How Much Do Appliance Repair People Make Per Hour?
People who own an appliance repair business know there’s too much demand to work as a sole proprietor. You need to hire appliance repair techs to take on some jobs so you don’t spread yourself too thin. The hourly rate of your appliance repair techs must be factored in to the overall hourly rate for appliance repair services you charge your customers..
What Do Appliance Repair Technicians Do?
A technician you hire should have the ability to handle all the repair tasks your business accepts. Some service technicians specialize in certain machines, like refrigerators, washing machines, or dishwashers. Others might know every product from a particular manufacturer.
Any type of appliance repair tech can be an asset for your business. Keep data about the frequency of calls and see if you need more help on the washing machine or refrigerator side of your business. You can also consider what repairs you enjoy most and hire someone more suited for other appliances to free you up to take priority jobs.
A service tech travels to residential and business locations to repair faulty appliances. They need to understand how the machine works, how to fix it, and when it’s time to suggest a replacement.
Though an appliance repair tech’s focus is fixing the problem, you should hire an appliance service technician with excellent customer service. The technician will greet customers when they arrive at the location. They should ask questions about the issue and communicate with the customer to ensure they understand the problem and can express how they’ll fix it.
Qualifications for Appliance Repair Technicians
Many technicians learn how to repair machines in apprenticeship programs, which give them hands-on experience fixing problems while learning from a professional. Others complete vocational programs and earn a degree or certificate.
As a business owner, you can hire people with an apprenticeship, technicians with a degree, or a mix of both. Above all, you must ensure they know how to operate the machinery safely. You can administer additional training specific to your company, along with human resource training that helps them understand the communication aspects of the job.
This policy keeps you in compliance with the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines. It also helps keep your business reputation above board because you follow industry regulations. You don’t want the risk of employees getting hurt on the job or harming the customers, but if something happens, you have a policy in place.
What’s the Appliance Repair Tech Hourly Rate?
Knowing the hourly rate for a service technician helps you determine employee salary. An HVAC technician makes about $21.80 an hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). For a full-time employee, you’ll pay an annual salary of just over $45,300.
The hourly wage differs in various states, like New Hampshire or New Jersey, depending on the overall cost of living and the need for technicians. In some areas, the labor statistics show an hourly rate of $13.68 on the low end and $30 for the high.
The amount you should pay service technicians can vary with their experience. A technician with relevant education and certification can earn more per hour, with $23 being the average.
You should always post the hourly wage or salary in the job alert, so potential applicants know what to expect from your company. The job description should also give them information such as:
- Preferred qualifications
- Job demands
- Weekly hours, like part-time or full-time
- Benefits
You’ll get better applicants if you give as much information as possible in the job listing. They’ll know what you’re looking for and won’t apply unless they meet your needs and think they can handle the workload. From there, you can interview each applicant to see who best fits with your company’s environment.
How to Budget for Appliance Repair Technician Salary
Running an appliance repair business as an entrepreneur is tough. You must take customer calls, schedule jobs, order parts, and manage the finances. Hiring appliance repair technicians can help lighten the workload.
Appliance Tech Compensation vs. Revenue Generated as a Small Business
First, consider the above appliance tech compensation compared to your revenue generated as a small business. Finances are crucial for appliance repair jobs because you must manage many things simultaneously. You need to market your business, make repairs, monitor inventory, and file taxes. All these tasks take time, effort, and money.
Ensure you have a grasp of your finances before hiring employees. Knowing the status of your business income will help you budget for one or several service technicians.
Business Growth
Once you know the current state of your business finances, you can assess how employees will help your business grow. When you work alone, you can only take on as many jobs as you can handle, limiting your income.
With one or more highly skilled employees, you now have at least twice the time to make repairs. This schedule expansion means your business can attract more customers and bring in additional income. While some money will pay the technician’s salary, the rest is profit. So your business budget will change when you hire appliance repair technicians.
Start Slow
It’s easy to jump in and hire several techs, expecting business to boom immediately. But it’s better to start slow and ensure your customer base increases with each new hire. It’s a good idea to give techs a probation period to ensure they can do the work and please the customer before you commit to hiring them permanently. This approach also helps with budgeting.
See how the company works when you pay the salary for one appliance repair technician. Since appliances require costly repairs, you want to ensure you pay the technician for their labor and expertise.
After you bring on an employee, you’ll also know what to put in the job description for a service technician based on the hiring process. You can tweak the qualifications and salary listing as needed to ensure your applicants have potential in the business.
