Could you pay a tech 40% commissions long term ?

[Brian R]

"That Guy" is always the hardest to find.

Someone close to "That Guy" will usually start his own bidness or keep looking for something better.

"That Guy" is the guy who is super loyal, good at what he does and is a huge asset to the company.

The quest for "That Guy" is the issue for every company everywhere.

Some would make "That Guy" a partner.....not me.


I would pay "That Guy" as much money as possible to do what he does even if it makes it so you are not making money from "That Guy" but he make the rest of the operation profiable....Meaning the actual physical work he does, he get the profits.

He will still be as close to being a partner without the paperwork...Higher guys under him for him to control so YOU can make the money from them.

Sometimes it's worth losing money to make more money when it comes to humans.

Humans are the only way you will be able to grow and do what you want to do.....But you have to find and keep "That Guy".....and it isn't always easy.

Do you really want him as a competitor if in fact he is the other guy's "That Guy"? Or his own "That Guy".

Careful.

 

[joe harper]

Bravo...! at least CoRkY...GETS-IT.... :!:

I wrote a LONG NASTY post on this thread last night....Then DELETED IT... :shock:

Brian's post is MUCH NICER & hits the same points... 8)

I am impress by many of the members here ...as far as their technical skills... :!:

IMO..This board has some of the FINEST technician in the industry....
The PROBLEM is....They have become OWNERs....and will FAIL miserably in that position.

ALMOST all....will be bankrupted by their lack of personnel management skill's.
They FOCUS on wrong peices of the PIE...As Brian stated above... :idea:

Many would be better served...to HIRE management STAFF...& stay on the truck themselves.. :idea:
This business should operate as a restaurant..."Front of the HOUSE" & "Back of the HOUSE" :!:

NO ONE wants to be greeted at the front door ...by a GreAsY SwEaTy CHEF...no matter how good
the food is..!!!!! By the same token...If you are met at door by a very professional Matradee...&..
the food SUCK'S...you won't be back...!

As I have stated before...! Choose your MENU & your price point's and DEVELOPE a SYSTEM.... :idea:

There are some GREAT example's of different SUCESSFUL restaurants on this board... :!:

PRO CARPET: fast food chain...high volume...low price....McDONALDS
HAGOPAIN : Quality food...high volume....moderately priced.....OUTBACK
YOUR NAME : Gourmet food...low volume...Very high price....5 STAR RESTAURENT

Restoration Companies..IMO fall into a different category...Similar to a RESORT restaurant.
Their ticket's will also be HIGHER..But there restaurant is only to BREAK EVEN & real profit
is MADE on there INVESTMENT in property & specialty NICHE..! "CHAVEZ" is that company.

This BOARD...Has its own restaurant PERSONALITY..... :shock:

You have an OWNER...."That is somewhat of a sUpeRsTaR" Which draws a very mixed class of
cleintal..! Some are her to eat...Some are here to to business...Some are here for the humor..
Some are here for fellowship...Some are here just to feel accepted to a group...ect ect ect... :idea:

"BUT MOST ARE HERE" To share their Day to Day experience with-in an INDUSTRY that the outside world has NO IDEA what we DO. "We are considered nothing more than jAnitOrS in society"
WE boast of our "I AM BETTER THAN YOU"..mind-sets as we clean-up the PUKE on ISLE #3.

"Just because you can grill-up a HELL-UV-A-BURGER in your back yard..!"
"Doesn't QUALIFY you to OPEN a restaurant... :roll: "

"If I still had the DRIVE in my heart.."

I would join-up with mArY... :shock:
And FRANCHISE this board.There is enough TALENT in this place to RE-DEFINE this industry.!
As much as I HATE unions.. With the PROPER management & technical skills here. WE
COULD BECOME A MONOPOLY IN THIS INDUSTY.... :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

ps..You are NOT authorized to put this in you FREE BLOG..."jUgHeAd".....
You have pLaGerIzEd...more than enough of the BRAINTRUST from this board... thathurts
I expect $5.00 a month posted to my Pay Pal accnt. monthly for this INFO.. blowme :mrgreen:

pps.. BTW....send bAwB..fIvE to his accnt..."He is my IDOL"... !gotcha! shiteatinggrin

 

[Shane Deubell]

Big difference between self-employment and owning a business. When you own a business you are paid and the company makes profits independent of you.

