. After a couple of weeks, he called me and said "You can come and get
the money I owe you!"

I think I will try this with my electric bill. I'll call the electric
company and tell them I have the money for their bill and they can
come and pick it up!

Geeze these people are really something!

The way I have solved that kind of problem is by giving the guy a shopping list.
"Any questions? Call me when all the stuff is at your house and I'll be over"

Trouble is that plenty arent capable of using the list properly.

And its often a lot more trouble to make up a list that someone who doesnt
know anything about renovations can use than to get the stuff yourself.

Scott in SoCal wrote
Rod Speed wrote
Charlie wrote
Bill wrote

These self-centered "me" generation people are really something!

I did some free remodeling work for a young friend about 10 months
ago. Prior to doing this work, my friend assured me he would
reimburse me for all the materials I needed buy to do the work...

When I was done with the work, I gave him a copy of all the receipts
for things I had purchased as well as an itemized list and total
amount he owed me. Again my labor was free.

So the months rolled by and not a single dime came my way. But in
the mean time, my friend purchased all sorts of expensive "toys" for
himself (he makes very good money). Like fancy wheels/tires for his
car (the old tires were fine), a new very expensive entertainment
system for his house, and on and on.

I kept reminding him of the money owed to me...

Well after 10 months of this, he finally mentioned something about
paying me. He said he would total up the receipts I gave him. I
again gave him a copy if the itemized list I have given him 10
months prior. After a couple of weeks, he called me and said "You
can come and get the money I owe you!"

I think I will try this with my electric bill. I'll call the electric
company and tell them I have the money for their bill and they can
come and pick it up!

Geeze these people are really something!

The way I have solved that kind of problem is by giving
the guy a shopping list. "Any questions? Call me when
all the stuff is at your house and I'll be over"

Trouble is that plenty arent capable of using the list properly.

And its often a lot more trouble to make up a list that someone who doesnt
know anything about renovations can use than to get the stuff yourself.

Still sounds like a lot less trouble than Bill had getting reimbursed.

Sure, but it makes a lot more sense to get the cash upfront instead.

"Rod Speed" wrote in message
...
Scott in SoCal wrote
Rod Speed wrote
Charlie wrote
Bill wrote

These self-centered "me" generation people are really something!

I did some free remodeling work for a young friend about 10 months
ago. Prior to doing this work, my friend assured me he would
reimburse me for all the materials I needed buy to do the work...

When I was done with the work, I gave him a copy of all the receipts
for things I had purchased as well as an itemized list and total
amount he owed me. Again my labor was free.

So the months rolled by and not a single dime came my way. But in
the mean time, my friend purchased all sorts of expensive "toys" for
himself (he makes very good money). Like fancy wheels/tires for his
car (the old tires were fine), a new very expensive entertainment
system for his house, and on and on.

I kept reminding him of the money owed to me...

Well after 10 months of this, he finally mentioned something about
paying me. He said he would total up the receipts I gave him. I
again gave him a copy if the itemized list I have given him 10
months prior. After a couple of weeks, he called me and said "You
can come and get the money I owe you!"

I think I will try this with my electric bill. I'll call the electric
company and tell them I have the money for their bill and they can
come and pick it up!

Geeze these people are really something!

The way I have solved that kind of problem is by giving
the guy a shopping list. "Any questions? Call me when
all the stuff is at your house and I'll be over"

Trouble is that plenty arent capable of using the list properly.

And its often a lot more trouble to make up a list that someone who
doesnt
know anything about renovations can use than to get the stuff yourself.

Still sounds like a lot less trouble than Bill had getting reimbursed.

Sure, but it makes a lot more sense to get the cash upfront instead.

If you do that you are ignoring travel costs and time.

Rod Speed wrote:

Rule No. 1: Materials get paid for up front, even with friends.

I never do it like that and have never had a problem with not doing
it like that.

Okay, but I've known several folks in the trades who have either lost the
cost of the materials when they didn't get paid or had to fight like hell to
get their money. Bad enough not to get paid for you time, but to have to
pay for the materials out of your own pocket is even worse.

Rod Speed wrote:

The way I have solved that kind of problem is by giving the guy a
shopping list. "Any questions? Call me when all the stuff is at
your house and I'll be over"

Trouble is that plenty arent capable of using the list properly.

