• Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
  • ENGINEERS
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
  • INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
  • RESOURCES
  • EMAGAZINE
  • SIGN UP!
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • CONTRACTORS
  • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
  • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
  • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • WATER TREATMENT
  • PMC COLUMNS
  • PMC COLUMNS
  • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
  • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
  • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
  • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
  • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
  • CONTINUING EDUCATION
  • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
  • FIRE PROTECTION
  • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
  • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
  • PME COLUMNS
  • PME COLUMNS
  • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
  • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
  • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
  • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
  • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
  • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
  • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
  • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
  • CODES
  • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
  • PROJECT PROFILES
  • COLUMNS
  • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • COLUMNS
  • Codes Corner
  • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
  • Guest Editorial
  • MEDIA
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
  • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
  • DIRECTORIES
  • EBOOKS
  • PM BOOKSTORE
  • CE CENTER
  • MARKET RESEARCH
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
  • EMAGAZINE
  • ARCHIVE ISSUES
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISE
  • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
search
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
    • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
    • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
    • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
    • TECHNOLOGY
    • WATER TREATMENT
    • PMC COLUMNS
      • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
      • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
      • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
      • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
      • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
    • CONTINUING EDUCATION
    • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
    • FIRE PROTECTION
    • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
    • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
    • PME COLUMNS
      • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
      • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
      • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
      • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
      • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
      • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
    • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
    • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
    • CODES
    • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
    • PROJECT PROFILES
    • COLUMNS
      • Codes Corner
      • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
      • Guest Editorial
    • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
    • PODCASTS
    • VIDEOS
    • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
    • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
    • DIRECTORIES
    • EBOOKS
    • PM BOOKSTORE
    • CE CENTER
    • MARKET RESEARCH
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
    • EMAGAZINE
    • ARCHIVE ISSUES
    • CONTACT
    • ADVERTISE
    • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
  • SIGN UP!
Columns

A dear John letter

By Frank Blau
May 31, 2000
A PHC contractor and dear friend shared with me the following letter, sent to him in October by one of his service technicians.

“As I am sure you are aware, I have grown increasingly unhappy with how things are going. I am writing this letter to give you enough heads-up so that you can hopefully find someone that is capable to work full time, and to try to explain the reasons for my leaving.

“First, I have never worked for anyone that has tried so hard to take care of me. That has made this decision even that much harder. For this, I am very thankful.

“My unhappiness seems to stem from the following:

“It seems harder and harder to find companies that supply equipment that is properly designed, tested and quality controlled. Our job is hard enough without having to go back to fix someone else’s problems. Not to mention that going back cuts into my income as well as the company’s.

“In the past, not as much lately, supply houses seemed to be employing the mentally handicapped. You order something for a job, they send you something else.

“You have been sacrificing yourself for being on call, which isn’t fair, but I am growing less and less patient with the people that call in. People that have legitimate calls on evenings and weekends still don’t want to pay to have someone come out, yet they are more than willing to pick up the phone and wake you out of a sound sleep and not even apologize or feel sorry for that. More and more people want the cheap solution instead of the right solution.

“Money: there is never enough. For me to make what I want for a wage, I would have to spend even more hours away from home, miss more dinners and family functions; and when I am home, write more proposals, hold more customers’ hands. My job is just that, a job, a way to support myself and my family. When it starts to intrude on all aspects of my life, that is unacceptable. In the past month, for example, I was late for one school open house because of problems with a water heater installation, and last night I missed Terri’s father’s birthday dinner.

“When I started working for you, I felt that the company would be growing steadily. It hasn’t really grown, with the exception of putting one truck on the road, which was the result of my hiring. I don’t see the company growing at a rate that would lead me to believe that my position or income would change significantly in the next 5 years. I am 37 years old now. If I wait that long to see what is going to happen, I could end up with very few job prospects due to my age at that time. Also, this is taking a toll on me physically, (problems with) joints in my arm, wrist, shoulder and ankle.

“These are some of the reasons that I have decided to leave. What will I do? I don’t have any idea. I am basically upset, worried and lost. I know it won’t be as a technician in plumbing or heating. I am not leaving right away, unless on the off chance something outstanding shows up, but I would think that I will not be here past February.

“I am sorry for the pain and hardship this will cause you. Again, I am thankful for what you have done for me.”

Familiar Story: After reading this letter, I called the contractor who shared it with me to find out more. I asked him how long the technician has been working for him. Answer: two and a half years. He’s married with two kids and last year made around $25,000 on his W-2 form. I asked the contractor if he has a company funded profit sharing plan. No, “but we’re working on it.” Same old B.S. What about family medical coverage? No, but the guy’s wife works and her employer provides that coverage. Just great. And if she loses her job ...?

I asked the contractor how much he made last year. Answer: $50,000. He estimated he worked no less than 3,500 hours. This averages out to $14.29 an hour.

What’s wrong with this picture?

You all know this is not an aberration. The story of this service technician is played out every day around the PHC industry, except most are not so considerate as to write such a thoughtful letter of advance notice. They just leave, and who can blame them.

Although this contractor is a dear friend, he still has his head buried in the posterior portion of his anatomy. He is afraid to take the medicine required to bring himself and his employees to their rightful position of pay and prestige commensurate with their skills and value.

Comparable Worth: The chart you see with this article was faxed to me by another friend. It shows pay scales for several jobs in the Longshoreman’s Union. None of these jobs requires nearly the skill or training of a PHC service tech.

