1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

17 hours and counting

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by galaxee, Mar 22, 2007.

  1. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2005
    9,810
    466
    0
    Location:
    MD
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    that's how long DH has been at work. and it's been like this all week. :angry:

    why?

    the other hardcore diagnostic tech (the other half of the "dynamic diagnostic duo") went to another dealership. and now all that stuff is on DH's shoulders.

    doesn't help that all the guys go to him for advice, all the service writers go to him for their hybrid owners with questions, and he spends 12 hours trying to get a 20 minute project done.

    sorry, i just had to rant... i can't stand this. 17 hours a day, 6 days a week, zero overtime, zero compensation for anything other than removing and replacing parts... Wth is with dealer jobs anyway?!?!

    here's more evidence that not all techs are a-hole guys in it for the money.
     
  2. Lywyllyn

    Lywyllyn New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2007
    202
    1
    0
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
    I hear the maldive islands are nice this time of the year!
     
  3. SSimon

    SSimon Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2006
    1,426
    21
    0
    Location:
    N/W of Chicago
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Now that I've seen your picture I can say "with such a cutie at home he stills works that much" and mean it. Sorry for you Galaxee. :( At least he's not working on my f'd up cd player. I'd feel even worse then.
     
  4. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2006
    19,011
    4,081
    50
    Location:
    Grass Valley, CA.
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Then he gets home all exhausted too I bet. :(
     
  5. dragonfly

    dragonfly New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2006
    2,217
    7
    0
    No wonder he has back trouble!
     
  6. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2005
    15,232
    1,563
    0
    Location:
    off into the sunset
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    There's gotta be a better way. I don't know enough about employment standards and laws in your country to make a judgement, but similar conditions and pay here would likely be illegal. DH should be earning double and maybe even triple overtime for such insane hours. Maybe it's time to start exploring your options and looking into alternatives. What kind of pay is the other tech now getting? What's it worth to the dealership not to lose DH too? Why is there so much effort expended to benefit other people with no compensation? Pay up or piss off. There's nothing to be gained in the long run by working yourself to death. Methinks it's time to play some hardball. <_<
     
  7. Betelgeuse

    Betelgeuse Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 11, 2005
    1,460
    24
    1
    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Mar 22 2007, 11:49 PM) [snapback]410648[/snapback]</div>
    How the hell does he not get paid for being there for 17 hours a day? Even if it's not replacing parts, he's clearly still there and is clearly an integral part of the dealership's shop.

    Seriously, though; how can they get away with not paying him for the time he spends there working?

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hyo silver @ Mar 23 2007, 12:34 AM) [snapback]410674[/snapback]</div>
    I totally agree with hyo here. He's clearly an extraordinarily gifted mechanic and diagnostician. If the dealership isn't ready to recognize how important he is, he needs to find some place that will value him. I would advocate a somewhat more gradual approach, though. . . at least make sure that the dealership realizes how much work/time he's putting in. After they understand that, if they're still jerking him around, he should start to look elsewhere. Given all of the "dealer misinformation" stories on this site, a knowledgeable Prius tech should be in very high demand.
     
  8. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2005
    9,810
    466
    0
    Location:
    MD
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    dealer jobs are 100% commission, you make x dollars per hour billed out in work orders. 100% legal here, techs make flat rate, end of story.

    see, they've been stringing him along for 6 months now with this magical "salary" word (conveniently around the time the medical bills became astounding). he's been told multiple times they will take care of him, and they don't want him to leave. he's putting on serious pressure lately and he's either going to get the salary soon or get fired for pushing the issue.

    they don't seem to be aware of how much the shop leans on him... we dug out his W2 for 2006, and he's taking it in tomorrow for negotiations... and it's basically going to be a "so this is what i'm worth to you?" token.

    i'm also putting pressure on him to do this. for his back, for our relationship.

    at the end of his 17.6 hour day, he comes home to tell me he's going back in at 5am tomorrow. :angry:

    btw, he's truly honored by some of the very flattering descriptions of him... :D
     
  9. dragonfly

    dragonfly New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2006
    2,217
    7
    0
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Mar, 10:02 PM) [snapback]410696[/snapback]</div>
    Good luck on that tomorrow! Take it from me, it's not worth it to stay in a job that doesn't value your work!!!
     
  10. daronspicher

    daronspicher Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2005
    1,208
    0
    0
    Are there this many Toyotas with this big of problems in your area?

    Or, is he out watching the NCAA tourney at the pub?
     
  11. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2005
    9,810
    466
    0
    Location:
    MD
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    if he would be left alone long enough to do his own damn job, he'd be taking on maintenance tickets to pass the time...
     
  12. Betelgeuse

    Betelgeuse Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 11, 2005
    1,460
    24
    1
    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Mar 23 2007, 11:27 AM) [snapback]410859[/snapback]</div>
    Well, I obviously don't understand the way shops work, but isn't diagnostic work billable work? Can't he write something saying, "Spent 0.5 hrs working on Ticket #35432"? I mean, if he's spending time on it, he should be billing for it, right?

