# 14.00 an hour and not good enough



## Hagfish118 (Nov 12, 2011)

Ey all
Im working at a new company and am used to commision based companies at 30.00 per billed hour. I just wanted to get back to work so accepted 14 to start and im 29 starting school in september and my bosses tell me take your time do it right but i by no means milk any job and sometimes i have a day here and there where murphys law is w me. Question is if 85% of my jobs are done right and on time. Never late and dont miss any days. They are using me as a mechanic but do you think they are right to be constantly on me about my days running an hour or two longer than they want and are giving me a real hard time about it. At 14 an hour and i know i make them plenty of money. No call backs and im always there even if im not on call. I just feel at 14 an hour shouldnt they bear w me. I was unemployed for a year and trying to get back to a rythym. Comments good or bad PLEASE!


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## rocksteady (Oct 8, 2008)

I don't think I quite follow your question. Do you think you should be paid more? Worked less? Given more flexibility since you're "only" making $14 per hour? What are your qualifications?

You say 85% percent of your jobs are done right and on time. To me, that means 15% are done wrong or late. That's almost 1 out of 8. Not good. 





Paul


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

rocksteady said:


> I don't think I quite follow your question. Do you think you should be paid more? Worked less? Given more flexibility since you're "only" making $14 per hour? What are your qualifications?
> 
> You say 85% percent of your jobs are done right and on time. To me, that means 15% are done wrong or late. That's almost 1 out of 8. Not good.
> 
> ...


that's helpers pay....


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## rocksteady (Oct 8, 2008)

Protech said:


> that's helpers pay....


I agree but I still don't follow the orignal post. I do know of a couple shops here in town that have guys in trucks (not plumbers by my standards but hey, this is California) that get around that. From what I've seen, they get their money's worth.




Paul


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## ckoch407 (Sep 30, 2009)

Sounds dubious at best. If you are producing and have a great work attitude and they are sweating an hour or two, something is wrong. They either don't see you as you see yourself, or they are struggling financially. The former can be corrected with some effort, the latter... start looking.


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## gitnerdun (Nov 5, 2008)

13 yrs ago I was top paid in the shop at $13per hour, only paid that if it was a paid hour on the job. Travel and shop time was $5. 

My point is, if you are collecting labor for the company they shouldn't complain how long you work, as long as you do a good job the first time for them. My employer was happy if we worked around the clock as long as we billed for it.

I know the pay sucked now it was my only plumbing job and lasted 15 yrs before I wised up.


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## user2090 (Sep 26, 2009)

If your being coached on the amount of time it takes to do work, then there is something that needs to be changed. Its the bosses prerogative to guide you to his method of work. 

As for the amount of money you make. Unless you know the cost of running that business, you have no authority to make such a grand assumption. 

Hope I haven't pissed in your cheerios to much. 

Focus on being a better plumber, doing good work, a little more efficient. Once you have mastered the trade, if the money is not there move on. Right now you need to be focused on being the best plumber in training you can be. Work smart and hard. :thumbsup:


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## rocksteady (Oct 8, 2008)

Indie said:


> As for the amount of money you make. Unless you know the cost of running that business, you have no authority to make such a grand assumption.


 
This is very true. I can say that I was guilty of this in the past. If I was in a bad mood, I'd "run the numbers" and it'd just piss me off more. I'd think "I just made $80 to install this w/h but my boss just made $350". I had no idea of all the hidded costs and now I see that those 350 dollars dissapear very quickly. Looking back, on some jobs I made more than the boss did.






Paul


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## Hagfish118 (Nov 12, 2011)

Thanks for the real talk everyone. I feel kinda dumb today though just had a real bad day and needed to vent to some people who understand the biz a little. I know 14 an hour seems low but i consistently bring home more then when i made 32 per billed hour at a slow shop. Everything is great though just me overreacting to criticism
Thx


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## user2090 (Sep 26, 2009)

Hagfish118 said:


> Thanks for the real talk everyone. I feel kinda dumb today though just had a real bad day and needed to vent to some people who understand the biz a little. I know 14 an hour seems low but i consistently bring home more then when i made 32 per billed hour at a slow shop. Everything is great though just me overreacting to criticism
> Thx



Are the laws that lax in your State a unlicensed guy can go out and do service work?


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

Indie said:


> If your being coached on the amount of time it takes to do work, then there is something that needs to be changed. Its the bosses prerogative to guide you to his method of work.
> 
> As for the amount of money you make. Unless you know the cost of running that business, you have no authority to make such a grand assumption.
> 
> ...


