MooseMan3000

So here's the situation. My brother in law and his best friend both own landscaping companies. Tonight they're working out an estimate to completely redo a little league field. They have all the measurements taken, but they're having a bit of a hard time actually working things out.

So my brother in law calls me up and asks if I can come help them out. I tell him, "sure, I'll be right over." I get there, watch a little TV with them, play with the dog a little, then get to work. I'm sitting on the couch while XXX is playing (yes, the one with Vin Diesel. Heh) working out some figures. I spend maybe an hour and a half doing a little algebra, a little geometry, and a lot of estimating, and I come up with some numbers. I checked them twice, just to make sure I had everything right. If the estimate is too low, they're screwed, so I wanted to be careful.

Then we sit around and talk for a while, watch some more TV, whatnot. While we're doing this, I notice the friend counting out a few bills. I didn't expect any payment, but I figure "cool, he'll give me a few dollars for gas." So as I'm getting ready to go, he hands me the money, I pocket it without checking how much it is, and I head out the door.

Now here's where it gets tricky. I got home, took it out of my pocket to put away, and I find that he paid me not a few dollars, but rather quite a few. Forty-two of them, in fact. He paid me $42 for what amounted to about 45 minutes of actual work, which I wasn't expecting to be paid for anyway. I would mention it to him, except I saw him counting it, so I know he knew how much he gave me.

So what do I do? I have a few options that I can see.

1) Keep it and don't mention it. Owe him a favor or two.
2) Give most (or all) of it back. Except I don't want to make him feel weird about it, so this is probably out.
3) Give it to his fiance, and tell her not to tell him about it. That way he feels like he gave me adequate compensation, and I don't feel like a dick for taking so much money from them.

Any thoughts? I'll probably give me brother in law a call tomorrow and ask what he'd do (as he knows the other guy much better than I do), but I'm curious what y'all think. I'm buggered. I really don't want to take that much money for so little work, but I also appreciate his gesture, and I don't want to turn him down.

onodrim

Wow, that's a tough situation, and I don't really have the best answer for you. Of your suggestions I like the third one best, that way the money goes back to him in a way and he doens't have to feel awkward about the situation. Hopefully your brother in law can offer some perspectives on his personality. I suppose if you were to give some back, $20 might be a nice nuetral compromise, it's basically half and a much more reasonable amount. Good luck!

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maleficent

While it's nice of you to want to give it back, and to not expect payment for helping them out, they did want to pay you. Say thank you and put the windfall in your pocket and take your lovely lady out for ice cream... and put the rest aside for a rainy day.

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StanT

#1

He paid you what he thought it was worth, obviously it was a bigger deal to him than you thought.

ryfo

I would get in touch and suggest you get together to watch the footy on tv or to play vid games (a guys night in) and turn up with a slab of beer or order pizza or you pay for the dvd's - and just enjoy a night out for free!

Rodney

I'm thinking he paid you maybe as much per hour as he would have paid a skilled laborer working for him -- a heavy equipment operator, something like that, or maybe the hourly fee for his accountant. Don't downplay what you did. It was something he couldn't do, and a set of reliable figures is going to save him from financial embarassment. You were worth what he paid; sorry, thanks to the wonderful educational system in America, the skills you have are not that common, at least among the people he knows.

So, no, you were not underpaid. And I don't think you have to worry about owing him a favor. He's happy with what you did, and with what he paid for it.

But if it just feels weird to take the money, because you don't want to be in that kind of relationship with him, I'd somewhat agree with ryfo; arrange to go out with him and your brother, and buy a pitcher (or two) and a pizza. If he asks why, tell him you think he overpaid, in a good-old-boy sort of way.

Siege

I've had a similar situation. The guardian of a girl I used to coach payed me WAY more than I charged. Conflicted with what to do, I called up the guardian assuming she didn't know that she payed me too much. She claimed that it was right and persuaded me to keep it all. Since she was a family friend anyway, I decided to keep the money but give the girl a bunch of not so formal lessons.

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spindles

What Rodney said.

Some people feel bad about "getting favours" especially when it is for business reasons. If it makes you feel better, it probably will appear as a business expense in his/their accounting.

Also, they asked you for help - you didn't offer it. I would be much less likely to expect payment for something if I offered to help (without mentioning payment upfront). If I asked someone for help I would be much more likely to offer something in return (whether it be home cooked meal, bottle of nice wine, help with something else or cash).

If you always do "favours" for people (family, friends etc.) and never get paid in kind (either favours back or monetarily), eventually it will start to piss you off. I think you should see this as an unlooked for windfall and move on.

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Anexkahn

I'd have to agree that you are placing an undervalue on your services. What wasn't a big deal to you, could have been huge to him. I do some consulting work on the side, and if i was in a pinch and someone was able to pull me out of it like that, i'd definitely offer up more than a couple bucks.