And its often a lot more trouble to make up a list that someone who
doesnt know anything about renovations can use than to get the stuff
yourself.

So tell the "friend" you need his help to pick up the materials, and remind
him to bring enough money to pay for them. If he for some reason can't do
that let him know you'll be happy to help him whenever the money is
available.

DGDevin wrote
Rod Speed wrote

The way I have solved that kind of problem is by giving the guy a shopping list. "Any questions? Call me when all
the stuff is at your house and I'll be over"

Trouble is that plenty arent capable of using the list properly.

And its often a lot more trouble to make up a list that someone who doesnt know anything about renovations can use
than to get the stuff yourself.

So tell the "friend" you need his help to pick up the materials, and remind him to bring enough money to pay for them.

Makes more sense to ask for the money up front and given him back what is left over.

If he for some reason can't do that let him know you'll be happy to help him whenever the money is available.

DGDevin wrote
Rod Speed wrote
DGDevin wrote

Rule No. 1: Materials get paid for up front, even with friends.

I never do it like that and have never had a problem with not doing it like that.

Okay, but I've known several folks in the trades who have either lost
the cost of the materials when they didn't get paid or had to fight like hell to get their money. Bad enough not to
get paid for you time, but to have to pay for the materials out of your own pocket is even worse.

Sure, but I am clearly a better judge of my friends.

I wouldnt do it with some, and will with most of them.

In fact I do it repeatedly mostly with my neighbours whose house
I look after when they are away for the winter etc and have never
had a problem. I pay their bills as the bills show up and get paid
when they return. I could get paid immediately but it isnt very
convenient for them to pay me immediately because they are
tearing around the country in an RV most of the time.

Charlie wrote
Rod Speed wrote
Scott in SoCal wrote
Rod Speed wrote
Charlie wrote
Bill wrote

These self-centered "me" generation people are really something!

I did some free remodeling work for a young friend about 10
months ago. Prior to doing this work, my friend assured me he
would reimburse me for all the materials I needed buy to do the work...

When I was done with the work, I gave him a copy of all the
receipts for things I had purchased as well as an itemized list
and total amount he owed me. Again my labor was free.

So the months rolled by and not a single dime came my way. But in
the mean time, my friend purchased all sorts of expensive "toys"
for himself (he makes very good money). Like fancy wheels/tires
for his car (the old tires were fine), a new very expensive
entertainment system for his house, and on and on.

I kept reminding him of the money owed to me...

Well after 10 months of this, he finally mentioned something
about paying me. He said he would total up the receipts I gave
him. I again gave him a copy if the itemized list I have given
him 10 months prior. After a couple of weeks, he called me and
said "You can come and get the money I owe you!"

I think I will try this with my electric bill. I'll call the
electric company and tell them I have the money for their bill
and they can come and pick it up!

Geeze these people are really something!

The way I have solved that kind of problem is by giving
the guy a shopping list. "Any questions? Call me when
all the stuff is at your house and I'll be over"

Trouble is that plenty arent capable of using the list properly.

And its often a lot more trouble to make up a list that someone who doesnt
know anything about renovations can use than to get the stuff yourself.

Still sounds like a lot less trouble than Bill had getting reimbursed.

Sure, but it makes a lot more sense to get the cash upfront instead.

If you do that you are ignoring travel costs and time.

You'll waste more travel costs and time try8ing to make a list for
someone who isnt capable of doing that work themselves and who
doesnt understand the list etc.

You'll save much more travel cost and time by requiring the cash
upfront and doing the shopping yourself if you decide that there is
some risk of not getting paid.

"DGDevin" wrote in message
m...
Rod Speed wrote:

Rule No. 1: Materials get paid for up front, even with friends.

I never do it like that and have never had a problem with not doing
it like that.

Okay, but I've known several folks in the trades who have either lost the
cost of the materials when they didn't get paid or had to fight like hell
to get their money. Bad enough not to get paid for you time, but to have
to pay for the materials out of your own pocket is even worse.


When I did work like that for pay, I always got a substantial up front
deposit. Only got stung once and it was a relatively small amount.

