Park the truck?????

[refrigerationtech]

is company union, if not then i do this u said many want to leave. take 50% employee to force company into union. i personally dont like this route but if company is stiffing u u just do it back the wasy i see it. once 50% signed they caint lay u off 4 joining

[travistee]

My employer,
just increased the "truck fee' to our clients in responce to gas prices. I do not take my van home because I only live three blocks from work. Upon my hire it was said I could take the van home. Upon my choosing I decided not to. However if I decided to take it home and my employer said no due to gas prices regardless if I moved farther away, I would walk.
To many jobs out there that want my skill.
Would you agree?

[travistee]

forgot to say,
we techs can set the price and our employers can pass it on to the honmeowners.
Homeowners will pay the difference, once you live in a conditioned space you can't live without it :-)

[ARPA]

In reading this post, and others, I can only assume that there are some really bad bosses/owners out there, just like there are some really bad techs out there too.

I would never put myself in the position, as an owner, of having my employees dictate to me of how I "will" run, and what I will charge, and what I will pay my employees. (the union answer....)

With that said, I could close my doors tomorrow, well, completely close down the ac division of my company, and not look back.
But, you know why I won't, or could not, my employees count on me to furnish them a wage so that they can live. We are like a family at my company. I get alot of arguements from other owners, the BBB, the rotary, and other organizations that I belong to as to why I do some of the things that I do do for my employees.
I tell them like it is, mind their own business.

If employees can not live on the wage I pay them, then they need to step up to the plate and make themselves worth the wage that they want.

True, here in my area a tech can quit, and in a day be working again. But, this is not how to have a career, IMO.

[chillerout1]

well,no truck =no on call,show up at shop at start time same for quitting time, dont worry about tool swap from my truck to yours you will buy all tools and they will stay on your truck. all good owners of companies will know that to compete in this business you have to offer minimum bennies to match other companies you may not be at top but you better not be at bottom techs talk and yours may quickly decide that they are better off somewhere elsejust because thy can take truck home please note that if they are a good tech and customers like them customers will go with them sometimes

[Dowadudda]

very very touchy subject to some hey? I don't know how I could be very effective if I had to pick up and drop off the truck at the shop. Some days I am on the road to my first call at 4 am. And not home some days till late. Is my job not hard enough? It's only obvious, for a zillion reasons, that service men must have the truck with them.

Shops that think this is some how a way to reduce costs, I can only imagine end up changing right back to the way they were.

Personally, I'd rather you pay me 5 bucks an hour more and I will use and maintain my own truck. That would be my personal choice. Fuel is charged out anyway so. They could pay my fuel. I'd even pay my fuel froma certain point, being that I am out so far. Just give me 5 bucks more and I will handle it.

[neophytes serendipity]

I floated a truck and tool deal idea past the boss a little while ago. The idea is still gathering dust on the table. Didn't mention money, but I suggested that I would be open to discuss it if he was.

Not the first time I have done it, but the outcome has always been the same- no way.

I think the bosses here would rather have you get frustrated and bring in your own stuff for free for their benefit. I got over that a long time ago. The boss can trip over his pennies while the big money just falls out of his pocket. I can wait

[ARPA]

Every lawyer and insurance person that I've ever talked to tells me the same thing. "Do not let your employees, service techs, drive their own vehicles, with ANYTHING of yours to a job."
It opens you up to be liable, even if they have the proper insurance.

[neophytes serendipity]

A lease agreement would work. Been there.

Most people I talk to are not aware that the company insurance is in effect if you are hauling company tools and/or materials to the jobsite in your own personal vehicle- whether the boss "makes" you or asks you.

Company tools/materials in your vehicle can also cause problems with workers comp claims in case of an accident.

The boss can be liable whether he is paying me to drive my truck with his stuff in it or not paying me. I would prefer to be fairly compensated in a manner that we both agree to.

I suspect that if I pushed the insurance thing onto the company in the worst case, lawyers would be needed and I would be blackballed within the union contractors here.

