09-02-2008, 03:51 AM
The tradition solution, which is as good as any, is to simply pay by the hour, with no commitments on either party, depending on the work, with the tacit assertion that the job will stop if it goes slow or wrong.
1) If the job goes too slow, say, "this isn't working out," pay them off for the few hours they've been there, and find someone else.
2) If the work is sloppy, or the personalities weird, same result.
3) From the "handymans" perspective, it's good too, because if the homeowner "changes" the scope of your project, or you find hidden disasters within the job, there's no being trapped by a bid and the resultant confusion.
Can't we understand that there are projects small enough in scale that to get involved in contracts, background checks, correspondence with NATO, and whatever else, that ultimately in reality provide no real protection--that it's a little preposterous? Basically, I suggest that unless the scope of the project and the budget is large enough to involve a potential lawsuit, either against your worker or your(or their) insurance, you're fat out of luck. You can go to small claims court, but collecting is another issue. If you're a paranoid sort in denial about the protection it gives you, and it makes you feel better--hey, go for it. But the truth of the matter is another issue.
As the handyman kind of stuff I do, there's a fair bit of the "My window is sticking, can you fix it?" type of work. Those sorts of projects aren't even worth the gas to drive over to do, but I do them, basically as much as a public service as anything else, as well as a means of meeting people and building relationships of trust. Frankly, if someone wanted me to sign a contract for some trivial job of a day or two's work, I'd assume I was the one getting scammed, that they know there's some lurking problem like massive termite damage and they want me on the hook for it. That sort of thing does happen. . .and it starts off as an adversarial relationship.
I think it's again important to assert that all the paper in the world isn't worth anything compared to reputation and integrity. If we're really honest about that, those pieces of paper are pretty scarce protection. Especially in this world, with expensive materials and expensive legal help, and insurance companies that make their money by not paying claims--you're pretty much on your own.
LASTLY: One of the things people really don't consider until the hired help is there is this: With this kind of work you're going to have people you don't know on your property and in your home. The contracts, licenses, and insurance are of no use if the job, is more or less a lead to other, well, projects, or if someone wants to pad their wages by pocketing a couple of tools from the job site or worse. If I was a single woman on my own, or an elderly couple(which would be hard to be, but you get my point) or whatever, especially in this climate of resentment and poverty, I'd be freaked--you don't want to invite just anybody over to your place to walk through your house and case it out. Really, bad stuff happens. A whole lot of people out there believe they're "entitled" to a little payback from the "rich haoles."
Again, hire people you know and trust, who have sensible values--this is just as important as the quality of work they do. Hire people you think will be a friend to you once the job is done. This is again a core aspect of building community, and an important and fading one.
1) If the job goes too slow, say, "this isn't working out," pay them off for the few hours they've been there, and find someone else.
2) If the work is sloppy, or the personalities weird, same result.
3) From the "handymans" perspective, it's good too, because if the homeowner "changes" the scope of your project, or you find hidden disasters within the job, there's no being trapped by a bid and the resultant confusion.
Can't we understand that there are projects small enough in scale that to get involved in contracts, background checks, correspondence with NATO, and whatever else, that ultimately in reality provide no real protection--that it's a little preposterous? Basically, I suggest that unless the scope of the project and the budget is large enough to involve a potential lawsuit, either against your worker or your(or their) insurance, you're fat out of luck. You can go to small claims court, but collecting is another issue. If you're a paranoid sort in denial about the protection it gives you, and it makes you feel better--hey, go for it. But the truth of the matter is another issue.
As the handyman kind of stuff I do, there's a fair bit of the "My window is sticking, can you fix it?" type of work. Those sorts of projects aren't even worth the gas to drive over to do, but I do them, basically as much as a public service as anything else, as well as a means of meeting people and building relationships of trust. Frankly, if someone wanted me to sign a contract for some trivial job of a day or two's work, I'd assume I was the one getting scammed, that they know there's some lurking problem like massive termite damage and they want me on the hook for it. That sort of thing does happen. . .and it starts off as an adversarial relationship.
I think it's again important to assert that all the paper in the world isn't worth anything compared to reputation and integrity. If we're really honest about that, those pieces of paper are pretty scarce protection. Especially in this world, with expensive materials and expensive legal help, and insurance companies that make their money by not paying claims--you're pretty much on your own.
LASTLY: One of the things people really don't consider until the hired help is there is this: With this kind of work you're going to have people you don't know on your property and in your home. The contracts, licenses, and insurance are of no use if the job, is more or less a lead to other, well, projects, or if someone wants to pad their wages by pocketing a couple of tools from the job site or worse. If I was a single woman on my own, or an elderly couple(which would be hard to be, but you get my point) or whatever, especially in this climate of resentment and poverty, I'd be freaked--you don't want to invite just anybody over to your place to walk through your house and case it out. Really, bad stuff happens. A whole lot of people out there believe they're "entitled" to a little payback from the "rich haoles."
Again, hire people you know and trust, who have sensible values--this is just as important as the quality of work they do. Hire people you think will be a friend to you once the job is done. This is again a core aspect of building community, and an important and fading one.