# On call service wage question



## Carcharodon (May 5, 2013)

I work for a company that provides a 24hr emergency service through an insurance compnay offered through ones water service. The company gets paid at a slightly reduced rate through the insurance and if it is outside regular working hours there is an after hours fee. We get paid our regular hourly rate and time and half etc if we go over our 40 hrs.
There are 5 of us in rotation for the after hours part, you get a Mon -Fri and then a Sat&Sun in the rotation. Week days are usually fine, might have a few calls after work if they weren't able to be taken care of during the day, it's really just like working a little late, never really get late night calls...
Sat and Sun can be hit or miss, you could be out from 8 to 10 or no calls!

We get paid from when we get our truck at the shop to when we finish. 
My question is that since we have to basically give up our weekend should we not get a flat fee anyway for just being on call in case we don't get any calls, we still have some compensation even if we don't work.
It's not a big deal at all but can be annoying having to give up your weekend and not make any money.
Do people think that it would be an unreasonable suggestion ?
Is this the norm across the industry ?
I am not really complaining just curious as to what the norms are, I am just happy to be working


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## MTDUNN (Oct 9, 2011)

Are you asking if you should get some pay for being on call even if there are no calls for a particular weekend?


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## Carcharodon (May 5, 2013)

MTDUNN said:


> Are you asking if you should get some pay for being on call even if there are no calls for a particular weekend?


More or less, yea. I don't necessarily expect it but was wondering if there are any companies that did that? I fully understand why they wouldn't but I could be making money else where on my weekends (not plumbing).


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## 504Plumber (Jan 26, 2011)

Thank your lucky stars you have 5 guys (other than yourself?) in rotation. A couple years back we rotated every other weekend, now it's every 2 weeks with 3 guys (including myself) in rotation. We don't get extra pay to waste a weekend.


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## Carcharodon (May 5, 2013)

504Plumber said:


> Thank your lucky stars you have 5 guys (other than yourself?) in rotation. A couple years back we rotated every other weekend, now it's every 2 weeks with 3 guys (including myself) in rotation. We don't get extra pay to waste a weekend.


5 guys including me, yea it was 4, extra guy makes a huge difference. It's not too bad as you have more guys to swap with too if you have plans, I know some companies have it it worse with less guys.
It can be tough on guys, we had one guy quit last year cos he couldn't stand to do it anymore.
As I have said, it's not that big a deal, just curious (I know how some guys on here like to jump down people's throats the first chance they get).


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## MTDUNN (Oct 9, 2011)

Carcharodon said:


> More or less, yea. I don't necessarily expect it but was wondering if there are any companies that did that? I fully understand why they wouldn't but I could be making money else where on my weekends (not plumbing).


If you're on call you should be ready at anytime for a call. You agreed to this when you were hired. If you get no calls, the company makes no money, why should you?


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## MTDUNN (Oct 9, 2011)

Carcharodon said:


> (I know how some guys on here like to jump down people's throats the first chance they get).


Some guys here are business owners. Asking to get paid for being on call while not receiving any calls can shake them up.


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## jitr64 (Sep 30, 2010)

You will find most non union shops don't pay you extra,however union shops are under a contract, locally here they pay you an extra 120 per week to be on call.


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## T Bone (Sep 12, 2013)

No we do not get paid and we have a pretty large area we over. Some Saturdays you feel like a self help line with people calling and asking questions. Guess I don't expect to get paid when I'm not working so it doesn't bother me. My company is great they really take care of us and we're not just a number to them and that's what's important to me.


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## KCplumber (Dec 31, 2009)

Twenty years ago I got $25/day to be on call (non-union) I would expect something for waiting around for a call


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## PlumbDumber (Aug 7, 2013)

It does put a strain on the plumber that is "On-Call", especially over the weekend. In the past, I have had good plumbers quit & go elsewhere to keep from being On Call.

Several years ago I implemented a policy in our shop to help the situation. We started charging time and one half to the customer for work done weekdays after hours up to 10:00 PM and on Saturday until 5:00 PM. After 10:00 on weekdays, on Sundays, and on holidays, we charge the customer double time.

