I Paid A Kid $40 To Shovel My Walk Today

[Steven Wagenheim]

NJ just got hit with about 10 inches of snow today.

Kid knocked on the door and offered to shovel our walk. Actually, it was 2
kids. They wanted $10 each for the job. I said okay.

When they got done, and did a really great job, I paid them $20 each.

They looked surprised, smiled and thanked me.

Now, do you think they'll remember that I treated them right because they
did such a good job? Think they'll remember who I was and when it snows
again, make sure they come back and do an even better job because they
know I'll pay them more than their rate?

We see so many threads about marketers trying to get services at rock
bottom prices. Articles for $3 and so on.

But imagine you treated somebody really well who did a great job for you
doing whatever it is. Think you'll have any problems retaining their
services and getting top notch service? After all, why would they risk
losing such a gravy train by doing a sloppy job?

Naturally, you need to think about ROI. If it doesn't make economical
sense to pay more then don't do it. But if paying a little more ends up
paying off, maybe in ways that you can't really pin down in pure dollars
and cents, it might be something to consider when outsourcing whatever
it is you need to have done.

[Craig Fenton]

Hi Steven:

Hope you are well today. Can you pay the same guys to shovel my walk please. We didn't have 10 inches of snow but it certainly came down.

Great point about treating people properly, giving thanks, and having those remember.

May the weather get better!

[Alex Sol]

Hey, Steven!
Great stuff!

I often outsource all my design needs on DP forum.
Most people charge $15-$30 for a logo or a banner there, $50+ for website design, well you get the point.

Every time someone does a job for me, I "tip" them. Instead of sending a $15 payment I send $20... Well, I try to give $5-$10 extra... and the next time I contact the same designer for another order, they not only do a great job but they doing VERY fast...

People like it when you appreciate what they do and let them know about it.

Alex

[ExRat]

Hi Steven,

But imagine you treated somebody really well who did a great job for you doing whatever it is. Think you'll have any problems retaining their
services and getting top notch service? After all, why would they risk
losing such a gravy train by doing a sloppy job?

I agree with you and I adopt the same policy - in life and in business.

But here's a tip - whenever you over-reward someone, try and also drop a hint that you're smart - before you hand it over, you could say - 'I only have any money at all, because I'm smart, but I'm going to over pay you for a job well done - but don't think it's because I'm a soft touch'...or something like that.

The reason I offer this tip is because -

After all, why would they risk losing such a gravy train by doing a sloppy job?

...if only that were always the way it turns out. In my experience, if you don't make the point, sadly some people will assume that the only reason you over-paid is because you are soft, They think - 'he must be loaded, we'll pop back when it's dark.'

Then you have to knock heads together...

Or they just provide sloppier and sloppier work, thinking that it's only the tight ones who will check on it.

It's a wise move to over-reward someone for workmanship above and beyond the call of duty. But you have always got to keep people on their toes - because they are people.

[artwebster]

Now, do you think they'll remember that I treated them right because they
did such a good job?

Or, did they just learn that doing a good job is not always its' own reward and that they could now go to Mrs Ferfendekker and clean her walk for free?

[WinsonYeung]

Hey, thanks ! this make sense. pay them for their quality work and they will come back to you in the future

[Stephen Clark]

It took me some time to figure this out. Now I am happy to pay $15-20 for just a single article. Keeps people enjoying to work with me.

[alfa_375]

You did a great thing Steven, which is really good for yourself and those kids, of course good lesson for others.

I remember some of the warriors did the same thing for me for my php/mysql services, which really surprised me, but love it. And I still remember these people when I communicate with others for my other php/mysql and of course I use as reference for them.

By the way Stevene you have the art of writing, which is appreciated by almost all of the warriors. Hats of to you.

[George Wright]

Hi Steven,

I've done the same thing. However I'll comment on the flip side.

For years I was a Carpet Cleaner. I charged a very reasonable price for my work and did a great job if I do say so myself.

The occasional $20 tip or gift card made my day. It was not so much the extra money as it was the extra "thank you" for a job well done.

And yes I did make sure to live up to that thank you the next time I worked for the generous customer who tipped me.

George Wright

[Kunle Olomofe]

Someone's said it at last... thanks for that Steven, you're the man!

I always wonder what's up with those dime purchases!

I would NEVER pay ANYONE $3 to write an article, I mean seriously.

