gasgasman Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 Here in the Houston area, a lot of dealers are offering sign on bonuses for techs. They range from $1,500 to $3,000. I've been in the business for 20 years, this was unheard of, until now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktmlew Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 What are the terms? You get $150.00 a month for a year after you've been there one year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gasgasman Posted May 23, 2006 Author Share Posted May 23, 2006 Knowing the automotive business, you are probably right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktmlew Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 I've been offered a sign-on bonus...it was 1500 spread over six months after six months employment...not "exactly" what I call a SIGN-ON BONUS!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaysonfordtech Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 I negotiated the amount to cover my cobra after 90 days so I guess that counts as a signing bonus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 Quote: I negotiated the amount to cover my cobra That seems to be a common hiring concern with a lot of guys. I know that a couple of the techs in my shop had the company cover their COBRA until the company benefits kicked in. Considering the cost of health care coverage and having a family to support and protect, that is definitely a sign on bonus to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwebb1981 Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 I would rather have a car as a sign on bonus than money, but that just bc of my 250,000 mile honda is getting old and loves to drink oil. A couple of guys that I went though the Asset program with got there dealership to pay for gas to school and even pay for there schooling. But you know its funny how dealerships will pay you 1 or 2 thousand dollars to get you to come to work with them. Then later own when things are slow and they don't want to help you. And they wonder why that can't keep techs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Clayton Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 When I started as a tech and filled out a job application, if there was more than one application on the sm's desk, then you had to compete for your job. Now a dealer has to steal techs from other dealers with crazy incentives. Really wild how times have changed. The funny thing about the whole situation is that the dealer principle still thinks that qualified techs are a dime a dozen. If he has one diesel tech and he walks, then thats a real eye opener for the higher ups at the dealer. Gets expensive sending your diesel customers to the nearest competing dealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sroberts92275 Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 I was given $2500.00 up front to move from florida to nc, A moving company was hired by my new dealer to move my stuff. Durring the 3 months it took to sell my house in FL my new dealer garunteed me 60 hrs per week and let me leave on thursday to drive home for a 3 day weekend to be with my fam. When i bought my new house here, my new dealer gave me another $2500. My dealer in nc was owned by the same family for 70 years until selling out in july of last year to some fat ass from atlanta who owns 3 other ford stores. This was the best run car dealership that i have ever worked for or heard of until last july. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DwayneGorniak Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 There are alot of dealerships up here offering $5000.00 signing bonuses up front, "BUT" you have to sign a contract stating that you will remain employed at that dealership for one year. I have been offered that same bonus a few times. The last time I was offered that bonus, I denied it and told the dealership to pay for all my moving expenses instead. I lasted one month then wound up here and had my moving expenses looked after with no contract. Been here three years now. I had been in a contract eight years ago and it was hell. It is usually dealerships that have high a turnaround that offer these contracts.I consider these contracts as entrapment. The way I see it: If the dealership knows they are any good to work for, they should feel comfortable in knowing that their new employees will stay. And they should stick their neck out a little to prove it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Dwayne... I guess you missed the Edmonton Sun article on Crosstown Motors? 'Bout a month or so ago.... $12G with a one year employment stipulation... Everyone is so hungry for warm bodies that you can damned near write your own ticket if you play on the right team.... Our boss is willing to discuss sign on bonus AND moving expenses with suitable applicants - and I don't see us as having a really high shop turn-over (if the boss would stop with the entry level kids for a while). We were just given a one time $2G tool allowance (hand in your receipts, they photocopy them and give them back with a cheque for what you spent... the "catch"? Continued employment for the next year... fail and you have to pay back a pro-rated amount... Some of the stuff we will probably see in the thread started by Eric Stewart (Yearly Contracts) will probably revolve around the idea of finding a job to keep rather than finding a job that will allow us to find another job. A new employer is going to check out his applicants... wouldn't it stand to reason that an applicant should check out a possible new employer? Some guys seem to spend more time deciding what toppings they want on their pizza... How's the noggin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LARRY BRUDZYNSKI Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Jim any Parts contracts avail. at your shop?? I don't mind the frosty nuts I can deal with the north I like the cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DwayneGorniak Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Well Jim, I can certainly agree with having a one year contract on 12g's. Holy crap /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/surprise.gif that's alot of dough. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/surprise.gif But I like your bosses ideas about giving bonus's to your already existing eployees. Those are attractive bonus's that will make tech's want to stay there. And if they are treated well (which I'm sure they are) techs become very loyal. I have found myself in the last few years interviewing employers for careers and looking into their backgrounds just as much as I had been interviewed by them. Some of the contract issues I was refering to were from some of my past experiences that I have either been in or seen at dealerships I have worked at: signing bonus's with a contract, contracts to remain employed for one year after being sent to school for training, contracts to remain employed for duration of internal car loans, and never any bonus's, etc. I've seen some not to pleasant situations which has always made me very cautious. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/readthis.gif And my point is just simple: I have found it more pleasant to work for employers who give bonus's for good work versus employers who try to hand out contracts for every little thing they help you out with and lock you into their dept for another year. Oh yeah, the shell is fine. A couple of nicks and scratches, but just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Sorry, Larry... we have a full complement of partsmongers... three plus the parts driver/stock clerk/whatever else comes along girl... Not sure what the pay is these days, but I tried partsmongering at this store for about three years back in early 80s.... $2500/month was the rate back then... /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/sick.gif suddenly realized I pay more than that in income tax, now.... /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/crybaby2.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LARRY BRUDZYNSKI Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Quote: we have a full complement of partsmongers Yeah but good ones? No just kidding I don't think you guy's up north could afford me!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Check out monster.ca (I think that's what it is). You might be surprised. Canada is a land of opportunity. Western Canada is aching for people. Good people that want to work.... Let's put it this way..... McDonalds is paying $12/hour for burger flippers.... We're paying $18/hour to more than one guy that had to ask what my wheel alignment machine was. A conversation from this afternoon.... "is anything going to come out when I pull that (faulty) block heater out?". "?? yesssssss...". "What?" "Coolant" "How much?" "Most all of it" Gawd help me.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Bruene Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 There is a dealer in Jacksonville, Florida offering a $15,000 signing bonus for diesel techs as we speak... I wonder what the catch is... It's on http://www.needtechs.com , I tried to post a link directly to the page, but it didn't work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torqued_Up Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 I am curious if any takers of these sign on bounses ended up hating the job and felt trapped in hell once there. Nothing like a big as life sucker punch eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DwayneGorniak Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 I am curious if any takers of these sign on bounses ended up hating the job and felt trapped in hell once there. Nothing like a big as life sucker punch eh? like I said earlier, It happened to me eight years ago. It was hell. Then the dealership I was at before here, but I was smarter by that time and did not agree to it right away. I had them pay my rent instead untill my probation was up and told them to hold off with the bonus untill my probation was up. I never even made it through the probation period and I bailed. Wound up here and am much happier. P.S just because these were my experiences doesn't meen every dealership is like this. All I am saying is just don't lock yourself into a contract immediatley without knowing the unknown. Get them to write the contract stating "after probationary period" and negotiate your moving expences. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/readthis.gif If you think about, this will protect both parties. Just be smart and cautious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Very good points, Dwayne.... One of the important things we must consider (and this is going to have to be on an individual basis).... "intellectual property". We cart this along with us... just like our hands, our backs and our toolchests... Not as tangible but it shows in our product.... Save your records (something I never did and continue to avoid, for some reason)... A football team hires a quarterback on his scorecard.... Use customers as references.... if a tech has no customers that will do this for him.... what can I say???? Any sane employer is going to ask "Is this person going to be a valuable member of my team?"... they aren't looking for someone to come in and start rocking the boat... but they should be open to fresh ideas... An employer is going to ask "Is this guy going to make me money without bringing too much "overhead" ?". For our part.... we can be swept up in simply looking at a different shop. And forget to ask things that are important to us.... training.... What's available... how easy is it to get? Any pay involved (shouldn't really matter for some stuff - web based courses, for instance - but it can be icing on the cake)? Do you fit in with the rest of the staff.... are they there because it's a job or are they there because they can do well? (Bear in mind... a few sluggards at a store can affect the whole store - we need to learn to separate "difficult" from "impossible"). Is the pay scale in step with your "intellectual property" and your productivity quotient? Somewhere out there, there is a job that you can turn into your dream job... as long as your dream is viable to begin with. Used to be that a signing bonus was a way to entice techs in to stores that were less than "palatable". Now, in western Canada at least, signing bonuses are a way for employers to say... "look at me!!! I'm hiring!!! I'm serious!!!". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LARRY BRUDZYNSKI Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 I never had gotten anything in writing from Motor City when I hired on(My bad). I came in never having sold a Ford part before, maybe I was just misinformed. I was told it would be easy to pickup the Ford parts system, Yeah it was pretty easy, but then they thru Sterling.Freightliner,Bendix,Horton, about 200 different manufacturers that we deal with all having different systems and part # systems. I don't ever back down from a challenge so I'm here and I like it. It's something different everyday..... BUT then comes 5 years down the road and I'm still making the same, so on and on goes and here I am at Superior Turbo and Injection. Doing again something different but the same. DON'T BE AFRAID OF CHANGE!!! EMBRACE IT!!! KEEP JUST BETWEEN US I was offered(don't tell your parts mongers) $22.00 a hour to start. I feel like I have a union job again!!! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/king.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DwayneGorniak Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Doohhhh! You mentioned the U sware word. Maybe if Jim is going into an alcohol hypnotosis sleep, he will let it slide. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Not mentioning that was my belated Xmas gift to Larry.... In real life, I LOVE onions.... Bermuda Onions, Videlia Onions, White Onions, Red Onions.... I love 'em all.... I even make Onion sandwiches. Trade Onions are, unfortunately, unpalatable.... even the good ones are no better than the bad ones making it hard to tell what you're buying.... On occasion, you may find a Trade Onion that should have reached full maturity... be sweet and pungent and full of Onion goodness.... only to find out that it remained tart... it's only claim to fame being that it paid it's Onion dues and now feels that it should take it's place amongst the videlias and bermudas.... Is anyone else getting hungry? Onion rings...... must.... have.... Onion rings..... But not Trade Onion rings.... /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/poke.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/poke.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/2cents.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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