I met a Carrier factory tech a while ago that was forbidden from using any personal tools at all on the job. If he did and the boss found out, he would be looking for a new job.

[idontgetit]

Originally posted by arpa
I would never put myself in the position, as an owner, of having my employees dictate to me of how I "will" run, and what I will charge, and what I will pay my employees. (the union answer....)

If employees can not live on the wage I pay them, then they need to step up to the plate and make themselves worth the wage that they want.

True, here in my area a tech can quit, and in a day be working again. But, this is not how to have a career, IMO.

Your post contradicts its self sir.

You pay your employees what your market demands, otherwise you would have none.

Jump down off the high horse, you ain't god.

My post was simple in nature, it reflected that the employees just needed to respond to the situation as the owner should have, with a price increase.

It is not his employees fault his cost went up, yet he decided to cut thier benifits resulting in an increased cost to them, whether 20 miles or five miles, he passed his cost of doing business to his employees instead of customers.

The net result is a crew of disgruntled employees, just about the worst senerio for ANY company.

You really have some twisted view of yourself that you represent that you operate your company out of almost implied chariety for your employees. You are less than half of what you think you are or what you represented yourself as in this post.

[cool tech 64]

this subject has caused a lot of contriversy,i think that one thing we can all take is inflation effects us all. the only person that i have found that inflation helps are prostitutes, no overhead, no liabilities, no gasoline. but seriously, we condemn someone for taking away trucks, hey maybe that works in that area, i agree that in mosy areas it wouldnt,see it takes different strokes for different folks thats what makes the world go around.... and to the gentleman that said that he now had to take an hour lunch...that may not be the employer,insurance and workers comp are making it mandatory... whatever each of us decide about the van situation is a descision and choose that we have to live with no matter whrer we are.........like whether to stay without the van or move on to other possibilities.......

[cissado]

Could someone please clarify something for me here as a homeowner?

Would the OP get paid to drive the truck back to the shop from a job?




If he gets paid to drive the truck back to the shop, then the company will lose money paying him to do that. Correct? Maybe I'm not seeing it like you guys (as a HO) because I'm not familiar with how it works but if he did keep the truck, he would not get paid for his drive home from his last job, correct? but this way he IS being paid from his last job to the shop (as opposed to 'home').

Let's say his day is done at 4PM. He's "punched out" at 4 from the customer's house and drives his truck home. But now he finishes at 4 at the customer's house and drives TO THE SHOP and gets paid until 4:30 or whatever, ESPECIALLY if his call is further from the shop than his home.

or Maybe he DOES get paid to drive from his last call to his home after work. If so, oops, nevermind. lol






Also, how can they expect you to keep your car at the shop for days while you have the truck at home? A car is sometimes used by other family members for transportation and is sometimes the only car in the household. Should the guy's wife take the company truck to do some grocery shopping while her car sits in the shop for two days?

Personally, in the matter of service calls, I would not leave my car at the shop and would drive to the shop with the car at each call. It would take longer of course to get to the service calls but I can't have my personal vehicle parked somewhere overnight when I can't use the truck for my personal errands. In effect I will be LOSING a vehicle for the amount of time I am on call. How can a company expect you to lose a personal vehicle while they benefit due to theirs being at your house to make service calls faster and more convenient for THEM?

[neophytes serendipity]

Originally posted by cissado
Could someone please clarify something for me here as a homeowner?

Would the OP get paid to drive the truck back to the shop from a job? (snip)

How can a company expect you to lose a personal vehicle while they benefit due to theirs being at your house to make service calls faster and more convenient for THEM?

In my area, if you pick up the truck from the shop, you get paid one way, and the employee can usually choose... That is how it is supposed to work per union contract (not the choice part). Not always so, but that is life I guess. Obviously, a shop will not want to pay an employee windshield time if it can be avoided.

If the employee is given a truck to take home (long term), the employees car does not stay at the shop.

