Paying commision

Plumdog_2

Customer doesn't want to pay a tech hourly while he prepares the first part of a replacement quote.

Bob Sweet

If an above average tech,

who is good at sales asked for 20% commission on their overall gross sales (labor + material) would you consider hiring that person?

Benefits: Take home truck, uniforms, cell phone, paid holidays and 1 week paid vacation. Thanks.



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Norm Harvey

I am strictly against commission for technicians. I believe that acting as a representative for the company and accurately informing the customer about their options and what the company could do to fit their needs is part of the job, not an incentive.

I would reflect their sales ability in their hourly wage or salary.

Mark Hunt_3

What?

I can diagnose any issue that presents itself. THAT is my job. I can fix nearly any issue that presents itself. THAT is my job. That is what you pay me for. As a tech. I walk into a basement and see a boiler that is 70 years old and present the option of an upgrade to the HO, they buy and you tell me it is part of my job??? No commission for that? How many sales do you think you might have missed because of your backwards business practices? Then again, its your plantation massah.

Mark Hunt_3

Commission

Those would be your rules since you run the show. Since you have been in business you should know that some service guys just want to get home. They DO NOT give a crap about what is best for the customer. They just want out. What if you have a guy that knows his stuff and gives a rats bottom? You don't reward that?

bill_71

i'm a tech and as the post above me said.....fixing things is my job. doing whats best for the customer is my job, if that happens to be selling them a new piece of equipment then i consider doing that as part of job security. if the company i work for puts in a new boiler or furnace and makes a customer happy then thats one more person that would call us if there happens to be a problem and recommend us to their friends/family/neighbors. that helps to keep lay offs at a minimum( wich means i have a job). i get comissions for sales from time to time but i don't expect it.

terry_5

no incentive ,no sales!

If you don't spiff your techs, you're losing out on alot of$$$$$!Why would you stop them from making an honest buck?Now you don't want thieves but suggestive selling ,yeah!

Leo

Two Hats?

I rather not wear two hats. I fix things, if an upgrade is beneficial I plant the seed then notify the boss who does the selling. If I wanted to sell I would be a salesman. I worked for a company that gave comissions and it is a breeding ground for lies and unnecessary sales.

The one week vacation sounds lame.

Leo

Norm Harvey

I would not hire a technician that could not interact with my customers on a social level. Upon diagnosing a problem that requires a major investment, I would expect the tech to take down on paper measurements, and essential information. At that point as with completing any call the tech should inform the customer as to his findings and conclusions and take the most current contact phone number, then ask the customer for the best time to receive a call or meet with the boss (or lead installer) to discuss options and pricing.

The tech is on the clock all during that time, and then I should pay 20% commission? I would rather give the customer a 20% discount.

I still maintain that commissions are not right for this industry.

bruhl

Not a busines owner, but I agree with Norm.

Mark Hunt_3

On the clock

whether I sell anything or not? You will pay me to turn a blind eye to the obvious? I am worth more because I just "fix" stuff? I guess this whole global warming thing is just bs. I should just leave things the way they are. Cool!

tommyoil

We currently get

Take home truck, uniforms(with a few hundred $$$ yearly allowance to clean them)10 sick days,6 personal days, bereavement days(4),paid holidays, cell phone, three(soon to be four but ultimately five)weeks vacation, paid education, safety bonus,Christmas bonus, replacement tools if mine should break, shoe allowance(two pairs) annually, double time on Saturday and sunday, o.t after 8 hours double after 12 hours (daily), triple on holidays AND...... COMMISION ON SALES. Maybe not 20% but we're working on it. Nobody forces sales here. Why should we? We have incentives to make it in other areas. Since my employer is not a cheap skate and takes care of business BIG TIME in other departments, sales are just a piece of the pie. Its not the whole meal. He recognizes the value of a good tech and pays for it. If owners beef up the big package techs wont be worried about commision on sales. That said, if commision was removed from the picture,I'd need another two to three bucks/hr(at my current percentage) IN THE ENVELOPE to compensate. I'll agree that one week is a lame vacation. It usually takes us a week to get where we're going. I'm working on getting a personal secretary but I'll have to wait until the next contract. Something to look forward to I suppose.

