Am I over or under-compensating my driver?

[greg334]

Your welcome, just remember is isn't what's always fair but what works for you and him.

 

[paullud]

Gregg,
Thanks for that advice. It looks solid.

paullud,
I can't disclose what collectibles field I'm in for competitive reasons. I can say that I'm the only operation of my kind in my state. I'm in a weird niche.
He's actually asking for a very small increase in the 'per diem' amount.
I opened the thread trying to pin down what was 'fair' in regards to the actual vehicle expense.
I figured if I came up with 'fair' from the perspective of a third party, I could figure out what break-even was and then know for myself, personally, whether I was paying high or low.
If I'm paying low, I'm glad going up. If I'm paying high, I'm okay with not taking money away from him, but it would be good to recognize that I'm really paying him $30 for the vehicle and then $35 just because I'm being nice.

If you don't want to say what you do to people that aren't in the same line of business then I would give the increase just to make sure his expertise and hard work ethic does not become competition or if he just goes elsewhere and you have to train someone else you will be losing money.

Posted with my Droid EO Forum App

 

[mcavoy33]

I think looking at the cost of renting a car for the day would be a good fair way of determining if you are over paying him or paying him a fair rate. I was suprised at how high the rates where when I just went to Enterprise and Hertz right now, for the day, the prices quoted on the websites for a standard vehicle were $55-65.

I would check in your area with the local renting company and ask them for a quote for an ongoing rental on average 7 days per month (1.7 days per week x 4.33 weeks per month).

Then take that daily rate and give your driver maybe an extra $15-20 on top of that for maintenance costs. I would explain to him how you got to that figure.

However as other pointed out, I think keeping your employee happy is paramount. If that cost is lower than what you are paying him now, I'd decrease the car payment but I'd give him a boost in his regular salary to keep him happy.

I think he'll be impressed with the way you were methodical in how you came up with the figure and he won't be able to argue with the math. At the end of the day, your best bet is to probably buy a used sprinter van but I don't think its worth risking alienating your employee, he's probably addicted to you making his car payment for him.

 

[RoadTime]

One thing I'm certain of, I will never, ever get another employee with his work ethic for what I'm paying.
If the economy wasn't all hosed-up to begin with, I wouldn't have gotten him at all.

Just my 2 cents, but I'd say you summed it up pretty good yourself. If he only wants a small increase and is that valuable, for me I would want him to stay happy and on my team