AITA for not training folks for free?

[palmettomoon]

That would depend on what course I was teaching. Pistol and carbine courses are most popular, and sounds like the right type of range for those.

It's a good club with amenities.

 

[pokus]

cmshoot BE ADVISED you are a great dude, an awesome resource to this group . Honesty and clarity can be perceived as racism anti semitism and many other things by weak minded and or poor spirited card playing folks. I used to make a living as a trainer and worked for a wage with incentives per student added (that was a mixed bag because small groups consistently produced better results)so i couldn't have given training away. However I now work for myself installing and repairing access devices doors pet doors secret/safe rooms. Around xmas i have repaired 10 to 20 kick ins in a day. I try to make clear before i go that i am a proffessional (do it for a living actually feed my family) with insurance and real overhead. If someone balks about a service call price i say good luck I wish you fortune and success. Doing that ive gotten bad reviews even bbb calls as well have heard alot of heart braking stories and sometimes when im done i choose not to charge for the repair but is a choice. I have gleaned quite a bit from free advice (including yours) on the forums and i appreciate it.

 

[BHPSteel]

I'm going to be a contrarian (again).

You can BE the AH, when it's your time, effort and resources involved.

 

[WyldeDime]

AITA...?

Yes.

 

[Alaskan]

Free training? Hell No.

Some marksmanship pointers? Sure if they actually would listen.

Tell the cheap bastards to join the Military under a combat MOS.

 

[Dan1979]

I made a comment a while back, stating that I don't train folks for free, and that I guess I'm an ass for stating so. Apparently, it pissed at least a few folks off.

It COSTS me money to train someone. Costs me money just to take a friend to the range to plink around. Costs me money to take myself to range and just train MYSELF, all by my lonesome.

As a professional Instructor with an LLC, I maintain over $3 million in professional liability insurance, which I pay a yearly fee for. Goes everywhere I go.

I train on a piece of private property that isn't open to the public. I pay to use that.

My paper/cardboard/steel/moving targets, 1x2's, spray paint, batteries, timers, and target frames are all paid for by me. They get shot up/wore out/used up, they have to be replaced. Fuel to get to the range and back, and whatever ammo I shoot while demonstrating.

By far, the biggest expense to me is the time that I expend. Now that I'm "retired", I have 4 jobs. I'm at my full-time job 5 days a week. I try and take care of what I need to do for my other 3 jobs on the 2 days that I am "off".

My go-to plan for my 2 days off per week is to spend as much of that time as possible with my family. If I'm going to do anything for anyone for free on those 2 days, it will be my family, not a stranger I met on the internet. Folks that want me to take time away from my family will have to pay for that time. To do otherwise would mean that I value time spent with strangers as much as the time I spend with my family. Not even close.

I never ask anyone to do anything with compensation. To do otherwise means that I do not value their time, which is an insult.

Semper Fi!

I have attended a few of your courses all top notch. As a business owner myself it cost money to provide any service. Keep up the good work and great classes. Every class or course I have attended have been well worth the money!

Semper Fi