How much is 'a drink' in payment terms for a tradesman?

[cockapup]

My elderly parents contacted a tradesman on a local FB group as needed an outside light replacing. The tradesman said he'd pop round after finishing another local job to assess. As it turned out it was a bulb needing replacing so took him less than 10 mins. He kindly said no charge but just give me a 'drink'.

How much would you give? Just wondering if what my parents gave was excessive- I'll reveal amount later.

£20

£60, that’s exploitative. Contact trademan on FB ask for £40 back.
if he decline leave bad review

That is awful. Please be careful he doesn’t return to your parents saying he noticed loose roof tiles/ broken mortar / some other crank story. Well known scam.

way to much! My partners a plumber and I know for a fact that if an elderly person, or anyone for that matter asked him
to do something and it was a 5 minute job, he'd come home either with nothing or £10-£20 max. And if he did come home and told me he charged someone £60 to turn their heating on I'd be livid with him, you don't take the piss, everyone wants to earn a living but that's bad.

@cockapup age concern maintain a list of age concern reputable trades list

Would you work for that? How do you afford your basic bills, if so?!

Considering he happily took their week's food money to change a light bulb, what would he do if they needed a new socket fitting - get them to cash in their funeral plan?

I disagree that this is the kind of tradesman you want to have on hand.

Yes, I would worry about this too.

A lot of elderly people are too 'proud' to not pay their way - even if they're being unwittingly ripped off - and will often go without basic essentials if doing so leaves them skint.

Bad people spectacularly misinterpret this as meaning that they must have shedloads of spare cash with nothing much to spend it on, so they see them as ripe for the plucking.

It's worth about a tenner but if he travelled out of his way, then put ladders up, which is always a ball ache for tradesmen I would have given £20.00, with them being elderly.

In many cases £30.00 or £40.00 wouldn't be out of the way if you wanted to keep them sweet to call them back out for more jobs.

£60.00 is too much, he saw they were elderly, probably assesed their house, are they wealthy ? even so on first meeting he took advantage, don't call him again.

I personally wouldn't call him up, just chalk it down to experience, someone who is willing to rip of OAP's are not peole you want to have a disagreement with, especially as he knows where they live.

A drink here is approx £20
DH charges £67.50 + Vat per hour call out however min of 2 hours plus parts
this for all small maintenance works. Larger works are all quoted for.
its his business so not able to do cash in hand. Sounds like person your parents used is more of a handyman rather than a business.

£20.00. Ok it was a five minute job, but if he had charged he could have billed for travelling time, a minimum half hour rate and even a call out charge, which would have been much more. If you want to be sneaky give two £10.00 notes so if he thinks it is too much he can give one back!

Well a cordial is less than £2. Plus him charging at all is ridiculous This world has gone to the devil. Charging for this kind of thing is diabolical. Cop on.

Just saw the two tenners wouldn’t have worked for this sticky fingered chancer!

£20

He didn't ask for £60 he just said but me a drink. Your Mum chose to give him £60. He just took what she gave him. My late Mum would always overpay tradesmen and made them homemade cakes, biscuits and I've known her to offer some bacon sandwiches and be constantly asking them if they wanted tea or coffee. It's my Dad's fault because he always used to tell her if you want a good job done offer them one of your cakes or shortbread.

This I was expecting op to come back and say they gave him a bottle of vodka. I do tend to take things literally though!

Rip off. A drink in this context means £10, absolute max of £20 if the bloke had to drive a long way at an inconvenient hour. Horrible that he accepted £60.

I'd contact him and ask why he did what he had done. Stop him doing the same to other older folks. What a chancer. A real rip-off merchant.

Where do you live that a drink is £20?

Jeez, @Sunshineandpinkclouds , where do you live that a glass of wine is £15???

Yes I would if I had indicated "beer (wine) money."

The mother didn't choose to give him £60 - she didn't know how much he meant so showed him the money she had in her purse and he chose to take the lot.

£10.00 min. Even if it was a 10 minute job, travel etc will add up

About a tenner he’s said a drink a pints about a fiver so ten gets him two for good will

No more than £20 or could buy a 4 pack for someone