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, been there, done that. Those of us who've been in the business a while have seen the greed and scamming from flat rate. There is a local 2 shop business that pays salary, though I don't know how well they pay. Hoping one day I'll land a cozy gig like that. I just don't have the capital to open my own shop, and I frankly don't know if I have the patience for it now. Wish I could get into a little less physical line of work that would bank as good or better money.