How would you pay me?

[B&BGaryC]

Boss man wants to restructure my pay... here is the scoop. We did about $15k in carpet cleaning every year when I was hired. We do about $100k now. We hired a tech on and had him work with me for a year and a half and he is a great cleaner now and understands customer service well but isn't motivated to sell. We bought out a competitor that does about 60k a year and got his van and equipment. When we take over his van and Customer list they want to make me straight commission and keep my tech hourly at $13.50.

What percentages do you pay? How does that work? If they pay me a lower percentage to sell a job than to sell and perform a job I will ultimately take all the sweet jobs and burn the hourly tech until he finds another place to work and then we are left with no competent tech to run the other truck.

 

[Mike Draper]

Why are you building someone else's retirement? If you grew his business that much, imagine what you could do on your own. Big risks can achieve big rewards, you just have to be willing to take the leap.

 

[bob vawter]

what's yor bosses name...
i'll ask him for ya......?

 

[B&BGaryC]

Also he wants to pay me a lower hourly wage to do the carpet cleaning on a restoration job and he wants to cap my commissions at $250 per job because he doesn't want to have to write me a check for $700 for cleaning xyz building every 3 months.

Imagine you are a multi million dollar restoration company with 15 employees, no secretary or office staff, and two of those employees are carpet cleaners. Two trucks now. One is a tech, the other cleans carpets, answers phones, books jobs, bids jobs, sells jobs, cold calls, builds and manages the website, attends all the networking groups, handles customer complaints (the few we have), does our graphic design, writes our ad copy, meets with venders, arranges advertising, sets pricing, decides what specials to run and when, sets policy and procedure concerning customer interaction and jobsite procedure. And I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Anyway, I was happy with 75 cents an hour more than the Guy I trained. I can't think of a beneficial commission structure that wont have me either making my tech quit or losing my house.

 

[B&BGaryC]

Why are you building someone else's retirement? If you grew his business that much, imagine what you could do on your own. Big risks can achieve big rewards, you just have to be willing to take the leap.

It took me 4 years to make him that extra 85k a year. I would have been out of business long before I ever reached that point. It was a slow build.

 

[Mike Draper]

I know it takes time. 5 years from now you could be looking back thinking I should have gone on my own. success usually isn't instant. We were flat ass broke our first couple years and now were doing very well. Ive been at it for 5 years, it does take time, I dont think you would go belly up. Obviously you don't think your wage is fair or you would not be asking us for our opinion.

 

[Hoody]

You're getting screwed Gary. Either way he pays you, you're not going to be happy.

Look for wage threads where Harper has chimed in or take some time to talk with him. Hes got a good system going, that even I'd be happy with.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

"You don't get what you deserve...you get what you negotiate."

 

[Brian R]

Gary, you can start a business for next to nothing...why do you thing so many get into it?

The difference is you know what the hell you're doing.

Get a website....give up the DJ bidness...buy a van and rig....guys will help you here.

You can start OPing for cheap too but I know most want to HWE and that's cool...just a bit more expensive.

Join a local networking group and get the hell out of the job market and into the big boy world.

You have too many resources to not to.



If you plan on stay...take straight commission. Tell the guy to kiss your ass if he wants anything different.

Commission is the closest thing to owning a company...gives you a taste.

 

[joe harper]

Gary,

Get your boss to "sub-contract"...you..!

Tell him that you will provide all the labor for 30% of the gross...!

Then in turn....... you hire the tech @ 10% of the gross...!


This gives your boss a FIXED labor cost...!

Go get a business license & open your own company...

If he doesn't treat you fairly...you are already on your way...No non-compete to sign..!

This a WIN / WIN for all parties involved...Then you can EAT WHAT YOU KILL.. :idea:


ps He needs to pay you 30% on all labor you perform on water damages...NOT gross ticket.
He gets to keep all equipment rentals & bs charges... !gotcha! Flat rate for monitoring...!

 

[B&BGaryC]

No, I am happy making $30000 a year. I would like to make $40000 a year. I want to know what a fair commission structure is because they want me to go on commission. I am happy making $14.25 an hour, they want to switch it to commission on me which will make me lose my house when it gets down to negative 20 degrees for a whole month like it did last year.

 

[Brian R]

Don't take a total pay cut.

You need to figure your commission for the next year to at least equal what you were paid last year.

Is the company having a problem paying you in the slow season? Sounds like they're looking for a way out.

Remember to save your money....feast or famine is fine when yer young...but a nest is nice to lay eggs in.

 

[cucu]

you already know you want 40k ,(ace the 30) so agree to 40k plus 10k in bonus over the year on agreed target goals

you could go the sub route , but remember that may be a no-no for your boss and you have already trained your replacement

then after you get fired you could get a job wiht captin taco or kurt boland...or better yet go work for mullet Dewalt in tennessee

 

[B&BGaryC]

Brian hit it on the nose. We had our best winter ever last year but did it with 2 cleaners and one van. They don't want to give me a raise, they want to stop paying me for the roughly four months of icy snow covered nonsense. I did better than usual but still not good. Especially because it was a long slow winter and spring hasn't hit yet. Still cold here in MT.

