Re: What a saltwater boat looks like..........
Re: What a saltwater boat looks like..........
dcg9381 said:
This is where book value of a job comes in. I know in the auto industry there are at least 3 different books that "estimate" how long it takes to do a job. Some of them are not very "consumer focused". The mechanics usually get paid a bonus for completing work quickly - so the more work they do and the faster they do it..
This can almost be another thread.
But.
What the heck are you talking about??????
Chevy has their flat rate manual.....
BMW has theirs.......
And Merc and everyone has theirs......
I've never heard of multiple books from the same manufactorer...... the only note to that is they do have 1 rate for warranty work, and 1 rate for retail work.
Some shops charge the book time and thats it.... which is fine in auto but not in marine.
In marine the guide is treated as a guide. It is an estimated time. It takes average corrosion into consideration.
However.... the older a boat gets... and the more hands it goes through.... Corrosion plus missplaced hands equal the flat rate guide going out the window.... and the job becomes an "it is what it is" situation.
I've said this before but working marine is a lot like contracting. You estimate job to job based on your own experience. If you beat the estimate it's your decision to keep the money or give some or all back of the difference between the estimate and the actuall time required.
The same thing on the other side... if corrosion is worse than you thought and there's been many hands in the boat then you can ask for more if you feel you want to or need to. But in the end it's your (the shops) decision on when to stick to estimates or to charge more or less in the end.
Everyone who does this for a living... from the newbs to the old timers..... We've all done pretty well on jobs... and we've all been burned.
bcg9381 said:
so the more work they do and the faster they do it.. Basically creating a big mark up on "book hours" the more they get paid.
Do you think it sounds like this is a good way to get the job done right on your boat or car?
And what is wrong with that? It's what seperates the good from the bad mechanics.... and the reward of more money per work hour vs actual hour is because of their talent... and not hackery. The way it is supposed to work is if there is a comeback, the mechanic then works for free.
I've seen guys work 40 clock hours and get paid for 80 flat rate hours. And i've also seen guys work 40 but get paid for 20 coz they have alot of comebacks.
I work for myself so I get all the money
.... but i got all the bills too.
I've interviewed with alot of places and had alot of offers. But If i'm gonna work for somebody it's going to be on my pay plan terms.
The way I work is base plus commision. I want a base pay, not to much, maybe like 10 bucks an hour. Because working at a dealership there is so much down time. A mechanic is always waiting on somebody else. Somebody to pull the boat in a yard. Somebody to order parts. Somebody to talk to customers. It is always 10 minutes here and 20 minutes there... but it adds up in a 40 hour week. I'm getting paid to spin the wrench. I have no tolerance for standing around. My time is as important to me as my pay. I do understand there is always down time.
If i'm getting paid hourly. What is my incentive, on a daily basis, to work harder, faster, and in a more inventive way???? Everyone who gets paid by the hour will eventually plateau and have no incentive to work harder. You have to accept the fact that everyone does. Ask yourself... Why is it that I don't bust *** every day and work as hard as humanly possible... and the answer is easy... you've plateau'd.
If i'm getting paid flate rate. Well I want to be working. When i'm not working and sitting around waiting for somebody else... be it a sloppy slow service writer... or a customer who is unavailable to sign off on an estimate... i get pissed. I don't want to be forced to sit around "waiting" on work. And not getting paid in the mean time.
If i get hourly plus commission..... I accept the fact that there is downtime. But now it's not on my shoulders. And I still get paid for sitting around. If the shop realizes they are paying me to sit and wait.... then it is up to them to come up with ways to reduce downtime... while paying me. I also believe that the older a boat is, and the more its seen saltwater... the more the flate rate guide goes out the window. I look at every boat as a "job". A job gets estimated with a small window either way in price... say 10-15%. But the deal is, is that the service writer does not estimate the final price. It is a working arraingement of the tech and the writer coming up with an agree'd upon price versus labor hour. It's bidding 101. If the mechanic agrees to the job at a price (plus the window) he does the work. And doesn't ***** about it afterwards. The mechanic accepts the fact that he is responsible for pricing... and accepts that if he underestimtes and sells a "job" at a less than profitable rate.... then his dollar per hour average goes down.
I tend to think bigger. I don't care about my rate hour to hour. I care about my average over a term. And it's up to me to increase my average by being creative, working hard, working faster, and being inventive.... which isn't the same thing as hosing a customer.