Since our overhead is not affected by the time of day or day of the week that the work is done, we give much of the extra to the On Call plumber that was forced to give up the weekend. If we are charging the customer time and a half, the On Call plumber gets paid double time. If the customer is getting charged double time, the plumber gets paid double time and a half. This makes it a lot easier for the plumber to talk himself into getting out of bed to go to a call with a smile on the face,

It is a win/win/win situation for us. The customer gets the service they want/need without delays or excuses, the plumber has a smile on his face, and the shop gets the profits off of the call that otherwise might have been lost due to the plumber taking too long to call back or makes excuses why it cannot be done at that hour.

This is only for the "On Call" plumber. Scheduled Saturday work to catch up on a job or regular work over 40 hrs is paid at the normal time and a half


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## Carcharodon (May 5, 2013)

MTDUNN said:


> If you're on call you should be ready at anytime for a call. You agreed to this when you were hired. If you get no calls, the company makes no money, why should you?


Yea, that's a logical assessment to make but one could make counter arguments as to why they should get some sort of compensation for being available at any notice, I am not making that argument though.
As I said it doesn't bother me as they do take care of us in lots of other ways, just wondering of other companies out there, it would just make it more worthwhile on the quite weekends.


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## MTDUNN (Oct 9, 2011)

Maybe I'm old fashion. There is a serious lack of qualified service plumbers in my neck of the woods and it would make a good incentive. 

Since all the resumés coming through my office so far are not panning out, I'm out there 24/7 on call. I'm not getting any younger and until this chip plant is finished, I'll be on 24/7 for quite awhile. 

When I was on a 5 man rotation, I never got paid unless I got a call. That was 20 or so years ago.


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## Carcharodon (May 5, 2013)

Niners game just about to start and I get a call....lol. must be karma :laughing:


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## ibeplumber (Sep 20, 2011)

We get $100 to be on call Fri, Sat, and Sun. We are paid time and 1/2 from when the call comes in until we get home. We keep our trucks at home when on call.


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

We do not pay anything just because someone is on call. If someone is called out on an emergency, we pay them $100 for the first hour and time and a half after that.


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## Carcharodon (May 5, 2013)

ibeplumber said:


> We get $100 to be on call Fri, Sat, and Sun. We are paid time and 1/2 from when the call comes in until we get home. We keep our trucks at home when on call.


I like that system, seems very fair. We have to get our truck at the shop which isn't too bad for me since I live fairly close, other guys live nearly 45 mins away, that's a bit frustrating for them since you only start getting paid when you get your truck.


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## Greenguy (Jan 22, 2011)

One company I worked for, I ended up being on call for 9 months the other guy went down with his second heart attack, I got paid nothing extra for that time. 

Another company paid an extra 4 hours for the week you were on call, the had enough guys you were only on call once every 10 weeks. 

My present company it's 1 week a month and get payed 25$ for being on call, every one does it different.


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## thumper (Aug 19, 2011)

I have been on call for over 10 years and everyday I'm on call I want to quit. Your week is pretty much ruined and I feel like its me against the world. Hard to get someone to help when they're off when things get overloaded. 
But if you want to work and stay with the same company you have no choice, make the best of it. We get calls almost everyday and most of the time its clogged drains-houses, apartments, restaurants and some times shopping centers. 
We do get paid OT - 1-1/2 and get a bonus.
On call often generates additional work for the company and can bring in new customers. Although I hate it, I can't argue this as being a valuable service. 
Its just bearable because we have about 15 guys on rotation and its only 4 times a year.


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## MTDUNN (Oct 9, 2011)

thumper said:


> I have been on call for over 10 years and everyday I'm on call I want to quit.
> 
> Its just bearable because we have about 15 guys on rotation and its only 4 times a year.


Good thing it's not a 14 man rotation.


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## Flyout95 (Apr 13, 2012)

If anyone was interested?


