Welding Tips and Tricks

So this scenario happened the other day at my shop. A guy wants me to weld something on his lawnmower that he does business with. It's a Walker mower. I do the job didn't take 10 minutes total and I say "how about $20". The guy looks at me like I went to the bank on him and pays me. The whole time I'm fixing it he's telling me how he's got a bottle and a welder at home and how he had welder do a job for him and it didn't hold up but he welded it and it lasted longer than the welders job did. I'm thinking why did you bring this to me then if you can weld right? I'm no pro but I weld for a living and I think that's totally out of line. I don't go to the barber and tell him how good my wife cuts my hair and how it's free at home the whole time he's cutting my hair. I might get a buzz cut I didn't want doing that. Anyway, that's my rant for the week. You guys ever encounter that? Was $20 too much?

$20 is the "good buddy" rate. A close friend or family member might get the job done for beer, but if I don't know you, I'm not putting my hood on for less than $20, if I'm just putting two tacks on something.

The guy was trying to guilt you into a freebie for his 10 minute job. If he appreciates your work, he'll be back. If he doesn't, you didn't lose anything but a headache.

Steve S

I see this guy twice a year at thanksgiving and Christmas so the good buddy rate was where I was at. In over 10 years of welding he's never given me any work and probably never will so... no loss.

Yeah, that happens all the time. Everybody wants to be your friend when you have tools and know how to use them. Now when that happens I tell the person I can't do it right away and make them leave the part. Then after they leave I fix it but wait a couple hours before I call them and tell them it's ready. People never think about the investment to have the welder, the stock of various tungstens and filler rods etc. And the skill to do the job properly. Then they say, "it only took 10 minutes".

electrode wrote:Yeah, that happens all the time. Everybody wants to be your friend when you have tools and know how to use them. Now when that happens I tell the person I can't do it right away and make them leave the part. Then after they leave I fix it but wait a couple hours before I call them and tell them it's ready. People never think about the investment to have the welder, the stock of various tungstens and filler rods etc. And the skill to do the job properly. Then they say, "it only took 10 minutes".

Best answer, been there done that!

I have 2 "buddies" like that. One steals SS pipe from work and brings it to me for payment and the other steals filler rod from work and brings it as payment. I told them both that I can't pay bills with pipe and filler rod and it has to be cash from now on. I haven't seen either of them in months. Good riddance!

My old boss operated under a philosophy that was a combination of all of these answers. He didn't put his hood on for less than $20. Sometimes he would feel sorry for a customer and do some charity work. He was almost always rude, obnoxious and blatantly racist and sexist toward customers and that scared the shit out of some of them. He would often tell a customer that he couldn't get to their job until tomorrow and that it was gonna take three days to a week to get the job done. I can't tell you how many times I saw them drag their part home with them after three months because the boss just couldn't stop smoking weed, popping pills, snorting meth and drinking beer long enough to concentrate his ADHD ass on the job and get it done. Inevitably, these same folks always came back for more. I have no idea how that guy stayed in business or why people are still beating down his door even though he is rarely ever there anymore. I still buy my auto parts from the guy next door from the old boss and it is very common to see people waiting outside the welding shop or coming into the parts store asking when the welding shop opens.

All of you guys are right - the moment people find out that you have a welder and some idea of how to use it, the jobs start flowing in.

I realised that this could become a problem - I also fit and balance motorcycle tyres so I've been faced with the demand for this service from friends, too. Right from the start I began 'managing expectations'. So all my friends know that if they want something done, it will take time and that it will be done when I'm good and ready. Also, they must pick up and drop off themselves, none of this "can you grab it next time you're in my area" bollocks.

I'm lucky, my mates have treated me very well - realistic expectations, and there is always beer and often cash towards argon and consumables. So I have no problem accepting work on these terms. I like to feel useful. I am slowly starting to accept word of mouth jobs from friends-of-friends, but I've no intention of making a business out of it.


Kym

MosquitoMoto wrote: Also, they must pick up and drop off themselves, none of this "can you grab it next time you're in my area" bollocks.
Kym

+1 And they can get on my nerves too when they say they will pick it up tomorrow or Friday. Then you are stuck waiting while they go about their happy little lives and ruin yours while you are waiting.

LtBadd wrote:

electrode wrote:Yeah, that happens all the time. Everybody wants to be your friend when you have tools and know how to use them. Now when that happens I tell the person I can't do it right away and make them leave the part. Then after they leave I fix it but wait a couple hours before I call them and tell them it's ready. People never think about the investment to have the welder, the stock of various tungstens and filler rods etc. And the skill to do the job properly. Then they say, "it only took 10 minutes".

Best answer, been there done that!

ditto, they dont take into account how much you running costs are