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I work at a Chrysler Dealership as an hourly lube tech, but every other guy in the shop is flat rate and I refuse to work flat rate because I’ve been there almost 3 years and I’ve seen what the flat rate system does to both the techs and the work they put out.
Here are some reasons I’ve found that flat rate is bad:
1. Enables favoritism and feeding techs
2. Enables service writers and managers to starve out techs they either don’t like or who don’t go along with the politics of the shop
3.Creates the concept of gravy jobs that pay great and are easy (brakes, fluid flushes, etc) and ** jobs that pay next to nothing but take half the day (pretty much anything warranty, water and air leaks, etc.).
4. Encourages techs to rush through jobs and cut corners to get things done faster, which normally results in butchered car (i.e. cutting or bending a bracket out of the way instead of unbolting it)
5. Selling work vehicles don’t need (calling brake pads at 5mm because “the shop is slow”. I remember one of the techs telling me a story about a former service manager telling him “when the shop is really dead in the winter, just call the rear main seal on a car under warranty and just spray it off with brake clean and don’t do anything else”)
6. Discourages techs from helping each other (I don’t get paid to help you)
7. Lets dealerships unload their losses and slow times on the tech (Oh business is slow, well you’re just not upselling enough on the cars that do come in, or Oh you didn’t diag. that car right the first time, well now you get to fix it for free)
8. Creates a cutthroat work environment (i.e. the shop favorite is getting all the gravy work and the rest of the guys get stuck with warranty jobs)
9. Undermines the value of the work techs do and makes customers think everything can be done fast and done correctly (which it can’t in most cases, you can be efficient at what you do, but if your just slamming through jobs you’re obviously cutting corners somewhere or not actually doing the work.)
10. If you lose your ass on a job or have a pay with low hours you are simply told you need to hustle more.
11. If you ask for a raise you are told ” you want a raise, turn more hours” and it becomes about quantity over quality.
Most arguments I’ve heard against flat rate are “Well if you pay a guy by the hour he’ll just goof around and play on his phone all day and not do anything” My answer to that is talk to the employee and if things don’t change, fire them. But the current solution to getting rid of a bad tech (which could just mean a tech who’s just not fast enough) is to”starve them out” and make them quit, which employers like because then they don’t have to pay unemployment.
I think flat rate was just a way for companies to not pay techs the actual time it takes to do something and just slap a number on every job to where “this can be done in this amount of time, every time, no exceptions” and that just doesn’t work in the real world. Plus when they calculate the labor times they use brand new vehicles that haven’t had a change to rust and experience the abuse people put their cars through.
In order for this industry to improve flat rate need to die and either hourly pay or salary plus commission need to take its place. I think that the only way you can make a good living off of flat rate is if you are feed gravy work, are not honest, or are in a shop that is literally always busy (which doesn’t exist, there are always slow days and weeks. Winter anyone?) I have seen though in shops with both flat rate and hourly guys that when it’s slow they’ll have the hourly guy running around and doing whatever (LOFs, state inspections, install mudflaps, etc.) while there’s two flat rate guys that have been standing around half the afternoon with no work.
So honestly I think if they went to straight hourly they would probably expect even more work from you than if you’re flat rate, because if they see you standing around and your being paid by the hour, you’ll probably either get sent home or be given some shit job to do (take out trash, clean, etc.) Just another thought that crossed my mind But the whole point of this long rant is that for the industry to improve the flat rate system needs to go. It’s pushing people away from becoming techs, it’s driving current techs out of the field, and it’s really doing a disservice to the automotive business as a whole. This whole idea of “everything needs to be done fast” needs to die along with the flat rate system. A tech’s main focus going into a repair should be “How can I fix this car to the best of my ability” not “How can I rush through this job and beat the labor time”
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Flat rate can be a good thing IF the shop is run right. Unfortunately, very few are run right so flat rate sucks.
Service managers are so spineless they will cower to every complaint from a customer and try to lay it off on the mechanic even if the mechanic is not at fault. Translation; mechanic does another freebie job to pacify the customer and get the service manager off the hook.
New car warranty times? Ha. When the warranty flat rate is a whopping .2 hours to replace almost every seal in an A/C system or .5 hours maximum for the diagnosis and repair of any electrical problem no matter how mightmarish then there’s a problem; and it ain’t with the technician.
