Technician Wages

[teckat]

I worked with a few sales reps ( I am a tech not a sales rep) that had 50-60k by March 1 off of their commissions. And the techs got 30k a year. Also at one company if you turned in a sales lead that put a 85 page per minute machine in an account then you received a $50 tip lead. if it was a fax machine you got $5.

By the way is 14.00 an hour good for 15 years of experience??

with that experience u can easily make anywhere between $ 45,000 & 55,000 yr in NYC(NEW YORK CITY)

[prntrfxr]

You might want to also consider cost of living. Wages in California, New York and in the north tend to be higher than those who live in the south. Gas prices (usually), groceries, and rent are usually lower.

[jdylong]

This thread is fascinating. I am very surprised by some of the wages posted herein. It seems to me that a tech making less than 30K/year should be looking elsewhere.
While it is true that sales reps can make six figures I should point out most reps lie about their true income, especially to other salespeople. One thing to keep in mind when looking at techs vs reps. Sales reps usually make a very small salary and are heavily commissioned. This is done to create incentive for them and allows management to feel comfortable if the rep does not perform for a month or two (base between 15-25K/yr). Management "sells" the rep on the "unlimited income potential". 3 out of 4 sales reps make their base salary and not much else. This is a big reason for the turnover in sales reps.

By contrast most techs either by choice or by just not asking opt for a base salary and not much else (perhaps commissions on referrals). To management they appear as a "cost" each month, whereas a sales rep look like an "investment". This of course is way off base, both the techs and reps should have the same goals, keeping customers happy and staying profitable. The difference is how management views the roles. My thought is if you want a bigger piece of the pie, go to your management and tell them you want a 15% paycut. That should get their attention. Then tell them in return you want __% of the quarterly profits from the customers you service. And it should go without saying, if your gonna do this, make sure you know how much money the company makes on your customers, otherwise, they will screw you.

Any management that doesn't take that offer (assuming it's not a greedy %) is insane. Now the tech is motivated to keep the customers happy (which keeps revenue up) and profitable (which puts more money is his/her pocket).

[RRodgers]

I'm not sure if it's on par statistically for your area...but in my opinion I think it should be higher...but I'm the guy that has thought for years that minimum wage should be at least $10/hour.

Bye bye $1.00 Taco's.

[kingpd@businessprints.net]

I worked with a few sales reps ( I am a tech not a sales rep) that had 50-60k by March 1 off of their commissions. And the techs got 30k a year. Also at one company if you turned in a sales lead that put a 85 page per minute machine in an account then you received a $50 tip lead. if it was a fax machine you got $5.

By the way is 14.00 an hour good for 15 years of experience??

I'm not sure if it's on par statistically for your area...but in my opinion I think it should be higher...but I'm the guy that has thought for years that minimum wage should be at least $10/hour.

[RRodgers]

Lets join or start a union and then we will get our deserved pay. I hear by nominate Jules Winfield to get it going....do I have a second on this motion?

Wait what? Ummm... I don't want the guy that works for us that can barely fix a toaster making as much as I do. Or the people that I have to follow up after making as much as I do. I bust my ass for a reason, and the reason is the green. I spent MY TIME learning what I could so I could make more money.

**edit**

this in NO WAY reflects any of my co-workers, I was just that as an example.

[Mr Spock]

Wow, that's ridiculous! I read somewhere that for copier salespeople that do well end up making six figure incomes. If that's true no wonder there's no money left to pay the techies.

I worked with a few sales reps ( I am a tech not a sales rep) that had 50-60k by March 1 off of their commissions. And the techs got 30k a year. Also at one company if you turned in a sales lead that put a 85 page per minute machine in an account then you received a $50 tip lead. if it was a fax machine you got $5.

By the way is 14.00 an hour good for 15 years of experience??

[kingpd@businessprints.net]

i have about 18 yr's in the field 5 prepress eq/10 with konicaminolta
and 3 w/dealers
last 2 dealers needed a k&m tech tech i got 18.00 hr and as soon as they got there 13.00 hr guys trained i was not needed.
last dealer so cheep he lied so he would not have to pay unemploymet
But i had My coustomer's backing me and got it dealers do tend not to give a C--- about any of there people in texas any way

Wow, that's ridiculous! I read somewhere that for copier salespeople that do well end up making six figure incomes. If that's true no wonder there's no money left to pay the techies.

Plus there's little skill or talent to selling a copier. I was reading this book "How to sell copiers" and it basically said it's all a numbers game...e.g., call XXX number of people, setup YY number of appointments, equals sell Z number of copiers. My dead grandmother could do that!

[kingpd@businessprints.net]

Lets join or start a union and then we will get our deserved pay. I hear by nominate Jules Winfield to get it going....do I have a second on this motion?

That's actually a REALLY good idea! I'll second and third it. Remember when Xerox screwed over (thousands I think) of technicians because they were deemed not necessary then the downtime on their machines increased. I see technicians like accountants or cashiers...if they all walked out and left their jobs one day...the entire company would collapse and go bankrupt.

[vidarb]

before i started my own biz, my pay was 50 Euros a day, that's like 1000 a month, after 5 years of servicing. How much was your monthly income? somebody else from Europe?

Im from Norway, and i earn about 2800 euros a month, and thats pretty low for Norwegian standars. Been a tech for 3 years now.

[netcomval]

18 years with copiers/printer/fax machines currently $27.00 an hour.

before i started my own biz, my pay was 50 Euros a day, that's like 1000 a month, after 5 years of servicing. How much was your monthly income? somebody else from Europe?

[scallanjoe@yahoo.com]

i am with joe from buffalo, i am tired of cheep dealers/ that think that all a tech is for to be used as a scape goat
every time a a-- h--- of a sales man lies to a customer
being form texas unions are not liked here but some thing has to be done

[fixthecopier]

There are about 5 big dealers in my town. I would bet I could make more at any of the others, but although I would welcome more money, I work here for things money don't buy. Job security... if things get bad, I am sure I would be one of 3 techs kept. Freedom... I get a lot of freedom to work how I want to, book my own calls, make up my own prices. I told several customers I would give them two years free labor on some color printers I was trying to sell. I told the owner after the fact and he was cool with it. We all get along so it is kind of like family.

Boss pays half my insurance
Two weeks vac
Company truck- 2007 Tacoma
With 11 years I make a little more than they do in Texas
Kick ass Halloween party
Christmas party
Get commission if I sell-20%
If you take care of business it is pretty easy going most time.
Training?? We don't need no stinking training!!
Off the street with no experience, as low as 8 to 10 an hour to start.
No time clock, don't have to log in and out on calls, just do them.



If you want to compare with something, while I was waiting for my delivery driver in front of a building, I was talking to one of the office workers. He was telling me he makes $87,000 a year and when the Army command moves here he wants to transfer over to them cause they will make more money. Office worker...Just have to get a top secret security clearance.

Pay Range $27.00 in California

18 years with copiers/printer/fax machines currently $27.00 an hour. Pay Freeze since 2007.
My Co-Worker $25.00

All for Union.

[scallanjoe@yahoo.com]

unemployed tech

Apparently, in Texas, $13 an hour is the going rate.

i have about 18 yr's in the field 5 prepress eq/10 with konicaminolta
and 3 w/dealers
last 2 dealers needed a k&m tech tech i got 18.00 hr and as soon as they got there 13.00 hr guys trained i was not needed.
last dealer so cheep he lied so he would not have to pay unemploymet
But i had My coustomer's backing me and got it dealers do tend not to give a C--- about any of there people in texas any way