I’ve helped operate multiple home service businesses, and I’ve tested both models. While hourly has its place, performance pay wins hands down. Here's why.

The lowdown: Hourly pay ties income to time. You show up, punch in, ride out the clock, and go home. In theory, it’s supposed to promote quality and prevent pushy sales tactics. In reality? It often breeds complacency. I’ve seen too many techs just do enough to not get fired. No urgency. No ownership. No incentive to think beyond the next ticket.

Performance pay flips that. Now, the tech owns their day, their van, and their outcomes. They move with purpose. They’re more motivated to find real solutions, not just patch things up, and to do it right the first time. They take pride in their work. They think like business owners, not just clock-punchers. We tell our team: your van is your business. The more efficiently and professionally you operate it, the more you earn.

We also tie pay to completed work. If there’s a callback, it’s on them even if that means going back out on their own time. That builds real accountability, not just for workmanship, but for how we treat customers.

The truth: Now, the common pushback: “What about pushy upsells or sloppy work just to chase a check?” My take: those aren’t problems with performance pay, they’re people problems. The wrong person will exploit any system. But it’s also a training problem. You can’t just throw someone into performance pay and expect magic. You need to train them on process, on ethics, on customer service. Set clear expectations. Coach consistently. Reward the right behaviors.

The right person, given the right training, will thrive. And when they do, your business will thrive too.