[quote=”Bluesnut” post=182662]Flat rate can be a good thing IF the shop is run right. Unfortunately, very few are run right so flat rate sucks.
Service managers are so spineless they will cower to every complaint from a customer and try to lay it off on the mechanic even if the mechanic is not at fault. Translation; mechanic does another freebie job to pacify the customer and get the service manager off the hook.
New car warranty times? Ha. When the warranty flat rate is a whopping .2 hours to replace almost every seal in an A/C system or .5 hours maximum for the diagnosis and repair of any electrical problem no matter how mightmarish then there’s a problem; and it ain’t with the technician.[/quote]
You have a warranty administrator issue
Well, lets be fair to OP, although I see why he’s being attacked. OP is now been in the business for long enough to probably outgrow the lube tech (express?) position but not at a level to really make it as a flat rate tech. WE HAVE ALL BEEN THERE. This next step up is where most people fall off and for understandable reasons. They will bring him in at $screw/hr and then he will be given crap work, warranty work. He doesn’t know how to work the system, he will be getting experience so he will be losing his arse more than not, obviously lacks the education talking about putting antisieze on brake parts (stop it, there are proper materials for this) in the end will get a burger flippers paycheck, but going through a lot of stress and the burger flipper doesn’t have to buy his own fryer.. Chrysler warranty times are among the worse.
[quote=”Yak” post=182665][quote=”Bluesnut” post=182662]Flat rate can be a good thing IF the shop is run right. Unfortunately, very few are run right so flat rate sucks.
Service managers are so spineless they will cower to every complaint from a customer and try to lay it off on the mechanic even if the mechanic is not at fault. Translation; mechanic does another freebie job to pacify the customer and get the service manager off the hook.
New car warranty times? Ha. When the warranty flat rate is a whopping .2 hours to replace almost every seal in an A/C system or .5 hours maximum for the diagnosis and repair of any electrical problem no matter how mightmarish then there’s a problem; and it ain’t with the technician.[/quote]
You have a warranty administrator issue[/quote]
No. There was no warranty administrator issue. I went through this as both a mechanic and service manager. The warranty books says you’re going to get X hours for a certain repair and that’s it. Period. Run into snags? Takes 3 hours to do something that pays .3 when everything goes smooth? Take it or leave it. A halfshaft replacement for .2 hours? That’s it. Love it or leave it.
Believe me. I’ve been around and around with them and they would not budge.[quote=”Bluesnut” post=182670][quote=”Yak” post=182665][quote=”Bluesnut” post=182662]Flat rate can be a good thing IF the shop is run right. Unfortunately, very few are run right so flat rate sucks.
Service managers are so spineless they will cower to every complaint from a customer and try to lay it off on the mechanic even if the mechanic is not at fault. Translation; mechanic does another freebie job to pacify the customer and get the service manager off the hook.
New car warranty times? Ha. When the warranty flat rate is a whopping .2 hours to replace almost every seal in an A/C system or .5 hours maximum for the diagnosis and repair of any electrical problem no matter how mightmarish then there’s a problem; and it ain’t with the technician.[/quote]
You have a warranty administrator issue[/quote]
No. There was no warranty administrator issue. I went through this as both a mechanic and service manager. The warranty books says you’re going to get X hours for a certain repair and that’s it. Period. Run into snags? Takes 3 hours to do something that pays .3 when everything goes smooth? Take it or leave it. A halfshaft replacement for .2 hours? That’s it. Love it or leave it.
Believe me. I’ve been around and around with them and they would not budge.[/quote]I know how flat rate works, I’ve been working it for 40 years. My final thought on this, if someone can’t make money flat rate, maybe it’s not the system.
I’m also very familiar with flat rate both as a tech and as a service manager or shop foreman overseeing those jobs. There is simply no way of making money on warranty labor.
As a tech I was considered a “go to” guy for warranty claim issues. Even though I was on flat rate I was frequently called up front to sort out messy claims; a job for which I earned nothing extra.Earlier I had mentioned a halfshaft replacement. The warranty labor time on that job was .2 hours; a measly 12 minutes. You tell me how YOU are going to do one job after the other like that and make a paycheck.