As for friends, that all depends. I know some people that I'd not trust
with a penny but I'd hesitate to call them a friend, I have others that I'd
not hesitate to put anything out of pocket knowing I'd get it back.

"Rod Speed" wrote in message
...
Charlie wrote
Rod Speed wrote
Scott in SoCal wrote
Rod Speed wrote
Charlie wrote
Bill wrote

These self-centered "me" generation people are really something!

I did some free remodeling work for a young friend about 10
months ago. Prior to doing this work, my friend assured me he
would reimburse me for all the materials I needed buy to do the
work...

When I was done with the work, I gave him a copy of all the
receipts for things I had purchased as well as an itemized list
and total amount he owed me. Again my labor was free.

So the months rolled by and not a single dime came my way. But in
the mean time, my friend purchased all sorts of expensive "toys"
for himself (he makes very good money). Like fancy wheels/tires
for his car (the old tires were fine), a new very expensive
entertainment system for his house, and on and on.

I kept reminding him of the money owed to me...

Well after 10 months of this, he finally mentioned something
about paying me. He said he would total up the receipts I gave
him. I again gave him a copy if the itemized list I have given
him 10 months prior. After a couple of weeks, he called me and
said "You can come and get the money I owe you!"

I think I will try this with my electric bill. I'll call the
electric company and tell them I have the money for their bill
and they can come and pick it up!

Geeze these people are really something!

The way I have solved that kind of problem is by giving
the guy a shopping list. "Any questions? Call me when
all the stuff is at your house and I'll be over"

Trouble is that plenty arent capable of using the list properly.

And its often a lot more trouble to make up a list that someone who
doesnt
know anything about renovations can use than to get the stuff
yourself.

Still sounds like a lot less trouble than Bill had getting reimbursed.

Sure, but it makes a lot more sense to get the cash upfront instead.

If you do that you are ignoring travel costs and time.

You'll waste more travel costs and time try8ing to make a list for
someone who isnt capable of doing that work themselves and who
doesnt understand the list etc.

You'll save much more travel cost and time by requiring the cash
upfront and doing the shopping yourself if you decide that there is
some risk of not getting paid.
Of course the right way to handle this, at least from my prerspective, is to
say, "Here's the list of what you need. Pick me up at the house and we will
go get the stuff. Then I will help you and show you how to do the job so the
next time you will be smarter and know what to do."

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and ...."
You know how it goes.

Charlie

Some folks are willing to do part of the job. Take the first
step. Folks like that, I work with. Others sit around and
expect to be waited on. Those, I avoid. And a third
category are folks who have a job, want to hire me and pay
me when I'm done. Those, I do like.

Sometimes, it's hard to tell which classification is an
individual.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Charlie" wrote in message
...

Of course the right way to handle this, at least from my
prerspective, is to
say, "Here's the list of what you need. Pick me up at the
house and we will
go get the stuff. Then I will help you and show you how to
do the job so the
next time you will be smarter and know what to do."

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to
fish and ...."
You know how it goes.

Charlie

Stormin Mormon wrote

Some folks are willing to do part of the job.

It can be a lot more work that route tho.

Take the first step. Folks like that, I work with.

I only do that if they ask for that approach.

Others sit around and expect to be waited on. Those, I avoid.
And a third category are folks who have a job, want to hire
me and pay me when I'm done. Those, I do like.

Sometimes, it's hard to tell which classification is an individual.

Sure, and you are free to change the detail when it becomes clear what
they are like, whether they are capable of using a brief list etc or not.

Charlie wrote
Rod Speed wrote
Charlie wrote
Rod Speed wrote
Scott in SoCal wrote
Rod Speed wrote
Charlie wrote
Bill wrote

These self-centered "me" generation people are really something!

I did some free remodeling work for a young friend about 10
months ago. Prior to doing this work, my friend assured me he
would reimburse me for all the materials I needed buy to do the work...

When I was done with the work, I gave him a copy of all the
receipts for things I had purchased as well as an itemized list
and total amount he owed me. Again my labor was free.

So the months rolled by and not a single dime came my way. But in the mean time, my friend purchased all sorts
of expensive
"toys" for himself (he makes very good money). Like fancy
wheels/tires for his car (the old tires were fine), a new very
expensive entertainment system for his house, and on and on.

