employee pay

[Grapevine]

i have 2 full time employees and myself, we work 6 days a week.My main guy works hard, fixes everything that breaks down, and shows up every day.I pay him $600.00 a week with full health for 32-36 weeks in the season. He gets unemployment and cash for snowplowing in the winter.
He tells me he needs more money or will work for someone else who has already approached him. What do you guys think is a fair wage to offer him and what do you pay your best employee. Ps he has worked for me for 3 years.

[AVRECON]

Sounds to me like he's overpaid. Let his a$$ walk if he ain't happy.

[TLS]

Sounds like $10/hr to me. Thats not very much in my book. Can you survive on 20K / yr ? If he is that good, think about upping it to $650 to $700. Good help is hard to find.

[plymouthvaliant73]

Are you makin' money on this guy or not? Can you still make money if you pay him more? Isn't "fair" irrelevant? The bottom line - profit - is what matters. Which will cost you more, paying him or training a new guy? It always seemed odd to me that an employer would spend more to hire and train a new guy than to keep a good employee because he was hung up on a "fair wage". Penny wise, pound foolish.

[lawnboy82]

i am having a similar problem right now. i pay my guy 14 dollars an hour on the books. no benefits or anything. he is great, i can send him places to do work and no real problems. last year nobody complained about the work. this year however customers are complaining to me about the work a bit. also he is only working with me 3 or 4 days a week. i needed him to work tomorow and he wont do it because he has to work for himself. he has his own accounts. i have helped him out before. um, i told him to go someplace today that i have driven with him to many, many times before. he probably took the longest route possible. cause i followed him part of the way. he knows a lot and would be hard to replace. not to mention that i have a lot of time and money tied up in him. so i guess i am stuck for now. i dont know what to do with him though. he is my main guy and i probably couldnt get by without him.

[Grapevine]

Dixie1 thanks for the input, we've agreed on $750.00 a week.He's a good kid, worker and can take a carbeurator apart with his eyes closed, saves me a fortune at the repair shop. Plymouthvaliant, your're right finding good people is impossible and he needs to be paid accordingly. Thanks for the advice.

[Runner]

Man! I wish I could find someone to pay ME 750 a week!:eek:

[Jason Pallas]

Dixie1 - remember this guy was getting Full health coverage/benefits too! So while on the face of it, it seems like $10 and hour, factor in the $100-$150 for health coverage a week and thats more like $13/hour.
The guy may well be worth it if he's a good mechanic, employee, etc.... but you need to factor in the benefits.

[thelawnguy]

Where Im from you dont get much for 750/week; a ratty attic apt in a 3 family tenement will set you back 750 plus utilities.

Talking with other LCOs in my area seems 12/hour starting pay for an english understanding flunky whose only job is cut and trim grass and not bust the equipment is common. Crew leaders will start at 18/hr and up and still not get their hands greasy.

I think you have a good catch there for 750 plus bennys for 6 days a week, doing extras and sticking around thru the winter.