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Discuss Mates rate jobs always seem to go wrong. in the Plumbing Jobs | The Job-board area at PlumbersForums.net

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spikewt

Gas Engineer
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I'm sure we've all been there before and it will happen again.
Simple boiler service, switched on the heating just to get rid of some heat while doing the service, all went well, packed up. Mate rate charge and on my merry way.
Get a call this evening , heatings on and his house is 37deg. Turns out the 3port valve won't go back to just hot water so had to stick a new one on. Materials paid for but got abit awkward on labour so I took a hit.
When will I learn!
 
All my mates know not to ask me to do anything, or even to look at something for them.

Its the best way :)

the only people I know who I do work for are my mom and dad, and my grandma :)
 
I don't do much for mates but this guy gets me some work and I thort we'll it's only a service, what's the worst that can happen. :-\
 
My brother just charges everyone the same. So everyone knows where they stand. Try to avoid working for friends myself. Although sometimes you may have to do a favour for customers houses. (I mainly do commercial and get stuck doing things for people who give you a lot of business). These jobs I usually dread, due to Murphys law
 
I'm with bright spark . Mates who expect a discount ain't mates and family can jog on too. No likley that I'm gonna need a slip clutch or some diffs for my formula 3 any time soon so when they gonna help me? My painter told me to charge him properly for his ch as he ain't painting owt cheap . He won't do labour swaps either .
 
Mother in Law. "Simple" tap change. Pampas basin.

Never again.
 
Years ago I asked a mechanic mate to do some work on my car. Asked him how much discount I'd get.

"None." He replied, "mates are mates but business is business."

Seems a pretty simple and effective philosophy to me. And one I always wish I could apply.
 
Leo21 said:
I didn't know you could change taps with a pen and a calculator.
Click to expand...

I couldn't. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was that the taps had been there since Noah was an apprentice, and the additional torque that I applied (I knew that O level physics would be good for something) failed to move the backnut, but elicited a musical "ting" from the (discontinued 2 decades ago) pampas basin. It also elicited some Anglo saxon from me.
 
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Ray Stafford said:
I couldn't. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was that the taps had been there since Noah was an apprentice, and the additional torque that I applied (I knew that O level physics would be good for something) failed to move the backnut, but elicited a musical "ting" from the (discontinued 2 decades ago) pampas basin. It also elicited some Anglo saxon from me.
Click to expand...

Weve all been there Ray, but I'm sure there was less physics involved.
 
spikewt said:
I'm sure we've all been there before and it will happen again.
Simple boiler service, switched on the heating just to get rid of some heat while doing the service, all went well, packed up. Mate rate charge and on my merry way.
Get a call this evening , heatings on and his house is 37deg. Turns out the 3port valve won't go back to just hot water so had to stick a new one on. Materials paid for but got abit awkward on labour so I took a hit.
When will I learn!
Click to expand...

thats strange .... 3 port usually fail to hw only or stuck in the middle
 
I do mates rates for mates because if i cant do a favour for a friend then im not really a friend. But we do need to draw a line on friend and aqaintences . I never charge close family because at the end of the day we all help each other out but that cant be one sided. Example. My brothers wifes a hairdresser and i get free haircuts everytime so when they needed there kitchen fitted i obliged ,,,,
 
SafeGasInstall said:
thats strange .... 3 port usually fail to hw only or stuck in the middle
Click to expand...

Had that exact same problem twice in my own house, heating stuck on for hours. Id change the 3 port but the thought of getting my tools out at home is enough to put me off, im still recovering from changing the boiler 3 years ago.
 
Ray Stafford said:
"Rusty" implies that at some point in history I had some talent for plumbing. This is sadly far from the truth.
Click to expand...

Hats off to you then ray, I assumed you would have come from a plumbing background, can't have been easy building such a successful merchants with no plumbing experience
 
GasmanxxxR1 said:
Had that exact same problem twice in my own house, heating stuck on for hours. Id change the 3 port but the thought of getting my tools out at home is enough to put me off, im still recovering from changing the boiler 3 years ago.
Click to expand...
Here here. Never any interest the minute I get home.
 
Neil K said:
Here here. Never any interest the minute I get home.
Click to expand...
First ever plumbing job was siphon in my own house, and then my mother in laws. Nearly quit there and then on mother in laws, no ISO valve on feed to WC, and didn't know which valve to turn off in airing cupboard, so done it live while missus held float valve arm in closed position lol in my defence I had been at college about 2 weeks. Thank god for the flexi on the WC feed
 
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