Hauling the employers tools/materials/parts can cause serious issues for the employer if the employee gets into an accident in his personal vehicle while doing so. It will also cause serious problems for the employee if/when the boss decides that his insurance shouldn't pay for the damage. In my area, the personal vehicle becomes a company vehicle for insurance purposes during business hours if company stuff is in there and something happens.

The company can expect anything they want. You have the choice to put up with it- or not.

Every shop/State is different, but this should help clarify things.

[hvac45]

I guess as an owner I do it all wrong, I even let me lead installers take their trucks home, Our crime rate is pretty low low in our area, but, most warehouses are located in areas that are easy to hit. If my trucks are scattered all over, one my get hit, parked together can be devistating, I know, it happened twice when I worked for someone else. They took all the tools, parts, stripped the trucks. The amount of business we lost that day would have paid 2 years worth of gas at todays prices. Not to mention the hassle. On another note, if you pay an employee to drive to work he is on workers comp the minute he gets in the truck, if he has an accident we pay for medical for him. It just happened to a guy here. In my opinion, you can just raise rates a little more to cover it. There are vultures out there that don't mind working for wages and not paying their people a decent wage, but they are always there. Good employees are not only hard to find, but, important to keep, I wish I could afford to pay my guys even more than I do now, But, with the rising costs and competition that won't up their rates we can't. But, I will keep trying.

[cissado]

Originally posted by neophytes serendipity

Originally posted by cissado
Could someone please clarify something for me here as a homeowner?

Would the OP get paid to drive the truck back to the shop from a job? (snip)

How can a company expect you to lose a personal vehicle while they benefit due to theirs being at your house to make service calls faster and more convenient for THEM?

In my area, if you pick up the truck from the shop, you get paid one way, and the employee can usually choose... That is how it is supposed to work per union contract (not the choice part).

This is my main sticking point. After an employee is "off the clock" shouldn't he be "FREE" to do whatever he wants? In this case, he is still under his employer's direction of "Bring the truck back asap." Can he not stop at the Mall for some clothes shopping, maybe a restaurant for a dinner, maybe pick up the wife on the way for a movie... etc...? Why not? He isn't on the clock anymore, is he? Then why should he still not be free to do whatever he wants. He's off the clock, after work.

That is my argument for getting paid until he gets back to the shop with the truck because he's bringing back the truck and following orders from the employer. It's all part of the job IMO.

I do see that this is a sensitive issue. Good luck to all.

[neophytes serendipity]

Originally posted by cissado
This is my main sticking point. After an employee is "off the clock" shouldn't he be "FREE" to do whatever he wants? In this case, he is still under his employer's direction of "Bring the truck back asap." Can he not stop at the Mall for some clothes shopping, maybe a restaurant for a dinner, maybe pick up the wife on the way for a movie... etc...? Why not? He isn't on the clock anymore, is he? Then why should he still not be free to do whatever he wants. He's off the clock, after work.

That is my argument for getting paid until he gets back to the shop with the truck because he's bringing back the truck and following orders from the employer. It's all part of the job IMO.

I do see that this is a sensitive issue. Good luck to all.

If the employee is allowed to keep the truck, yes, the employee is "off the clock" on the way home. However, you are still in the employers' truck. Every company I am familiar with will allow employees to stop and get necessities on the way home (bread, milk, etc). That privelege usually does not extend to big shopping trips, dinner with the wife, etc.

Yes, some shops are different than others and may allow a more liberal use of the company truck. Some forget that the boss is making the payments on the truck and filling the tank and letting you take it home.

I also know that if the boss is paying my wage behind the windshield after I pick up the truck at the shop, it might actually be cheaper for him to let me take it home if I live close to the shop. Then I start at the job instead of the shop. His decision- not mine.

In my area, the union employee used to get paid both ways- to the job from the shop at the start of the day and back to the shop at the end of the day. In an ideal situation, that means the boss is paying you for 8 hours of work, but you won't ever get more than 7 working hours in because of the travel time. If you have to go into the city, the actual hours worked can be much lower, but still paid for 8. As an employee, that is fine by me, but as a boss, I can understand the difficulty with that (yeah, I know it is supposed to be part of the bid).