 

[Greg Cole]

[]

I am quite pleased with my customer retention rate.
and if I paid them 50% - I would have a going out of business plan. Clearly they are making money or they wouldnt stick around.

From your perspective, you likely feel that I don't work and don't deserve to be well compensated. Until you run an operation my size, you really don't have a clue.

I know you work hard Greg. I just think you could be as well compensated if you treated your subcontractors as the golden goose they are. If you gave them a better percentage of the jobs they could do a better job and you could spend a LOT less advertising to find new clients and ultimately you wouldn't have to work so hard. As it is you treat both your customers and your subcontractors as disposable crap who can be easily replaced because you are so clever at getting work. I know you feel that you can move to other markets if your Atlanta market goes sour, but it's just unnecessary and not good for the industry to work this way.

Sadly, you are mistaken on all counts. And paying medicrity more doesn't get better quality - it just gets less profit.

 

[SMRBAP]

Harp, all your points were taken, and my responses were not trying to deflate your very valid rationale, all I was and am saying is they were also considered prior to my decision that A) I wouldn't pay him more to keep him because with my long term needs and his tendencies, he is no longer a puzzle piece that fits, B) that the door would be permanently closed behind him.

Brian, your points being valid as well, but he has proven not to be that guy. He left once for greener pastures, came back after he was pimped, same situation - then he started his own company, I kept him on part time...... he was a competitor,... and I kept him employed so he'd be able to feed his kids while working to build a biz - most thought I was nuts - set schedule, 3 days a week for me, 3 days a week was his... 1-2 times a week, he'd blow off my route because he picked up a job..... I let him go, his biz failed.... he comes back months later, I set a clear career path in front of him that is as solid as concrete and long term - he leaves literally the second he can make more money "now". I stood by his constant drinking (never otc - but the personal issues did sometimes bleed into work), dui and added insurance costs, etc. . . . . this last round, he has firmly proven he is not that guy.

All in all - I simply refuse to pay anyone more than the company will realize as profits from what they actively bring in when it's my marketing, vans, chems, insurance equipment, etc being used/consumed - to be honest, 40% of profits is the best I will do. And I keep my guys going year round, even when it's slow - they get charity work from me to stay fat - they don't find themselves rolling change to buy gas in the off months - there is a LOT more than the face value % all in all.

I'm not in the slightest bit worried - his absence honestly won't reflect in much of anything here as I am already filling the gaps his leaving created. My initial question was would/could you pay 40% comms - it was not would you try to keep this technician asking for 40% or better.

I do thank you all for the posts - there is always amazing insight and varied opinions here on the down and dirty topics.

 

[Greg Cole]

Harp, all your points were taken, and my responses were not trying to deflate your very valid rationale, all I was and am saying is they were also considered prior to my decision that A) I wouldn't pay him more to keep him because with my long term needs and his tendencies, he is no longer a puzzle piece that fits, B) that the door would be permanently closed behind him.

Brian, your points being valid as well, but he has proven not to be that guy. He left once for greener pastures, came back after he was pimped, same situation - then he started his own company, I kept him on part time...... he was a competitor,... and I kept him employed so he'd be able to feed his kids while working to build a biz - most thought I was nuts - set schedule, 3 days a week for me, 3 days a week was his... 1-2 times a week, he'd blow off my route because he picked up a job..... I let him go, his biz failed.... he comes back months later, I set a clear career path in front of him that is as solid as concrete and long term - he leaves literally the second he can make more money "now". I stood by his constant drinking (never otc - but the personal issues did sometimes bleed into work), dui and added insurance costs, etc. . . . . this last round, he has firmly proven he is not that guy.

All in all - I simply refuse to pay anyone more than the company will realize as profits from what they actively bring in when it's my marketing, vans, chems, insurance equipment, etc being used/consumed - to be honest, 40% of profits is the best I will do. And I keep my guys going year round, even when it's slow - they get charity work from me to stay fat - they don't find themselves rolling change to buy gas in the off months - there is a LOT more than the face value % all in all.

I'm not in the slightest bit worried - his absence honestly won't reflect in much of anything here as I am already filling the gaps his leaving created. My initial question was would/could you pay 40% comms - it was not would you try to keep this technician asking for 40% or better.

I do thank you all for the posts - there is always amazing insight and varied opinions here on the down and dirty topics.

tHIS IS A PRETTY COOL BOARD.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Anthony with all that extra insight you gave on this guy, you'll sleep better without him!