[quote=”Jasonw1178″ post=182666]Well, lets be fair to OP, although I see why he’s being attacked. OP is now been in the business for long enough to probably outgrow the lube tech (express?) position but not at a level to really make it as a flat rate tech. WE HAVE ALL BEEN THERE. This next step up is where most people fall off and for understandable reasons. They will bring him in at $screw/hr and then he will be given crap work, warranty work. He doesn’t know how to work the system, he will be getting experience so he will be losing his arse more than not, obviously lacks the education talking about putting antisieze on brake parts (stop it, there are proper materials for this) in the end will get a burger flippers paycheck, but going through a lot of stress and the burger flipper doesn’t have to buy his own fryer.. Chrysler warranty times are among the worse.[/quote]
Tell me what’s wrong with putting antiseize on certain brake parts. I put it under the rattle clips so they don’t rust up and the pads freeze up in the bracket, I put it where the pads ride for the same reason. Obviously I don’t put it on the caliper slides, I use silicone paste for those. I also put it around the hub so the rotors won’t be stuck on the next time, I put it on the rotor face so the wheels don’t get stuck on, I put it on knuckles before I install new wheel bearings, basically anywhere that rust will form and parts will get stuck. I’ve been doing it this way for the past 6 years (before I started at dealership) and no problems have ever occurred. I even put anti seize on the studs before I put the lug nuts on, I properly torque the wheels and have never had one come loose. So tell me what’s wrong with this practice. I’m sure there is a special lube made for just brakes, but anti seize works just fine.
As far as the “working the system” mentality again I don’t think this should be the techs primary concern going into a job. I think it should be fixing the car to the best of their ability in the time it takes to do it right, no “how can I be the flat rate on this job” That’s why I think salary plus commission would be much better than just flat rate, that way you are guaranteed a base pay and make a percentage of what you sell. But again this brings out the same problems as flat rate in some cases because it encourages you to sell, sell, sell, even if the car doesn’t need all those parts, just to make a bigger commission. I’m all about being honest and some of the things I’ve seen flat rate techs do just makes me sick (like calling brake pads at 5mm because the shop is slow and I’m not making any money). Brake cleaning valve covers and oil pans off instead of replacing the gasket or resealing them. Slapping pads on rotors without turning or replacing them. The list goes on and on, and I believe that this “everything needs to be done fast and I’ve got to sell enough work to make my 40 hours this week, I don’t care if the car needs it, I just need to make a paycheck.
Just another example of flat rate at a dealership. They hired a new service manager whom I despised from the start. He was one of those cigar chomping, back slapping, fools who called everyone “partner”. I knew from the start we were going to clash.
So two weeks in he comes out in the shop one day and shows me the ad he’s going to start running the local newspaper that weekend. It was a “Tune-up or Maintenance special”. This included a full tune or maintenance on any vehicle made; no matter the year, make, or model. We were an Asian brand car dealership. So you know just what a PITA spark plugs alone can be on some cars. To this he added…..
Remove all 4 wheels and check brakes.
Inspect steering and suspension.
Check exhaust.
Check for any scan codes.
Inspect and adjust mechanical valve lifters if so equipped.
Replace any and all belts as needed.
Replace any and all coolant hoses as needed.
Perform battery and alternator test.
Vacuum car and clean windshield.
Top off all fluids.
Replace any and all battery cables or ends as needed.
Half a dozen other things which I’ve forgotten.So how much were we mechanics going to get paid for all of this. A measly 1.5 hours flat rate total. That’s it.
So that weekend I decided to take off work and go into the hospital for a back surgery which I had been delaying for a while. Six weeks later when I returned half the mechanics were gone along with the new service manager’; who had taken it upon himself to screw the dealer over major league on a bunch of parts orders by buying at full retail instead of wholesale.
I might add that I told the MFer that there was no way on Earth I was doing all of that for 1.5 hours.
It became “Oh yes you will”.
Which became, “You just watch me MFer” because it ain’t gonna happen”.[quote=”Bluesnut” post=182879]Just another example of flat rate at a dealership. They hired a new service manager whom I despised from the start. He was one of those cigar chomping, back slapping, fools who called everyone “partner”. I knew from the start we were going to clash.
