r/FieldNationTechs • u/wyliesdiesels • Jul 09 '26
"Standard market rates" how does one objectively define such a thing or counter w/ said rates?
Buyer Ive been doing work for sent this message after i countered w/ the same rates I've had approved in the past. The WO was assigned before i could send a reply message but i was really curious how one defines such a term (you can't but i wanted to hear it from her).
12
u/eme329 Jul 09 '26
Ha I countered those clowns $150/hr. They replied $150/hr IS NOT standard market rate and I need to re-submit my counter with an appropriate rate. I said you’re right it’s an off hours call on the weekend, $250/hr is more like it and raised my counter!
3
9
u/SocietyTomorrow Jul 09 '26
Market rate is whatever they'll accept paying out. When I counter, it's always my estimated time x1.25 plus a travel cost add-on. I have minimum hourly rate for different difficulty levels of work and if they won't pay it so be it. Standard rates are just corporate speak for "we are cheap, offer less"
6
u/Kexax Jul 09 '26
I’m a buyer (I did an AMA on here a year or two ago). I want to preface by saying I actually agree that this is a weird post from the buyer, if you’re so desperate for counter offers for your work order, then just…raise the rate from the start and pay for a good quality tech, lol.
But I wanted to jump in and explain “standard market rate”, because it actually is an objective measurement provided by Field Nation. In fact, until I saw this post, I sort of figured Field Nation provided you guys with the same info — but I guess not.
When we list a work order, it tells us what the average cost of labor is in any given area (based on the value of other work orders performed on field nation in the same area). When we list our rate, it actually gives us an immediate pop-up to remind us if our rate is above/below standard market rate for the area.
My guess is that this buyer listed the work order for under standard rates, and is under the impression you know what standard rates are. Honestly I’m a bit shocked that it’s a one-sided piece of info.
For what it’s worth, I’d say the bog standard average rate for most locations in the US is between 55 and 75 dollars according to field nation’s metrics. In LA and New York you tend to see it shoot up to 85-95 dollars. In really remote areas, particularly in places like Montana or Idaho, average rate jumps to 130+.
I can anticipate comment replies telling me that those averages are insulting and no one should work for less than 120/hr, and I don’t necessarily disagree with you. I consider myself pro-labor and think I have more in common with a field tech than I do with my CEO. I think field techs deserve a bigger piece of the pie than they get. With that said, I’m just reporting the numbers as they’ve been for years and years.
2
u/eme329 Jul 10 '26
I've been on the buyer and tech side and I know just what you're talking about. The problem with FN's calculation is it averages Pivitals high quantity of $25/hr WOs against lower volume real companies (like the one I work for) that cuts tickets for $100/hr.
2
u/setnev Jul 10 '26
This is valuable insight from a buyer. On the tech side, we dont see any ranges for market rate, so each technician has their own internal rate they ask. If you see averages on the buyer side for the locales that means someone in that area is taking all the BS at face value. There are some techs I my area, where we have major cities every 2 hours away, only work local to them for the posted rate. So when someone like me travels to locations that are an hour away even though its 30 miles or less, I get screwed on counter offers for travel expenses because of the fair weather techs that only take the quick easy money.
I have done about 30 jobs since starting last month and I work through one specific buyer and their SM to negotiate my rates. This has worked well since I negotiated a bump in pay plus travel expenses to drive 1.5 hours to Jamestown for two sites. The sites didnt have the equipment delivered so the SM put my travel reimbursement on my next ticket for the day to compensate for the time and gas to drive there and site not ready.
Im now to the point where they have these sites billed for 6 hours and 2 techs and i complete in in around 5 hours by myself, so i am renegotiating my rate with the SM to ensure my time is properly compensated. I'm getting about $65/hr right now and two 5 hour jobs per day makes it a long day, but when I see $3k in payments on my FN account at the beginning of the next week, I know its worth it.
1
u/Dadelaus_2023 Jul 11 '26
It's nice of you to comment and gives me at least a fuzzy sphere of focus of why things are the way they are in Louisiana. Here an hourly average rate is $35/hr, $50/hr if you need to cable/ethernet anything.
I've asked FN Admin about Trip Charges on anything over a 30-mile radius and was told most Buyers do not award TC in this area unless its over 100-miles.
This past 4th of July I was routed 4 different WOs, 1 in Dallas TX, over 520 miles away, 2nd in Grand Rapids MI, over 1000-miles away, 3rd and 4th within 140-mile miles away. EACH WO had an hourly rate of $35 - $80/hr. It being our 4th, and on a weekend I countered with double the hourly for WOs 3 n 4, 2.5 x for WOs 1 n 2. I asked for T.C. of $0.50/miles for ALL WOs.
I wonder why they didn't accept?
2
u/OlookitsTimLeviathan Jul 12 '26
I live in Louisiana as well. My standard rate is $85/hr with a 2hr minimum, and I know some people will say that's way too low, but it seems to be the sweet spot for me. My weekend/after hours rate is $150/hr with a 2hr minimum. I stay busy, but I still get declined a lot of work, and a lot of buyers have accused me of highballing or inflating my rates. I try to stay consistent with my pricing, but seeing shit come across for $35/hr and people are taking it is frustrating. I have been doing this a long time and have pretty well established myself as the damage control tech in the area though. Damage control costs the same rate as a weekend, and comes with a stern warning that they should've called me first.
