Was this person right or wrong?

[mojobo]

Ok heres the story, I have done moving jobs all summer and have always had a great time meeting people and earning money. This last job I did today though I did not recieve my full amount.

The agreement we had was that my friend and I would each recieve $25 an hour ($50 an hour total to be paid to us). We agreed to be there at 11AM which later was changed to 10AM due to a Uhaul reservation problem. I gave her my phone number and told her to call me if there were any other changes in the plans. I go out to DC to meet her at her apartment where she told us to meet her and get completely lost as I was not too familiar with the DC area. She calls me at 10:40 to tell me that the Uhaul would be ready in 10 minutes and I told her I was a little lost and got directions to her place.

I get there at 11:20AM and get right to work. When going to her new apartment we had some trouble getting a huge couch to go up a flight of stairs as it kept getting stuck and she asked if getting some of her friends to help us would be ok and we said sure and gladly welcomed the help. We then leave the couch which her friends ended up getting and we go back to her old place to get more stuff and continued working. The guys she got to help did help a lot, but were only at the new place and besides the big couch only carried lighter items for a couple hours. At the end of the day we ended up doing 8 hours of work (ended at 7:30PM) and I asked for the money.

They first told us that we were only due $200 total ($100 per person) and I told them no we agreed to $25 per person and that we were due a total of $400. Then the one girl who was in charge of the move starts to tell us off saying that we showed up late, which I completely understand although it was only a half hour later than she was, and that her friends were helping us out a lot meaning that we were not going to get the full amount. My friend who worked with me said that $100 each was fine but I told them to make it at least $150 each which they did (wrote a check which better go through!) and we left.

Anyways the move was extremely hard as there ended up being 2,3, and 4 flights of stairs that we had to move stuff to and it definitely took its toll on us as I had not eaten anything beforehand and only had a hand full of pretzels and water the whole day and after 8 hours of moving had very little energy and then to realize that I had just done 2 of those hours for free is a real shot in the crotch. Anyways was it fair of her to take off $100 from our pay or should I just suck it up or both?

[Rdskn4Lyf21]

I really, really tried to read this and throw in my 2 cents.

Could you try out some paragraphs?

[Blondie]

Your last paragraph kinda sounds like whining.

Didn't you get the information about the stairs?

If the others did assist in the moving, you might want to chalk this up to experience.....and have a better agreement next time.

[DjTj]

eh, you were late and she did have to get her friends to help, so I think it's reasonable that she paid you less than full price.

You asked for $400, she offered $200, you countered with $300, and she accepted. That sounds like a pretty fair negotiation to me.

[shagman]

Sounds pretty fair (although that still does suck). You came to terms with an agreement, so that must stand

[ldysknzfn1]

I think negotiating for $300 was a good move(pardon the pun). If the others hadn't been brought in to help..I may think otherwise. Chalk this one up as a learning experience and next time...get a better understanding of what you're getting into..details..it's all about the details.

[TMK9973]

Did you discuss ahead of time how long ou thought it would take?

Did you ask for their friends to help?

[mojobo]

ya i definitely was whinning in the last paragraph I see everyones point that we did come to terms on an agreement but from my point it seems pretty cruel to renegotiate the money being paid after the work was already done since I had no leverage at all and they were wanting to pay me half of what I wanted. as for the friends coming over and helping that actually cut a few hours off the time it would have taken, and it's not like I wasn't doing any work while they were working, I just started moving stuff from their house. I'm guessing from the replies everybody just thinks I should have a better agreement beforehand?

[mojobo]

Did you discuss ahead of time how long ou thought it would take?

Did you ask for their friends to help?

I gave them a 6 hour estimate from the stuff they told me they had to move but there ended up being more stuff and they rented the wrong truck from uhaul which added the extra time. and no I didn't asked for the help but accepted it when they asked if getting their friends would help

[TMK9973]

I gave them a 6 hour estimate from the stuff they told me they had to move but there ended up being more stuff and they rented the wrong truck from uhaul which added the extra time. and no I didn't asked for the help but accepted it when they asked if getting their friends would help

If you quoted 6 hours - You should have been paid for 6 hours - No matter if they helped you or not.

If they had more stuff, or not the right truck, you should have said something before you started. Otherwise - 6 hours ($300) would be the max you could ask for (Which is what you agreed to at the end. So that was fair).

[81artmonk]

First mistake was not getting any of this in writing. NEVER< NEVER trust anyone on their word!!!!!!!! Those days don't exsist anymore.

