Damage Claim Policies

Correct!  However wrong it may be.  The bottom line it that it is very difficult to take money from an employee.  The real question you should be asking is if you want someone working on your customers cars who makes "stupid mistakes" at all.  We have determined that there are installers around that simply lack the concern for customers vehicles that is necessary in this field.  You find out who these people are after the first time they break something and the first thing they are worried about is if they have to pay for it or not.  The professional will more that likely recognize that it was a stupid mistake and be so mortified by it that he is more than willing to pay for it in effort to minimize the impact on the company that pays his salary.  After all the company doesn't pay him/her to be negligent.  The best policy that we have come up with is to look at the specific case and determine if your think it happened due to carelessness.  If so, pay for the repair and cut the employee their final check.

  Well I'm glad to see that there is some legislation on this particular issue.  To me damage to property is a risk of doing business, and one that should be bared by the business owner.  After all, the security of shop insurance is a large part of a shops appeal.  Lots of installers could just work out of their garage all day, but a shop provides facilities, stability, and relief of liability.  After all, the shop is making over $60.00 per hour off an employee that they pay less than $15.00 in most cases.  Why should the employee bare the expense of damaged products.  Labor is risky business, and no matter how careful you are, sometimes things happen.  Especially when your still learning.  I have yet to work for a shop which truly dedicated time to training new installers.  It's always, let somebody know if you have questions.  But other employees get restless from answering your questions constantly and the sales guys want things done quick.  Not to mention most of the supervisors that I've had have wanted me to try things out myself and figure them out.  Also in my experience most damages are caused by pressures placed by the business owner.  I would love to take all day long to do a very simple job, and I'm sure that I could do so without every causing damage to a product, but it wouldnt' be efficient.  Installers aren't given time to do a lot of the little things that they would like to do.  How many of you use computer software to check the colors of wires for alarms systems, but still test every single wire with a meter first for example?

  I have to say I find it very ironic though that installers are often the first ones to come forward and say that they should be responsible for damaged parts.  Especially when there's apparently a law designed to protect them from this.  Call me crazy but I think "the man" is right on this issue. 

  On the flipside however, the employer witholds the right to punish or fire employees who cause frequent damage, as they should.  I agree with this, there should always be policy stating just how many mistakes in a given time frame are appropriate.  I just don't think that employees should be liable for payment.   

It's really just a question of personal responsibility.  Owner's have a responsibility to pay the employees for work performed.  In turn the "Professional Installer" has a responsibilty to produce defect free labor.  it is not a question of who is making more money, who has pressure or who has been trained.  If any of those items are an issue, then again it is the responsibilty of the unsatisfied party to voice their concerns and take the appropriate action, up to and including terminating the relationship.  That is how professionals conduct themselves.

To not accept responsibility in all aspects would be unprofessional.  Lets say for instance the owner made a mistake and didnt pay the employee properly.  You can bet that the employee as well as "the man" would be less than forgiving and would force the owner to pay for their mistake.  To somehow say "that's the way it should be" just because they busted their back to open a business and employ people, while not forcing the same responsibilty on the "Professional" is wrong on many levels.  It is this mentality that plagues our society and leads to an overall lack of personal responsibility.

Obviously I would apperar bias based on the position that I currently hold, just know that I started out as a Green-Pea Installer some 15 years ago and I didnt get where I am today by expecting others to bare the burden of any of my errors.

Ok , I'll get off my soapbox now.  ;o)

couldnt have said it better Mitch

all i know is my conscientious employees would never raise this issue with me... if they screwed up, out of simple professional pride they would at least offer to pay for their own damage..... it seems to be the slackers in society who are always looking for someone else to shoulder responsibility for something.... of course, those are usually the same guys who are griping that they only make  9 or 10 bucks an hour......    do you see the correlation??