 

[Brian R]

It's a hard one to take but sometimes you just need to diversify if the regular work isn't there.

Even if you have to take a "real job" for those cold months. :shock: Did I just say that?

Think of how you can get paid for those cold months even if you don't get paid for those cold months.
Make it up in the busy season....and save yer money.

 

[bob vawter]

do you cry like this
at work?

 

[B&BGaryC]

do you cry like this
at work?

Sorry Bawb. I thought if I gave you guys some numbers you might be able to throw out a payscale that would be fair to both parties. Let me know what percentages were reasonable and which one would be asking too much. I'll just pm Harper.

 

[bob vawter]

are you this "touchy".....at work?

 

[B&BGaryC]

WTH do you mean? Do I openly discuss my distaste for change in the way I am paid? No. Am I a little ticked off that they are trying to get out of paying me in the winter? Yes. Mostly because I think the motivation behind it is to "make me care about the bottom line" when I already give a significant portion of my time worrying about and planning/researching for the bottom line. I already answer my company phone until 9pm most days booking jobs and talking customers through their concerns.

 

[bob vawter]

WTH do you mean? Do I openly discuss my distaste for change in the way I am paid? No. Am I a little ticked off that they are trying to get out of paying me in the winter?

my point IS.......
maybe these negative feelings about yor job situation are more transparent than you realize...???
if I can get you worked up lik this...im wondering how you do in front of the BOSS! !gotcha!


jus sayin' !

 

[Goomer]

No offense, but it sounds like you are "content" with being someones "lackey". You sound like you are capable of much more, but need the balls and the support. How you play this hand could determine the rest of your life. Dont be afraid to rock the boat, now is the perfect time.
As Donald Trump stated in "The Art of the Deal", you cant negotiate without knowing and understanding the LEVERAGE you posses. Realize that you DO posses leverage here, and it doesn't make you a bad guy for using it.
Harper's idea of subbing the work for a percentage is the way to go.

You dont owe this guy anyting, HE OWES YOU!

 

[Hoody]

So essentially they're trying to get out of paying you unemployment during the slow period, and or laying you off.

Go with harper, a % of the gross sales.

Goomer that's not the attitude to have towards HIS BOSS. Hes hired at-will, he can leave anytime he can be fired at anytime.

If for one minute you think you're not replaceable you're full of shit. You have to let your ego go, it took me a while but I learned that the hard way. It sucks to think that all the hard work you've put in can't be duplicated but it can be, and can be done even better. Everyone is replaceable even the owner.

Holding the owner hostage as leverage is not the way to go. You have to bring something to the table that is more than you're already doing, because its obvious the owner(s) do not see justification to pay more money for whats already being done now. So sit down, think of some realistic goals that you want to do for the company. Negotiate a bonus based on additional sales above and beyond a target goal. Take the 30% of the gross, and then an additional bonus on money(gross sales) above and beyond 100k for the cleaning side. Then get your ass out there and sell sell sell. The boss is professionally saying put up or shut up.

 

[renegade_cowboy]

We all agree its best if you start planning on starting and building your own business so YOU can hire the people to do the work.. There is a time in a mans life to take the bull by the horns and go for it... take the risk to put it all on the line.

Everyone will help you with your business, time to lay off the nipple.

 

[Zee]

Or just get out and do what Mr. Harper said. Get a business license and TAKE the guy YOU trained with you, call your boss and tell him you can subcontract.

If you leave your trainee there, you just replaced yourself. Well almost...because he doesn't wana sell and do things like that.

 

[joe harper]

So essentially they're trying to get out of paying you unemployment during the slow period, and or laying you off.

Go with harper, a % of the gross sales.

Goomer that's not the attitude to have towards HIS BOSS. Hes hired at-will, he can leave anytime he can be fired at anytime.

If for one minute you think you're not replaceable you're full of shit. You have to let your ego go, it took me a while but I learned that the hard way. It sucks to think that all the hard work you've put in can't be duplicated but it can be, and can be done even better. Everyone is replaceable even the owner.

Holding the owner hostage as leverage is not the way to go. You have to bring something to the table that is more than you're already doing, because its obvious the owner(s) do not see justification to pay more money for whats already being done now. So sit down, think of some realistic goals that you want to do for the company. Negotiate a bonus based on additional sales above and beyond a target goal. Take the 30% of the gross, and then an additional bonus on money(gross sales) above and beyond 100k for the cleaning side. Then get your ass out there and sell sell sell. The boss is professionally saying put up or shut up.

"YOU KEEP THIS SH!T UP..!"
and you will be RAISING that BOY in Florida....

