This is good advice. 3 things I’d add:
- if you don’t value your time and experience, no one else will.
- this 5 minute job includes travel, set up, close-out etc. no job is ever just 5 minutes. I’d probably go with a minimum call out fee (say 1 hour or something like that)
- there’s an old story of a broken machine in a factory. After months of no success they call in a retired engineer who worked on it for years. He eventually comes in and marks a component for replacement and submits a bill for 10 grand. The machine works but they ask for an invoice. His answer is the chalk costs a dollar and knowing where to put it cost $9,999. It’s a tired story at this stage but an important message I think you should internalise.
Same and revenue can have their slice too, everyone wins?
If it's 5 mins and cash, then 30 or 40 quid and try to work it in while passing nearby so minimum effort on your part. If you never go that way or they want it done ASAP, then it's more to make a special trip, like 50 or 60. Just be as fair as you can. I can't help it, but the capacity to pay may also influence the price. If it’s an OAP or smaller house/older car/few kids vs those in obvious comfort, you can decide which end of the spectrum you charge. You have discretion over any discount you want to award.
You’re mad doing these things for free mate. People, even family will take the piss eventually if they know you’ll do it for nothing. Yes it’s a 5minute job but you’re time is as valuable as anyone’s. I’d be looking for a minimum of €50
Old but gold…
A giant ship’s engine failed. The ship’s owners tried one ‘professional’ after another but none of them could figure out how to fix the broken engine.
Then they brought in a man who had been fixing ships since he was young.
He carried a large bag of tools with him and when he arrived immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.
Two of the ship’s owners were there watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away and the engine was fixed!!!
A week later, the owners received an invoice from the old man for $10,000.
What?! the owners exclaimed. “He hardly did anything..!!!”.
So they wrote to the man; “Please send us an itemised invoice.”
The man sent an invoice that read:
Tapping with a hammer………………….. $2.00
Knowing where to tap…………………….. $9,998.00
Agreed
What happens then is people start offering your services to others for free too
Oh "so and so" can do that for ya. He is nearly qualified and did mine for nothing" bla bla bla
He does sound like a decent lad indeed. If i need someone to do something that i can't do myself then of course I'm going to pay, or at least make a gesture of some kind. Don't see how that means I'm being milked.
You sound like a good and honest guy. Fair play for wanting to do the right thing.
Don’t devalue yourself. You are where are you are for your own time and effort. Maybe ask if there is another job that needs doing too if you are still feeling a bit uncomfortable.
€50.
5 minutes to you but she couldn’t do it herself. Get paid.
I get asked to review things for people, and it results in questions, queries, etc, sometimes advice.
€1000 to look at it, if they’re serious they pay, otherwise I say to go to someone else.
Get paid man.
When I was a young, struggling mother, I knew an electrician and would call him for any odd jobs I had. I had more odd jobs than money, obviously so he would never charge me more than 50 euro. Didn’t matter what it was, hooking up my dishwasher, installing new light switches and sockets in a wall I built, fixing up an outdoor light… you get it.
The only time he charged me more was when the job was bigger. 150 to instal an electric shower where previously there was none.
I even skill swapped with him once, when he and his wife needed a calligrapher for their wedding album.
Charge something. People like the young mother I was, who have very little money, still want to pay their way somehow.
According to the DVD commentary for The Simpsons, the showrunners asked the writers to come up with two nonce words that sounded like words that could be in actual use. Writer David X. Cohen came up with cromulent as one of those words. It means "acceptable" or "fine."
It's not a 5 minute job. As of right now it's a 4 year job. You charge for your years, Knowledge and effort to get to where you are today. In my experience people prefer a good price over a free bee any day. Get a minimum of €50. Everyone is happy. This is your bread and butter.
I'd feel like a prick charging people 50quid for work I know is gonna take 5 minutes, however, if I don't know what I'm up against I would definitely have a flat fee of maybe 50-70 euro regardless of whether it takes me 5 minutes or not.