Company A that pays travel time can't compete with Company Z that makes the employees eat it. That is why the union contract here changed recently. Yes, the employer is still able to pay both ways if he chooses.

There are plenty of employers that make the employees come in to the shop at 6:30 for a 7 am start (to load the trucks and be on the road by 7) and you better not leave the jobsite until 3:30. You either do it or send out resumes.

An employee is never "off the clock" while in a company truck or uniform. That employee still has the power to project an image to potential customers.

[acbyj208]

i didnt read the whole thread, i dont have time, one thing, my techs are spread out across the whole valley, we are a team, you need a part, call around, youll find it in a van at a techs house, alot closer than the shop, you need help, call around, its close. i know a few companies who rent storage units for parts when the vans are storage units spread out. this business is all about teamwork and on call 24/7 to help each other. i have had a van in my driveway since i was 18 yrs old. its the only way. gps prevents people from abusing that privalige, it is a benifit to you and your employer both. installers may be different, they come to the shop to load up anyway, svc techs need the van at all times, they also have to be available to help, at all times. we choose this profession and it is what it is.

[isitfixedyet]

Originally posted by chillerout1
well,no truck =no on call,show up at shop at start time same for quitting time, dont worry about tool swap from my truck to yours you will buy all tools and they will stay on your truck. all good owners of companies will know that to compete in this business you have to offer minimum bennies to match other companies you may not be at top but you better not be at bottom techs talk and yours may quickly decide that they are better off somewhere elsejust because thy can take truck home please note that if they are a good tech and customers like them customers will go with them sometimes

i seen a company doing these things a year before they went out of business!
if a contractor loses sight, or doesnt know the costs of doing business, he soon will! and dont say we didnt tell you so, i agree with chiller out, who would give this BIG IDEA to the boss to cut costs?
some times ideas should stay BIG ideas!

[Milk man]

Originally posted by acbyj208
i didnt read the whole thread, i dont have time, one thing, my techs are spread out across the whole valley, we are a team, you need a part, call around, youll find it in a van at a techs house, alot closer than the shop, you need help, call around, its close. i know a few companies who rent storage units for parts when the vans are storage units spread out. this business is all about teamwork and on call 24/7 to help each other. i have had a van in my driveway since i was 18 yrs old. its the only way. gps prevents people from abusing that privalige, it is a benifit to you and your employer both. installers may be different, they come to the shop to load up anyway, svc techs need the van at all times, they also have to be available to help, at all times. we choose this profession and it is what it is.

I think you nailed it.

And if a guy is required to load a 6:30 then that guy should be paid begining at 6:30

[travistee]

Originally posted by Milk man

Originally posted by acbyj208
i didnt read the whole thread, i dont have time, one thing, my techs are spread out across the whole valley, we are a team, you need a part, call around, youll find it in a van at a techs house, alot closer than the shop, you need help, call around, its close. i know a few companies who rent storage units for parts when the vans are storage units spread out. this business is all about teamwork and on call 24/7 to help each other. i have had a van in my driveway since i was 18 yrs old. its the only way. gps prevents people from abusing that privalige, it is a benifit to you and your employer both. installers may be different, they come to the shop to load up anyway, svc techs need the van at all times, they also have to be available to help, at all times. we choose this profession and it is what it is.

I think you nailed it.

And if a guy is required to load a 6:30 then that guy should be paid begining at 6:30

The part I don't agree with is the last,
YES we chose this profession but that doesn't mean techs give up some of their rights.

Now about team work,
All companys depend on team work,
thats a general statement to blankit the real issue,

If you own the bussiness then you are on call/or should be 24/7, however if you are an employee I would disagree.

If a tech calls me on a somewhat regular basis on my off time I would have an issue.

Just my thoughts

Thanks for your thoughts they are appreciated