Also faxed to me was a flyer from Giant Foods showing how much their drivers make. Drivers for the supermarket and drugstore chain earn an average annual wage of $53,187. Their top driver made $80,985 and 70 others made upwards of $61,000. Plus, Giant’s drivers earn an additional $16,887 in benefits each year, including full medical, pension and sick leave coverage, up to five weeks of paid vacation, and 12 paid holidays. I don’t know precisely how long it takes to train one of their drivers, but I’m certain it’s not nearly as long as the 4–5 years it takes to produce a full-fledged PHC journeyman or service technician.

Who do you think pays for those handsome wages and benefits of longshoremen and grocery truck drivers? All of us do, of course. It is built into the price of every item shipped to and from overseas, and into every carton of milk and loaf of bread we buy at the supermarket. I do not begrudge those hard-working people the pay and benefits they get. It enables them to buy homes and cars and support their families with a decent lifestyle. It is good for our entire economy for them to have money to spend on such things.

All I want is some comparable compensation for the people who toil so hard and so well in our industry, such as the letter writer cited in this article. If the average grocery truck driver makes over $53,000 a year, then surely our service technicians are worth even more. If the average cargo dock mechanic makes $86,000–90,000, is it so outrageous to suggest that PHC mechanics ought to have the opportunity to earn just as much?

Why is it that those of us who provide that opportunity get accused of being “rip offs”? When a contractor can’t afford to pay his thoughtful, hard-working and talented business associates more than $25,000 a year, with no benefits, just who is ripping off whom?

Christmas is coming, my friends. How many of your employees’ children are going to experience the kind of Christmas enjoyed by the sons and daughters of longshoremen and grocery truck drivers? For that matter, how many of your own children are going to have that much fun over the holidays?

Just who is ripping off whom?

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Frank Blau can be reached at Frank J. Blau Jr. & Associates, 12221 W. Fairview, Milwaukee, WI 53226. 1-800-FLAT RATE. Fax: 414/258-3307. Web site: www.blauplumbing.com

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Worker using the Milwaukee Tool SWITCH PACK drain cleaner

    Pipeline profits: Drain cleaning, pipe inspection create opportunities

    Drain cleaning and inspection services offer lucrative...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke
  • Uponor employee, Arturo Moreno

    The reinvestment in American manufacturing and training

    Plumbing & Mechanical Chief Editor Nicole Krawcke and...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke and Natalie Forster
  • March 2024 Women in Plumbing hero image of woman engineer overlayed by circle of hexagon shapes with numbers from 1 to 10

    Celebrating 10 Influential Women in the Plumbing Industry

    Celebrating Women's History Month and Women in...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke
Subscribe For Free!
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • eMagazine
  • Manage My Preferences

IPEX celebrates grand opening of new Florida distribution center

IPEX celebrates grand opening of new Florida distribution center

NIBCO Press Solutions

NIBCO Press Solutions

Bell & Gossett Illustrates Path to Net-zero at AHR Expo

Bell & Gossett Illustrates Path to Net-zero at AHR Expo

AI can boost efficiency and profitability for plumbing, HVAC contractors

AI can boost efficiency and profitability for plumbing, HVAC contractors

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Plumbing & Mechanical audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Plumbing & Mechanical or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • J.J. Keller CMV vehicles on road
    Sponsored byJ. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.

    The dash cam game-changer for small business safety

Popular Stories

Plumbing equpment parts and wrench on the white background close up.

Plumbing & Mechanical 2025 Plumbing Tools Survey

Six tankless water heaters that feed the nutraceutical manufacturer’s operations.

How to deliver large volumes of hot water quickly and intermittently

The Nectic logo

Netic launches with $20M to fix the $500B industries that keep America running

PM BEMIS June 25 Free Webinar: Optimizing Plumbing Solutions for Single-Family, Multi-Family & Public Spaces

Events

November 13, 2024

Future Proofing MEP: Navigating the 2026 High Efficiency Water Heating Standards

Join our deep dive into DOE’s new standards so you can future-proof your MEP practice.

EARN: 0.1 ASPE CEU; 1 AIA LU/HSW; 0.1 IACET CEU*; 1 PDH

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Will business be up or down in 2025?

Do you anticipate business in 2025 to be up or down in comparison to 2024?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

The Water Came To A Stop

The Water Came To A Stop

See More Products

Download the FREE Water Conservation, Quality & Safety eBook: Plumbing Trends Increasing Safe Water Availability

Related Articles

  • Forget Dollars -- Zoom In On Percentages
    Frank Blau

    See More
  • The Ultimate Profit & Loss Statement

    See More
  • Why I Don't Like Commissions, Either

    See More
×

Keep your content unclogged with our newsletters!

Stay in the know on the latest plumbing & piping industry trends.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Supply House Times
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

search
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
    • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
    • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
    • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
    • TECHNOLOGY
    • WATER TREATMENT
    • PMC COLUMNS
      • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
      • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
      • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
      • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
      • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
    • CONTINUING EDUCATION
    • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
    • FIRE PROTECTION
    • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
    • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
    • PME COLUMNS
      • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
      • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
      • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
      • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
      • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
      • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
    • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
    • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
    • CODES
    • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
    • PROJECT PROFILES
    • COLUMNS
      • Codes Corner
      • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
      • Guest Editorial
    • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
    • PODCASTS
    • VIDEOS
    • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
    • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
    • DIRECTORIES
    • EBOOKS
    • PM BOOKSTORE
    • CE CENTER
    • MARKET RESEARCH
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
    • EMAGAZINE
    • ARCHIVE ISSUES
    • CONTACT
    • ADVERTISE
    • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
  • SIGN UP!