What kind of article would I expect for that kind of crappy money? Waiting for it alone would be equivalent to pissing away $200 over the next 30 days, I might as well write it myself rather than short change anyone EVEN if THEY ARE asking for it....

Which is really the other side of the coin Steven, in my country there's a saying... It goes something like this...

"If you treat your relatives like dirt in front of strangers, those strangers will be automatically free to treat them like dirt too, perhaps even worse since you GAVE them the right to!"

The point is, if you value yourself low, others will be only to happy to value you for peanuts too.. And they will not stop there, they will soon start asking for it free or give you peanuts then kick sand in your mouth to boot.

It's as old as time itself... devalue something and others will follow suit.

I wrote about this in Proven Pricing Secrets back in 2001... I sold the report for $125, in it I tried to explain why it was better to price up than down (IF THE QUALITY DELIVERED JUSTIFIED IT). I sold the master rights to that report so people could spread it everywhere. Within months they were selling it for $49, then $6 then $1 then $0.09 ... it was crazy... but they weren't to be blame, I shouldn't have trusted most people to be fair and keep the product well valued.

Bottom line, if those kids had asked ME for say $1 each, I'd have probably said NO THANKS thinking they would probably do a crappy job anyway for a whole buck when I know if they really planned to do a great job they would charge about $10 - $15... the exception is if they really were in desperate need, and in that case I'd just gift them some money each or offer them a way to earn constant income doing something useful and valuable.

This is a very important thread you've started Steve because if others read it and agree maybe the "dime for my services" craze will eventually be eradicated, just may be. I long for that time... I hope I live to see it again

Cheers,

Kunle

[Mark Coverdale]

I find this so true. If you overpay, people will start to overdeliver. It's natural circulation. But, make sure you are getting what you are paying for.

[Davion Wong]

Hi Steve, words of wisdom indeed. Treat people well and they will reciprocate.

Some folks are only keen to earn a quick dollar but fail to understand that in this business, being kind and generous to others will indirectly do you more good.

[roosevelt]

I am very pleased with this post and the real story you are telling us .

Thanks.

[Norma Holt]

Steven you hit the nail on the head. But you can also pay someone without money. Last time I took my car for service I also took along a plate of beautiful cakes and things for the men's morning tea. I have made scones and home made jam for some workmen at a local hardware shop who put together a gate for me. These are little things as far as I am concerned but boy it helps make their day.

I sure hope the snow stops soon for you guys in the North buy boy could we use some of it down here.

God bless

Norma

[Jon Alexander]

Hey Steve, is 'shovel my walk' some kind of NJ slang???

[tomcam]

Steven, I do the same thing routinely. I have a sort of internal gauge for what I think things are worth, which may or may not be coincident with the given price. If I go to a cheap restaurant but get good food and 5-star service, I tip much more than the check and convention would suggest. I frequently use a towncar service in the Seattle area that charges $50/trip. The service is so good that I have a standing order with them to tip an extra $20 every time. They're that good.

I must confess though that ExRat opened my eyes. Because sometimes in fact my tipping is confused with being a softy (not with the towncar service, BTW, they're always great). That irritates me (and even more so, my wife) to no end. I think Ex's suggestion that you program the recipient with your reason is brilliant and I shall endeavor to follow it.

[ss61288]

Steven that's a great point to make and it really does pay back absolutely exponentially when you give something more

[DonTino]

Hi Steven,

this is a great post. And actually I was having a problem with one of my clients who did the exact opposit.
I've been working with these guys for 3 year now and everything went fine for that time. But for some reason he always wanted more and lately has been asking me to create a website, a fully blown real esate site that has all current features the big sites in his field have.
I did my job in the time I was able to finish this and he always wanted more, more, more but each month paid less ( I did it in a three month timespan ) and the last month when I told him I was going to send him an invoice he didn't want to pay at all. He said because he referred me a client he wouldn't have to pay. Kind of crazy ain't it? An open $300 bill that he thinks he wouldn't have to pay because he referred me a $600 Job.

Guess what I'm doing in the future? Won't work for him at all. He'll have to find somebody else to create him websites with that many features, admin back end, Database etc... for such a low price. I'm really through with that guy.
Might be getting a bit hard now since I don't have a replacement for him yet but heck I can't work for $5/hour 10 hours straight sitting in front of my PC to get his stuff done just to hope for future work. I rather work in the supermarket for that money.

Tino

[Kim Standerline]

Under promise and over deliver is a great motto to take with you in business

Nice analogy Steve and something I've always striven for myself

Kim