There are whole seminars being taught and countless volumes written based on these few statements. Good advice ND.


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## Hagfish118 (Nov 12, 2011)

Umm you never worked under someone elses license? You think every tech has a license?


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## rocksteady (Oct 8, 2008)

Hagfish118 said:


> Umm you never worked under someone elses license? You think every tech has a license?


It was just a question. Some states allow it, some don't.





Paul


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## Hagfish118 (Nov 12, 2011)

Yeah i had no idea some states didn't...learn something new everyday


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## lpayne1234 (Sep 20, 2008)

Yea and most owners here milk it to the max, hire anyone and everyone and pay as little as possible work them under their license, then expect us with license to work for nothing. Thats BULL 
I spent the better part of the last year and half going behind a guy that is unlicensed and hacks away at plumbing, HVAC and electrical, sent complaint forms to all state boards, called the different boards no one seems to care in Alabama. I added up 7 different complaints sent to each of the divisions. No one has even checked this guy out.


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## user2090 (Sep 26, 2009)

lpayne1234 said:


> Yea and most owners here milk it to the max, hire anyone and everyone and pay as little as possible work them under their license, then expect us with license to work for nothing. Thats BULL
> I spent the better part of the last year and half going behind a guy that is unlicensed and hacks away at plumbing, HVAC and electrical, sent complaint forms to all state boards, called the different boards no one seems to care in Alabama. I added up 7 different complaints sent to each of the divisions. No one has even checked this guy out.


I bet your the life of the party. 😄. 

Mean ole owners trying to maximize profits, because they hold all the risk. 

Down with those 1%ers!!! 

Now get back to work, your costing me money.


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## PlumberShep (Sep 22, 2010)

lpayne1234 said:


> Yea and most owners here milk it to the max, hire anyone and everyone and pay as little as possible work them under their license, then expect us with license to work for nothing. Thats BULL
> I spent the better part of the last year and half going behind a guy that is unlicensed and hacks away at plumbing, HVAC and electrical, sent complaint forms to all state boards, called the different boards no one seems to care in Alabama. I added up 7 different complaints sent to each of the divisions. No one has even checked this guy out.


James Walker is the compliance officer for your area.Call the examining board and ask to speak with him or for his voice mail.You should be able to get his feild # as well.The compliance Officer for my area does his job very well.He has checked out all of my complaints and gone as far as to call me back and update me.When I see a hack posting on craigslist in my area, I dont even sweat it because I know that one of the calls they answer is going to be him.
From what I can tell our examining board does a great job with enforcing compliance.I have seen them show up 10 at a time and hide around the corner from shops waiting on the trucks to roll out so they could catch them in the act.They consistently show up to construction projects large and small.If helpers dont have apprentice cards, they better not be doing anything besides manning a shovel.They dont even want them cutting pipe.
I have never filed any complaint forms but my phone calls seem to work just fine.Good luck.


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## plumber666 (Sep 19, 2010)

If I did 85% of my job good and on time, I would be worth $14/hr.


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## PlumberShep (Sep 22, 2010)

Indie said:


> I bet your the life of the party. &#55357;&#56836;.
> 
> Mean ole owners trying to maximize profits, because they hold all the risk.
> 
> ...


Dont know how it is where you are, but in Alabama owners are required by law to hire at min. a jp for the purpose of plumbing.Any owner that sends an unlicensed worker into a customers home is putting the home owner at far more of a risk then they are taking.
You cant have it both ways.If you are cool with sending an unlicensed hack into a customers home, then dont complain when that same hack is out there on his own taking work away from you.By your logic he is just maximizing profit by taking that pesky licensing fee out of the equation.
Comparing hard working guys that have gone through the steps to learn the trade and get thier cards to OWS protesters is pretty low.


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## lpayne1234 (Sep 20, 2008)

PlumberShep said:


> Dont know how it is where you are, but in Alabama owners are required by law to hire at min. a jp for the purpose of plumbing.Any owner that sends an unlicensed worker into a customers home is putting the home owner at far more of a risk then they are taking.
> You cant have it both ways.If you are cool with sending an unlicensed hack into a customers home, then dont complain when that same hack is out there on his own taking work away from you.By your logic he is just maximizing profit by taking that pesky licensing fee out of the equation.
> Comparing hard working guys that have gone through the steps to learn the trade and get thier cards to OWS protesters is pretty low.



