The five minute job ?

[Grahame]

How many of us have helpfull well meaning colleauges and friends recommending us to others for that "five minute job".Its one I am wary off having being caught too many times by the job time duration "quoted by another".
In an effort to not put the well meaning friend offside ,you do the job which general goes bad.An example could be the small crack to be tigged in the alumninium dingy,where the five minutes extends to an hour becuse your frind did not notice the extent of the crack etc.

No more I say!. Also love jobs attract a liquid form of currency which is better negotibale.It brings a new way of thinking about beer money?


waddya reckon ?

Grahame

[chopper5]

most small job take 5min to weld but take a lot longer to prep for the weld

[zapster]

No such thing as a 5 minute job..

takes me 5 min to say "ok i'lll do it"

...zap!

[elderthewelder]

"C'mon man, It's just a 5 minute deal, hook me up" I hear that all the time, and just look at them a laugh

[tapwelder]

There are no five minute jobs. That is right up there with, "just need a few spot weld" or "tack it", As stated it takes longer than five minutes to set up and prep.

I don't mind the "5 minute job" if you pay me what I ask. I challenge people to do it themselves if it is so easy or "will take no time"-- Otherwise pay me for my time, skill and equipment use.

[gnm109]

That's why i stick to being a hobby welder for myself and my immediate family. I have been asked to do the five mniute jobs and when I finiished, an hour later, the happy recipient wouldn't even give me $5 for the shielding gas fund. I don't do that anymore.

[prop-doctor]

i know how that goes . thats why i wont fire up welder for less than 40$
and of coarse you hear #@# that much ,i say if it cost less to replace than repair go buy it new. but the barter 4 beer fund does help in some cases

[Bikespot]

There is no such thing as a five minute job. It takes more than 5 mins to set up the welder and put on pretection. They should pay for the job not the time it takes to do it. Be like i'll do this for .... not for the time it takes.

[backuproller]

those 5 minute jobs can turn into the weekend from hell. i had a family member call and ask me to weld a 8 in piece of ali on his big rig. well, i showed up, service truck in tow. "well, since your here. it's the fuel tank, and it's still on the truck. can you help me take it off?" sure no prob unk. somebody had put the fiberglass fender flares on with red loctite. heat and remove. hey, YOUR torch messed up my paint. sorry unk, why did you use red.
it takes a whole lotta gas to purge a 100 gallon diesel tank. oh well, just give em a taillight warranty. when you have to explain it to em. they usually don't call back again.

[TJS]

Yup, nothing is 5 min. I qutoe an hour right off the bat, even if it really is a 5min job.
T.J.
www.tjsperformance.com

[gnm109]

Originally Posted by backuproller

those 5 minute jobs can turn into the weekend from hell. i had a family member call and ask me to weld a 8 in piece of ali on his big rig. well, i showed up, service truck in tow. "well, since your here. it's the fuel tank, and it's still on the truck. can you help me take it off?" sure no prob unk. somebody had put the fiberglass fender flares on with red loctite. heat and remove. hey, YOUR torch messed up my paint. sorry unk, why did you use red.
it takes a whole lotta gas to purge a 100 gallon diesel tank. oh well, just give em a taillight warranty. when you have to explain it to em. they usually don't call back again.

I wouldn't touch a 100 gallon diesel tank.

[MicroZone]

Even my 5 minute jobs turn into an hour. Hahahaa, damn cars.

[Cracker]

I have a select few friends that i'll do "government work" for. These friends know NOT to refer me for anything other than eating free BBQ or drinking free beer.

[drivesector]

I have been a mechanic since I was 14, worked in my dads body shop then started fixing industrial machines. Since I do a little of everything welding included I get the "can you take a look at this real quick for me" all the time. Drives me crazy especially on weekends when people think I have nothing better to do then look at there crap. My personal favorite is when you goto fix something that is worth about 5 cents and it takes you 2 hours then they offer you a beer and a have a nice weekend for your trouble. Sometimes even better when there rushing you because they have plans to do something.
Drivesector

[zapster]

it should be "50$ minimum"



...zap!

[Joe H]

For people I consider to be "real" friends (hardly any of them family) I'll do just about anything, be it a "5-minute job" or a whole weekend of back-breaking work. With buddies it always comes back around one way or another. Thank goodness real friends are so hard to come by, though. I don't think I could handle any more. For anyone else, we are going to work out some kind of barter beforehand, one that will satisfy me even if the job turns out to be a "worst case scenario" type thing. My price will always be less than if they took it to a repair shop somewhere, and I don't care if they tell me I'm crazy for asking so much. That way I never feel like I got hurt in the deal. I used to be a real "good samaritan", helping basically anyone, but people have proven that it just doesn't pay (or even break even) to be such a nice guy.

[steve butera]

I got a sign in m shop that says , all work billed at 50.00 per hour...
""5 minute jobs" billed at 200.00 per hour.

They get a deal if it only takes 5 minutes!

steve

[elderthewelder]

Originally Posted by steve butera

I got a sign in m shop that says , all work billed at 50.00 per hour...
""5 minute jobs" billed at 200.00 per hour.

They get a deal if it only takes 5 minutes!

steve

NICE!!!!

[zapster]

my dad rebuilt engines all his life..

he had a sign in his shop that read..or as well as i can remember 35 yrs ago..

shop rates..

30$ hr

if you watch 40$ hr
if you help 50$ hr
if you laugh 60$ hr
if you cry 70$ hr

i want to find that sign..i'll bet he still has it...

...zap!

[scott brunsdon]

For anyone else, we are going to work out some kind of barter beforehand, one that will satisfy me even if the job turns out to be a "worst case scenario" type thing.

That's what I do when I'm asked to do a favour for someone - welding or otherwise. I think about what they can do for me that's going to take about the same time as what I'm doing for them. I have never washed our car, but last year somebody asked me to resize a security grill that they wanted to move from one window to another. So while I did that, they washed and vacuumed our car. I've sent other people to the supermarket with a shopping list and some money. I've had people do some weeding in the garden for me. Or painting. It's easy to find things for people to do while you do something for them.
Scott

[PaulG]

I love 5 min jobs. At one hour min labor charge of $75, I can make $900 per hour. Line up the 5 min jobs.

[MAC702]

Mine was slightly different, but I still love the idea:
$50
if you watch $75
if you ask questions $100
if you help $200

Originally Posted by zapster

my dad rebuilt engines all his life..

he had a sign in his shop that read..or as well as i can remember 35 yrs ago..

shop rates..

30$ hr

if you watch 40$ hr
if you help 50$ hr
if you laugh 60$ hr
if you cry 70$ hr

i want to find that sign..i'll bet he still has it...

...zap!

[wirehunt]

I don't have this problem, there's NO welding machine at home, and everybody knows that. If they want it done, then take it to a shop.

Hell I don't even do 5 minute jobs for myself because I'm to expensive.


Stephen

[Bob Warner]

If you worked on it before bringing it in $500

[MAC702]

Originally Posted by Bob Warner

If you worked on it before bringing it in $500

I LOVE IT. I'm putting that one on my sign...