As specified in this thread: Help me spend $5000 on a home theater

I helped my friend's dad research, setup, and calibrate his home theater (I will be finished this week). I spent a lot of time, and although it was fun for me I don't want to do it for nothing because he's going to recommend me to his friends. I don't want to charge him too much because I don't want to feel I ripped him off. He told me to give him my bill when we're done and he'll take care of me. So what do I do?

At first I was thinking the Band of Brothers box set would be worth it, but then after spending a few weekends on this project I feel I should ask for more. How much is too much? I feel like I should cut him some slack because he's my friend's dad.

Please give me your recommendations. Thank you.

Hmmmmm…it might have been more prudent to discuss the fees upfront. In my experience brining up fees after the fact has a tendency to lead to ill will—especially when friends are involved. But you are where you are.

One approach would be to figure out what a local professional would have charged and ask your friend to pay you what he thinks is fare. In that light, you might call several stores to find out what they charge for installation and average these rates. Another thought would be to call personal shoppers in your area to find out what they charge.

One problem you face is that most installers/dealers make a profit off sales, so they only charge for design (if necessary) and actual installation. Also, these dealers are already familiar w/ the equipment they offer; I personally would eat the time spent researching equipment (at least a significant portion of it).

I would charge for 1) design consulting: e.g. determining budget, décor constraints, required features, etc. 2) Equipment pickup. 3) Installation and setup. I might charge a different amount for each service.

If you are looking to make some income from doing this, you might try to work out a contractor deal with one or more stores, which would give you a percentage of the selling price of the equipment. You might also look obtaining one or more of the various HT related certifications.

Good luck.

WOW. Thank you. I've never considered HT as more than just a hobby, but I don't want to go around setting people up for free either. Yeah, I feel guilty for charging as I thought it would be a simple task, but I was wrong. It has been fun, but I can't wait to finish this week.

You've gotta ask yourself the simple question. What is your time worth? You said you don't want to do it for free. Well would you do it for $8/hr cash? $5? Or, would it take $20/hr to get you into another friend's home? And how much would someone be willing to pay for this? How long did it take you? 30 hours? Would someone spend $600 to have you do it?

Since you aren't insured, I would suggest keeping the price low. You aren't a licensed, insured professional, so you shouldn't charge as if you were. If you charged as a professional and something went wrong, you could be liable. Liability may be limited (I really have no idea, and each state/city/county would be different) if you were only paid $5/hr. If you work for a company, you may have assumed the standards of a professional anyway.

I'm not yet a licensed land surveyor, but when I get my L.S. I could be 100% liable for my mistakes that cause boundary disputes even if I am just surveying the pond on my grandfather's farm.

Because of the liability, I wouldn't charge a flat fee. If you enjoy doing it, and you are doing it for friends/family, I would simply have them pay you what they think is fair. That way, you aren't contracted to do the work. You do the work for free, and at the end, they reward you honorably.

As for the one you have already done, I agree with audrey. If your friend's dad asks how much he should pay you, ask him to pay you what's fair in his mind. Tell him how many hours you worked, and leave it to him. I'm sure your friend's dad has taken you and your friend to dinner, the movies, boating, bowling, or whatever in the past -- possibly more than once. I have known my best friend's dad for 14 years. He and I have raced yachts in the past, and he gave me his 19' HobieCat. The friendship I receive from him and everything he has done for me in past leaves me permanently in debt to him. Neither of us feel like I owe him anything. But, I certainly wouldn't ask him to pay me if I helped him build a deck.

I guess it really comes down to what kind of relationship you had with him.

Thanks for your insight.

I've only known my friend's father for a few years, so we haven't done much together. We don't have a close relationship. He's cool and carefree, but he doesn't take any BS from anyone. He also owns his own business and makes quite a bit of money. He convinced his wife to stay in their current home, since it will be paid off this year, by promising her to do a complete renovation. He was telling me that the landscaping alone was going to cost him 40k so the home theater is a drop in the bucket comparatively.

Currently I'm leaning towards Band of Brothers and maybe another DVD. I had fun, and will probably continue to build on our relationship in the future. I'm glad he's happy with the system I've put together. I just want to make sure to let him know that he's getting a deal that I'm not going to offer to anyone else he recommends me to.

yeah i would just make sure he doesn't recommend you to other people saying "he will set it all up for a couple of dvd's" Since he may be getting you jobs in the future I would just take BOB and maybe another dvd and call it even.. you never know where that may lead especially if he has rich friends

Just make the "another DVD" the Salo Criterion DVD.

I'd definitely ask him not to discuss whatever the compensation you agree on with other people he'd be referring.

I'd settle for the DVD set or just ask him to pay you what he thinks is fair. Personally I'd go for the cash, as you will probably pick up the DVD cheaper than he would (since you hang out here).


If he has the contacts then you could come out very well. I'd definitely come up with a printed fee structure before taking any other jobs. Different fees for different tasks is certainly a reasonable thing, as stated by some others here. However, you could easily come up on the wrong end of this if you are not insured and someone is not happy with your service.

This insurance thing is kind of scarry. I don't know if I want to make this more than a hobby with friends and family. Does anyone know what kinds of certifications are available, how much they cost, and how long they take to complete? Plus, how much would insurance cost? Is it worth pursuing?

the store i work for does large scale custom installs and such ($20K+) on a fairly regular basis. we do walk-throughs, pre-wires, etc... we charge $65/hr. if we have someone that did a HTIB, they would get charged the same. we aren't premiere or anything either... in our area, we are very competetively priced as far as home theatre install goes.

for a friend, and since you probably weren't the MOST efficient (you are new to it still, so you could have cut your time in half...), i would charge in the neighborhood of $20-$30/hr. just my opinion, but i am in that business...

i have done several "house calls" for customers, and where i don't "ask" for anything, i usually end up getting a tip of around $40/hr. ive done 1 hour hookups before just to get a theatre running, and gotten checks for $65.

the key is, it may be EASY for you, because you know what you are doing... but try doing something you dont know, its VERY hard. people pay good money for things they dont want to learn or dont have the time to understand.

if you were considering something as cheap as a dvd box set i would instead tell him to give you what he thinks is fair. even if he only pays you 1% of the cost of the project for all your time and effort you'd be looking at $400. bottom line is what are the odds you come out worse off than if you had just asked for the dvds straight up? unless the guy is a cheap bastid (which it doesn't sound like he is) or he is totally clueless (doesn't sound like that either) you would probably be best served by letting him decide...unless you think you should ask for more. just make sure he knows how much time you put in to his project.

I vote for asking him. Because in his mind..he will be happy, and can recommend you to friends. With those friends, discuss up front the terms. I think $20/hr. is fair, since the rate of $65/hr was thrown out.

Personally it is something I enjoy doing. I've done it before for friends. Usually get food/dinner, some beer and maybe $20. I don't think $$ is worth bad feelings.

-peadgogue