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

mahlere, your comment has been bugging me ever since I read it.
In my posts I was trying to voice the opinion that with installation work other than new resi I can see the possibility of being exposed to more risks than normal by having an employee doing piecework, whereas if they are employed as a subcontractor these risks become their responsibilty.
If you have reasons against using subcontractors than I would like to hear them.

I don't see how you could take my posts as meaning I'm against change ??

bris,

no offense was meant. I'm not against using subs, in fact my ultimate business model involves subbing out everything at fixed costs and shifting all the risk to other people.

as for change, i probably overstepped my bounds a little (i tend to do that) but growing up in this industry, i know a lot of old time electricians/contractors. they have been doing things the same way for so long, that they automatically deny that anything can be done differently.

but the way i see it, everything has a fixed price associated with it. When you take on a project to run 100 miles of cable, set 3000 poles and transformers, it's at a fixed price.

my issue is this, why does the customer shift the risk to us (we gave them a fixed price) and yet we can't share the risk (and this is the key) the reward with our employees?

My main point is that a person is who they are. If they are going to rush and cut corners if doing piecework, what makes you think that they are not going to cut corners if you are paying them hourly?

no offense meant, really. good luck

festus:

I've been estimating a long time & use that experience in bidding projects. I created my own sales book by using Craftsman labor rates. I've adjusted these prices by tracking jobs.

Do a search on Dave55 and look for "Flat Rate Pricing - Create your Own Sales Book". If you have any questions after reading that you can email me.

I've been using a sales book for over a year now, but I really use my experience as much as the book. The book is good for simple tasks, my experience for the complex tasks.

Dave