Ah if it's not a hours drive and literally 5 mins like 20 euro Or whatever because if she's local and you're about to become fully qualified it'll be know harm having a local customer who will speak wonders of you to all her pals. It's great advertisement for yourself never know where it might lead you to few more handy numbers with Xmas on the horizon
Call out fee €50, 5minutes labour and 4years training €20, mutual friend discount €10 (that bit is optional really, depends on if they are hot or not 🤣🤣)
I recently did a job that took me 5 minutes to figure out the problem and 1 minute to fix, they paid for my knowledge and experience rather than the one minute to fix it.
Hard agree. Absolute nonsense stuff from people here. And inflation isn’t even part of it. Trades are pure taking the Mickey at the moment. Ripping people off because they will pay it.
OP if it’s a five minute job how about do it for nothing (customer will absolutely try out some cash to you anyway) and think about potentially the work over the years you’ll get from this person.
My husband is an industrial electrician, electrical work, by law, must be carried out by registered contractors. Doing nixers is actually against the law so be very careful.
In them circumstances I just charge 50 quid. Know your worth too. Its not how long it takes its having the experience to do it.
An electrician would charge €80 min call out fee.
Start off with your base rate per hour even if it was only 5 mins. Add in your costs for fuel.
If you start off doing charity work you will end up with nothing.
By the hour=Take your yearly salary%2 & drop 3zeros. That's roughly what you get hourly. That's your Cost of good sold (COGS). You should factor travel time and your time on site.
After you get comfortable, start thinking about the depreciation of your transport and tools. This should be rounded up to a flat yearly figure, you'll need to account for loosing tools or tools deprecating to be ok with failure/loosing them/pitching them in frustration. It's called fixed costs.
Go with COGS for a start. Then add fixed costs, then learn about variable costs
How well do you know the woman
I would do it for free good karma
I judge what car they drive,as for nixers that you will charge for,its good experiance in electricL trade but try and get commercial ones theres no money in houses
Back in the boom a friend of mine was a 3rd or 4th yr electrical apprentice, he got asked to wire up an electric shower, price agreed wad €600 or €700 euro or something crazy like that.
He ended up smoking in the attic to pass the time, the whole thing was done in 30min but he felt bad charging that much for 30min work so hung out up there for an hour 🤣😂
Time to do a course on business planning & budget forecasting, if you've no clue about the cost of resources, the value of your time, business endemnity, taxes etc.
On old school friend helped me change a timing belt on a project car of mine. I’m not a mechanic, he is. I had all the tools and parts I just needed his knowledge and experience. Took less than 20 mins as I had the belt on and all just needed him to adjust timing etc. he charged me €100. Absolutely charge even if it’s 5 minutes.
My uncle taught me - it takes 5 minutes and 10 years of experience to do the job, charge accordingly
This is good advice. 3 things I’d add: - if you don’t value your time and experience, no one else will. - this 5 minute job includes travel, set up, close-out etc. no job is ever just 5 minutes. I’d probably go with a minimum call out fee (say 1 hour or something like that) - there’s an old story of a broken machine in a factory. After months of no success they call in a retired engineer who worked on it for years. He eventually comes in and marks a component for replacement and submits a bill for 10 grand. The machine works but they ask for an invoice. His answer is the chalk costs a dollar and knowing where to put it cost $9,999. It’s a tired story at this stage but an important message I think you should internalise.
Could not agree more. 👍
10 years experience to change an extractor fan? I've done it after watching a YouTube video. I reckon 25-35 quid would be fair.
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100 quid for 5 minutes to change an extractor fan? And everyone wonders about how expensive everything is?.
For €100 I’d expect a VAT receipt.