So two weeks in he comes out in the shop one day and shows me the ad he’s going to start running the local newspaper that weekend. It was a “Tune-up or Maintenance special”. This included a full tune or maintenance on any vehicle made; no matter the year, make, or model. We were an Asian brand car dealership. So you know just what a PITA spark plugs alone can be on some cars. To this he added…..
Remove all 4 wheels and check brakes.
Inspect steering and suspension.
Check exhaust.
Check for any scan codes.
Inspect and adjust mechanical valve lifters if so equipped.
Replace any and all belts as needed.
Replace any and all coolant hoses as needed.
Perform battery and alternator test.
Vacuum car and clean windshield.
Top off all fluids.
Replace any and all battery cables or ends as needed.
Half a dozen other things which I’ve forgotten.So how much were we mechanics going to get paid for all of this. A measly 1.5 hours flat rate total. That’s it.
So that weekend I decided to take off work and go into the hospital for a back surgery which I had been delaying for a while. Six weeks later when I returned half the mechanics were gone along with the new service manager’; who had taken it upon himself to screw the dealer over major league on a bunch of parts orders by buying at full retail instead of wholesale.
I might add that I told the MFer that there was no way on Earth I was doing all of that for 1.5 hours.
It became “Oh yes you will”.
Which became, “You just watch me MFer” because it ain’t gonna happen”.[/quote]That was my whole point with this thread. Flat rate leaves too many ways for management to screw techs over (i.e. “free” MPI’s, feeding techs, expecting techs to stay at the shop even if there is no work, etc.) I’m all about putting power in the hands of the workers over the managers and owners because without us techs every shop would close down. And as I’ve said before, the person in power deserves the most scrutiny and needs to be on the shortest lease, because there in the position to screw a lot of people over. Owners want to keep techs pitted against each other in a cut throat, dog eat dog environment while they run off with all the money, and most techs are too stupid to realize this and would never think about banding together with other techs to change the system, because they are too busy making everything a competition. Most are also willing to sell themselves short and work in this flat rape “pay” system, so shops have no incentive to change. And the managers are loving it. Us techs need to all band together and force shops into a fair pay structure.
Ok, so you are obviously very passionate about this and hate this system, what do you propose as a viable replacement? I have been in the industry for about 20 years now and I have done it all. I have worked as a dealership tech, an aftermarket tech, a performance aftermarket tech, a consulting diagnostics tech, a custom auto fabricator, and right now as a service writer. I have done straight hourly, hourly with a bonus schedule based on billable hours, and flat rate. Now whether anyone likes it or not a business in in business to make a profit. Period. The industry is based on standard book times that have been averaged to be a universal standard. This attempts to ensure that the customer is charged a fair rate for the work done and the mechanic and shop get a fair wage for performing the service. I know, trust me I know there are unscrupulous techs and shop owners out there but I don’t think a valid case can be made that this is a result of the flat rate system. These people will find a way to take advantage of any type of billing system they are involved in. Even when I was a green tech working in a dealership under the flat rate system I was able to book way more hours than I actually worked. I didn’t do it by selling work that was not needed. I did it by following the philosophy that I have heard Eric espouse a few times, your customer deserves a safe and reliable car. That and striving to be as efficient as I can possibly be in performing my work. This way of working not only worked for me in a flat rate environment but also served me very well in working in an hourly shop because my boss felt he was getting his moneys worth with me. I guess to end this lengthy rant in any profession there are going to be people and practices that will frustrate the crap out of you and that you will not agree with on one level or another, the only thing you can control is you and how you handle yourself personally and professionally. If this industry frustrates you to this level you need to ask yourself honestly if it’s for you.
What’s wrong with using anti-seize? It’s not made for the purpose you are using it. Different viscosity, melting points, properties. Sure, it’s great for keeping things from seizing up, but not a lubricant. Also, it can attract dirt and cause issues. It tends to become more liquid and can get on the friction materials and then soak in. There is specific product, with Nissan it’s called Molycoat. It’s this thick black substance that doesn’t smear on everything or melt down, doesn’t seem to make dirt stick, just all around better. But the anti-sieze works good enough right? Do you take pride in doing things right? You have been at a dealership for six years, and they haven’t sent you to training? Read the service manual, what does it say to use?
