Great subject. I opened our small company over 11 years ago on a shoestring. Seems as though not much has changed:). I have added lower skilled employee's numerous times over the years. We are not large enough to offer the pay/ benifits that the
dealerships can offer. Repeatly I have found that the lack of committment from these younger hands compromised my key customers satisfaction with our service. I guess I am old school. If a customer is paying for our service ($87 per hour) then he needs torealize that this company is paying $1.45 per minute for our service. That requires some real committment. Give the customer what he is paying for. That means keeping your service van properly stocked. Parts, tools, SAE and metric hardware an on. I am certain that all of the techs on this forum have that type of work ethic. The fact that that they spend time here honing their skills prove that.
I think that demand for what we do will drive up the labor rates. As the economy recovers I would hope to see labor and payscale rise to the point where young people consider this as a career path. A lotof young people today have probably not been exposedto a job as demanding as this can be. Shop mechanics spend 8 hours+ a day bent over, under and on top of lifttruck. A good field tech is required to have the answers to all questions, solve all problems with an impatient shift foremanover his shoulder- all with a reassuring smile that confirms that "You sir are our most important customer". What's not to love??
Steve