FEATURE BY JOE HENRY CHALLENGES OF A TECHNICIAN I n the 1970s, my dad had a BHPH dealership needing my recon jobs done. He said he was mentoring me. " You will never make flat-rate doing it that way. " I called it a line between boundary-pushing and a dumpster fire. While I was trying to beat book time, the summer heat made me sweat my sockets off, and in the winter I got chill and anger bumps. Have things changed since then? A hard " NO " . LET'S EXPLORE TODAY'S GREAT CHALLENGES OF A MECHANIC / TECHNICIAN How would you feel about: * Investing $20k to $50k of commerce with tool companies, just so you could apply for your present job? " Must have own tools " * Having NO base pay * Having your weekly take-home influenced by Auto and Collision Techs, Death by a Thousand Cuts? * how many vehicles come in the door * how lame or strong the Service Consultant or Estimator is * limited workspace * parts inventory * the type of work given to you * warranty * CP * internal * DPR Given the above scenario, and unless you are part of the small minority of Techs on hourly or a guarantee, your pay-weeks are roller-coasters. Simply put, Techs' pay is generally unmoored. Some weeks are like a punch in the face. Here is another issue. Have you ever had too much fun on the weekend and gotten a D.U.I.? You will most likely be terminated. 28