Straight pay or commissions for opticians?

[ilanh]

I recently lost an optician who decided she wanted to be a frame lens rep. While working for us she was paid a salary plus a hefty commission on sales. The combination amounted to over $54K/yr. The commission amounted to more than a third of her entire salary. Overall this arrangement benefited both of us. In looking for a new optician I realized that many of them were wary of this. Even though they were shown all the numbers they felt that their salary would not be secure. Finally, I found an optician who I liked very much but she insisted on being paid a high hourly wage with no commissions. Her references confirmed that she had always worked this way in the past and noted that she was very good in sales. I have never compensated an optician in this fashion since I always assumed that any position that involved retail sales should have an incentive basis. As an entrepeneurial type I have a hard time accepting that anyone would be as incentivized by straight salary as by a hefty commission. Nonetheless, I agreed to her terms and hired her. Any thoughts or suggestions from the forum?

[Johns]

I would go for her offer, if it's not too far out of line, but I would also have a probation period so you can be sure. It's better for both of you.

[Johns]

I ddn't read all the way to the bottom. I see you hired her. Good luck!:cheers:

[Ladyoptician]

I worked under both conditions and even though it was nice when you made a nice commission, it tends to be easier to manage your money when you know exactly what your paycheck will be every week or by what ever means you are paid. What is also nice is not having those ones that make a big sale rubbing it in your face. It can cause strife between employees. I also find that it is less pressure on me to sell, sell, sell which actually causes me to be a BETTER sales person. I can sell without thinking in the back of my mind more money for me. Therefore, I have no guilt. You can be assured your sales are being made for the benefit of the patient and not your employees paycheck. I saw many employees make bad sales based on commission. I measure my skills on how well I suit my patient's needs, not on how big my commission check was. What about using a goal system, like set up some goals like raising polarized lens sales or 2nd pair sales, that always motivated me more than commission.

[Cowboy]

The way I see is this: If a person feels that their extrinsic compensation should be a set salary vs. your offer, why not permit such an offer? As an optician for 18 years, I have come to my own rewards both intrinsic and extrinsic that make my position valuable. I cannot find any value in upselling to someone who will not benefit from products offered and because I set an honosty with my clients, I also develop relationships with them that keep them coming back. If some one sells for the sake of selling and getting that commission, have you really provided your patients with the best? Sometimes the commission can come in different ways - instead of a spiff for AR, poly, progressive, etc., how about a percentage of gross or net sales for each month? Even though the optician is still getting a commission (which, will vary month to month) it keeps a certain honosty during sales to your patients.
Hourly salary, if I read correctly, may end up costing you more should this person start to work more than 40 hrs per week, just to get the time and half. That can actually end up being more than your offering commission. Whereas, a straight salary person can work more than 40 and less than 40 without fear of decreased pay as it washes in the end. Ultimately, if the agreed compensation works for both parties then it is a win-win. If not, then come review of performance, perhaps a renegotiation is in order.

Cowboy
:cheers:
Each day we learn from yesterday, look forward for tomorrow, and be thankful we have today.

[CME4SPECS]

Why is it that so many people think that commission equals upselling, or selling people something that they don't need?
With my previous employer, I was salary plus commission, and I never sold anything to anyone jsut to increase my commission. A returning customer is much more important than a one time sell job!
I have been self employeed for nearly 14 years, so now I'm on straight commission only now. I still have never given anyone a sell job. No one can walk through my front door and tell me that I talked them into something.
I give people the facts and the benefits, I do not choose what they buy...they choose. I give advice on what is necessary and what is not.
I need my customers to come back in the future, a sell job today does me no good.

[Ladyoptician]

Why is it that so many people think that commission equals upselling, or selling people something that they don't need?
With my previous employer, I was salary plus commission, and I never sold anything to anyone jsut to increase my commission. A returning customer is much more important than a one time sell job!
I have been self employeed for nearly 14 years, so now I'm on straight commission only now. I still have never given anyone a sell job. No one can walk through my front door and tell me that I talked them into something.
I give people the facts and the benefits, I do not choose what they buy...they choose. I give advice on what is necessary and what is not.
I need my customers to come back in the future, a sell job today does me no good.

Not everyone is as honest and ethical as you. There will always be people out there that are only in it for the money and could'nt care less about a returning customer. Especially the ones that are not interested in making it their career.

[ziggy]

Every ones situation is different. For me, I have kids so a bird in the hand.... In the future you might want to try a combo. A nice but not outrageous salary and a bonus every 3 to 6 months if sales goals are met. good luck and let us know how it comes out.

[Caddy]

The answer depends on whether you are hiring a salesperson or a technician.

[aaron]

The answer isn't as complicated as it seems. It is just a personality thing. You have an easier time doing something as a self described entrepaneur, than someone who does not have your same mentality would. She probably would like to feel like her salery is guaranteed and it is worth it to her to take a small cut based on that feeling. Plus, there is an arguement for it. Lets say you make a decition that impacts your business negatively and cuts your patient numbers in half. Well her salery would suffer as a result of your actions even though she may still be doing the job she was hired to do.

On the other hand, I prefer to work on commision (if I am working for someone other that myself) because it puts more of my destiny in my own hands. So it just is a personality thing in my opinion.

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[Scott R]

Offer some sort of monthly or quartley bonus , add some sort of escalateing $ persentage if goals are exceded

[cocoisland58]

I won't work on commission and I don't allow it in the office other than an occasional spiff. I think it breeds a competitive atmosphere rather than a team effort. I already give 100% and expect to be paid accordingly. Offering me commission is insulting. I like my customers to know that we are a non-commissioned office so that they don't perceive our dispensors as selling for personal gain. They are paid well and they love to work here. The fun is in the selling, it gets your adrenaline going. And no customer is under pressure. There is a local chain that sells on commission. I don't like what I see coming out of there. Does everyone need Transition with AR on Hi Index? Even children?

[EyeFitWell]

Why is it that so many people think that commission equals upselling, or selling people something that they don't need?

With commission soon comes Quotas.

In my office, we are all hourly paid employees, but we recieve a bonus each month we reach our "goal." It's not a huge amount, but it gives us modivation. I worked for commission for a while, and I agree with previous posters that it's about the consistancy. When you're on commission, the months you're spending the most (Christmas, Thanksgiving) are the months you bring home the least. So, on months that you really bring home the bacon, you have to save that money incase you don't do well down the road. Trying to decide if you can swing that car loan? You're not even sure how much money you'll make month to month. I personally very much prefer the dependable hourly wage, even if it's less than I'd make with commission.

[Ladyoptician]

Also, in my past situation with commission, other employees in other departments were jealous of it and wanted to know why we got it and nothing was set up for them to have the opportunity to make more. That is when a goal system was set up for each department and each employee depending on the nature of their job description. You have to be careful about fairness with this system and make sure everyone's goal is equally attainable.