Looking for service tech's and need opinion of all

[stuart]

Our service guys make between $35K and 70K, have medical and dental paid, 401K plan, 3 weeks vacation and get sent to the factory for training once/year.

The 3 main service guys get this, I should say.  We hire day laborers to help move spas.  One of the day laborers showed up with a marijuana cap on the other day.  I asked him if he liked weed, he says "no sir, I like hats" so I gave him a Gregg County Fair Hat.  Every time I see him he's wearing it.

Terminator

So how many HotSpring tech's in East Texas does it take to install a stereo? 8-)

[East_TX_Spa]

So how many HotSpring tech's in East Texas does it take to install a stereo? 8-)

However many it takes to make the customer happy, like these folks:



Terminator

[Gary]

Appearance is very important. A service tech should have some type of uniform with the company name on it, cleanly shaved, combed hair...

Pay will vary from region to region but if you get your hands on a good tech they should make a minimum of 50K with benefits.

Scheduled times should be set to the minute, if you are going to be a little late call them.

I prefer the owner to be home but that is not always practical.


For me I like dogs so they can stay out, but for a general rule they should be inside.

[Vinny]

Our service guys make between $35K and 70K, have medical and dental paid, 401K plan, 3 weeks vacation and get sent to the factory for training once/year.

The 3 main service guys get this, I should say.  We hire day laborers to help move spas.  One of the day laborers showed up with a marijuana cap on the other day.  I asked him if he liked weed, he says "no sir, I like hats" so I gave him a Gregg County Fair Hat.  Every time I see him he's wearing it.

Terminator

$35K is a little low IMO (except for a newbie) but its good to know that they are getting benefits as well. I hear horror stories of small companies not giving their workers anything so that they can make a profit.

At $70K I would consider being a tech, actually at one point I was considering maybe becoming a spa tech. My only problem would be wrestling with a 800 lb tub ... I would need to soak my back every night after work.

[hottub.pool_boy]

Mr. Stuart, great questions, here's my opinion as a spa dealer.

1. I like my techs. Could everyone use improvement including myself, absolutely.
2. If you hire them with piercings, earings, long hair, etc. you're accepting their appearance. Can't say a couple weeks down the line that it's unacceptable. If an applicant came to me with the "right personality" I'm looking for, I'd ask them if they'd consider removing those items if they want the job.
I like people who come to an interview with a SMILE, and need to be pretty personable.
3. I'm 37. Age has nothing to do with it, for me. As an example, this year, I'm making up my part-time retail workforce, mainly from retirees. They're responsible, genrally have their own transportation, only want to work up to 20 hours or so, and if the can't make it to work "THEY ACTUALLY CALL AHEAD AND LET YOU KNOW OR EVEN FIND ONE OF THE OTHERS TO COVER FOR THEM."  What a novel idea! I would hire an "experienced" (age wise that is) in a second as a tech if they had an ounce of electrical knowledge and a good personality. I can train the rest. For most of our repairs, a NEXTEL in hand, I could walk a monkey(no pun intended) through the repair.
4. A good tech can make upwards of $50k +. Now, this is someone who'll do most of their own a$$ wiping. Like fielding some service calls in-store prior to dispatch, while on the road and upon returning to the store, capable of setting up realistic routes for themselves and younger techs, maintain their vehicle, orders restocking parts for their truck, knows when to ask a question of others, instead a feeding a homeowner a line of bull-nonsense, will perform other tasks around the business as needed, prepare most all invoices, etc, etc.
5. We don't require anyone to be home. If the spa is out of warranty, we get a credit card ahead of time 90% of the time. Most of our customers will even leave a door unlocked for us if the spa is inside, I love them.
6. Not applicable, but I'll answer anyway. Within a week. Most times it's a day or three for us. Trucks are stocked, so 99% no return trip required. This may offend some, but we aren't working on life-support machinery. Cold/ possible freeze-up weather, under 24 hrs. if the spa is DOWN.
7. Put the dog away.
8. Does the job come with a season pass? What about powder days? Is it still every man for himself?

[Pathfinder]

This is awsome input guys! It's just what I was looking for...

This will be printed out and circulated through the service dept.

Another question;
Do you prefer a follow up call, a note or an email after the call to find out the outcome?

How long of a window should you as a customer be given for when the tech should be there...1 hour, 2 or even 3? We currently schedule either morning or afternoon.

Another dealer friend of mine has been sending out quality feedback forms to customers with the accounts receivables. they either drop them off call with response or send them back.  He told me that system works well.

I have always booked my customers under the number system 1st 2nd...  
I have always believed  to schedule later than when you supposed to be there that way your tech should be early never late.

I dont think im  the only one but absolutely no smoking,chaw or sunflower seeds on job sites or in company trucks.
  

[Tman122]

Colorado sounds nice  

[drewstar]

You know term, they guys all in thier hot springs shirts does make a difference and makes the group look like a team that knows what they are doing.  

[Chris_H]

Stuart,
What is your ultimate goal of this thread?
Chris

[Ruby]

So for both consumers and industry pros I need some opinions.

Be honest...this is important!

1. How well do you like your technician?
I LOVE my techs (Dennis and Rich) I have mentioned them on here before.  They were very personable, professional, knowledgable and had a great sense of humor.  They went out of their way to make me happy and made me feel like I could call them with any questions at any time.  It's because of them that I wouldn't hesitate to refer people to my dealer. My salesman was o.k., but these guys were Great!

