CABL Forum - Re: how desprate are they getting

It has become hard to hire "techs" as the cable companies simply no longer pay "tech" rates. The cost of doing business for qualified professionals who are really equipped to do the work the right way has gone up, while the payout to get this work done has gone nowhere but down year after year. Add in the problem of most primes getting the sub to actually finance all of the cost of getting the installs completed for 4-6 weeks out in today's economy and there's another issue as most guys just don't have the capital to expend when they need to feed and house their families. Then we have the companies that have people out there working under the guise of being a W2 employee, yet the "employee" has to provide their own vehicles, higher insurance on that vehicle, gas, tools, diagnostic equipment, uniform deductions with no compensation to maintain those uniforms, etc., that's not truly being an employee at all as once again we see somebody other than the prime financing the install part of the operation.

Last place I worked where the prime paid out every week after 3 weeks I was seeing checks for 2000-3500 for a five day work week depending on work load saw me sometimes working till maybe 8 on rare occasions but most times I would be driving home before 5. That was back in 2007, and at those kind of payouts (both time and amounts) I had no problem floating the expense for 3 weeks, as back then between expenses (truck payments, gas, insurance, upkeep for tools and diagnostic equipment, etc.) I was sitting at about $450 per week. And then minus putting away 20% of net to make sure I was covered for taxes I did ok.

I was posting "illegals on bicycles with pruning poles doing disconnects" back in 2006 when I saw where things were going. Are we that far away yet ?

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Re: how desprate are they getting