We have an automotive repair facility in the family in a moderate sized suburb of a chemical plant. We are one of the best performing companies in our area with over 27 companies coming to us for fleet maintenance, with very few comebacks, and at a reasonable price. Generally we have 3 employees. A manager/state inspector, a master tech, and a line mechanic.
A manager has the worst job and hardest job. She has to deal with the customers, do all the paperwork: make estimates/pay bills/file taxes, order parts for vehicles, plus perform state vehicle inspections, and occasionally change oil in vehicles. We've had the same person doing that job for 7+ years. This person makes a salary with guaranteed pay.
The master tech has the 2nd hardest job. He has to diagnose and repair a wide range of vehicles, ranging from fork lifts, to regular cars, to diesel medium/heavy trucks. He also has to explain to customers what the problem with their vehicle is, and ascertain what parts need to be replaced and whether they need to be used or new. He also has to delegate work to the line mechanic and make sure that guy knows what he's doing. This person makes straight commission, which maybe switched to salary in winter months if it's slow. Generally we keep people in this position for long periods of time.
The line tech has the easiest job. He is given a task to perform on a vehicle, and he is to do it. All pay is calculated by computer. The computer says how many hours a job takes, if you beat it: you profit, if it takes longer: you suffer. All vehicle repair information is also in the computer, it tells you how to perform the task given if you're unsure about a particular part of it. Anyone with moderate technical skills can perform this job. This is another commission job, and it pays less per labor hour than the master tech, but it's still competitive with a dealership tech's pay. In the winter we might lay this person off if it's really slow, but usually if we have someone good, we try to keep him on and pay him a salary.
We have had the worst problem keeping a line tech on hand lately. Which is hard for the master tech as he has to make up the slack. The work is there and you can take home a considerable paycheck every week if you work quickly without mistakes (comebacks).
We have had to hire and fire 4 people in 2 months. We hire them, and within a couple of weeks they start showing up late or call in sick. Now I feel bad for people who get sick, and we will make accommodations for the first time. However, if you call in twice non-consecutively in a 7 day period, you're gone. It may sound heartless, but Texas is an At-Will employment state, and we run with a staff of 3 people, we need a tech to be there.
I'll admit, it's kind of our fault. We should have more employees on hand to pickup the slack, but we don't have enough money to expand our facilities, and it's a tight work place with 3 working with 6 vehicle bays.
Also we should be screening people more thoroughly on work history before we hire them. There are a lot of job hoppers out there.
Our interview is pretty straight forward:
What are your qualifications?
Do you have your own tools?
Do you consider yourself to be an honest person?
Considering that the last 4 people we fired were replaced in less than a couple of days, we should be more selective. It's just that sometimes you can go for a while without finding somebody with some sense. I don't know, this job is somewhat difficult due to climate. It's cold in the winter and hot in the summer. You are working outside in Texas. You have shade inside and there are fans, in the winter there is a heater, but if you are a mechanic in Texas you ought to be able to deal with the temp.
I just feel like in 2011, there ought to be people out there willing to work. Willing to show up Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm, take home their thousand dollar paycheck, and do it again next week. We hired a new guy the day we let the last one go, I guess we'll have to see how it goes. So far it seems like he wants to work.
A manager has the worst job and hardest job. She has to deal with the customers, do all the paperwork: make estimates/pay bills/file taxes, order parts for vehicles, plus perform state vehicle inspections, and occasionally change oil in vehicles. We've had the same person doing that job for 7+ years. This person makes a salary with guaranteed pay.
The master tech has the 2nd hardest job. He has to diagnose and repair a wide range of vehicles, ranging from fork lifts, to regular cars, to diesel medium/heavy trucks. He also has to explain to customers what the problem with their vehicle is, and ascertain what parts need to be replaced and whether they need to be used or new. He also has to delegate work to the line mechanic and make sure that guy knows what he's doing. This person makes straight commission, which maybe switched to salary in winter months if it's slow. Generally we keep people in this position for long periods of time.
The line tech has the easiest job. He is given a task to perform on a vehicle, and he is to do it. All pay is calculated by computer. The computer says how many hours a job takes, if you beat it: you profit, if it takes longer: you suffer. All vehicle repair information is also in the computer, it tells you how to perform the task given if you're unsure about a particular part of it. Anyone with moderate technical skills can perform this job. This is another commission job, and it pays less per labor hour than the master tech, but it's still competitive with a dealership tech's pay. In the winter we might lay this person off if it's really slow, but usually if we have someone good, we try to keep him on and pay him a salary.
We have had the worst problem keeping a line tech on hand lately. Which is hard for the master tech as he has to make up the slack. The work is there and you can take home a considerable paycheck every week if you work quickly without mistakes (comebacks).
We have had to hire and fire 4 people in 2 months. We hire them, and within a couple of weeks they start showing up late or call in sick. Now I feel bad for people who get sick, and we will make accommodations for the first time. However, if you call in twice non-consecutively in a 7 day period, you're gone. It may sound heartless, but Texas is an At-Will employment state, and we run with a staff of 3 people, we need a tech to be there.
I'll admit, it's kind of our fault. We should have more employees on hand to pickup the slack, but we don't have enough money to expand our facilities, and it's a tight work place with 3 working with 6 vehicle bays.
Also we should be screening people more thoroughly on work history before we hire them. There are a lot of job hoppers out there.
Our interview is pretty straight forward:
What are your qualifications?
Do you have your own tools?
Do you consider yourself to be an honest person?
Considering that the last 4 people we fired were replaced in less than a couple of days, we should be more selective. It's just that sometimes you can go for a while without finding somebody with some sense. I don't know, this job is somewhat difficult due to climate. It's cold in the winter and hot in the summer. You are working outside in Texas. You have shade inside and there are fans, in the winter there is a heater, but if you are a mechanic in Texas you ought to be able to deal with the temp.
I just feel like in 2011, there ought to be people out there willing to work. Willing to show up Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm, take home their thousand dollar paycheck, and do it again next week. We hired a new guy the day we let the last one go, I guess we'll have to see how it goes. So far it seems like he wants to work.
