Discuss Dont work for relatives! in the Australia area at ElectriciansForums.net

Reaction score
50
My dear nan decided she wanted to upgrade her kitchen before she retires from work. She asked if if could install a few down lights and sink two fused spurs and a double socket (always looks neater than surfaced) felt i could really say no due to it being family, they always play the guilt card. Ended up being a 3 day job! she wanted 10, yes 10 recessed downlights in her kitchen, but she wanted it so she could switch on the ones which lit up above the dining table separate to the ones above the main working kitchen area. ok that doesnt sound that bad, but they had to installed to her specification. took 3 hours just to measure up and drill the holes. Any way long story short i installed what was asked and sunk the accessories. she told me she had put the money aside for the me for doing the work.

got to about 10.30 the night after i had done the work when the phone rang with her in mad panic 'all my lights have gone out' i shoot round there and it was was a blown bulb tripped the mcb. got another phone about 45 minutes later to say their heating wasnt working, thought being old i had better go sort it out, turns out they had set it wrong after i had switched power off (even after asking them if they knew how to reset it before i left)

didnt hear from her for 2 days when my phone went, she asked when i was going to go back and replaster over the chasing i had done! no way was i going to go back but she still had my money. so went back stuck load of render in there and said the kitchen fitters can finish it off. got handed an envelope with my hard earned pennies in. little did i know it was pennied!

£100 for the whole job including me collecting the materials and including the materials as well as certs!

if i work out what it cost me i earnt about £18 for 3 days work.

why do families think they can have it all for free?!

what is great though is that after i ahd a quiet word saying how i felt she deicided she would have the kitchen fitter change the fascias on all the acessories, of which he put every one upside down because he could get them to fit the right way up!!!
 
My dear nan decided she wanted to upgrade her kitchen before she retires from work. She asked if if could install a few down lights and sink two fused spurs and a double socket (always looks neater than surfaced) felt i could really say no due to it being family, they always play the guilt card. Ended up being a 3 day job! she wanted 10, yes 10 recessed downlights in her kitchen, but she wanted it so she could switch on the ones which lit up above the dining table separate to the ones above the main working kitchen area. ok that doesnt sound that bad, but they had to installed to her specification. took 3 hours just to measure up and drill the holes. Any way long story short i installed what was asked and sunk the accessories. she told me she had put the money aside for the me for doing the work.

got to about 10.30 the night after i had done the work when the phone rang with her in mad panic 'all my lights have gone out' i shoot round there and it was was a blown bulb tripped the mcb. got another phone about 45 minutes later to say their heating wasnt working, thought being old i had better go sort it out, turns out they had set it wrong after i had switched power off (even after asking them if they knew how to reset it before i left)

didnt hear from her for 2 days when my phone went, she asked when i was going to go back and replaster over the chasing i had done! no way was i going to go back but she still had my money. so went back stuck load of render in there and said the kitchen fitters can finish it off. got handed an envelope with my hard earned pennies in. little did i know it was pennied!

£100 for the whole job including me collecting the materials and including the materials as well as certs!

if i work out what it cost me i earnt about £18 for 3 days work.

why do families think they can have it all for free?!

what is great though is that after i ahd a quiet word saying how i felt she deicided she would have the kitchen fitter change the fascias on all the acessories, of which he put every one upside down because he could get them to fit the right way up!!!

I could never take £100 off of my nan it just wouldnt sit well with me,, My nan did so much for me i would of rewired her house for free if she had asked...
 
Exactly! Being everyones mate dont pay the bills! Family should appreciate what you do by paying for the materials! Would cost them alot more if they didnt have a relation in the game!
 
I did a job for my Nan the other week...

Was skint to be honest.. didn't ask for money

She insisted on paying me

I didn't look at the money when she pushed it into my hand

Was very happy when I counted it.

Felt guilty ever since!
 
I did a job for my Nan the other week...

Was skint to be honest.. didn't ask for money

She insisted on paying me

I didn't look at the money when she pushed it into my hand

Was very happy when I counted it.

Felt guilty ever since!


Get her a nice christmas present this year!
 
I did a job for my Nan the other week...

Was skint to be honest.. didn't ask for money

She insisted on paying me

I didn't look at the money when she pushed it into my hand

Was very happy when I counted it.

Felt guilty ever since!


Its always the old ladies that want to give you money for work. and these are the people who cant really afford it. but its an old school thing.

When that generation dies out this world will be a worse place.

when i was an apprentice all my tips were from old ladies ,,
 

Reply to Dont work for relatives! in the Australia area at ElectriciansForums.net

Similar Threads

A friend of the family recently lost her husband to the big C so I need to be careful. Every small thing is sending her into tears so when her...
Replies
16
Views
1K
Looking for a bit of advice from the wider audience / those who may have done similar before. I entered the game a bit later / in a non...
Replies
12
Views
744
Hi all, Is there companies or people out there that can help source sub contract work as im not sure where to start. I know you get recruitment...
Replies
1
Views
520
Hi I have a job where customer has two families one families lives upstairs and one family will live downstairs. As the property is going through...
Replies
12
Views
743
Had a customer message me before I went to do a job asking if I could put a new bulb in a spotlight while I was there, so I picked up some LED...
Replies
5
Views
396

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Electrician Courses Green Electrical Goods PCB Way Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Pushfit Wire Connectors Electric Underfloor Heating Electrician Courses
These Official Forum Sponsors May Provide Discounts to Regular Forum Members - If you would like to sponsor us then CLICK HERE and post a thread with who you are, and we'll send you some stats etc

YOUR Unread Posts

This website was designed, optimised and is hosted by untold.media Operating under the name Untold Media since 2001.
Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock