Quote Originally Posted by tmleadr03 View Post
Flat rate is basically incentavising short cuts and outright larceny. That is what I have seen 99% of the time in the shop. Is it slow? Up sell crap that doesn't really need to be done. Base pay on how fast someone does a job and they will cut corners to get the job done faster and the job will be only done "Ok". When I finally hire someone they will be hourly. Decent pay, but hourly. I would rather a slower tech who does the entire job then one who is going to rush and up sell crap that isn't needed. And that last thing I want is to find parts that were supposed to be hung on a car that are tucked behind a tool box.

And I have seen that. Lead tech in a shop who turns 60-70 hours a week leaves for some reason and when he moves his box they find piles new parts behind his box. And those are the ones he stuck back there because he didn't want to try to use them in side jobs or sell online...
Yep I've seen it too, we had a guy at a former shop that kept having axle seals, oil pan gaskets, etc coming back leaking, come to find out he was just spraying off the leaks and when the vehicle came back leaking "again" he was warrantying the gasket / seal. The boss caught him on it eventually and he got fired.....good luck explaining that at your next job. The best month I ever had was back last May, pulled off over 350 hrs. I was working from 7am to when they would kick me out around 9pm, Monday - Saturday. All I did then was heavy too, so it wasn't flushes and brakes, and you can't take shortcuts at that point, if you do, you're asking for something to come back and bite you in the ass. My body hated me for it, but I was able to pay cash for my wife's engagement ring.....but I'll never do it again.