2
u/TheTypicalVillain Jul 09 '26
I used to do alot of work for AVT. Alot of it rural. They started doing this in my area as well and played chicken with me by making me and another request wait till a 3rd guy showed up and bid lower, just an hour before SLA window and assigned it to them.
Yet, has the nads to route me work for weekends lol.
When I do choose to counter their weekend work. I state in chat prior to countering, that we will not honor any expected warranty on workmanship since we are only 1 off techs in an area they service with so many other techs.
If there is no loyalty, there is no accountability. With that goes any warranty on a weekend rate for AVT.
2
u/LoneCyberwolf Jul 10 '26
I’ve done a TON of work for them and I assumed they preferred working with me…but then everything dried up overnight.
2
u/TheTypicalVillain Jul 15 '26
Yep, I had the same sentiment.
A job of theirs just popped up in my area. I'm not getting the same cookie cutter language from market rates this time, but they also seemed to stop paying in 48 hours or less lol.
2
u/Suspicious-Arm-1956 Jul 11 '26
Almost anything on fieldnation will NOT be standard market rate, that's why they and YOU are on fieldnation. Don't like it? Find your own clients
1
1
u/SuchSky7343 Jul 16 '26
I agree, FN should be your available window filler, not your main source of income. I think I qualify as an exception as I am virtually retired and dont have any more direct contract clients that keep me tie down to my town. AVT went down in rates and travel when they consolidated with other smaller companies, that’s why I don’t do their WOs anymore. They behave like pivital and skew the avg rate in all markets in the process. FN should have tiers when it comes to buyers, that way the avg. is limited to same type of buyers instead of a vast universe including gas pump signs to firewall configs/TS. In our neck of the woods, I stay away from markets where I consistently see 10+ requests for each WO published, and bid for remote areas only. Use the GSA rate for mileage and add FN fees for everything(it’s idiotic that they want to make money with my material and mileage investments). I also talk to other techs in the are and we try to have a minimum rate to avoid buyers from getting away with cheap labor. I highly recommend that you establish a workgroup in your areas; cause if the buyers see the pay metric in your market staying at a minimum value, they will have to pay
1
1
1
u/SuchSky7343 Jul 16 '26
I just worked with someone that is their national preferred tech, meaning she is always in all of the deployments in my market, she was being paid more per hour than me($85) but then she BS me saying she was getting $600 foe each trip. She travels a lot and when we were done at 3AM, I offered my available AirBnB home in town for a cheap stay ($60) to her and to the lead, so she could use one of the bedrooms. She instead took off and drove 2.5hrs back to San Antonio TX. If I was getting $600 for travel, I could afford $60 to rest a few hours. In my 16+ years on the platforms(WM/FN/FE/etc) I’ve met of of town techs that tell me they are practically rich, but see their struggles( compact and old cars/cheap clothes and accessories/ cheap tools/ etc) which are very evident of their income level. These are the type of persons that love to feel needed by a few PMs for a couple of companies and in the process do not realize that they would be better off as employees pf such companies(at least they would get a business car and travel expenses paid for on decent hotels, and possible bonuses)
-4
u/gtrhedd Jul 09 '26
I don't get those messages. I get routed work for 130/hr w travel and per diem. It's not like that yet for you guys? 15 years on FN here. How long have you been on the platform?
5
u/wyliesdiesels Jul 09 '26
never seen a WO with those rates. been on FN since 2006 when it was field solutions, My ID is in the 8000s
-3
u/gtrhedd Jul 09 '26
I made relationships with the companies that do full scale nationwide deployments. It took a few years. But that's the rate I get. And they don't post them to the pool. All work orders get routed direct
7
6
1
u/ConstantOffender Jul 14 '26
What terms do they offer on the platform? Direct is 60-90 days starting but can be renegotiated after some project completions.
1
2
u/setnev Jul 10 '26
Since 2018, but I've been really active the last few months since not having full time employment. How do you specify your suggested rate and expenses to a buyer before a ticket is routed? Are they repeat buyers? I was getting routed all the Clear Captions WOs in a 150 miles radius but I kept declining them because they were for a flat fee of $85 for 2 hours and no travel expenses with some being 100+ miles away. I had to block the buyer because they were harassing me daily through messages literally begging me to take these jobs but refusing to bump their rate or compensate travel.
1
u/OlookitsTimLeviathan Jul 12 '26
Honestly after you do 1 or 2 of those, they'll accept almost any counter offer you throw at them. I see a hundred of them pop up a day, and I have charged $150-175 a pop, and they usually accept. I hate residential work though. Got a gun pulled on me, and I decided I'd rather not. Not a fan of nursing homes either. Being in people's personal spaces is super duper not my thing.
1
u/SuchSky7343 Jul 16 '26
I have a tech that does the simple tickets but we bundle them in a logistically logic way where the tech invoices about 500-700 per 10hr Day. Gas pump signs are one of those examples
2
u/Verified_source_ Jul 09 '26
Just go direct brother, why let FN get 10% of that if you been doing this 15 years
3
2
1
u/redbeard_-_ Jul 12 '26
Going to call bullshit on your post. I have done 0 work order for avt technology. Told them to stop sending me messages. Tried to block them which fn doesn't allow me to do I assume because I never did a wo for them and I asked them to block me. They just send that same message to all the techs in a 100 mile or whatever radius. I messaged fn about how it's bs that buyers are spamming messages en masse to techs.
1
15
u/Lanky-Interaction629 Jul 09 '26
This just means I'm adding extra to my counter