Depending on how well you know them, i like the idea of grabbing a pizza or bringing over a case or something, assuming there is a next time you give him a hand.

bad jane

well, if you keep it--you shouldn't feel bad about it. you didn't charge for it, so he gave you what he felt the work was worth.

but if you really feel bad hanging on to it, then i'd just call him and say that while you really appreciate the gesture--the amount was more than you feel comfortable accepting and that xx is more appropriate in your opinion. if he says ok, return the rest to him. but if he insists you keep the full $42, accept it graciously (and the next time he asks for help, tell him upfront that you don't want money or discuss how much you would be willing to accept).

Redlemon

He'll probably be including that $42 consulting fee as part of his quoted cost to the Little League. Don't worry about it. If there is a big economic disparity between you two, and you are invited to his wedding, you could always give him a bigger wedding present than you originally planned.

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ratbastid

I find that people who aren't really in business for themselves don't have a grip on how much they're worth. I charge between $80 and $100 per hour for my consulting services. Sounds like he paid you at a rate around $60 per hour, prorated. As long as you're clear it wasn't an accident on his part, just take the payment.

jwoody

You could think of it this way; if he hadn't paid you, then he would owe you a favour and that would put him in the awkward position... and you don't want that, do you?

Ratbastid is right (as usual), if you hadn't done the work they would've had to hire a quantity surveyor, and they wouldn't get one of those for $42 - especially not on emergency call-out rates.

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Elphaba

I agree with most of the statements here. You generously offered your time for free, whereas your bil's best friend viewed it as a valuable contribution to an important bid. As jwoody said, favors "in kind" often leave one or both parties unhappy with the unpaid obligation.

Keep the money, because the best friend believes you earned it.

j8ear

I'd make sure the guy realized that he gave you 42 bucks, and then tongue in cheek, half-heartedly tell him...

"My hourly rate for algebraic and geometric calculations is normally $200 an hour, but since were tight, I'm cool with this 42 bucks!"

Then give him a good sharp elbow to his landscrapers rib cage and share a hearty chuckle with the fella.

It's seems reasonable that your fee has been budgeted into the estimate, and he is probably well aware of the bargain you dealt him. Sooo...bringing it up will make you an even more honest, no-nonsense, all round great consulting mathemetician...and a valuable asset for future 42 greenback paying calculating_DVDwatching_pizza eating_dog_playing_with opportunities.

-bear

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Martian

Another vote on keeping it.

That money isn't likely to have come out of his pocket, but rather his business. It's worth it to him because he'll potentially save thousands. In the face of that, $42 is pocket change.

Landscaping is a very lucrative business if you do well. It sounds like their business is getting good contracts which means that he doesn't need the money and in all probability considers it a business expense to pay you. You may feel slightly awkward with the money but it'll be an even more awkward situation if you try to give it back. Just keep it and consider it a fair payment for services rendered.

I moonlight as an IT consultant and technician and charge anywhere from $65 to $200 per hour, with a one hour minimum. What he paid you was much less than he'd pay a qualified accountant.

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I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

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MooseMan3000

Hmm. Well, I appreciate the responses. Considering that the job estimate was upwards of $80,000, I guess that's a fairly minor expense in comparison.

I still feel weird taking it, though - I mean, I'm not qualified to do this, am I? I'm just a kid. I haven't even finished college. I guess he thought my time was worth it, though, so I'll just be gracious about it. Thanks, everyone.

Martian

Mooseman3000 - Age has nothing to do with it. The very fact that you successfully completed the work says that you are qualified to do it. Background and schooling don't matter here, you're able to perform the job for him and you deserve to be compensated for it. This is how the consulting business works and there are millions of people around the world who make a living doing what you did. Many of them don't have any degrees and a lot of them are under 25. In the IT field particularly I've seen a fair few college students who take on a consulting job in order to have a bit of extra cash and I'd say the majority of the people who do it are under 30.

You're not doing him a personal favour. You're not calculating how much seed he'll need for his own lawn or doing his taxes or something. You're rendering a service for his business. As a businessman he knows that you should naturally be compensated for the service you've rendered and very likely will factor it into the final cost for the job. You're not looking at it from the right perspective because you're allowing your personal relationship to get in the way, when as far as he's concerned that has nothing to do with that. It's a business transaction, plain and simple.

EDIT - and in case you're thinking I was one of those guys who went to college when he was 16, I'm not. I'm actually a high school dropout. With proper connections, paper qualifications matter very little.

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

robot_parade

Just another vote here for keeping it. You earned it. If I'm helping a friend (or a friend of a friend) with something 'personal' (like fixing their broken-ass windows box), I never charge, and always turn down any cash payment if they'll let me do so gracefully. However, this was for this guys business. He's going to get paid for it, so you should too. It was nice of you to do it on short notice in the first place, and even nicer to not expect compensation, but don't feel bad about accepting payment for your work. As others have said, the rate certainly isn't unreasonably high for skilled, freelance, hourly work.

So go with option #0: Keep it, and you don't owe him a thing.

la petite moi

Like most have said, just say thanks next time you see him, and perhaps mention that you didn't expect payment. Offer to help him out another time- this time without compensation!

Oh, and Mooseman- if you are qualified (as in, you know what you're doing), you deserve how much you're worth, even if you are a "kid"! nwlinkvxd makes 26$/hour as a computer programmer and he's 20 years old and still in college! /me insanely jealous