I need to hire a mechanic to work in the shop here. My best mechanic quit to go in business for himself right down the road from our dealership, and I can't find one to replace him. Dude made $43,000 last year as a mechanic and he thinks he can do better on his own at $30/hr. I wish him all the luck in the world. The first time somebody shafts him good by not paying him, he'll be coming back.

Anyways, just frustrating. I'm running ads in the newspaper, but all I get is a bunch of goobers with no experience. What do I do? AAAAAHHH

 

Seems to me if you guys cant get anyone, he is cheaper than you guys, and is a great mechanic....

He'll do fine.

 

Sub contract the work to the mechanic who has started his own business.

 

Okay, first off...Every farmer we do work for knows the mechanic, knows me, knows where he's at, knows who both of our great grandpa's cousin's uncle's niece was. Get the picture? If I start sending him our work they'll just take it straight to him.

Also we have to do warranty work ourselves. If I got audited by case, that wouldn't be pretty. Mechanics are hard to come by. I need a good one.

 

Look at it this way; Jethro made $43,000 last year, This is around $22 per hour. Add taxes to that, plus insurance and the Jethro actually being paid $30 an hour (pre-tax/insurance)..follow me? Now there is no way in hell you are billing his labor out at anywhere near $30 an hour…the company is going to make something on it too. Let me take a guess and say that you are billing customers $45 pr hour…I know, I am conservative with this number.
Now Jethro gets fed up and moves on, starts his own gig. He could bill his labor at $40 pr hour and undercut you. Then Jethro will eventually get some help, at $20 per hour, that he is willing to baby sit. So, now Jethro is making approximately $30,000 just off of his helper. Throw in the $60,000 Jethro is in line to make, and good ole Jethro is now pulling in $90,000 a year. If Jethro lines up the planets just right, he will become certified to work on warranty work. This will then ensue Jethro make over $100K a year, every year…..a lot better than $43,000. And he will be able to buy a boat with all of the tax write offs he has coming to him for being a small business.
What’s good ole Jethro get for his troubles of starting a business on his own? Lets see….hard work, freedom (he essentially will run the show), pride, potential monetary benefits, did I mention pride?
Your assumption that the first time Jethro gets burned he will be back, is a weak assumption to say the least. I own my own business, when you get burned you use it as a learning experience, which prevents future “burns”. Shouldn’t thump Jethro for wanting to go out on his own (that’s kind of how I read it).
You never know what will come in the future. One day you may be working for Jethro after his shop closes down yours, you just never know. My number one competitor (from when I started on my own) is now doing jobs for ME.

**all the above is with the expectation that Jethro has a good business strategy.

Go Jethro! Go! I am all for Jethro.

But to answer your question, NO I don’t know any decent mechanics in your area.
Good Luck though, I hope you fill it in.

 

Are you offering goober $$$ or experience $$$. We had 2 goobers because thats what the owners would pay. After that we got someone with experience, but he is also getting experience $$$.


You get what you pay for.

How much did you know when you started working there? You have to start someplace.

 

Here's some Qs for you.

Are there lot's of fishing lakes around your area?
How much does the wind blow there?
What's the average cost of a home there?
Are you a rat bastard to work for?
Do you supply any tools?
Is your equipment and shop up to date?
How is your benefit package?

 

Nobody wants to work on Case equipment because John Deere Equipment is easier to work on. In our area there is a shortage of good Case Mechanics but John Deere always seems to have a lot of good ones. I know from experience that it is easier to work on John deere cotton pickers . Good luck to you on your search because your probably going to need it.

And 1969mach, I can answer a few of those questions for you.
There are some pretty good fishing lake in Northeast Arkansas. The Arkansas world record bass was caught out of Mallard lake in Manila. It weighed a little over 16 lbs. And the mississippi River has some of the best cat fishing around.

The wind doesnt blow a lot in northeast Arkansas, or atleast I dont think it does.

What kind of home are you talking about?