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## RW Plumbing (Aug 16, 2010)

I don't offer on call services. I'm not a surgeon, and people won't die most likely if I stay home. 90% of the time, the so called emergencies can wait until the morning. Or, the dick knew his pipe was dripping because it had been for months, and now it finally ruptured. There's a old saying I go by, poor planning on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on mine.


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## victoryplbaz (May 19, 2012)

Ummmm...how many of you guys working for someone want to own your own business???? Do you think you will find someone to be on call for you when your first starting out? You going to complain about pay when it's yours? 

Be glad for what ever way our compensated with being on call and the rotation. 365 days a year is not fun at all.


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## DesertOkie (Jul 15, 2011)

One week on out of four. Only paid on ticket, and I usually sit at the shop all day sat. so I won't lose a call(I live 45 min away). 

It is what it is, I was weekend ***** for the first 3 years I plumbed so it's no biggie. And I no longer care about sports, after the first year of seeing red after only getting calls during good games.


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## Unclog1776 (Feb 5, 2013)

I have two other guys who work for me and I am still on call after hours 24/7

I'm sure it will change one day but I love the money too much. 

As stated above if you guys ever want to go out on your own and offer service work get used to being on call

Sent from my iPhone using PlumbingZone


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## Marlin (Aug 14, 2008)

If someone wants me to be within a half hour of the office the entire week, have ready transportation to the office (can't travel with a group of people) that week, not have a drink that week, not go see family for holidays (some are several hours from the office), be ready to run out on dinner, a movie or anything else I'm doing to go into work that week you can pay me for that. 

That said I get paid a flat rate for being on call for the week. I wouldn't do it for free unless it was only every couple months, some other benefit outweighed it or I was desperate for work.


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## RW Plumbing (Aug 16, 2010)

Unclog1776 said:


> I have two other guys who work for me and I am still on call after hours 24/7
> 
> I'm sure it will change one day but I love the money too much.
> 
> ...


I'm on my own, and I don't offer on call. They can call someone else. I have boundary lines for family and personal life. I need to do my own thing. No one wants to pay me enough to make that worth it. After hours work is just not profitable. Sure the bills are higher but if you figure the lost productivity the next day, and if you're up selling on jobs, you aren't going to do that in the middle of the night.


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## CaberTosser (Mar 7, 2013)

With our shop its 5 hours pay billed to the shop as 'stand-by' pay for the week; we're union plumbers and fridge mechanics and its in the collective maintenance agreement. Any work that comes in is also paid as time and a half or double time if applicable. Some people ask where this money is found; I know that some of it is built into the maintenance contracts we have, perhaps all of it is. The point is that we're available for our regular clients and the staff don't feel taken advantage of; all of our clients are regulars, as we don't have cold-calls coming in. All OT is dispatched by our contracted call centre who screen the calls and verify that the callers are clients, there's no random tire-kicking phone calls to contend with. I'm on-call this week, we do Friday through Thursday so that if there's a long weekend it doesn't inconvenience two techs. So far this week I've had one each day Friday, Saturday & Sunday but tonight has been quiet. Saturday was handy as the OT was at a Costco, and after I performed the repair and got a signature I busted out the shopping cart. It's nice when your shopping trip is 'subsidized'


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## redbeardplumber (Dec 4, 2012)

Like RW I have my own shop, and I do not do "on call" work. I am busy enough. That being said if I have work that needs to be done and I don't have any family commitments, friend commitments I may work the odd weekend.


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## RW Plumbing (Aug 16, 2010)

redbeardplumber said:


> Like RW I have my own shop, and I do not do "on call" work. I am busy enough. That being said if I have work that needs to be done and I don't have any family commitments, friend commitments I may work the odd weekend.