As far as the times you get, you should be able to make it doing everything right. Also you should be able to make it being honest. Don’t get me wrong, although my posting style seems kind of sharp or maybe even rude, I’m just being straight to the point. If you really want to make something of yourself in this field and make a good living, fist, don’t pay attention to the hacks, or the rip-off artist upsell specialists. Do things correctly, using correct proceedure, materials, ect. Be honest, do everything right. It will come around and in the end, you will be making more and doing much better than those hacks, and they will look like the shade tree wannabe tradies they are. Be professional.
[quote=”Redneckmanwv99@yahoo.com” post=182882][quote=”Bluesnut” post=182879]Just another example of flat rate at a dealership. They hired a new service manager whom I despised from the start. He was one of those cigar chomping, back slapping, fools who called everyone “partner”. I knew from the start we were going to clash.
So two weeks in he comes out in the shop one day and shows me the ad he’s going to start running the local newspaper that weekend. It was a “Tune-up or Maintenance special”. This included a full tune or maintenance on any vehicle made; no matter the year, make, or model. We were an Asian brand car dealership. So you know just what a PITA spark plugs alone can be on some cars. To this he added…..
Remove all 4 wheels and check brakes.
Inspect steering and suspension.
Check exhaust.
Check for any scan codes.
Inspect and adjust mechanical valve lifters if so equipped.
Replace any and all belts as needed.
Replace any and all coolant hoses as needed.
Perform battery and alternator test.
Vacuum car and clean windshield.
Top off all fluids.
Replace any and all battery cables or ends as needed.
Half a dozen other things which I’ve forgotten.So how much were we mechanics going to get paid for all of this. A measly 1.5 hours flat rate total. That’s it.
So that weekend I decided to take off work and go into the hospital for a back surgery which I had been delaying for a while. Six weeks later when I returned half the mechanics were gone along with the new service manager’; who had taken it upon himself to screw the dealer over major league on a bunch of parts orders by buying at full retail instead of wholesale.
I might add that I told the MFer that there was no way on Earth I was doing all of that for 1.5 hours.
It became “Oh yes you will”.
Which became, “You just watch me MFer” because it ain’t gonna happen”.[/quote]That was my whole point with this thread. Flat rate leaves too many ways for management to screw techs over (i.e. “free” MPI’s, feeding techs, expecting techs to stay at the shop even if there is no work, etc.) I’m all about putting power in the hands of the workers over the managers and owners because without us techs every shop would close down. And as I’ve said before, the person in power deserves the most scrutiny and needs to be on the shortest lease, because there in the position to screw a lot of people over. Owners want to keep techs pitted against each other in a cut throat, dog eat dog environment while they run off with all the money, and most techs are too stupid to realize this and would never think about banding together with other techs to change the system, because they are too busy making everything a competition. Most are also willing to sell themselves short and work in this flat rape “pay” system, so shops have no incentive to change. And the managers are loving it. Us techs need to all band together and force shops into a fair pay structure.[/quote]
First post here on the forum and I thought I might as well chime in with my thoughts on FRT pay structure.
I started as a lube tech at our local Honda dealership in 2005 and worked my way up to an apprenticeship in 2006. Attended the Acura/Honda program in Toronto from 2007-2009 and attained my trade license shortly after.
I left the dealer in 2012 due to personal conflicts and politics and bounced around to a half dozen different shops. At one point I encountered a flat rate shop that had a 35-hour guarantee and I think that’s the best way to go. Give techs a cushion in case things are slow, but also give them the opportunity to produce more if things are busy.
Honestly, a flat rate system with a 30-40 hour guarantee to me is the best system because if you get your ass handed to you on a silver platter with all the trimmings by a job that goes south, you don’t need to live off hot dogs, pork & beans, Kraft Dinner and ramen noodles. If you get some killer jobs that you’re good at and can make extra time, you have the beneft of earning more than a standard 30-40 hour paycheque.
What I don’t like about FRT is there are WAY too many variables at play which can affect your weekly pay. Finding the car in a snowstorm-blanketed parking lot. Service writers who take their time to upsell jobs. Managers who play favourites. Incorrect/insufficient RO info. Customers who want to talk or catch you in the parking lot to ask questions (I personally love talking to and explaining things to customers and developing a working relationship with them, but I’m at a Speedy Auto Service now which is a small general shop that pays us hourly with a weekly total volume commission structure and where our boss works alongside us all year long).
