Lawn mowing - please tell me he was taking the piss!

[TattyDevine]

Running round like a blue arsed fly this week and the lawn was looking pretty lush, but I just didn't want to find the time to do it. I would have let it go, but DH is hopefully coming home on Friday night from a long and unpleasant trip abroad and I don't want him to get up on Saturday morning and look outside and feel a sense of obligation - just a sense of being glad that he is home. Nor do I want to feel that same sense of obligation after a busy week.

So I put out a shout out on our local community group did anyone want to mow and strim a not that big lawn sometime this week.

All the usual crap with people tagging their mates and linking to non lawn related businesses and then an eager chap messaged me and said he could do it today. I gave him my address and he dutifully turned up.

He did the job, was nice and thorough, but was here less than an hour. No talk of how much the job would cost took place before he did the job.

I asked him what I owed him. He said "eighty"

I said "18?"

He said, "no eighty ....errr... is that too much?" (looking sheepish).

I told him that my previous bloke cost £20, which was about 2 years ago.

I pay £20 to get my car cleaned
£15 an hour for my cleaner
I'd expect to pay about £80 if I got an electrician or plumber round to look at something. Or some of bushes chopped down with disposal.

But not a basic lawn mow on a garden of this size. It ain't Downton Abby.

AIBU?

Oh well, I'll bear that in mind in future if I ever get someone in to do something. Most professionals do give you a price before they start. He didn't, but he wasn't one.

He even apologised for asking for £80.

Anyway, the lawn is done, he's got £25 for less than an hour's work, he can ask first in future, so can I, and they all lived happily ever after,.

No flymos were injured in the making of this episode

YABU not to have bloody asked his price beforehand!

My partner is a gardener. He is charging £20per hour or per job, but that's all agreed beforehand.
And he is using his own tools.

Your gardener is taking a piss

Post the £80 cost on your local community site.

My experienced gardener charges £25 an hour. That's his minimum charge so even if nothing needs doing but cutting the tiny lawn which takes 15 minutes it costs £25 so I think what you gave him was fair.

However you were very foolish not to agree a price in advance.

I hope I remember this OP on the next thread about CF, because it's a classic!

TattyDevine

for your very own sake.. please never order wine in a restaurant 😂

"AIBU that when I ordered a 1951 Penfolds Bin 1 Grange, they wanted 6 figures for it? I said fine, I'll pay it, but you can bloody well take away the other 5 glasses"... etc

I'd probably share a glass with you though freaky 😆

That's very nice of you, thank you

I might be tight, but I even check the price lists before going to my regular hairdresser!