Paul_11

salary plus bonus

We have paid spiffs for years on particular items.
On 01/01/08 we are adding a bonus plan, which pays addditional money for each billable hour sold if the tech reaches the minimum required to reach break even.

After all, it is all about billable hours sold, if you want to be profitable. It takes providing a high level of customer service to sell lots of billable hours.

A good base hourly rate plus good benefits is essential for this to work, but I think good techs need to be compensated for the higher gross revenues and higher profits they bring into the company. I believe in compensated those that bring home the bacon.

I know a few guys that pay total commission, but I don't care for it myself. I have seen it encourage poor customer service for some in the past. If you need the commision to make a decent salary, it might encourage making some suggestions that aren't really needed.

If a tech isn't compensated for being the best, why should they stay where they are working. They should and will go elsewhere where overperformance and underperformance aren't paid the same. Why should they be.

I thank my guys every day for just doing their job, because I am truly happy they do it.


Respectfully,

Paul B. Shay
pshay@arealgoodplumber.com
LMP 1307
LMFS 654B
OUR MISSION: TO PROVIDE WORLD CLASS PLUMBING, HEATING, AND SPRINKLER SERVICE TO EACH AND EVERY CLIENT WE SERVE, FAR EXCEEDING THEIR HIGHEST EXPECTATIONS!

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brian_46

$$$$

I was raised in a family plumbing and heating business. Currently am a MP & MPFII. We have been paying commission for 14 years and i love it, most of the time. I should mention i am still a technician and that is the only way i get paid. We only support correct diagnostics and solutions. I f a technician ever "screws" a customer they are out to door but that stands true hourly or commission. There are pluses and minuses to both ways to pay. If the business charges T & M then hourly pay, if they charge Flat Rate then commission is the way. All that really matters is that we uphold the company code of ethics and values. Which to maximizing internal and external customer loyalites.

Hvacman

Read...

Tech, read the last line of Norms first post. No way would I work where a part of my wage depended on commissions. I was a tech for 20 years, I've run my own business, I now help run someone elses... To have the same person condemn AND sell breeds fraud in many cases, it is basic human nature. Your tone is out of line here.

GW

somewhere in the middle

I agree that techs should be spiffed/bonus-ed. My lead tech now likes the straight hourly at this point, but a lower hourly with some % has its benefits for owner and tech. It takes mental energy and zeal for the livelihood of the company for the tech to explain why it may be time to consider a new piece of equipment.

There's a bazaar line in the sand out there, and we're seeing it plainly in this post. Has anyone ever had a car salesman turn you around at the door and shoo you away because the car you drove in with is still in good working order? What a pathetic notion...of course not.

How bad does a boiler or furnace have to be before the tech (or even the sales guy/owner) is morally correct to pitch a new unit? I believe there's a hint of arrogance with that... you, the heating guy, will make the call on your own, and determine for the home owner when it's OK for him/her to be enlightened on what's modern, new, safe and efficient? A system that would (likely, if the installation is at all good) add comfort to their home?

It's not OK for the tech to offer the HO options on replacement, especially considering some of the poop we see out there for heating and cooling systems?

Just because the unit can be "fixed", does that make it right, to fix it? For many heating guys it's easier to go "hug the furnace" than it is to have a face-to-face with the HO.

In our culture, it's un-cool to drive a 20 year old car, but it's a problem for a heating tech to try and sell a modern fuel saving heating system? And it's not OK for that same tech to be rewarded for his ability to have face to face skills?

Straight commission makes me squirm, but not offering a spiff/bonus is a little old fashioned in my opinion.

A couple of months ago a customer had so much faith in my company (because of my lead tech paving the way), he asked me to prepare a quote to replace his equipment (he had a 5 year old house). He went high end, spent 20 for new AC, AHU, Boiler. I kicked the tech a 500.

Just my two cents. People that don't won't to consider modern business practices may hit a bump in the road, maybe not sooner, but probably later.

Gary



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