Sure, choosing to work the weekend to get caught up is way different than emergency calls


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## jmc12185 (Aug 27, 2013)

Whenever I get any after hours calls or "emergency calls", I just go do them myself. I find it to be much easier and less of a headache than trying to get one of my guys to be on call. Like someone else said, when its your business your on call 24/7 365 anyway. I definitely don't want to be paying someone for waiting for a call that may not even come that night

Sent from my iPhone using PlumbingZone


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## Kleinfelterj (Jan 23, 2012)

We get 75$ a day for the weekends weather we go on a call or not. (Non union shop)


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## wrenched (May 15, 2011)

We're on call every nine days or so, and paid from the time we start the van to the time we get home. Time and a half until 8pm, then double time until business hours. 

It's often things like burst distribution lines or over flowing toilets in a multistory, but we'll get sent out anytime someone will lay down a credit card. No pay for "just" being on-call. I've had everything from no calls to a sixteen-hour day. 

Considering an on-call day/night is basically a wasted day, and considering the extra billing from on-call call-outs, it seems like some consideration would be fair. A guy I went to school with gets one hour guaranteed for weekdays and two for sat or sun - comes across as one of the better compromises I've heard.


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## Adamche (Feb 10, 2012)

On call every 5th week, Friday to Friday 24/7, $190.00 retainer paid if called or not. All calls paid double time, domestic clients charged time on job( and paid the same) commercial/ industrial clients we are paid from home till home( and charged out the same):whistling2::yes:


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## Jason1969 (Sep 21, 2013)

Being on call is definitely an intrusion on your personal life. You can't go out of town, you can't go out drinking with your buddies. You basically have to be ready to go at the drop of a hat. It should be compensated in some way.

I am the sole employee of my business but I realize that unhappy employees equals unhappy customers and lower profits. If and when I expand I will definitely compensate a person that is on-call in some way.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

RW Plumbing said:


> *After hours work is just not profitable. Sure the bills are higher but if you figure the lost productivity the next day, and if you're up selling on jobs, you aren't going to do that in the middle of the night.*


:thumbup:

There is more truth to that than many realize!

The realization needs to be made that yes you should probably provide emergency service, but what is actually an emergency needs definition. As well as what services you can have the resources available to perform them after hours. Also you should define which customers you'll provide emergency service to...

Anything else and you'll risk burning yourself or, your employees out...

Some years ago when I briefly worked at Rotten-Rooter I was called out at 11:30PM and "The Big Emergency" turned out to be some clown that just got off from his job at the mall that had a dripping lav faucet. 

Well he paid the night charge and I put in new seats & washers stopping the drip, cleaned the aerator as it was not a size that was carried in our anemic truck stock and was on my way...

Several days later I get a call back and this time I'm going there at 11:30AM. The bleary eyed fool answers the door and tells me he had scheduled the call for 11:30 that night...:laughing:

He had an overwhelming concern that the aerator I had cleaned should have been replaced, despite the note on the quote that he had signed to go ahead that the part could not be had at 11:30PM...

We had a discussion...:furious:

He got a new aerator installed for $175 and when I drove away I didn't have a tow strap hooked on his outside hose bibb...:thumbup:

When I changed jobs I negotiated that my on call commitment they required for several years of all new employees, would be fulfilled by my pulling extra on-call weeks in my first year...:thumbup:

Best get that stuff out of the way and stick to when plumbing is profitable...
I still keep my phone on at night and they can call me, if it sounds good, is in my area and will save one of the other guys a trip I'll probably go out...

Out of the kindness of my own little heart...
At least this company has an awareness of what an emergency is and if it is something that can be handled at night...


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## Letterrip (Jul 28, 2013)

RW Plumbing said:


> I'm on my own, and I don't offer on call. They can call someone else. I have boundary lines for family and personal life. I need to do my own thing. No one wants to pay me enough to make that worth it. After hours work is just not profitable. Sure the bills are higher but if you figure the lost productivity the next day, and if you're up selling on jobs, you aren't going to do that in the middle of the night.


For me, it's not just about the profit. We do quality work. We are not however the ONLY company in town that does quality work. If my customer has a need that simply refuses to appear until after my preferred hours of operation, the last thing I want to do us fail to offer a very necessary service only to have my legitimate competition step in and take care of them. The net result is that I not only list THAT job, but may have lost that future work including any upswell that was available. When an after hours call comes in, I am the one to return the phone call. I very regularly have customers thanking me for the immediate call back and service in their time of need. Emergency service pays dividends that can't be seen on a balance sheet IMHO. 