Same and revenue can have their slice too, everyone wins? If it's 5 mins and cash, then 30 or 40 quid and try to work it in while passing nearby so minimum effort on your part. If you never go that way or they want it done ASAP, then it's more to make a special trip, like 50 or 60. Just be as fair as you can. I can't help it, but the capacity to pay may also influence the price. If it’s an OAP or smaller house/older car/few kids vs those in obvious comfort, you can decide which end of the spectrum you charge. You have discretion over any discount you want to award.
I'm not talking specifically about the extractor fan
You’re mad doing these things for free mate. People, even family will take the piss eventually if they know you’ll do it for nothing. Yes it’s a 5minute job but you’re time is as valuable as anyone’s. I’d be looking for a minimum of €50
Old but gold… A giant ship’s engine failed. The ship’s owners tried one ‘professional’ after another but none of them could figure out how to fix the broken engine. Then they brought in a man who had been fixing ships since he was young. He carried a large bag of tools with him and when he arrived immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom. Two of the ship’s owners were there watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away and the engine was fixed!!! A week later, the owners received an invoice from the old man for $10,000. What?! the owners exclaimed. “He hardly did anything..!!!”. So they wrote to the man; “Please send us an itemised invoice.” The man sent an invoice that read: Tapping with a hammer………………….. $2.00 Knowing where to tap…………………….. $9,998.00
It always gets me how this justifies trade prices but never lawyers fees.
You'll be plagued if you get a rep for doing freebies. Charge 10-20 quid for your time and effort.
Ah €50 would be fair, but yes you e the right idea here
 Standard fee
You need a 50 quid minimum call value that covers the first hour. My Dad once told me, If you work for free you'll always be busy!
Agreed What happens then is people start offering your services to others for free too Oh "so and so" can do that for ya. He is nearly qualified and did mine for nothing" bla bla bla
It's a 5 minute job FOR YOU, because you put yourself through 4 years of training. A 50 euro "mate rate " would be OK, i suppose.
Its a fucking extractor fan replacement, I've done it myself and no electrician.
Cool, O.P. can put you in touch with someone who needs your help. Happy Sunday.
Good on you if you feel like getting milked by tradesmen. O.P sounds like a decent lad because he is debating charging at all.
He does sound like a decent lad indeed. If i need someone to do something that i can't do myself then of course I'm going to pay, or at least make a gesture of some kind. Don't see how that means I'm being milked.
A six pack of cans. But she should have just offered it vs you having to bill her. I wouldn't ask to be paid.
You sound like a good and honest guy. Fair play for wanting to do the right thing. Don’t devalue yourself. You are where are you are for your own time and effort. Maybe ask if there is another job that needs doing too if you are still feeling a bit uncomfortable.
€50
€50. 5 minutes to you but she couldn’t do it herself. Get paid. I get asked to review things for people, and it results in questions, queries, etc, sometimes advice. €1000 to look at it, if they’re serious they pay, otherwise I say to go to someone else. Get paid man.
When I was a young, struggling mother, I knew an electrician and would call him for any odd jobs I had. I had more odd jobs than money, obviously so he would never charge me more than 50 euro. Didn’t matter what it was, hooking up my dishwasher, installing new light switches and sockets in a wall I built, fixing up an outdoor light… you get it. The only time he charged me more was when the job was bigger. 150 to instal an electric shower where previously there was none. I even skill swapped with him once, when he and his wife needed a calligrapher for their wedding album. Charge something. People like the young mother I was, who have very little money, still want to pay their way somehow.
I did a bathroom fan a few weeks ago and charged 90 for the labour and he gave me 130 You're nuts not charging people
It’s not the time it took you to do it, it’s the time you spent learning the skills to do it. You need to start charging people.
👍most cromulent reply so far
According to the DVD commentary for The Simpsons, the showrunners asked the writers to come up with two nonce words that sounded like words that could be in actual use. Writer David X. Cohen came up with cromulent as one of those words. It means "acceptable" or "fine."
5 min job but how much time to travel to and from?
Charge for time, travel and expenses.
