classicimports
Forum Replies Created
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Ashley, We are all short a tech or two but try advertizing for a tech on TV
Mikail
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I have had several similar technicians, Bring them in as friends or become friends. It’s a small shop and we all need to get along with each other. We need to be flexible because life is full of problems.
That is all fine butthe job is the means to support the life we want to be comfortable in. Technicians in general are “contract” type employees. Flat rate is peculiar to the auto industry and it IS NEEDED! If clients were billed out time and material it would cost more to have an inexperienced tech repair your car than a well qualified and experienced tech! He needs to be on a production based pay or be somewhere he can use his ‘superior abilities better’.
I had a tech tell me there was no way to produce more than 20 to 25 hours in a week. Personally my best was 80 hours in a week… at a dealership.
Incentives for the highest hours billed in a month might get a friendly competition going between techs. Say a $150.00 gift certificate to a good restaraunt.
Some techs I have put on a hybrid salary/flat rate system. They get a base salary of 10 dollars per hour, That is above minimum wage and takes you out of many regulations. plus a ‘Production Bonus’ of say 10% of billed labor. By calling it a ‘bonus’ AND stating in your POLICY MANUAL (you do have one dont you?)that BONUSES are given because of good performance and are given subject to production and other decisions made by management, you can legally withold them if you NEED to reprimand an employee or terminate them when they may owe you money or have damaged uniforms etc. This is legal in the state of Michigan. I had several sources help me with this policy including a lawyer and payroll company. Get your policy reviewed by your lawyer before you implement it. I found mine through ASA Michigan office. Any questions please enail me directly at mikail@importcarrepair.com as I seldom have time tobrouse this site.
