I don't want anyone to think I think ill of the Amish, I'm just frustrated with a few of them around here.
This particular Amish person and his wife told me that they heard other Amish were upset that we raised our rates by a nickel. A nickel! The wife said she understood, because gas is high, and we can't drive for nothing - but then they turn around and ask me if they could just pay $55 for a trip that by mileage would be $75 and would cost me at the very least $20 in gas to boot. Plus, I'd be gone for nearly 3 hours.
Amish around here don't charge for work off farm by the hour, they charge by the day. they charge $100 per day, per person working. They usually only work for 6 hours a day off farm because they have to get home to do chores and feed veal calves.
FarmFresh - all good suggestions, but I am telling you, I can show them in Black and White what it costs, and they won't believe us. E likes your suggestions, so we might have to try that and see what reactions are.
They don't consider our time as a factor, nor do they want to pay us for our time. They want to pay mileage, and that's it.
For example, a typical shopping trip to New Phila is 35 miles one way to Walmart. But, they don't just go to Walmart...they go to thrift stores, all the dollar stores, etc. So a 70 mile roundtrip becomes more like an 80 mile round trip and costs close to $30 in gas (at the current gas prices, was less before). So that's $52 and their shopping trips usually take 6-8 hours - UNLESS you go to Holmes County shopping (which is over 100 miles round trip) then it's usually an 8-10 hour trip. On the Holmes County trips, the kids get home from school before I do. Thank goodness E is home on those days!!
So, that 80 mile shopping trip, I only make $22 after gas costs. Not worth it, IMO. That's not even the cost of an oil change!
E gets more per mile for the truck, but he's stopped using his truck for Amish.
As for frugal, I don't think our Amish are, or they wouldn't call for a driver to take them 1.5 miles up the road. That's what I'm doing now. An Amish guy wants a ride to his mill every day. It's 7 miles from my house, but only 1.5 miles from his house. He said he's just tired of walking. Then he didn't want to pay what I told him it cost (same guy who called for the trip for his wife tomorrow that I'm not doing).
Here's another example.
There's an Amish family 1 mile behind our house. Another amish family lives 1.5 miles the opposite direction. The family 1.5 miles from us will call us to take them to the Amish house 1 mile behind us, and want us to wait 45 minutes to an hour while they visit or whatever and then take them home. That's only 5 miles round trip - but they pay a flat $10 every time.
We know another driver that gets paid $600 a week to drive an Amish crew to their mill site (it's a portable mill so the sites change). BUT the Amish men who split his pay expect him to drive their wives anywhere they need to go all week long without extra pay. no matter mileage or his time, $600 is the most they will pay him. And they get mad if he has to do something for his own family instead of driving them.
The school driver gets $350 per week per school - there's 2 schools. I'd like that job!