That said, I do respect the personal boundaries. It is so easy to let business/money interfere with family life.


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## makinHW (Aug 25, 2012)

I charge the company 1hr OT standby per day for being on call. I would gladly give that up and even a $5 per hr wage cut just to not be on call. EVER!!!


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## RW Plumbing (Aug 16, 2010)

Letterrip said:


> For me, it's not just about the profit. We do quality work. We are not however the ONLY company in town that does quality work. If my customer has a need that simply refuses to appear until after my preferred hours of operation, the last thing I want to do us fail to offer a very necessary service only to have my legitimate competition step in and take care of them. The net result is that I not only list THAT job, but may have lost that future work including any upswell that was available. When an after hours call comes in, I am the one to return the phone call. I very regularly have customers thanking me for the immediate call back and service in their time of need. Emergency service pays dividends that can't be seen on a balance sheet IMHO. That said, I do respect the personal boundaries. It is so easy to let business/money interfere with family life.


My customers will wait for my level of service or they won't. Find some other way to step your game up. I am frequently the most expensive plumber that quotes the job, and I don't have emergency service work. Yet I'm always making money. As I said, I will go out on a legitimate emergency call but if your faucet is drippy at 11pm call someone else.


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## PlumbDumber (Aug 7, 2013)

RW Plumbing said:


> My customers will wait for my level of service or they won't. Find some other way to step your game up. I am frequently the most expensive plumber that quotes the job, and I don't have emergency service work. Yet I'm always making money. As I said, I will go out on a legitimate em, but we don't.ergency call but if your faucet is drippy at 11pm call someone else.


If they want to pay double time for that 11:00 PM service, we will usually, but not always, provide that service. We do try to reason with them and very few of our customers are really unreasonable. If they become unreasonable, we invite them to use another plumber. I usually suggest one telling them that XYZ company needs the aggravation but we don't.


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

MTDUNN said:


> If you're on call you should be ready at anytime for a call. You agreed to this when you were hired. If you get no calls, the company makes no money, why should you?


My time is worth something,anybody should be paid for having to keep the week and weekend open for calls,don't see how they get anybody to do it without some guaranteed compensation whether you work or not,you are still putting you and your family on the back burner for the company,hell I if the company can't afford to give you something for putting your life on hold for them then they don't need to do on call anyways,tell them to go get screwed


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## Unclog1776 (Feb 5, 2013)

Everyone here gets to clock 4 hours a day minimum when on call for weekends weather we get a call or not


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## Plumber (Jan 18, 2009)

sparky said:


> My time is worth something,anybody should be paid for having to keep the week and weekend open for calls,don't see how they get anybody to do it without some guaranteed compensation whether you work or not,you are still putting you and your family on the back burner for the company,hell I if the company can't afford to give you something for putting your life on hold for them then they don't need to do on call anyways,tell them to go get screwed


Right on. And if all plumbers were paid like normal employees (clocking in and out) working weekends would be a paid thing. Of course, if the boss had someone on the clock on a weekend, that employee would most likely get days off during the week. And like you said, if it's a viable business, it shouldn't matter.


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## MattZone (Mar 28, 2014)

We charge $190 service fee after hours, the plumber who takes the call gets $140 of it as a spiff on top of their pay / commission for the job.


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## Flyout95 (Apr 13, 2012)

MattZone said:


> We charge $190 service fee after hours, the plumber who takes the call gets $140 of it as a spiff on top of their pay / commission for the job.


So you take the 140?


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## Gargalaxy (Aug 14, 2013)

How that's work with an S-Corp or one man shop?


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## MattZone (Mar 28, 2014)

Flyout95 said:


> So you take the 140?


I have a guy working part-time (now full time because of my surgery).


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## MattZone (Mar 28, 2014)

Gargalaxy said:


> How that's work with an S-Corp or one man shop?