All your other mistakes come from not following the first one. The problem becomes he said she said. No it isn't fair. Which is why you never trust anyones word...period! If you want to make ammends, you can file in small claims court, but good luck, the judge will probably tell you the same thing, why didn't you get anything in writing???

I don't really see why would ask us, since even if we agree with you, in the end you still end up screwed! If you agreed to whatever you should have gotten whatever you agreed on.

[Kosher Ham]

First mistake was not getting any of this in writing. NEVER< NEVER trust anyone on their word!!!!!!!! Those days don't exist anymore.

All your other mistakes come from not following the first one. The problem becomes he said she said. No it isn't fair. Which is why you never trust anyones word...period! If you want to make amends, you can file in small claims court, but good luck, the judge will probably tell you the same thing, why didn't you get anything in writing???

I don't really see why would ask us, since even if we agree with you, in the end you still end up screwed! If you agreed to whatever you should have gotten whatever you agreed on.

Great points.

mojobo,

Personally, I always help the movers. For two reasons. 1. To watch how they work, 2. To save some money (based on saving an hour or so).

You were late... little problem, but overall, so what ? I don't know anyone who has ever had other plans/commitments on moving day. You worked your butt off and deserved the pay regardless.

At this point it's moot. You accepted the deal and should have learned something for this total experience.

Good thread though Bro.

[Rdskn4Lyf21]

If you quoted 6 hours - You should have been paid for 6 hours - No matter if they helped you or not.

If they had more stuff, or not the right truck, you should have said something before you started. Otherwise - 6 hours ($300) would be the max you could ask for (Which is what you agreed to at the end. So that was fair).

I agree with this...and thanks for the paragraphs!

[mojobo]

First mistake was not getting any of this in writing. NEVER< NEVER trust anyone on their word!!!!!!!! Those days don't exsist anymore.

All your other mistakes come from not following the first one. The problem becomes he said she said. No it isn't fair. Which is why you never trust anyones word...period! If you want to make ammends, you can file in small claims court, but good luck, the judge will probably tell you the same thing, why didn't you get anything in writing???

I don't really see why would ask us, since even if we agree with you, in the end you still end up screwed! If you agreed to whatever you should have gotten whatever you agreed on.

I actually have everything on email and clearly stated we were to be paid by the hour and not a flat rate of $300. The exact quote I gave her in the email is "the best estimate I can give from the things you've mentioned is $300 (based on a 6 hr time estimate for 2 movers). " and I have gone over my time estimate before and was actually given a tip because they underestimated the amount of stuff they had. Guess I have to get over it and make sure it doesn't happen again

[One Shot]

Be calm and try to negotiate. If it still doesn't work, I guess just take it the way it is. You'll feel like **** not getting the amount of money you should've, but you would've handled it much better than that woman who cheated you.

[Zguy28]

Sounds pretty fair (although that still does suck). You came to terms with an agreement, so that must stand

I agree. The terms were $25 an hour and you worked 8 hours. It doesn't matter if people helped you.

If I was her, I would've paid you the full amount and if I was ticked that you were late and stuff, I'd just never recommend you to anybody else.

[Corcaigh]

You estimated six hours (and she agreed to hire you) based on this. If you needed to revise your estimate based on changing circumstances during the day you should have let the customer know.

[swisha]

I honestly don't see how the friends helping is a factor in any of this. If anything, that cut back the duration of the move and therefore saved the owner money. Being late may be a trivial factor, but you should have gotten $400 regardless.

[Henry]

I honestly don't see how the friends helping is a factor in any of this. If anything, that cut back the duration of the move and therefore saved the owner money. Being late may be a trivial factor, but you should have gotten $400 regardless.

I gotta agree with this. If she asked people to help you that's her perogative, but she should pay you what she promised you. One has nothing to do with the other.

Being late is irrelevant too. If you worked X amount of hours, you should get paid for it. Now, if she wants a slight discount because you were late, that's another thing. But it has no bearing on how long you actually worked.

[sacase]

I gotta agree with this. If she asked people to help you that's her perogative, but she should pay you what she promised you. One has nothing to do with the other.

Being late is irrelevant too. If you worked X amount of hours, you should get paid for it. Now, if she wants a slight discount because you were late, that's another thing. But it has no bearing on how long you actually worked.

I go tto agree with this. you worked the time, you should get the amount you agreed upon which is 25$/hr. Being late is meaningless, I have had professional movers show up 30 minutes late and I did not recive a discount. Next time draw up a simple contract, you don't need fancy language just state what you are doing. Have them sign it before the move and then y ou are covered no matter what.

[nace14]

lesson to be learned from this...

next time, get it in writing.