I agree! I've been in this trade for over 40 years and do a lot of training and trouble shooting for our company. In many cases, we don't bill the customer for my time if I'm trouble shooting an issue that other techs have billed time against with no solution. Sure, it costs us money, but we keep the customer. In the long run, keeping the customer is paramount as there are a lot of small independents in this area that charge a smaller rate, and will try to steal the account.
I have found that many of the small independents are poorly trained on the newer models with their elaborate electronic systems, and rely on trial and error to correct a problem by throwing parts at the truck.
I've often said that the cheapest rate is generally not the most economical rate when you factor in the lack of support, diagnostic equipment, OEM back-up, training, and experience.
Give me the OEM dealer every time!!

Good luck finding a tech that correctly diagnoses any difficult issues right off the bat! Service and mechanical repair are your bread and butter. Diagnosis is what gives you headaches, lost time,comebacks, upset customers and a bad name. Even the best seasoned tech's have truck's that are nightmares to fix. If it's an off brand, even worse since you may not have any resources or info to properly diagnose. As a veteran diagnostic tech with 30 years experience on forklifts, cars and trucks, genie booms and skyjacks, I can yell you Renee b, it is unreasonable to only want to pay a tech for "the solution" I worked at a large forklift company with lots of help. all the manuals, tech support, factory help. Still, brand new trucks came in with electrical faults that no one could help you with. Do you think I would work on this for free? On my own time to "get that solution"?? No way.
In Ottawa Canada, successful automobile garages with customer's beating the doors down have stopped electrical troubleshooting. They do everything else but will send you down the road for any difficult trouble codes or electrical diag. By doing this, profits soared, they only get easy service jobs and customers are happy.
Getting back to the topic of this post, I say they're should be a wage increase for diagnostic techs, who take pride in their work and always spend time after hours researching fixes, troubleshooting methods, and electrical advancement.
As far as the majority parts changers, actor type mechanics who can convince customers they know it all, there should be a roll back in wages! You know the type, the guy who never opens a manual, always calls anyone and everyone for help, bolts on multiple parts and takes all day then convinces the customer "you need this" with a smile.
Wait now, if you look at the company's point of view, who makes the most profit? The guy that bolted on parts and tons of labor and kept a poker face while the customer signed the bill?
Or the diagnostic tech who changed a bad deadman switch wire in.8 of an hour with.50 cent connector?
There is no money to be made in diagnosis. There is no incentive for any tech to try and learn more than his co-workers.
One day, it has been said there will be a different classes of techs, with electrical troubleshooter's at the highest rate.
No wage increase is imminent for them or ever will be. Trouble shooter's require the most schooling, diagnostic tools and equipment, manuals but lose the most time. They are the biggest investment a company makes but also the smallest profit return.
We need to educate young people to get into trades. College or university educated people often make way less than $35 hour, and have huge student loans to pay. Good job to have, just don't be the troubleshooter...

I have had a mechanical position open for several years and willing to pay up to $45 per hour to someone who will take responsibility for their work and do the work within published labor hours. I don't think it is unreasonable to want to only pay for the solution and not for the trial and error to get to that solution.

Good techs are needed all over the U.S. Trying to find them is the biggest headache that I hear from other business owners.

I know a technician who just went from $27hr up to $33hr just changing forklift companies. Its the same job just wearing a different shirt. Having been a long time sales rep I can see being a technician as the way of the future in the forklift industry. With so many people retiring or about to and no one to back fill those position companies are going to start to offer big money to try and get good long term employees. It will be good for the technicians since it a nich job that needs to be done.

Does this include the state of Iowa ??

Wages are neg. in the US. Most Americans do not want to be technicians anymore, and most companies are desperate for help. You can pretty much neg. your own salary within reason, 30 to 35 an hour is not unheard of......

This is not Europe but as an Independent we offer wages from $20 to $35 per hr plus $500 bonus per quarter year, flexible hours but no benefits.
We posted an opening for over 4 months and only one reply and it wasn't to promising. At this point we are not sure what direction to go in, might have to reassess the whole situation

Do any firms offer bonuses and commission schemes these days?

I agree to a point, the wages in the forklift game have stagnated, i was quite surprised when i looked at what companies were offering, even for forklift management jobs, there seems to be an image problem where the forklift world is seen as a bit player and experience and knowledge are classed on a different level.
Hence why i'm going back into commercial / industrial maintenance sector, as the wages are around £10k more, the only hope to make money in the forklift game, is to stick with the main dealers and progress through the ranks (if you so wish) into service management or sales etc.

One of the big differences is maintenance engineers normaly work on siemens plc kit HNC required and having worked on both MHE and Siemens kit believe me Even with the inroads of electronics etc they're still easier to work on. And yes your average field service engineer is under paid that's why I'm now working for an end user

i like your thinking !!!! fingers crossed