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.

South East. I'd give a score, maybe a pony if someone asked for a drink

What? A score = £20 right?

What's a pony, other than a small equine animal that's too big to fit in a purse 👛?

There are significant costs involved in being a tradesperson but it's possible to make a living without ripping people off which is what this guy did. He took advantage of an elderly couple who were caught on the hop and weren't sure how much to give him. Pretty awful tbh.

Thinking about it from his perspective, he said a drink, if they'd given him £10 or 20 he'd have gone off quite happy.

So it must have appeared to him she was giving him the £60.

Yes he could have said £20 is fine, but if they are in some sort of huge £1m house he maybe thought the £60 was nothing to them and they were paying generously.

It's not like he actually asked for £60 for a small job.

The best thing to do is fork out the price of some ladders and be available for your frail old parents, they would then not get ripped off.
If they don't want high ladders at their home ruining the look of their garden you could buy a large van, tax and insure it and tie the ladders to the roof and nip round when needed. It's a real pain in the arse taking them on and off but if you enjoy it you could go round all day getting £5.00 jobs changing lights, clearing gutters, fixing a moved slate (even though it's illegal and you really need scaffolding).
Many other trades have a fixed call out/appointment fees, many believe builders should not, that they can get free quotes that take up hours and emergency call outs with just a thank god you came.

Tradesmen arn't there to service the elderly community who have children that don't pull their weight.
I've known lots of tradesmen who are closer to elderly people than their own children.

Don't call anyone out unless you're prepared to pay, people mentioning £10.00 are mad. It would have been rude to give him less than £20.00.
£30.00 is probably worth taking the ladders off, £40.00 would have been respectful and anything above would be a sign you like the tradesman, are a good and prompt payer, want to tip him, and would like his services in the future.

Give him £10.00 and you probably won't see him/her again, even for a bigger job, they've marked you down as tight or someone who sees their job as unimportant.
A drink is just terminology, not to be taken literally, if it was a longstanding customer, that drink could be paid and added onto a later job but for a new customer it means I'm leaving that to your discretion, your parents could have ripped him off, this was a sizing up exersise for the future between both parties.

I think on this particular occasion he should have handed 10 or 20 back.

@RandomForest your being a little harsh the mother didn't tell the family there was an issue, she thought the fitting needed replacing hence calling an Electrician.

But I kind of agree they have effectly tipped very well and are pretty much guaranteed super dupper service the next time they call him.

@Needanewname42

Yes they wanted to solve the problem themselves, don't want to be a burden to the children asking them to sort it.

But I've seen these children of parents that complain after the fact, KISA with the complaints but not actually there to give practical help, not saying op is like that but many elderly people are left with cracking on with the buisness of keeping the family heirloom home in shape with declining mental and physical health., leaving them to negotiate prices with a younger more thirsty generation.

I mean even encouraging op to name and shame them on FB is not in their best interests, it's foohardy, take the hit and just explain that next time please ask their daughter to sort tradesmen out if they do not have a regular chap that sorts things out.
Christ they're in their eighties, they need watching over even if they say they don't.

@Needanewname42 a score is indeed twenty quid and a pony is twenty five

They have to work a whole day to get £20? Don't fancy working for you 😂

You’re nearly there, but it’s £20 inc vat leaving £80, and that’s taxed at in excess of 50% if you include NI so it’s less than £40.

Plus, for those of you wage slaves that don’t know, self employed people have to pay tax on account which means that they pay tax on money that they haven’t even earned a year in advance.

Plis no account has been made for anything less, insurance, depreciation, diesel. Nothing.

Whether they can afford it is not he issue. And problem talking about earning £100 for a “shift” isn’t the point because they’re referring to income nett of taxes etc.

as I’ve said, the stupid fools that do this type of thing will be dead soon and then you can all pay the proper price for the work that needs to be done including all the overheads that go with it.

Back in the 80s, a 'drink' was £20. Same as a pony and monkey etc are actually fixed amounts.

You'd think it would have increased with inflation..... but if not then it is £20. It isn't the amount it costs to buy an actual drink.

Well, I know this is the hospitality trade and not general trades but, I remember people in the 80s when paying for drinks at the bar saying "take one for yourself" or something like that but they certainly wouldn't have meant £20!! Back in the 80s unless you were buying a massive round the round of drinks wouldn't have even come to £20.

God £5! Hoe tight are some people in here. There’s no way you’d ever get a tradesperson back. Yes, it may not have cost him much but the goodwill gesture of actually stopping off to do such a tiny thing is worth so much more than that. Plus isn’t it worth keeping such a reliable, honest tradesperson on side? At least £10.
I tipped the electrician £10 on my last job because he was so reasonable and reliable (and they’re impossible to get).

But many people are just glad if they can afford the price for the actual job, as discussed/quoted, @Isthisit22 . Are they really expected to find extra money to "tip" someone just because they've been reasonable and reliable? Shouldn't they be reasonable and reliable anyway, as part of being a good tradesperson?

Tradespeople are sometimes on very reasonable incomes, this is not the same as tipping low-paid hospitality staff or the junior who washes your hair. Since when did tipping start seeping into other industries?

There’s no way you’d ever get a tradesperson back. Yes, it may not have cost him much but the goodwill gesture of actually stopping off to do such a tiny thing is worth so much more than that. Plus isn’t it worth keeping such a reliable, honest tradesperson on side? At least £10.

I'm sure the OP's parents would have been happy to have paid 10 or even 20 quid if asked, as he had called out and sorted the issue for them even if it was only a change of bulb. But he didn't ask, did he? Instead it was all some airy fairy code-speak. Just speak plain English, be above board and state what you require, parents can pay it, tradesperson goes away happy, job done.