At the end of the day, lots of techs are good but just not cut out for the FRT system. I’m one of them. I’m neither the turtle nor the rabbit in the shop. I just come to work every day determined to get better and do a quality job for people and a boss who are paying me to do so. Some guys love the pressure of FRT, other guys crumble. Some stay honest, while others cut corners and rip off at every opportunity.
I could go on and on about this, but I share everyone’s sentiments and think that FRT needs to be re-evaluated so that both techs and management work honestly and are paid fairly.
[quote=”Generation_X_Dad1974″ post=183053]
I left the dealer in 2012 due to personal conflicts and politics and bounced around to a half dozen different shops. At one point I encountered a flat rate shop that had a 35-hour guarantee and I think that’s the best way to go. Give techs a cushion in case things are slow, but also give them the opportunity to produce more if things are busy.
Honestly, a flat rate system with a 30-40 hour guarantee to me is the best system because if you get your ass handed to you on a silver platter with all the trimmings by a job that goes south, you don’t need to live off hot dogs, pork & beans, Kraft Dinner and ramen noodles. If you get some killer jobs that you’re good at and can make extra time, you have the beneft of earning more than a standard 30-40 hour paycheque.[/quote]
You bring up a good point. You never want to be a tech that needs a guarantee BUT the shop should never not be able to supply you with work. So, in other words, you should never fall back on the guarantee because your shop keeps you busy. If I go looking for another job, I think part of the negotiation will be some type of minimum. I don’t want a guarantee but I want to be guaranteed the opportunity to make the hours. It’s going to be hard to put that in writing though.
We all do have a guarantee…. by LAW you have to get at least minimum wage for your clocked hours worked. I have one issue with that, and that is because with my level of ability and just my equipment, I am worth far more than min wage and my time is worth more to me. Imagine I put in a transmission, and then no work the rest of the week. Very easily it would come out about the same, so what I would end up getting is them having me “on call” for the whole pay period and got the transmission job done? That’s not right.
[quote=”Jasonw1178″ post=183081][quote=”Generation_X_Dad1974″ post=183053]
I left the dealer in 2012 due to personal conflicts and politics and bounced around to a half dozen different shops. At one point I encountered a flat rate shop that had a 35-hour guarantee and I think that’s the best way to go. Give techs a cushion in case things are slow, but also give them the opportunity to produce more if things are busy.
Honestly, a flat rate system with a 30-40 hour guarantee to me is the best system because if you get your ass handed to you on a silver platter with all the trimmings by a job that goes south, you don’t need to live off hot dogs, pork & beans, Kraft Dinner and ramen noodles. If you get some killer jobs that you’re good at and can make extra time, you have the beneft of earning more than a standard 30-40 hour paycheque.[/quote]
You bring up a good point. You never want to be a tech that needs a guarantee BUT the shop should never not be able to supply you with work. So, in other words, you should never fall back on the guarantee because your shop keeps you busy. If I go looking for another job, I think part of the negotiation will be some type of minimum. I don’t want a guarantee but I want to be guaranteed the opportunity to make the hours. It’s going to be hard to put that in writing though.
We all do have a guarantee…. by LAW you have to get at least minimum wage for your clocked hours worked. I have one issue with that, and that is because with my level of ability and just my equipment, I am worth far more than min wage and my time is worth more to me. Imagine I put in a transmission, and then no work the rest of the week. Very easily it would come out about the same, so what I would end up getting is them having me “on call” for the whole pay period and got the transmission job done? That’s not right.[/quote]
I agree with you totally Jason, and I think I should have explained what I meant by a guarantee in detail.
The one shop I worked at had the best system IMO. We had a 35 hour guarantee spread out over 5 days, meant I was basically paid “hourly” at my full wage for the first 7 hours of each day that I was physically present in the building. The remaining two hours were true FRT.
Where I live, several shops do that and I honestly think it’s the best option that works out for everybody. Having between 30-40 hours guaranteed at your full FRT wage ensures you’re not losing your shirt during the winter slow times and can still bank on a decent paycheque. I always drew up my monthly home budget on the minimum 35 guarantee so I never got caught behind the eightball if the shop was slow.
