What to pay....

[CP]

We recently had a gentleman at our house doing odd jobs like putting on a bathroom mirror, bathroom canbinet, toilet, tub fixtures...you get the idea. He was here about 4-5 hours b/c he had some trouble with the shower.

He gave us a bill for $200. Which my dh and I feel is reasonable......

My mother, who got this guy to do the job for us (and is friends with him)believes that he charges too low of a price and we should pay him at least $500. She uses him for odd jobs and always pays him more than he asks because she feels that he charges too low of an amount.....

DH is really angry at my mother right now b/c of her insistance that we pay this guy more, when he quoted us a price....DH said, I guess we could give him a gift card as a tip, but he is not paying $500. I agree with DH..........

What do you think?

 

[ecsmom]

I'm with your DH. A gift card would be nice but not required.

 

[mooba1]

My opinion is, he named his price, so that's what you pay him.

 

[kahluablast]

$100 an hour is a tad high! I would pay what he asked. If he did a super job and you want to make sure he would come back, give him a bit more ($40?). He should be asking for what he wants to get out of the job, not hoping for huge tips. I am guessing he is doing it for his job or extra money - so he isn't giving his time away. We sure don't make $50 an hour.

 

[Ruby07]

He's already making $40-50 an hour ---- yeesh! I don't think you need to pay him any more than that. Sounds like he did some menial jobs, too.....nothing major or too physically demanding.

I think you owe him nothing more than the $200 you paid him. What your mother does with her money is her business.

 

[klperry]

handyman

wow, a handyman we know charges $25 an hour, I think the $200 was fair.

 

[linda2671]

A tip would be nice

but I don't think it's necessary to pay him more than double what he asked. We had a guy build a deck for us one summer when the temps were over 100 degrees. I gave him $200 more than he asked for because when he quoted us a price, we had no idea that it was going to be that hot. But your guy just had normal working conditions. I like the idea of a gift card.

 

[teachnkids]

It's his job to name his price. He gave you a bill, so that's what I would pay. If I liked the work and thought I got a good deal I might give him a cash tip or a giftcard, but it certainly wouldn't equal $500.

 

[kiwilemon]

If you think he did a good job, I would give him an extra tip. I do not know my handyman well, so I would not get him a gift card since I do not know where he would use one. I would just give an extra 50 or 100 in cash.

 

[funkster]

I agree, give him what he asked and if he did a good job-give him a tip.

A previous poster said "we don't get $50 an hour" I don't think we can pay others according to what we get paid. I am just sensitive to that theory because that's what we hear at board of education meetings. Yes, you probably could have hired someone cheaper, but buying cheap can be very expensive in the end. If you can get someone to come in your home, show up on time, clean up completely when done, do a good job and not add on other unexpected expenses -Priceless.

Hasn't your DH learned to tune out your mom yet?????

 

[msamyb]

I would pay him the $200 and give a tip. The tip could be extra cash or a gift card for dinner, gas, or someplace like Home Depot. That way if you need his help again, you will know his price will be/should be around $50 an hour.

 

[kitty11710]

That is totally fair..Pay him the $200 and give a tip if you loved it, as previous posters have said.

Mechanics charge $50-60 an hour, so the same should be said about handymans I think.

 

[anonymity]

I would pay him what he asked for and maybe thrown in 25-50 for the extra pain the shower was. And, because he is so reasonably priced, I'd have him back soon to help with something else. Sounds like he is more interested in repeat business than he is charging too much. If you like his work and his prices, you are more likely to recommend him to friends as well. If he does a lot of work for you and always does a good job, send him a nice tip at Christmas.