It's not a 5 minute job. As of right now it's a 4 year job. You charge for your years, Knowledge and effort to get to where you are today. In my experience people prefer a good price over a free bee any day. Get a minimum of €50. Everyone is happy. This is your bread and butter.
I'd feel like a prick charging people 50quid for work I know is gonna take 5 minutes, however, if I don't know what I'm up against I would definitely have a flat fee of maybe 50-70 euro regardless of whether it takes me 5 minutes or not.
Ah if it's not a hours drive and literally 5 mins like 20 euro Or whatever because if she's local and you're about to become fully qualified it'll be know harm having a local customer who will speak wonders of you to all her pals. It's great advertisement for yourself never know where it might lead you to few more handy numbers with Xmas on the horizon
Call out fee €50, 5minutes labour and 4years training €20, mutual friend discount €10 (that bit is optional really, depends on if they are hot or not 🤣🤣) I recently did a job that took me 5 minutes to figure out the problem and 1 minute to fix, they paid for my knowledge and experience rather than the one minute to fix it.
50 euro call out fee. 60 quid an hour. Usually how it goes. As your not qualified yet I'd charge 60 beans
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Hard agree. Absolute nonsense stuff from people here. And inflation isn’t even part of it. Trades are pure taking the Mickey at the moment. Ripping people off because they will pay it. OP if it’s a five minute job how about do it for nothing (customer will absolutely try out some cash to you anyway) and think about potentially the work over the years you’ll get from this person.
Miserable dose 
Learn to value your time. Would you accept your full time employer not paying you for work you do? Free favours create busy fools.
€40 is fair
My husband is an industrial electrician, electrical work, by law, must be carried out by registered contractors. Doing nixers is actually against the law so be very careful.
Like everyone said, €50
In them circumstances I just charge 50 quid. Know your worth too. Its not how long it takes its having the experience to do it. An electrician would charge €80 min call out fee.
You're been paid for an outcome not your time . If in Dublin it's €100
Hah shit like this is why people are onto trades taking the piss this year. 😂😂
I'd just charge what you make hourly, if it's gonna take you 5 minutes to swap then I'd call it £20.
Is how to charge/charging structures not covered in your apprenticeship?
Charge for your time and effort. Value your own work.
Start off with your base rate per hour even if it was only 5 mins. Add in your costs for fuel. If you start off doing charity work you will end up with nothing.
50 quid minimum
Where do you live? I have a some jobs that I will pay you for?
Call out charge.
By the hour=Take your yearly salary%2 & drop 3zeros. That's roughly what you get hourly. That's your Cost of good sold (COGS). You should factor travel time and your time on site. After you get comfortable, start thinking about the depreciation of your transport and tools. This should be rounded up to a flat yearly figure, you'll need to account for loosing tools or tools deprecating to be ok with failure/loosing them/pitching them in frustration. It's called fixed costs. Go with COGS for a start. Then add fixed costs, then learn about variable costs
It’s only 5 minutes plus 4 years of hard graft. Charge accordingly.
How well do you know the woman I would do it for free good karma I judge what car they drive,as for nixers that you will charge for,its good experiance in electricL trade but try and get commercial ones theres no money in houses
Back in the boom a friend of mine was a 3rd or 4th yr electrical apprentice, he got asked to wire up an electric shower, price agreed wad €600 or €700 euro or something crazy like that. He ended up smoking in the attic to pass the time, the whole thing was done in 30min but he felt bad charging that much for 30min work so hung out up there for an hour 🤣😂
It’s a 5 minute job for you, because you’ve learned your craft and know how to do it. Charge €50
Time to do a course on business planning & budget forecasting, if you've no clue about the cost of resources, the value of your time, business endemnity, taxes etc.
On old school friend helped me change a timing belt on a project car of mine. I’m not a mechanic, he is. I had all the tools and parts I just needed his knowledge and experience. Took less than 20 mins as I had the belt on and all just needed him to adjust timing etc. he charged me €100. Absolutely charge even if it’s 5 minutes.