Moooovin on up!

True fucking story, yo

Spent the last fortnight at my parents’ place with the kids for a little vay-cay. No one answers the home/work phone line since it’s always extended warranties on hotel accommodations with your suspended social security number...and since I do enjoy fucking with people, I answer it when it rings. The kid asks for my father by name, and I ask regarding what. The kid then says he’s from Walgreens, asks if I’m my father. I ask what it’s regarding and the kid asks me for my DOB to identify myself as my father (cuz duh, who actually knows when their father was born). I ask, again, what this is regarding. Says he can’t tell me due to HIPPA.

People. Are. Dumb.

 

HIPPA protected

 

Nope.

 

On a non employee?

 

You guys deliberately ignoring the posts I’ve made explaining this? That’s the only possible explanation to this repeated nonsense.

They have every right to request documentation from him stating he needed to quarantine. That isn’t putting ANY personal health information out about anyone. None. That documentation could from any number of sources. Still wouldn’t be requiring HIPAA protected information.

 

Well, taking a new position is a negotiation. He has opened with a base plus commission and then lied about the average commission. Ask for proof of the previous commissions or make him a counter offer for either a higher base or a minimum commission. You could also take the gamble and give him a time period in which you will work for the original offer and if it doesn't meet an agreed upon minimum return for you, you will leave. You just have to be prepared to walk if the pay isn't there. I have done that twice. Once I walked and stayed gone (I already had another job lined up) and once the owner backed down after I put the keys on his desk. I flat out told the owners that it was nothing personal, simply a business decision, was I worth it to the company or not.
Remember, the owner is not "giving you a job", he has work that needs to be done and you have a skill set that he will need to compensate you for. It is a business agreement on the part of both parties.

 

The difference being one party has already demonstrated a deficiency of trustworthiness.

I’d have one foot, both shoulders and my supple buttocks out the door if necessity dictated I stay in the liar’s employ...

 

Why would you need to worry about trustworthiness? I assume that all bosses are liars that would sell me out at a moments notice. That doesn't prevent me from working for them as long as the working conditions are satisfactory and I get my agreed upon pay on time. Just business.

 

Assuming is one thing...having it demonstrated in a blatant, bald-faced manner is a bridge too far, for me at least.

I can’t work with people I don’t respect, or who don’t respect me enough to be better liars

 

my .02 being in the industry, estimators are a dime a dozen, even if you have AWESOME EXPERIENCE, most at entry level dont make much over 30k. the more experienced get up to around 40-50k. once you hit that plateau, you have enough experience to go to an insurance company. but, still at that level, not many make 6 figures, and none do at their entry level. and then you are at corporate america rules, and culture so... in 2004 i started at a major insurance company as an estimator with 15 years of estimating, shop presence in parts inventory, office data entry for insurance direct repair estimates/supplements. i started at the company for 42,000 base salary, a slight raise over what i made at the shop. my last year (15 years there) at the insurance provider, i made less than 80k with bonuses, and mileage reimbursement. i do know some senior adjusters making 6 figures with bonuses but, they are few and far between.

you need to be in to body shop management, or claims specialist, claims management to break the 6 figure barrier, around here. and no shop around here pays estimators with commission. that would be a tough row to hoe, in the midwest with everyone shopping estimates, to get rid of their deductible, up-sell their loss, to "make a profit on the loss", or get the cheapest estimate to pay out of pocket, or think they can make their 5 year old rust bucket to new looking for 500 bucks. (yes, it happens daily).

you have had contacts/jobs with estimating, sales, actually doing repairs, having people work under you... you should try material sales, or rep for material/technical providers within the industry. or, you should be shooting to run a shop as foreman, body shop manager, that will get you out of the shop off your knees for the most part but, still close enough to scratch the itch, if need be. you know guys in the shop like a manager that has actually done repairs, took their type of paycheck home, and understands the struggles techs go through, v.s a suit that walks in and says i run the joint, your box has wheels on it, if you dont like it here.

good luck in your quest, the grass isnt always as green as it seems on the other side of the fence. it takes the same bullshit to grow the grass, on both sides of that fence. Ski

 

Im still a younger guy with tons of experience to be had, but my first "real" job was in a bodyshop as a painter/prepper. It took 2 years of me doing that kind of work and talking to the body guys to realize that if I wanted any kind of "stable" income or predictable ladder to climb, to leave the business and get into something else. Best thing I could have done. Sometimes a career change and a step into the unknown is what's needed to find the right job. Any other interests you have that can possibly make you money? Working at the bodyshop was an awesome experience and I don't regret what I learned, but getting out of "the business" was the best career choice I have made.
Good luck to you

 

Actually, both.

 

California is a different animal. The rest of the country has a tech shortage Which is why techs make great money everywhere else. Here every beaner is a bodyman. What they lack are knowledgeable people who have good customer service skills. starting pay for an experienced estimator is 65-75k. Most larger MSO shops work the estimator on a draw/commission. For instance caliber pays 4-6% of total gross without a base salary. Good estimators that handle large accounts can make WELL over 100k. They actually make more than the shop managers if they’re good. I’ve applied at a few MSOs but with covid in full swing here no one is hiring and the chain shops actually shut a lot of them down and laid off most of their workforce. It’ll pass, I’ll just have to be frugal until it shit opens back up here.

 

You nailed it 5 words..and could have been spot on without another word.

 

the entire collision repair industry has a shortage for techs due to aging out, and no one wanting to get in to that line of service work. the average age for a tech is 41, with a high percentage over 50. we have one or two mso's in michigan, they are really just getting started here. not sure if that is a good thing for the workers, or quality, or not.

here in Michigan, an estimator will write 4-10 estimates a day that they know they will never earn the job, due to the condition of the car, the attitude of the person, or the client is just shopping to get 2 estimates in their hand for their providers. those estimates are just wasted time when you are on commission. you cant ABC with those people. that is what would be a tough row to hoe. Ski

 

Consumer mentality versus Community mentality.

This discussion could go on forever, with many different outcomes depending on the topic. Let alone the pick 2 of speed, quality, and cost of service based delivery.