What do you mean? If I take the call I just put the $190 in the company rather than place the $140 on someone's paycheck.


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## Shoot'N'Plumber (Apr 27, 2013)

Unclog1776 said:


> Everyone here gets to clock 4 hours a day minimum when on call for weekends weather we get a call or not


Nice! My last company paid zero dollars for being on call on 7 day rotations. The boss said my compensation is the fact that i have a job.


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## Unclog1776 (Feb 5, 2013)

I only have two guys. Both good dudes. They usually come into the shop and screw around cleaning trucks or something anyways so they get stuff done regardless


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## Ahrens24 (Jul 18, 2014)

Were a Gas company but we get $75 for the week being on call plus time and a half. But they do not want us being further than a half hour drive to the shop in case of a call. However we may only go out 1 or 2 times throughout the week on call but we could get between 10-20 calls from the answering service.


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## Gargalaxy (Aug 14, 2013)

Ahrens24 said:


> Were a Gas company but we get $75 for the week being on call plus time and a half. But they do not want us being further than a half hour drive to the shop in case of a call. However we may only go out 1 or 2 times throughout the week on call but we could get between 10-20 calls from the answering service.


Gas plus not intro=explosion. Can you do the proper intro before the phone start ringing?


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## Ahrens24 (Jul 18, 2014)

I dont really get what your trying to say there Gargalaxy


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

Ahrens24 said:


> I dont really get what your trying to say there Gargalaxy


An intro is requested from all new members. In case you missed it, here is the link. http://www.plumbingzone.com/f3/. 

The PZ is for Plumbing Professionals ( those engaged in the plumbing profession). Post an intro and tell our members where you are from, years in the trade, and your area(s) of expertise in the plumbing field. This info helps members who are waiting to welcome you to the best plumbing site there is. 

We look forward to your valuable input.


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## Richard Hilliard (Apr 10, 2010)

I think the answer to this is reciprocal. Meaning if you did extra things such as generate calls into the company and brought a ton of customers into the accounts you would also be entitled to extras. Another example would be to pass out cards while you are not working. Understand that every place you go is a networking event where you can generate clients and leads. As employees we sometimes think we are entitled to extra benefits without giving back. The reverse is also true where sometimes an employer thinks something should be an expectation if you do things then it is expected without something return.

As an employee the best way to think is how I can build my value to the company. When this is built is when you start receiving perks. I would rather have an owner come to me and flip me 100 dollars cash for being a valued employee then paying 25 bucks to be on call. You must give to get .


It is ok to want something in return as it is also ok to stop doing stuff when it is unappreciated.


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## SunnyDaRench (Apr 2, 2014)

I never got anything to be on standby, the deal was anything after regular hours, you kept half of the labor, it was good for a long time, until the dickhead son took over, that's the norm around here,


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## Ahrens24 (Jul 18, 2014)

plbgbiz said:


> An intro is requested from all new members. In case you missed it, here is the link. http://www.plumbingzone.com/f3/.
> 
> The PZ is for Plumbing Professionals ( those engaged in the plumbing profession). Post an intro and tell our members where you are from, years in the trade, and your area(s) of expertise in the plumbing field. This info helps members who are waiting to welcome you to the best plumbing site there is.
> 
> We look forward to your valuable input.


Ahh I see now, Thanks for letting me know. I will do that asap


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## islandplumber (Mar 2, 2014)

I work for a small service company with three guys on rotation for weekend calls. We get $50 a day to be on call whether we go out to a call or not. My boss is a super nice guy and he realizes that even if we dont get called to a job we still spend most of the day talking to customers on the phone.


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## SunnyDaRench (Apr 2, 2014)

Now that I'm on my own, 90% of the time I do all the calls after hours or not, but when I'm on vacation, I let my helper( junior mechanic) keep the entire thing, it's only working cuz I'm small right now,


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## kellybhutchings (Jul 29, 2008)

my sister gets 2dollars an hour at the hospital she works at when on call.


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