What's your policy? We all know our talents are revered especially since we have brains and big trucks..

We can not only move things, but hook them up with goodies and services as well!

I make it a point to get so drunk at family functions that not even the feeblest minds in my family would want to call me for anything. Its a good policy and makes the holidays a real blast.

If its a small job I usually do it for the cost of a nice dinner, for friends add that, a lot of booze at nice bars and the possibility of paying a fine oyung lady dollars to take off her clothes

It depends. If your friends/family respect that you have to make a living and there is a value to what you do, go ahead. If they are like my sister, who hounds you for info and then ignores everything you have told her, and has her condo dev. wired by her husband instead of hiring an integrator, because anyone can do our job, run away!

dont do it.....if you do do it for your cost a material and no labor or what you would charge a regular customer....either way can be sticky...


putting in a nice surround system for a family member now as we speak.......cost of material no labor showed them all invoices......seems to be working ok.....

I remember being asked by a carpenter in a similair position a while ago;

Pay and be paid.

Quite simple, if they don't want to pay, what can they do as a favour for you in return?
Both my brothers in-law aren't of any trade, and so they cannot really return a favour in any practical sense. But they want me to do stuff as a favour when it suits them.

Really hard to refuse and not fall out with everyone.

Close Family ( Dad) Free Labor . Cost on Equipment + any shipping
Relative ( Dumd Uncle ) 1/2 Labor Cost + 15% on Equipment
Friends 1 Free service call for consultation+ maybe a quick DVD hook up, Then they pay full rate and street price for the equipment, But you know the whole time you are there you'll be talking them out of the Bose factory outlet store and convinceing them that Runco is not Ronco.

fiends and family<<---original header

maybe a slip of the tongue or maybe reality.....

I just got asked if it was possible to wire and retro three rooms of audio for 300$ by a distant somehwat family member, oh yeah and a 3-4 hour drive to get there......

What's nice way to say "Ohhh helll no!.........."

Close friends get the same as close relatives.

Cost of equipment, no labor. And with relatives, I figure I'll probably never get paid anyway......

Apparently there's some unwritten rules about this:

1. You always give tons of free advice, which is generally not taken.

2. Most will ask your "professional opinion" and then tell you how wrong you are.

3. Most will get the a** when you can't save them 50% or more.

4. Most will think you're lying to them about how much things cost you.

I generally do stuff for my friends and family for free. Of course they pay for the materials and equipment. Most of my friends and family have done alot for me over the years, I see it as my way of saying thanks.

My cousin is in the process of building a house. I told him I'd get him the wire at cost and we (me, him,and another cousin) busted it out in a few hours on a Saturday afternoon. I told him that it was nice to finally be able to step up and say "I can do that" and help out. Beside, I had him doing all the attic crawling ;-).

Family --> Labor at cost + cost on goods
Very Close Friends --> Agressive pricing minus 10% (i.e. sales commission) *but* they have to let us do things in a standard, low-service manner, i.e. racks, new gear, etc.
Friends --> Standard retail + Piece of mind that they aren't getting ripped off because they actually trust me

I don't do anything for fiends.

Friends... I have a few close friends that I will get gear for at cost+ tax and shipping. Installation labor is usually a given as a favor or in return for a favor that someone has done for me.

"friends" (people who know me and know that I am in the business) Street cost for gear, full price on labor. If they ask me about Bose, the white van speaker guys or plasmas from the internet....my labor cost doubles.....

Parents, brother and G/Fs family
Gear: free (christmas and birthday gifts)
Materials : free (jobsite leftovers)
Labor: free
Watching my dad bust his butt in the attic while I tell him how to pull wire: Priceless

I love my job.....

Yup, thats about how it works!

I very smart man I once worked for gave me this advice that I still use to this day - just because you pay golf with the owner doesn't mean you get the owners prices. I do work for immediate family members for no labor charge and materials at cost + 10% and freight. Anyone else I kindly let them know that I don't do this as a hobby and that all the alcohol they drink at my house while watching movies and games in my theater has to get paid for somehow.