ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Business Related Discussion Piecework?

Bob, you have not ruffled my feathers. I've asked you several times to support your objections to piecework and you have been unable to do so each and every time.

I'm amused that someone can have such strong opinions but demonstrate a complete inability to explain their opinions. It makes perfect sense to me why you're not an electrical contractor.

Your inability to explain why you feel the way you do is actually very charming...

LOL.

Good luck, I am sure you will be quite pleased with the employees you get.

Bob


[This message has been edited by iwire (edited 04-29-2006).]

LOL? That's your big response to my repeated efforts to get you to explain yourself? LOL? That's it? When confronted with your own evasiveness, you giggle like a school girl and type LOL?

This is a website for electrical contractors, further more, this is the business discusion forum. I'm perplexed as to how a guy with no experience as an electrical contractor and no experience in business can find themselves as the moderator of such a forum.

I simply don't understand. I guess I'll do wht you do when you don't understand:

LOL!

RR,

Let's tone it down a bit please, Isn't everyone entitled to an opinion?

Fair enough. I'm trying to define certain tasks that electricians perform, like a typical residential kitchen remodel. I'm beginning to appreciate the fact that there is little typical about the typical remodel.

Trimming out is another matter, setting finish is the same no matter what kind of job it is. That can easily be pieced out. I love the idea of providing incentives.

When I was an apprentice I got a job cutting in smoke detectors in many large apartment complexes, I think I got $8 for each one, this is 30 years ago, man did I hustle! I made a ton of loot! I never forgot the power of providing incentives.

Finding good help these days is harder than ever, the baby boomers have all retired and people no longer advise their children to persue a career in construction. The smaller pool of talent is on one hand a good thing, fewer contractors persuing a growing market has meant much higher rates. I'm charging twice what I charged 2 years ago!

But the downside is foot dragging, lazy workers who feel they're entitled to a job, I hate carrying these guys. Piecework, if properly and thoughtfully implemented could solve many problems.

I'm still in the thought process however, this is a serious topic.

>>>Isn't everyone entitled to an opinion?<<<<

Depends who you ask Bill, and on what site..

For the record, I know exactly what Bob is conveying...

Romex, Bob is a smart dude and has been here for a long time...just because he doesn't own a business doesn't mean he doesn't know what he is talking about.....
I know plenty of business owners that have no clue what they are doing and they been clueless for a long time......

Dnk...

Dnk! You showed up just in time! I've been fight'n these guys all night and I could use some help!

Well how do all these service shops do it? The big dogs, the ESI and NEXSTAR guys with the fancy trucks and TV ads? They pay piece work, and as far as I know, they turn out a nice product.

Everybody has their stories, little anecdotal tales of bad electrical work, these quiant tales prove nothing. In fact, from a statistical standpoint, most of the terrible work done in this industry is done by hourly employees. Using your logic, we can conclude the paying by the hour is more likely to result in poor workmanship.

As an electrician, why wouldn't I want the ability to earn more for improving my skills, knowledge and tools? To me, it would be far better for the owner of the company to say "Glen, we have allowed 14hrs on this project. If you finish early, you'll still get paid for 14hrs."

I wouldn't cut corners to get the job done faster. I wouldn't want to go back and fix it on my own time.

But I've spent a lot of time in commision sales too, so I may be biased!

The problem starts when a contractor is not bidding the correct number of hours. You can't give an unrealistic number of hours and expect a tradesperson to put up with it for long.

But if it is done correctly, I would love to work under that system.

Just my personal opinion.

"If you finish early, you'll still get paid for 14hrs."

There being the problem, the piece worker wants to finish early, and go to the next job, they will cut every corner they can, to get out of there, not something you want in electrical work.