You are getting WiSeR everyday..."Proud of you BOY"..!!!!!!! 8)

Ps Happy Birthday... :!: :!: :!: :!: :!:

 

[Goomer]

So essentially they're trying to get out of paying you unemployment during the slow period, and or laying you off.

Go with harper, a % of the gross sales.

Goomer that's not the attitude to have towards HIS BOSS. Hes hired at-will, he can leave anytime he can be fired at anytime.

If for one minute you think you're not replaceable you're full of shit. You have to let your ego go, it took me a while but I learned that the hard way. It sucks to think that all the hard work you've put in can't be duplicated but it can be, and can be done even better. Everyone is replaceable even the owner.

Holding the owner hostage as leverage is not the way to go. You have to bring something to the table that is more than you're already doing, because its obvious the owner(s) do not see justification to pay more money for whats already being done now. So sit down, think of some realistic goals that you want to do for the company. Negotiate a bonus based on additional sales above and beyond a target goal. Take the 30% of the gross, and then an additional bonus on money(gross sales) above and beyond 100k for the cleaning side. Then get your ass out there and sell sell sell. The boss is professionally saying put up or shut up.

 

[Goomer]

So essentially they're trying to get out of paying you unemployment during the slow period, and or laying you off.

Go with harper, a % of the gross sales.

Goomer that's not the attitude to have towards HIS BOSS. Hes hired at-will, he can leave anytime he can be fired at anytime.

If for one minute you think you're not replaceable you're full of shit. You have to let your ego go, it took me a while but I learned that the hard way. It sucks to think that all the hard work you've put in can't be duplicated but it can be, and can be done even better. Everyone is replaceable even the owner.

Holding the owner hostage as leverage is not the way to go. You have to bring something to the table that is more than you're already doing, because its obvious the owner(s) do not see justification to pay more money for whats already being done now. So sit down, think of some realistic goals that you want to do for the company. Negotiate a bonus based on additional sales above and beyond a target goal. Take the 30% of the gross, and then an additional bonus on money(gross sales) above and beyond 100k for the cleaning side. Then get your ass out there and sell sell sell. The boss is professionally saying put up or shut up.

Yea, I agree that's a good plan, but when they refuse anything above what was offered, he'll wish he would have played hardball first.

 

[The Great Oz]

Boss man wants to restructure my pay.. We do about $100k. We bought out a competitor that does about 60k a year. They want to make me straight commission and keep my tech hourly at $13.50.

Just the facts. The story doesn't matter.

If you're doing sales work on a straight commission that's fine, but it's typical to have some kind of bottom line salary that you can then sell past. You get a set percentage of the jobs you book, and maybe a lower commission every time the job is done after the first time - no matter who does the work.

If you're still doing cleaning, you get a set percentage of every job you do, no matter how that job was sold. If you sold it and cleaned it you get both commissions. This hurts the company not one bit, and if they balk I'd suggest they are taking advantage of you and you might want to start a new plan.

Yes, this means you make little money in the winter when not much is coming in, but you make hay while the sun shines and get out of Montana when it's buried in snow.

You need an acceptable base hourly rate when you're doing anything other than sales or cleaning,

What percentages do you pay? How does that work?

We have salaried salespeople and techs that work on a percentage. If a salesman did the cleaning, he'd get the percentage for doing the work as well as his pay for selling it.

If they pay me a lower percentage to sell a job than to sell and perform a job I will ultimately take all the sweet jobs and burn the hourly tech until he finds another place to work and then we are left with no competent tech to run the other truck

Less to sell AND do the work than just doing the work? This makes no sense. If this deal was even offered I'd start working on that new plan, because it would be obvious that they either think you're stupid or they want you to quit.

 

[Hoody]

Playing hardball will just get them further up his ass than they already are. The one who has the money makes the rules, but the rules can bent provided they're getting something out of it in return. I tried playing hardball with a company I worked for for many years. All it did for me was a few write ups and eventually a pay cut, resulting in me quitting.

You have several options here Gary. You could go to a straight percentage of gross sales, and bonus after a set goal. You could do as Bryan is suggesting, and receive a base salary, plus percentage of sales. And if you have to go out on the truck you get still get your base salary.

It looks like to me like your other guy is a good worker. I know you can clean, but you're obviously the better manager out of the two of you.

If you're doing the phones, marketing, and the majority of the background work for the company it would seem more ideal for you to be put in a permanent management position, if you're needed out in the field you go. But your main focus would be operations, customer service, sales. Leave the cleaning to the guy(s) that aren't interested in the background work, that will go out and give a quality clean, and will do it right the first time. You could sell a lot more if you weren't on the truck everyday.

 

[Scott Rogers]

So if you are grossing 100k a year and making around 30k he is already paying you 30% So if you go on straight commission of 30% it should benefit both you and the company as it gives you a good incentive to make the gross sales grow as quickly as possible.

And at 100k a year you dont need a full time tech. Dump the tech and do all the cleaning yourself or get the sales upto 150k+ and split your commission 20% you 10% tech.