To me, that type of system ensured that the technicians wouldn’t be unfairly shouldered with the burden of slow days, and the dealership had incentive to find its own ways to draw customers in so they weren’t paying techs full wage to sweep floors and do oil changes in February.
[quote=”Jasonw1178″ post=183081][quote=”Generation_X_Dad1974″ post=183053]
I left the dealer in 2012 due to personal conflicts and politics and bounced around to a half dozen different shops. At one point I encountered a flat rate shop that had a 35-hour guarantee and I think that’s the best way to go. Give techs a cushion in case things are slow, but also give them the opportunity to produce more if things are busy.
Honestly, a flat rate system with a 30-40 hour guarantee to me is the best system because if you get your ass handed to you on a silver platter with all the trimmings by a job that goes south, you don’t need to live off hot dogs, pork & beans, Kraft Dinner and ramen noodles. If you get some killer jobs that you’re good at and can make extra time, you have the beneft of earning more than a standard 30-40 hour paycheque.[/quote]
You bring up a good point. You never want to be a tech that needs a guarantee BUT the shop should never not be able to supply you with work. So, in other words, you should never fall back on the guarantee because your shop keeps you busy. If I go looking for another job, I think part of the negotiation will be some type of minimum. I don’t want a guarantee but I want to be guaranteed the opportunity to make the hours. It’s going to be hard to put that in writing though.
We all do have a guarantee…. by LAW you have to get at least minimum wage for your clocked hours worked. I have one issue with that, and that is because with my level of ability and just my equipment, I am worth far more than min wage and my time is worth more to me. Imagine I put in a transmission, and then no work the rest of the week. Very easily it would come out about the same, so what I would end up getting is them having me “on call” for the whole pay period and got the transmission job done? That’s not right.[/quote]
I agree with you totally Jason, and I think I should have explained what I meant by a guarantee in detail.
The one shop I worked at had the best system IMO. We had a 35 hour guarantee spread out over 5 days, meant I was basically paid “hourly” at my full wage for the first 7 hours of each day that I was physically present in the building. The remaining two hours were true FRT.
So using my experience there as an example, a standard day for me was 8am-5am with a contractual 1 hour unpaid lunch and two paid 15 minute coffee breaks roughly scheduled around 10am and 3pm (Side story: I always took my contractual breaks to simply use the washroom and grab a quick snack to refresh myself, but the other technician that I worked with was an 18-year flat rate butcher who would honestly give me grief for doing so, as if he would lose money because I took a break).
My wage was $21/hr and it’s the usual January/February lull where all I did all day was a handful of 0.7 maintenance inspections and swept my bay in between, I would still go home with 7 hours paid for a gross total of $147 for the day.
However, fast forward to the middle of July and the shop is bursting at the seams with work. I make a lot of time-on jobs and bill out 12 hours worth of work in a day, so I’m paid $252 gross.
Where I live, several shops do that and I honestly think it’s the best option that works out for everybody. Having between 30-40 hours guaranteed at your full FRT wage ensures you’re not losing your shirt during the winter slow times and can still bank on a decent paycheque. I always drew up my monthly home budget on the minimum 35 guarantee so I never got caught behind the eightball if the shop was slow.
That type of guaranteed FRT pay ensured that the technicians wouldn’t be unfairly shouldered with the burden of slow days, and the dealership had incentive to find its own ways to draw customers in so they weren’t paying techs full wage to sweep floors and do oil changes in February.
Maybe I have my head in the clouds a bit, but I actually enjoyed working under that type of FRT environment. It was a dealership that had just opened up under a new brand with a new owner so it was only myself and the other tech, but as I touched on above he had a distinct advantage of having worked there for 18 years under the previous brand and owner, so he knew the shop, the customers, the employees and had their system dialed in. As such he was definitely “the favorite”. He also had 11 years more experience than I did at the time in both dealership and general shops, and given the fact it was my first time working FRT, he slaughtered me in hours every week (which I also had empirical evidence showing this was due largely in part to both favouritism and his very questionable work quality and ethics).
At the end of the week despite all the politics and bullshit, I still came home with a 35-hour paycheque regardless.
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