Question for OWNERS....

[fitter33]

My question is this....let's say you hire a guy fresh out of school and all you expect him to do is break even...now 6 mths later he is the profit leader of the company for the last couple of months...albeit KNOWLEDGE is not that of a 4 or 5 year tech. And not saying that the other service techs. don't do well also....and they are a lot more experienced....goes without saying....

What is more important to you as owners, someone that knows a lot but has callbacks, and doesn't make all that much or someone who is less experienced... who for whatever reason does the company well profit wise.

Thanks for your replies.......

[midhvac]

That depends on what you mean by "... who for whatever reason does the company well profit wise."

[fitter33]

Originally posted by midhvac
That depends on what you mean by "... who for whatever reason does the company well profit wise."

I don't mean to imply cutting corners or doing a sloppy job...I just meant does what is within his knowledge base....with a few phone calls when help is needed....I don't know of any experienced techs that don't call for help once in a while....sorry if I was unclear...I figured this would be a hard question to word properly....

[a\c don]

Simply put, making money is what business is all about.

As long as its made the right way.

[condenseddave]

Yeah, guys can be profitable (For awhile) while being dishonest. They'll do great for a short period of time, for the bottom line, but can ruin your reputation in a hurry.

In short, I'd worry about a rookie being a "profit leader". It'd be a rare technician fresh out of school that would fit your description. I'd immediately sense something was amiss, and watch them closely.

Most "mistakes" that rookies make, though, do NOT work out FOR the company....

[brian b]

What are you basing that your are the profit leader on. Does your company post technician revenues and profit info. I too would be looking hard at something if a tech fresh out of school is leading my company in profits. Whether it is the new tech doing something that is misleading or maybe my older techs are bored or have become lazy. Either way I would be looking closley at this scenerio.
Another thing to consider is that maybe you service manager or dispatcher is doing a good job of picking calls that he knows you can be successful on while the senior techs are getting all the problematic calls. Just a thought.

[flange]

thats a pretty loaded question. but, since you think you are the "prifit leader", and we dont know why you think that, there are certainly other forces at play. its very possible that you are getting the higher margin jobs as a way of covering up any potential mistakes. i.e. if he f's up there is still some profit built in, if he performs well, we make more. it may be that the other mechanics are sought after by certain customers and due to that also get to "reinforce" the relationship with said customer, which will eat some profits, but assure future work. it may be that you are the best damn mechanic this trade has ever seen. TIME WILL TELL. if you think you are that good, have mastered all the skills for permanent greatness, have customers who fall at your feet, and just are gods gift to mechanical contractors...........then ask for a raise. you'll find out real quick if you deserve it or not.

[JasonHoustonTX]

I have a business to run, so anyone who can generate more profit for the company and doing it in the best interest of the customer is the one for me. Callbacks are killers and will tarnish the name and reputation of any company. I would take the tech who doens't know as much, doesn't create callbacks and is a profit generator. You can always teach them more of the technical side. Most techs who don't generate money and just fix the problem in front of them without looking at the big picture are the ones who will never change. It seems to be all about attitude.

[Edited by JasonHoustonTX on 06-03-2004 at 07:45 PM]

[Green Mountain]

I look for team players. We all work for a profit. If someone needs help to achieve this goal then we ALL help him or her. Its a team effort. I have no time for any grand stander or back biters.

In the morning we hit the ground with our wheels spining there is no time for morale problems to hold us back.

[kim]

I used to give raises based on profit. I tracked their average. When they ask for a raise, I knew how much money I made from them. You make more money for me and I will pay you more. I always told everybody "It is none of your business how much I pay somebody else."

I had a student last year. He was in my class 7 months. He had to quit because his wife lost her job. He started making 25% more than the average 12 month student. He quit that job for a 25% raise someplace else. 1 year out of school and he makes more than me. Some people are just that good.

[fitter33]

I guess I should have just asked.....do you base your decision on giving a guy a raise on profit margin, or apptitude?

Thanks

[Edited by fitter33 on 06-04-2004 at 10:54 PM]

[heat411]

please let me know how you pay your techs,hourly with commision? pay by performance? hourly? and why? what works and what does not?

[JasonHoustonTX]

we pay all of our techs a hourly rate that is above average market rate for our area and then pay on top of that for performance. Performance does not mean rip the customer off. Performance means be efficient, fill out paperwork neatly and correctly and with DETAIL. Performance also means looking at the big picture and not just at the problem in front of you. Look for other problems and bring to attention. Performance also means top in billable time sold and revenue brought in.

Paying on performance brings out the best in techs and weeds out the ones who just want to "get by". We not only pay our techs this way, we do the same for our installers and office staff.

[heat411]

i plan on changing soon but i need to monitor there performance so they are doing there job and not condemning good equipment for commision sales, i want to pay above rate but dont want thieves

[rookie903]

It is possible. Maybe that person is good at convincing people to spend money. Maybe he is just a fast effecient worker. Too many variables in this one.

[Dowadudda]

The question is: Do owners not understand or see the difference between a technician who truly understand his job, does it well, which in that way sometimes causes that tech not to be as profitable as a less experienced technician who may look more profitable, because he does more BS CALLS and changes more parts to fix something.

I have worked for many shops that it seemed the less experienced man is the hero because of the larger invoices they produce and somehow convince the customer they got a good job. But I have also worked for other places that had complete and 100% respect and did due dilligence to the really good tech and tryed to calm the horse of those younger guys.

My Take on it.

As an employer, as a guy trying to make a business run solid. It is very tough to find someone that might fit you, and you fit them. But ultimately, I try to find good work that is available, then I try to as closely as I can find the service man that fits that mold. A good light commercial HVAC tech might not be good at residential service, a chiller guy might not care to even think about a rack.

So once we have matched the work to the skill set, we then begin to fine tune the other variables. As an employer I begin to mold, and mesh the way I want it done, but keeping in mind how the tech is. Not everyone will be at the same level and it's ludicrous to think that. But with good crews and diverse backgrounds you can help them help each other to broaden each individual into a different set of skills.

To get to the heart of the question. I do not condone erroneos repairs. I read every invoice that leaves my computer. I sometimes need to rewrite them. Sometimes I can truly see where a guy needs help. You can tell by reading a guy's invoice if they got it nailed or not.

I would like to add something very simple. You get a good young guy. Bright. Has a lot of potential but he screws up a lot. It's not the owner allowing him to be the screw up. The owner should not think he's glory guy. And I am willing to bet thats not the case in most cases. But when you get a young man who has his head on straight, some of the goody treatment comes down by way of keeping the kid focused so he turns out to be another guru like you.

[doty]

I only have three years experiance, and a 18month school certificate. I have no doubt I do as good as a 10yr tech. It just takes me 3 times longer to do it.

[hvac45]

o since you think you know as much as a 10 year guy but take 3 times as long , then you deserve 1/3 the pay.if he makes $30 an hour you deserve $10.00 an hour, if your i/2 as fast you deserve $15.00.