Interview this morning

[efannin]

Good Morning everyone,:anyone:

I had an interview this morning, just got home from it actually. Keep in mind I have never had a job as a tech before. All my experience comes from being an apartment maintenance supervisor. He told me that his techs get a base of $100 per week and work off commission. He doesn't have anyone that makes less than 1k per week. Is this base normal/acceptable, would I be offered more if experienced and had a work history in this industry. Just looking for your ops.

Thanks

[maxster]

didn't you wonder where the $900 comes from and how it is passed on to you thru your work invoices:whistle: what ever happen to an hourly rate experience or not..did you happen to hear anything about "pushing parts"

[efannin]

I know where the money for the rest of my pay comes from. He even showed me a book that had the prices for parts and the amount I received from sale of each of those parts. He of course didn't use the term "pushing parts", but alluded to the fact that the desired result is to sell new systems. Just wondered if this was the norm for most maintenance/sales guys

[Carbon]

You thought the interview was for a tech, but it was for a salesman. That's putting it lightly. You're not getting paid to fix things, you're getting paid to sell parts. Lowest rung on the ladder IMHO.

[temp rise]

good thing i'm not in sales i would go broke simply do not have ability to rip off customers so i can have a bigger cut.

[efannin]

Being too honest is a problem for me as well. I don't want to think I took some little old lady's Social Security money. How can I find a tech job with no experience. Sent my resume to numerous companies. Everyone wants five years or more experience. I don't mind making a little less until I prove I'm worth an investment.

[TheChillerMan]

Run away. Run far far away.

[efannin]

Does anyone work for a good company in Sarasota/Bradenton area?
I can deal with lower hourly plus sales. Just need experience to prove I can do a good job for a good company.

[HoneyDo]

These guys are correct!
You are expected to go on your dog and pony show(clean and checks).

Then when you are there you need to discover problems, potential problems or maybe accelerate one.:whistle:

Not for me.

Some of the guys I worked with were AMAZING to observe when they got in their sales mode, zone. They could convince one of just about anything.

But you should experience it for yourself. If you don't like it you can keep looking. At least your guaranteed 100 bucks weekly until you find something else.

Chances are you will have frequent meetings. All sorts of motivational device and incentives will be used to promote pushy sales.

I sleep better know that is all behind me.

[Some Dude]

You thought the interview was for a tech, but it was for a salesman. That's putting it lightly. You're not getting paid to fix things, you're getting paid to sell parts. Lowest rung on the ladder IMHO.

x2

[HoneyDo]

How long do you think before the HO's are gonna finally put their foot down and ask " why is it every time I see you, something needs replacing".

These fly by night shops are the ones that pull in the big bucks initially, fatten up their client base, then sell off their less than solid client base to the unsuspecting.

[hvacpope]

I thought it was illegal to hire a "tech" for less than minimum wage, as far as I know there are only a handful of professions that under federal law are exempt from the minimum wage rule like waiter/waitress, salesman etc. HVAC Tech isn't one of them.

[efannin]

No different I guess than working as a vacuum cleaner salesman. You get nothing as a base, and only make what you sell.

[blitz]

do the interview as a practice, if you take the job, at least it's another point on the resume. but that's sketchy. you can't be a good tech selling parts, you could, but then you'll be wanting just to change it for commission sake. by the time you sell a bunch of parts the customers might as well buy a new system...

[Joe Harper]

All of us are parts salesman. That's why we carry them on the truck. You have to be able to sell the repair. There are plenty of hacks in regular companies sellling unnecessary repairs too. You are still there to do a job competant manner.

[Refer wrench]

In my opinion this is the hardest part of the field to deal with if your an honest person. The object of the majority of businesses (any business) is to make profit.. Most business owners and/or investors are not really concerned with how the profit is made as long as they do not look bad. Actually some don't even care if they look bad they just close the business after they have screwed as many people as they can and open a new business with a new name.



This is the dirty little secret they don't tell you about when you enter trade school. I was a young christen man when i learned that. And it kind of messed me up. I simply could not find a job that would work with my values at the time. There are other problems too. When you do honest work chances are you will not bring in the bucks a dishonest tech will. And because management is primarily concerned with money they give promotions to the thieves.



I am truly sorry to say this. I really am. This is a great Field with very smart people in it and I am proud to be a part of it.

[MM#7]

In my opinion this is the hardest part of the field to deal with if your an honest person. The object of the majority of businesses (any business) is to make profit.. Most business owners and/or investors are not really concerned with how the profit is made as long as they do not look bad. Actually some don't even care if they look bad they just close the business after they have screwed as many people as they can and open a new business with a new name.



