I pay commission.. when he comes with me I pay him 15%.. 25% when he is solo. All my equipment is paid for and have very little over head though.
I personally have worked hourly and commission when i worked for someone else and I can tell you to go with COMMISSION when paying a tech. If you have incentive built within your pay structure, he is more likely to add on additional work.
My main guy that runs the truck and handles business so I can go fishing 3-4 days a week makes 23% of the truck every day. His helper makes 11$ a hr
No up sell money other than the more the truck makes the more he makes. Truck does about 11-1200 a day 5 days a week. I have another crew for weekends and they make 12$ a hr
I pay the guy I have now $13 per hour but he works with me.. He likes to work hard and get things done so I'm not worried about the slacking factor. The thing that would make me worry about commission is they walk in like a used car salesman trying to upsell everything.. I probably will go to commission though with the same number as Dave(I like to fish also).
the last guy i had made a salary. he left for greener pastures or should i say whiter (crack). i'm currently on my fifth helper in the last 2 months and it's a pain. i always start them at 10 hr take-home. we are currently running 50 hr weeks so a little boost with the overtime pay. i will put them on salary after 6 months if they last that long. the last kid i had was amazing, but he quit showing up.