extra charge for help/services?

[Ann56]

We have a guest whose mother dropped an earring in the sink.  They are asking us to get it out of the drain for them.  My husband has been busy, but plans to try--but, he's also aware of the amount of time it might take.  Can we charge for this "service"?  And, how much is fair?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Ann56 Yes you can charge BUT should you charge is a far better question. I would say no.....

[Ann56]

agreed! Thank you.

[Gwen386]

@Ann56 I only think you should charge if you had to hire someone to come in to do the work. Also, I realize hubby’s time is valuable too so you can always say he’ll try to get to it but it may not be before they vacate.

Now, if it’s a diamond stud, I would ask guest if they want to hire a plumber to come out to retrieve the ring at their cost. 

[Helen744]

@Ann56 you could just hand them a wrench but its probably better you or hubby do it . It will not take long and maybe the better way to go in the future is to have a handy man , close by to help you deal with the listing if 'hubby ' cannot be available. H

[Ann56]

Thank you.  He was able to fish it out with a drain-cleaning tool.  All is well and everyone is happy.  I like the idea of having a handy man to help, though!

[Kia272 · Accepted solution]

@Ann56  I think you should try to picture yourself in the same situation and then ask yourself how you would feel if the host charged YOU to do the same. This is the definition of hospitality, a host going out of their way to help. It's a goodwill thing. 

Charging for this would be like charging a stranger who asked you for directions. 

[Ann56]

Thank you.  Yes, this is the conclusion we came to, as well.  As it turned out, he didn't have to take the plumbing apart and spent about 40 minutes doing the deed.