This is the dirty little secret they don't tell you about when you enter trade school. I was a young christen man when i learned that. And it kind of messed me up. I simply could not find a job that would work with my values at the time. There are other problems too. When you do honest work chances are you will not bring in the bucks a dishonest tech will. And because management is primarily concerned with money they give promotions to the thieves.



I am truly sorry to say this. I really am. This is a great Field with very smart people in it and I am proud to be a part of it.

interesting comments!

[MM#7]

Good Morning everyone,:anyone:

I had an interview this morning, just got home from it actually. Keep in mind I have never had a job as a tech before. All my experience comes from being an apartment maintenance supervisor. He told me that his techs get a base of $100 per week and work off commission. He doesn't have anyone that makes less than 1k per week. Is this base normal/acceptable, would I be offered more if experienced and had a work history in this industry. Just looking for your ops.

Thanks

i have a friend that works for a medium sized co. he's a exp. tech, and makes ex. $, in his case he has to bill out a certain amount of money each week, to justify his hourly rate. so basically if you are on his route, that special $ for a check up, you better sell the customer something, because after a certain amout of time, the boss pulls you in says your not billing enough to justify your hourly rate,over head etc.and then says-see yaaaaaa! every co. is different good luck!

[blownfuse99]

Being too honest is a problem for me as well. I don't want to think I took some little old lady's Social Security money. How can I find a tech job with no experience. Sent my resume to numerous companies. Everyone wants five years or more experience. I don't mind making a little less until I prove I'm worth an investment.

Keep sending your resume out. I did maintenance before hvac. Company's don't like to hire maintenance guys because MOST of the time they know a little bit about alot of stuff. But most of the time they don't know anything from start to finish....Keep your head up someone will give you a chance. I sent my resume to about 30 different Company's before I got hired by a hvac company....

[efannin]

So I have been working for the company for two weeks now. First week I rode with a more experienced maintenance tech. Thursday the 11th was the first day of the new pay week and my first day on my own truck. I feel great in the fact that today is last day of pay week and I have made over 1100 dollars and haven't sold a single screw that the customer didn't need. Maybe this aint so bad after all. Just keep selling til I'm NATE and then move to fulltime service side.

[snupytcb]

So I have been working for the company for two weeks now. First week I rode with a more experienced maintenance tech. Thursday the 11th was the first day of the new pay week and my first day on my own truck. I feel great in the fact that today is last day of pay week and I have made over 1100 dollars and haven't sold a single screw that the customer didn't need. Maybe this aint so bad after all. Just keep selling til I'm NATE and then move to fulltime service side.

that's great. good for you. just don't let greed take over.

[Special Ed]

What I get from some of the comments here is that most techs prefer hourly, because then they don't have to worry about performing they just have to show up for a certain amount of time every day to get a decent pay. Any living, breathing automoton can do that. Is it simply not possible to be both honest paid commission at the same time? I think it is, because if a tech is dishonest he'll cheat someone somewhere somehow no matter how he's paid, be it his clients (commission-based pay) or his employer (hourly wage).

[hvacpope]

What I get from some of the comments here is that most techs prefer hourly, because then they don't have to worry about performing they just have to show up for a certain amount of time every day to get a decent pay. Any living, breathing automoton can do that. Is it simply not possible to be both honest paid commission at the same time? I think it is, because if a tech is dishonest he'll cheat someone somewhere somehow no matter how he's paid, be it his clients (commission-based pay) or his employer (hourly wage).

It has nothing to do with performance!!! I'm a service technician not a salesman. two different fields. The norm is for service techs to fix the machines and for salesmen to sell the machines.

[Refer wrench]

What I get from some of the comments here is that most techs prefer hourly, because then they don't have to worry about performing they just have to show up for a certain amount of time every day to get a decent pay. Any living, breathing automoton can do that. Is it simply not possible to be both honest paid commission at the same time? I think it is, because if a tech is dishonest he'll cheat someone somewhere somehow no matter how he's paid, be it his clients (commission-based pay) or his employer (hourly wage).

I think that some of us believe that if we are professionals we are worthy of smidgen of respect and that would include the basic trust that an employer would respect the decisions and judgments of an employee (technician) without the incentive to sell more because it benefits him. The hard part of this is as techs. get better they naturally fix things faster and thus cheaper and less cost effective to employers. So price quotes probably are the only fair way. If not a good mechanic will definitely go on his own rather than be punished for being fast.



It has a tricky feel to it. I guess it might be the future though. customers always seem to want price quotes these days.