Amen

I will also call Mr. Walker
Thanks


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## PlumberShep (Sep 22, 2010)

lpayne1234 said:


> Amen
> 
> I will also call Mr. Walker
> Thanks


 No problem.Good luck.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

PlumberShep said:


> Dont know how it is where you are, but in Alabama owners are required by law to hire at min. a jp for the purpose of plumbing.Any owner that sends an unlicensed worker into a customers home is putting the home owner at far more of a risk then they are taking.
> You cant have it both ways.If you are cool with sending an unlicensed hack into a customers home, then dont complain when that same hack is out there on his own taking work away from you.By your logic he is just maximizing profit by taking that pesky licensing fee out of the equation.
> Comparing hard working guys that have gone through the steps to learn the trade and get thier cards to OWS protesters is pretty low.


It's just a bit of grandiosity there....
New business owner and he imagines that he's a 1%er....:laughing:


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## PeckPlumbing (Mar 19, 2011)

With everything going up in costs, its hard to raise a family or be in a house at 14$/hr .. And owners do it not because they are cheap, its because when other handymen and 'contractors' are running around doing bathroom remodels for half the cost of you, your trying to keep your overhead down and submit a somewhat competitive bid...therefor everyone makes less at the shop INCLUDING THE OWNER... OR you try and bid everything high and do half the amount of work.. I'm sure this various greatly depending on the area, but here sounds like the same down there. 

In 5 minutes you could find some guy here to remodel your bathroom for 14$hr. Im not joking.


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## beachplumber (Feb 7, 2010)

Rate increases do seem difficult at this time.

Maybe it has been this way, not sure


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## AKdaplumba (Jan 12, 2010)

Redwood said:


> It's just a bit of grandiosity there....
> New business owner and he imagines that he's a 1%er....:laughing:


Is that per year income?


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

AKdaplumba said:


> Is that per year income?


Probably so.

However, the terminology may be a bit confusing. Referring to someone as a "millionaire" typically refers to their accumulated assets rather than their annual income.

When he died, Frank Sinatra was still making millions but was not a "millionaire" because he was spending it as fast as it came in.


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## plumber666 (Sep 19, 2010)

What is the definition of "small business" as it relates to this sweet pie chart? 100 employees or less? 10 or less? Are bankruptcies figured into the average? Stats like this are usually bulls*t.


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## user2090 (Sep 26, 2009)

Why does it always come down to "That guy has more than me, Let's hate him." 

It is intriguing to me that instead of focusing on what we can do better to improve our situation, we always want to look at someone else and be jealous instead. 

If the circumstances are not providing the amount of money you think you need for your lifestyle, then change the circumstances. 

Again, it reminds me of my brother. His solution to improve his life is to get a better paying job. He only wants to work a maximum of 40 hours per week, and then go home and do whatever the hell he wants. Then complain that he never has enough money. 

Isn't it amusing to hear people demand the maximum amount of pay for the minimum amount of work. 

I have a new slogan for OWS "Pay me more, work me less."


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Indie said:


> Why does it always come down to "That guy has more than me, Let's hate him."
> 
> It is intriguing to me that instead of focusing on what we can do better to improve our situation, we always want to look at someone else and be jealous instead.
> 
> ...


I think you make a lot of assumptions about something you know nothing about....

One day you might understand that those benevolent 1%ers took a helluva ride on your wallet....

The longer it takes to get that through the dense mass between the ears the more we all will have to pay...

It is not about them keeping what is theirs!
It is about us keeping what is ours.... :whistling2:


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## Zone16Plumber (Dec 21, 2011)

Not that I'm a union plumber because cookie-cutter house construction slowed down a lot where I live but in my opinion, anything less than $18 to $20 dollars an hour for a licensed plumber in service or $20 to $25 for construction, you would be taken for a ride. The last two jobs I had were my first two non-union jobs since I became a licensed plumber and a licensed gas technician and they only paid $16 dollars an hour. If this is the way that non-union plumbers get paid, I would rather go into business for myself.


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

Zone16Plumber said:


> Not that I'm a union plumber because cookie-cutter house construction slowed down a lot where I live but in my opinion, anything less than $18 to $20 dollars an hour for a licensed plumber in service or $20 to $25 for construction, you would be taken for a ride. The last two jobs I had were my first two non-union jobs since I became a licensed plumber and a licensed gas technician and they only paid $16 dollars an hour. If this is the way that non-union plumbers get paid, I would rather go into business for myself.


 




We'd like to get better aquainted with you. Please post us an intro in the introduction section. Tell us years in the trade, licenses held, etc.


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