Re: Technician Wages

[Jim Rojas <jrojas@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Let's face it. How many techs out there are tired of getting screwed
over when their company folds, or sells out to a competitor?

Retirement plans are nice on paper, but not realistic in today's fast
paced world. By the time you are almost qualified to retire, many
companies are looking for ways to fire you based on non existant job
performance evaluations, or the mysterious "department cutbacks" excuse.

Pay each tech a flat rate per job or service call, this may equal to
double or even triple than the national hourly average. This encourages
production. A tech that installs 2 basic systems a day, should see a
$300+ per day payscale. Service techs should see 40 to 50 percent of the
bill, less parts. This way, there is no overtime worries, sick day
worries, etc. The techs are free to work as much as they want when they
want. Vacations can be scheduled at a drop of a hat.

Set them up with their own IRA, which stays with them for life. A 401K
is a poor way to save for retirement since it can lose value due to
current stock market activity. Social Security is a national disaster.
By the time you are old enough to collect it, it's not enough to live
on, let alone pay your normal household expenses with it.

Set them up with a 80/20 full healthcare plan. Group coverage, for a
typical family of 4 will run you $450 per month, which includes major
medical, and dental.

Have them supply their own tools. Afterall, if it belongs to them, they
will take better care of it.

Use white fleet style vehicles. Skip the $4000+ custom moving billboard
paint jobs. It's real tacky. Large print letters and a simple slogan is
more than enough. Who cares if your vehicle gets entered into SDM
magazine...really now.

Get everyone in the company a Nextel military grade cell phone, so
there's no excuse why you can't gat a hold of anyone if a problem
arises. They now offer unlimited talking plans for $119 a month, it's
less if you group a bunch of phones together. Now everyone can speak to
their families and loved ones without having to worry about excessive
monthly usage charges. That's right, chuck the ICOM 2 way radios.

Make sure every tech dresses the same. This is extremely important to
customers. Even a long haired southern boy wearing jeans (no holes
please), a company shirt and hat looks good to a customer if he dresses
like he is there to work, not to drink beer and shoot pool.

If I left anything out, let me know.


Jim Rojas



Petem wrote:
> Hi David
>
> Dont know about mid west but here in Quebec all technician are in a union
>
> and the salary is:
>
> for a 1st year tech (less then 2000 hour of experience) 14.75/hr and
> double time for any amount of hour pass 8 hour a day
>
> for a 2 year tech (more them 2000 less then 4000 hour of experience)
> 17.21/hr and overtime is the same
>
> for a 3 year exp. tech (more then 4000 lest then 6000 hr of exp.)
> 20.89/hr and overtime is the same
>
> and for a qualified tech (after he pass an exam to proove his skill, and
> made more then 6000 hr of experience) 24.58/hr and same stuff for overtime
>
> also, they have a retirement plan wich consist of 18% of there yearly
> salary paid by the boss at 60% and by him at 40%
>
> and a medicare plan wich is one of the best plan in force in this
> province (dental work at 90% paid. drugs paid 100%. glasses paid 100%
> and a lot more..)
>
> they also have short/long term salary insurance in case of accident
>
> hope this help
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "David" <daknutsen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> a écrit dans le message de
> groupe de discussion : W6yNj.70075$TT4.3221@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Hello everyone. I am  an installation supervisor for a large midwest
>> security company and I have some question.s First, are there any other
>> managers or supervisors here that are having problems hiring
>> experienced techs? If there are, is it due mostly to wages?
>> The reason I ask is I have been looking to add technicians to my staff
>> but I am stymied by the wage scale that my company has put together.
>> They tell me that it is compaetitive but when I make an offer to a
>> prospective tech, they either decline or quite often, just don't
>> respond. I have been hiring tech assistants in hopes that someday they
>> will become more but I need some techs that can hit the ground running.
>> That having been said, I am going into an operations managers meeting
>> next Tuesday and although I have compiled statistics from the Bureau
>> of Labor as well as others, I could use some real hard evidence that
>> we are in fact not competitve. What I would like to know is how long
>> you have been in the busines, where you are located and what you make
>> an hour. According to my bosses, we are in line with other SNA partners.
>> I made a promise to the other techs when I was promoted to this
>> posistion that I would not forget where I came from and would fight
>> for them to my fullest capacity. I am asking for your help, not for
>> me, but for my technicians and their families.
>> Thank you for any help you can give me.
>> David Knutsen
>>