2. Does the tech's hair length or physical appearance play a part in your opinion of them when they get to your house? This may sound crude but do crooked teeth, scars or other appearance items make you feel differently about how good they would be at fixing the spa?
Hair length and other physical looks don't bother me as long as they are neat and clean, people can't help if they have scars, crooked teeth, etc

3. Does age play a part in your opinion? Do you feel a young tech in his early 20's would not be experienced as an older one or would you prefer a young energetic tech to someone in their 50's or 60's because you feel they are sharper?
Age doesn't matter to me

4. How much per year would you think a spa technician should make? For those of you that are tech's in other fields feel free to PM me with what you make along with industry people PM me with what you pay/make. For consumers remember that most warranty reimbursement is between $40 and $70 for the entire call, that means from the support staff in the store taking the call, the parts storage mileage time and everything.
I hope Dennis and Rich make a good living, they deserve it.  I'm guessing they do because they've been employed with Valley for at least a couple years, since I bought my first tub.  I would hope at least 50k plus benefits

5. Do you feel you need to be at home when the tech arrives or, for industry people, do you require someone there before your tech comes out?
Typically, yes.  I don't like people here when I'm not home.  But after a couple meetings with these 2, I was comfortable giving them my garage code so they could get through to the backyard to deliver my replacement cover.  

6. As a consumer what time frame do you think is reasonable for a tech to be at your house from the point of calling it in? What about a weekend call, if you call on a Saturday do you expect a tech on Monday considering most service departments won't get the call until Monday morning?
These guys have always called or been here within a day, even though the calls have been for non-freeze issues.  I have an unusual schedule where I am only available in the mornings before 10:00-they were good about working with that.

7. If you have a friendly dog do you feel the tech should be as comfortable with your dog as you are? Do you always put your dog in during service?
My dogs are always put away when service people come.  I do not assume that everybody is an animal lover.  Although, when Rich and Dennis were here, there was a stray that came through and Rich was very good with it

8. Last, if you are looking for a job as a tech and want to live in Colorado feel free to PM or Email me.

I will have more questions as this goes along but I really want to get a public opinion and out look on service techs.

Just to comment on the call back-My dealer doesn't do that but my mechanic does.  He usually calls a week or 2 later to see if my car is running ok and that means the world to me.  I think all service industries should do this.  It shows they care and they get more referrals from me. (My vetrinarian does it too)

[East_TX_Spa]

$35K is a little low IMO (except for a newbie) but its good to know that they are getting benefits as well.

That is the pay for the 21-year old new guy.  He manages the warehouse and parts department and typically doesn't do service calls except in a pinch.

Term

[stuart]

Stuart,
What is your ultimate goal of this thread?
Chris

I have several goals with this thread...

In twenty years of doing this I have found more poor tech's then good ones, I feel that this is a sad thing and now I want to narrow down what the perfect tech looks like in the eyes of the consumer and of my fellow industry people.

I also feel that with a Nextel I could walk a monkey through most repairs the problem is that I don't have to do that and need people to be self thinkers.

When I came up the idea of this thread I was very disappointed in the fact that I have advertised all over the nation for techs in our trade magazines, monster.com and other sources only to always get less than I've looked for or even thought I hired.

We interview through at least 3 managers including my wife and myself, we do a background check, we get feedback from former employers and do everything that your supposed to do to find good people only to find that the people we decide on don't follow through with the customer or even make the customer angry.

One guy came in like gangbusters but little experience, we were excited about him yet he's young covered in tattoos, has longer hair (well kept), he a body builder and when he leaves the store gets to the customers house in sleeveless shirts and a macho attitude.  He has missed several days of work for personal problems, seems to gravitate to anger very quickly and overcomplicates most things.

I find that in the last few years no matter how good someone looks upfront or how much skill they have many have personal problems that prevent them from performing their job good.

I've had techs apply that I found potentially good and yet their appearance didn't appeal to me, the most current was a guy with lots of experience but very bad teeth, long hair and kind of disheveled...I think he is probably a great tech and wonder if my personal opinion of his appearance agrees with the public.

I find that most of the time the older someone is the better their work ethic however in the winter the older guys don't want to be out in the weather so where is the happy medium.

I want to know what most techs make and if we are par in how we compensate.

I want as much feedback as I can get from across the country to learn myself and to share with existing techs as well as new hires so that they can see more than my out look.

As a member of the Dealer Advisory Board I know that this info could potentially help other dealers so I also want to come up with a report for that.

....And, last but not least, I'm looking for a tech so I plan on taking this info, going through the hiring process and present it to the group here to see how they feel about my choices.  

Yesterday I began an ad campaign to bring in two techs and hope to find someone local however I'm looking for the best candidates not their location.

Now Chris…I have a question for you. Do you not feel this is a pertinent discussion?

Rarely do I post anything not pertinent to this forum or the industry even if I post things in a sarcastic manner.

I own and operate one of the largest stores in the entire region so I don’t have time for frivolous banter that impedes on my day and doesn’t add to forward motion so I really appreciate those that have taken the time to post their honest thoughts and opinions.

BTW, last week one of my tech's got bit by a "friendly dog" and we are in the process of narrowing down time procedures for service so that is also part of this.

[Chris_H]

I just asked a question about your thoughts.  

[stuart]

I just asked a question about your thoughts.  

Hopefully I answered your question to the degree you were looking.... 8-)

[Micah]

Scheduled times should be set to the minute,

Are you serious? How do you account for traffic, A job that takes longer than expected. Any thing that happens to a tech on an everyday basis.  Unless a tech is underbooked and has the ability to sit and wait for 30 miniutes after every job, then the concept of "to the miniute" is unrealistic.