I kept reminding him of the money owed to me...

Well after 10 months of this, he finally mentioned something
about paying me. He said he would total up the receipts I gave
him. I again gave him a copy if the itemized list I have given
him 10 months prior. After a couple of weeks, he called me and said "You can come and get the money I owe you!"

I think I will try this with my electric bill. I'll call the
electric company and tell them I have the money for their bill and they can come and pick it up!

Geeze these people are really something!

The way I have solved that kind of problem is by giving
the guy a shopping list. "Any questions? Call me when
all the stuff is at your house and I'll be over"

Trouble is that plenty arent capable of using the list properly.

And its often a lot more trouble to make up a list that someone who doesnt
know anything about renovations can use than to get the stuff yourself.

Still sounds like a lot less trouble than Bill had getting reimbursed.

Sure, but it makes a lot more sense to get the cash upfront instead.

If you do that you are ignoring travel costs and time.

You'll waste more travel costs and time trying to make a list for someone who isnt capable of doing that work
themselves and who doesnt understand the list etc.

You'll save much more travel cost and time by requiring the cash upfront and doing the shopping yourself if you
decide that there is some risk of not getting paid.

Of course the right way to handle this, at least from my
prerspective, is to say, "Here's the list of what you need. Pick me up at the house and we will go get the stuff. Then
I will help you and show you how to do the job so the next time you will be smarter and know what to do."

There's plenty that will never be able to do it themselves.

Like my neighbour's elderly woman next door neighbour.
He just provided all the materials and did all the work and got
paid for it when it was done and he knew what the total was.

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and
...." You know how it goes.

There's always going to be plenty that will never be viable fishers.

Some of the people I know are such incompetant butchers
that even if they can do it, it isnt a viable approach.

When I built my house from scratch quite literally, that triggered
a bit of rash of that amoungst the people I knew. One of them is
such a klutz that he did have the sense to take my advice and
get professionals to do much of the work I did myself, and decided
that he should be able to paint it and save some money. He quite
literally attempted to paint it with a broom and big bucket of paint.

He was the one who came within an ace of killing himself at work
when he had the 'brilliant' idea of cleaning out the room where the
big growth cabinets were by hosing out the place with all the
electrical stuff under the big growth cabinets still powered.

I used to cringe every time he changed a magtape on
the PDP9, he's such a mechanical incompetant/klutz.

I wouldnt hesitate to buy the materials for him, I have compete
confidence that I would get paid as soon as I wanted the money
and he's so hopeless with mechanical stuff that a list would be
useless and there is no point in having him along on the
shopping run, it would be a lot quicker to do it myself instead.

Tom Horne wrote:
On Jun 16, 4:49 pm, "Rod Speed" wrote:
Charlie wrote:
"Bill" wrote in message
...
These self-centered "me" generation people are really something!

I did some free remodeling work for a young friend about 10 months
ago. Prior to doing this work, my friend assured me he would
reimburse me for all the materials I needed buy to do the work...

When I was done with the work, I gave him a copy of all the
receipts
for things I had purchased as well as an itemized list and total
amount he owed me. Again my labor was free.

So the months rolled by and not a single dime came my way. But in
the mean time, my friend purchased all sorts of expensive "toys"
for
himself (he makes very good money). Like fancy wheels/tires for his
car (the old tires were fine), a new very expensive entertainment
system for his house, and on and on.

I kept reminding him of the money owed to me...

Well after 10 months of this, he finally mentioned something about
paying me. He said he would total up the receipts I gave him. I
again gave him a copy if the itemized list I have given him 10
months prior. After a couple of weeks, he called me and said "You
can come and get the money I owe you!"

I think I will try this with my electric bill. I'll call the
electric
company and tell them I have the money for their bill and they can
come and pick it up!

Geeze these people are really something!
The way I have solved that kind of problem is by giving the guy a
shopping list. "Any questions? Call me when all the stuff is at
your house and I'll be over"

Trouble is that plenty arent capable of using the list properly.

And its often a lot more trouble to make up a list that someone who
doesnt know anything about renovations can use than to get the stuff
yourself.

My answer to that is to accompany them to the supply source and let
them pay for the materials.

Makes more sense to get the money up front.