You've went out of your way to help him make a living for himself but with his history he sounds far too flaky to deal with any longer.

I agree I'd not hire him back again, hopefully it works out for him but he sounds like a drifter and dreamer aways looking for something better faster. Not necessairly a bad trait unless you're his employer. :shock:

 

[joe harper]

Anthony,
WE run the same type of railroad....! VERBATUM..!

I have never paid a "TECH"...more than 30%...

HOWEVER.....I pay my "SON"...more..."So..to answer your :?: ..YES it can be done..!

Let me CLARIFY something.."I pay the % on the "TRUCK"...not the Technician... :idea:

For Example: If the truck grosses $1500.00 in 1 day....The gross LABOR for that truck is $450.00.
I like having a FIXED labor cost... :idea: So if there are 2 men on that truck..The usual split is
20% leed tech..10% helper..! "ROUGHLY"...$60.00 hr. for Tech...$30.00 hr. for helper..}
With our pricing...$1500.00 can be generated on an of average of 5 hours.....!

I have had the EXACT..scenerio you speak of....
This type of personality is SELF-DESTUCTIVE...show him to the door 1 final time...!!!
He can be a CANCER to every he touches in your BIZ...!

carry-on...!

 

[ACE]

I’m thinking about offering a tech a full time position.
Pay would base plus commission.
I would welcome ideas on different ways to package his compensation.

Here is what I’m thinking: 18K base 40 hrs a week+.
No overtime pay in the busy season,
No % for janitorial work done in the winter to keep him busy.Perhaps base only January-March, no extra % except for sales.

Additional commission of 10% for work he completes by himself, 7% for work completed with a helper, 4-5% for work completed with my help. Additional 15% for add-on sales and 15% sales commission for new customers he brings in for the first 3 mo.

I defiantly like the idea of salary/commissioned tech vs. hourly. That a way I’m not thinking about cost when I tell him to clean out the truck and get it ready for tomorrow. That way, he can write is own check. If he sells a job and completes the work by himself, he could easyly be making around 40% of the total.

 

[Ken Snow]

Talk to a labor lawyer or human resource professional before you pull the trigger Mike.

Also suggest you figure out what you feel a good tech should make total and then back into it how feel appropriate. Personally I would prefer only commission but that is not within everyones confort or ability to provide enough work to let them make a good living.

 

[Art Kelley]

[Sadly, you are mistaken on all counts. And paying medicrity more doesn't get better quality - it just gets less profit.

LOL. You're a trip Greg.

 

[Greg Cole]

Anthony,
WE run the same type of railroad....! VERBATUM..!

I have never paid a "TECH"...more than 30%...

HOWEVER.....I pay my "SON"...more..."So..to answer your :?: ..YES it can be done..!

Let me CLARIFY something.."I pay the % on the "TRUCK"...not the Technician... :idea:

For Example: If the truck grosses $1500.00 in 1 day....The gross LABOR for that truck is $450.00.
I like having a FIXED labor cost... :idea: So if there are 2 men on that truck..The usual split is
20% leed tech..10% helper..! "ROUGHLY"...$60.00 hr. for Tech...$30.00 hr. for helper..}
With our pricing...$1500.00 can be generated on an of average of 5 hours.....!

I have had the EXACT..scenerio you speak of....
This type of personality is SELF-DESTUCTIVE...show him to the door 1 final time...!!!
He can be a CANCER to every he touches in your BIZ...!

carry-on...!

Great advice!

 

[SMRBAP]

quick update -

he came in to get his last check today. . . .

seems the game has already changed for him in his new position. . . . thathurts

what is - isn't exactly what was stated . . . . :shock:

where is the - "I tried to tell you sorry I don't feel bad for you" smiley at anyway....?

 

[Jamesh921]

So, what changed?

Details man, details.......

 

[joe harper]

quick update -

he came in to get his last check today. . . .

seems the game has already changed for him in his new position. . . . thathurts

what is - isn't exactly what was stated . . . . :shock:

where is the - "I tried to tell you sorry I don't feel bad for you" smiley at anyway....?

Actually it requires 3 sMilEyS...... :roll: !dork! blowme

your welcome... :mrgreen:

ps It is the same "tRi-FecTa" I use for YAnKUm all the time...the sequence doesn't matter

 

[Brian R]

I personally think it can be done with 2...But Harper IS the smiley God.




Ok, Harp is right....Needs that last one


blowme