Survey for service techs

Rob_33

I,ve worked for several residential and commercial service companies in Wash,D.C.area over a 30 yr period .
Each company provided take home vehical,which all paid tech upon arrival on first call and stopped pay at last call or shop.Most residential co. keep you out of supply houses and shop except for once aweek to turn in tickets.
The Co. I'm with now techs wash and fuel on their own time and if they gas up between calls that time is deducted from daily hrs.
The only time they get paid to go to their first call if they travel from Md to Va. their pay would start when the cross the river.
Some of our techs live as much as 50 or more miles away from shop, the value of having that truck is very high. Techs then seem to move further and further away from shop because its at no extra cost for them to live out on the bay away from hustle and bustle.
Who does the take home truck benifit? It's a win-win to me.

Bob_98

I would like a response from servicemen who are allowed to take the company trucks home. My question is when do you start and stop your time tickets, does anyone get paid to drive to their first call and paid to drive home after they are done for the day or does your timetickets start when you arrive at your first job and end when you leave the last job.
Multiple responses would be greatly appreciated with your area listed

Mitch_4

Hi Bob

I no longer work in service with a company..one man shop now, but when I did we had a take home policy. Here is what I negotiated (and I negotiated this as I was at the fringe of our territory)

Whenever possible, service was scheduled anywhere between my house and the office. If so, the clock started at 8am from my house

The logic being that if I started at the office at 8am, I would be backtracking, increasing fuel costs, wear and tear etc.

For any calls staring past the office. I would be at the office 8am, and clock started there. I knew the dispatch for the next day the night before so I could plan accordingly.

the same in reverse.. Going home, if I was past the office, I clocked until I got there, and drove home on my own time. Anywhere between, I clocked til I got home.

We had an in truck terminal system we logged into, and it tracked calls, billing, parts used etc, and included a GPS monitor so we could be tracked by dispatch so closest tech to emergency calls could be pinpointed. So ther was never any debate to my clock.

Mitch B

Bruce Stevens_2

Bob

It Depends if I go to first job it starts there and ends at last job, if I get called at my house for no heat/trouble call it starts at home, if I go to store first it starts there and nights and weekend calls starts at house until completion of the job. Then again that may all change today ;-)

Bob_98

update

I'm refering to normal everyday calls not emerency just like the next day your first stop is at blank street be there at 8a.m. you then run 6 calls thru the day and end up at x street and do this all over again the next day given your first stop that night for a 8 am stop

Rich L.

Bob,

Our policy has always been start the job at 7:00, work till 3:30. If I ask you to come into the shop in the morning, I expect you to be here by 7 for direction. If we give you direction before or you're returning to the same job as yesterday, be on site and ready to start at 7. If there is an extra long drive to the work site, over 1 hr or so, customer pays for part of the travel time, case by case basis. Of course there are the times when a tech comes in to the shop at 7 as we get a call that's 1.5 hrs away. In that case the tech gets paid for all the travel time. We are a union shop.

Bob Harper

IRS

Came out with new rules on this about 3 yrs ago. Basically, you have to pay the tech for driving time. Also, check with your insurance carrier. If a tech got into an accident and it was proven he was not in the course of his employment but rather using the vehicle for personal use, the tech's own insurance would be available to the litigant and possibly exclude the employer's insurance.
Bob

Paul Fredricks_6

Our owner is a big believer in paying all employees for their time. Our trucks all have GPS, so our techs are paid from the time they turn the key in the morning until they are back home at the end of the day.

Rich L.

Personal use?

"If a tech got into an accident and it was proven he was not in the course of his employment but rather using the vehicle for personal use, the tech's own insurance would be available to the litigant and possibly exclude the employer's insurance."

Is driving a company vehicle to the shop or jobsite personal use?

Could you clarify where or how this rule is with the IRS. If so I'll take it to my higher-ups.

Thanks

Bob Harper

company versus private use

If you are driving to work and stop off to get a cup of coffee and the store is right along the way and you are on your way in nad get hit, your company's insurance will cover you. If you take a 3 block detour to hit the bank or get a video tape, they won't cover you.
I don't have the section of IRS code but this came down from when I worked for a large national company with 50 offices all over. Being a regional technical manager, I was brought in on policies for service techs. We ended up parking the trucks at the shop each night knowing how much productivity we were losing. I fought to have them drive home but lost. Larger companies with GPS tracking have done well with this program. We also found techs sneaking home or hanging out at the pool hall using GPS. Now that they know, the abuse has been all but eliminated. We also explained if they sneaked off home or other distraction, the company insurance would not cover them. Probably the same for workers comp. They cover you when you are within the scope of your employment.
HTH
Bob

Rich L.

IRS code

If anyone can come up with where this is in the IRS code I would really like to see it. I think the owners of our company would be very interested but would need the facts from the IRS. Thanks for pointing this out Bob.

Hvacman

Bob

I am in the Boston area, not a tech anymore but still an hourly employee. I am paid from the start time of my first stop till the end time of my last stop minus lunch. If I start or end my day in Nowheresville I usually put in for a portion of the travel time, it has never been questioned. No GPS in my truck, always a late model and well maintained. I work for a privately owned mechanical contractor, open shop. I've been told I should use the vehicle like I would my own but I limit the personal use both to avoid liability and because it's not right to take advantage.

