A few months ago I applied for a gig to program an Access database for a local company. They didn't hire me, but now they want me to fix what they (or some other guy) created.

The error message they told me is fairly simple to fix; they tried to create a relationship between some tables and fucked it up (either incompatible data type, format, or the parent/child relationship is defind backwards).

How much should it cost them?

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NO IT'S NOT!!!!!!!



Feel them out. Quote $150 to $200 an hour, whatever you think fits your skills.They came to you to fix it; you have them bent over the barrel.

I'm saying I've seen the message in other databases before; this isn't them telling me it's simple, it's me saying it. That sounds about right, too.

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Yeah, I was just being a dick. :p

At my last job, clients were charged (by the company) $150 an hour , $225 outside of normal business hours, unless they had a contract that specified other terms.

I can't remember what part of the country you're in, but I think that around $200 is probably closer to normal market right now.

Near DC

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yeah, $150-$200/hr is about right for one-off fix it consulting work.
Maybe give them a discount if you want repeat business.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

Bill at 150-200 then take 25% off?

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15% and call it a day.

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mechaphil

I wouldn't discount more than like 10%. If you do it at 25% and get repeat work, they'll expect it every time.

Figure out how much you want to make off it, then tweak your charges a little bit so it looks like you're giving them a break. Call it a 10% new customer discount or something.

You get paid what you want, they think you're doing them a solid, and might be more likely to call you back.

I really don't care if they call me back; I'm not a consultant, and don't need the duckets. They found me

I'd actually be doing it in my time OFF...

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Heh, getting paid two bills for a 20 minute easy fix is my kind of time off!! :p

lol, true dat

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