    What are the repercussions of just refusing to work on other stuff? I mean, there's a certain amount of "being a team player" that is clearly important for advancement, but is it possible for him to cut this stuff off after a while? On the other hand, from your descriptions of your DH, it appears that he's quite a "diagnostic geek" and can't walk away from an interesting puzzle (believe me; I can identify with that :lol: ).

    Is there any way he can talk to the management at the shop and let them know how much this stuff is cutting into his time? It's obviously easy to jump to conclusions looking at this from the outside, but it sortta seems like they (the dealer) is taking advantage of his good will and generally helpful demeanor.
     
  13. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2005
    9,810
    466
    0
    Location:
    MD
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    sometimes you can count it as billable work, but rarely an amount of time that nearly represents what you've put into it.

    he could refuse to help the other guys, but that would slow the whole shop down because they rely on him so heavily. he doesn't want to let them down. i tell him he's letting me down by being gone all damn day and not even a few extra bucks (insufficient IMO for all the time we lose together anyway) to show for it. he can't say no, basically, because of internal forces. he's just too much of a good guy.

    he's basically acting as the shop foreman and only getting paid for the time he's acting as a tech.

    meanwhile, the service mgr and the guy above him are aware of what's going on- well aware. they supposedly have told all the service writers to quit asking him to do things for them. but nothing changes.

    yet another place that just takes advantage of him... it ends up like this most of the time. they'll use him up and spit him out if i can't convince him to take action. more and more this "salary" thing appears to be a lie, as well.
     
  14. Skwyre7

    Skwyre7 What's the catch?

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2006
    2,332
    6
    0
    Location:
    Richmond, Virginia
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    So is that other dealership still hiring?
     
  15. ncc1701mda

    ncc1701mda Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 10, 2006
    22
    0
    0
    What dealership does he work for? (If I may ask)
     
  16. koa

    koa Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 9, 2005
    980
    45
    0
    Location:
    Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Mar 23 2007, 07:16 AM) [snapback]410958[/snapback]</div>
    Isn't this his main leverage in negotiating for a higher salary? If the shop makes less money after a month of your husband just doing what he is getting paid to do and nothing more they might realize it's worth paying him more. He can refer all questions to his supervisors, so they will need to spend more of their time on something they are not getting paid to do.
     
  17. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2005
    9,810
    466
    0
    Location:
    MD
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    so i'm not going to say a lot right now... but it is clear if these clowns can't pay him for what he does, he will find someone else who can.

    fact is, we're not waiting another month. i made the numbers work for six whole months while they lied to him day after day. now we're done. we can't do it anymore. he either gets salary, or he finds someone who will pay him what he's worth at a place where people don't interrupt him over 30 times a day.
     
  18. eagle33199

    eagle33199 Platinum Member

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
    5,122
    268
    0
    Location:
    Minnesota
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    I'm glad to see he's taking a stand. I've been treated in a similar manor in a few jobs in the past - for the most part, i was more concerned with other stuff (like classes), and didn't rely too terribly much on the money - it mostly paid for entertainment :-p. All of those jobs i ended up working way below my abilities, because it was what they were paying me for. I put in minimal hours and all that. Now i'm working for a pretty good company, and actually find myself willingly putting in overtime when needed, all because they are taking care of me.

    It really sucks how some companies take advantage of their most talented people without compensating them properly.
     
  19. eclectcmoi

    eclectcmoi Muffinologist

    Joined:
    Aug 5, 2006
    6,764
    17
    10
    Location:
    Lakewood, CA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    I worked for 10 years for the same company who treated staff like second class citizens. I stayed mainly because I loved my co-workers and agents and I was close in proximity to my daughters if they needed me. The job also taught me a lot that I was able to take with me to my present job. I not only made a huge increase in salary, but joined a company where employees are appreciated and respected. If we have to spend 8 (or more in DH's case) hours a day someplace, it sure should be where we are valued for our contributions and compensated for our dedication and good work ethic.

    You and DH have had such a rough time recently, you guys deserve for this all to work out in a good way for you.
     
  20. SSimon

    SSimon Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2006
    1,426
    21
    0
    Location:
    N/W of Chicago
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    I agree w/ electcmoi, employers who tend to treat their employees like crap will continue to do so as long as there's no resistance. Most intelligent business owners or managers, however, realize that it's more efficient to the bottom line to keep their valued, productive employees content so that they can keep turn over rates in check. It's typically costly to hire out new employees for interview time, getting the employee paper work (insurance, IRS, 401K, etc.) up and running to training new personnel to ensure that they carry through w/ the company philosophy.

    Judging by how valuable he seems and how much they rely on him, they're not going to want to loose him. It's just kinda ridiculous that he has to force their hand to treat him right. Maybe he should demand just treatment so that he's content right now but seek employment with a new company that treats their employees with consideration. His current employer seems down right stupid. How can any employer expect long term, sound productivity from an employee they force to work those kind of hours? Seems shortsighted to me.............