Empire_2

Thoughts...

Each state dictates the rules as far as how employee's are paid and time that must be counted as work time. It's the Dept.of Labor that Set's forth the rules. The IRS may govern what needs to be included as part of the Employer's benefit package so they can collect on it, But each state is different. Search Dept of labor and your state.
New York, state's when and how all employee's are to be paid, what is considered work time, and you would be surprised as to how often the employer Say's that you don't get paid to travel to a certain area, when according to the NYDOL you should be paid.

Mike T.

Glenn Harrison_2

I've been doing service in the Chicago area...

for 17 years, and have been taking home the truck for almost that long with now four companies. I have never been paid to travel to my first call or home from my last call during normal business hours, and I'm OK with that. I figure my bosses pay the gas, the mileage, and the wear and tear on their vehicle, which adds up, and saves me the cost of having another personal vehicle to have to drive to work. Plus I don't know any office workers that get payed to drive to their office everyday, so why should I.

Now emergency weekend and night calls are another story, but that is not the question.

Empire_2

Glen H.

You said it so well.,.......... BUT,...:-) Back in 1994 or so ,...don't quote me on that, the Employers could write off not only the truck, but the additional wear and tear, employee take home and so fourth, But things have changed in the fact that if I pay YOU $28.00/HR, that is your base pay per/HR. The Employers used to be able to write that off with the truck and any and all additional expenses that have occurred while you were using the truck. If you noticed......Trick Q: here......... Most employer's state,.."Well we're giving you a take home truck? That is part of your Job!!! Pay me To Leave my driveway and go to the shop to pick up the truck, or let me take the truck home?????????????????? CATCH 22.

It's all a money thing and do not think for a MINUTE that you are blessed with the kindness on the employer. I am an employer and I do have rules, but the bite is much worse that the bark,.."If that makes any sense".....

Bottom line, don't sell yourself short JUST because you think you know what you are given and appreciate it. There is a reason for everything!

Peace Glenn.....One more note: Glenn, I did not mean ANY disrespect.

Mike T.

Glenn Harrison_2

No offense taken.

I am aware there are benefits to all for tech's taking the truck home, and I'm aware that since our job involves driving to different locations every day, so there are those that think they should get payed for the drive time, and employers that feel the same. I'm just pointing out how it benefits me, how I feel about it, and I'm quite happy with NOT having to drive to the shop in my vehicle using my gas and my mileage/wear and tear every morning. This is especially important now as I just started a new job in May and I now am driving at least 30 miles to our shop and service area in most cases. I also keep in mind how many hundreds of thousands of people have to drive there own vehicle, using there own gas, everyday and don't get paid for anything until they clock in, some of which make more and many make less per hour than I do.

Also, it just seems crazy to me to pay someone from the time they leave their house in their own vehicle to go to the shop and get the truck. Now paying from when you leave the shop, that's fair.

I guess I'm just too easy to please, or I'm not greedy and just give thanks for what I do get, cause it could be a whole lot worse. Just my skewed views on things.

burnerman_2

what about this one??

how bout those nite calls do most of you guy's and gals now too get xtra when on call? the truck part 4 me not a big deal live 2 minutes from work but the on call is a different bird royboy

answer

truck and time card

I pay my guys one way, I figure they are using my vehical to go home in and I pay them from home to the supply house then stop at quitting time and they drive home.... or to meet the wife or to lowes with my truck. My monthly cost per vehical is $1650.00 minimum and I have the title, van payments not included that's oil, tires, gas, and insurance

Toddid Goldsmith's

survey

Put everybody on salary. When they gotta go back wednesday night, to fix somethin, they didn't fix wednesday afternoon, and not get paid anything extra for it, you might be surprized at how the work quality will improve during the day. Sure worked for me. Todd

oil-2-4-6-gas

paid to drive

i work in a small company -our hours are 8-4 if i have to drive to the office my time starts arrival at the office ( i'm lucky to live 5 miles away ) if i drive straight to a call my time starts when i turn on the van --my day ends at the close of the last call -or supply house to pick-up parts.
--my drive home typically is 1/2 hr 45mins -but sometimes 5 mins or up to 4hours in a bad snow storm --


--holidays, evenings,weekend --out-calls are paid from the time i leave until i get home --


unless its a call back that was directly related to my work that day --then its time on -site -


the fact that i take breaks ,go out of the way for lunch--and can use the van to do things on the way home -- i don't have any problem with being off the clock going home

ED_29

Drive time

This is a good subject, & you will get many answers. Depends on the Co. & their policy regarding trucks. Union shops usually have it put into contract ,just what a tech can & cant do with truck. far has pay,most Co`s will not pay till you get to first call. And they will clock you out after your last call. Unless you geta late call on way home,then you can get paid for travel time. We call in at 7:30 am & get paid from 8:am, so if they give me a call near my house ,I dont pull out of my drive way till 8 o clock. They are not happy ,but its a 2 way street. 34 years of this & they have beaten me more than i have of them. Now why did I ever turn down that Fire Dept job years ago ????