Problem: Richie Ventura operates a commercial painting business in Sacramento, which has a very tight labor market. Much of his work focuses on newly constructed apartments and townhouses.
The following data relate to crew no. 5 for a recently concluded period when 85 apartment units were painted:
- Three new employees were assigned to crew no. 5. Wages averaged $18.80 per hour for each employee; the crew took 2,550 hours to complete the work.
- Based on his knowledge of the operation, articles in trade journals, and conversations with other painters, Ventura established the following standards:
Typical hourly wage rate of crew personnel: $15
Anticipated crew time for each unit: 34 hours
- The paint quantity variance was $6,070F.
- The operation did not go as smoothly as planned, with customer complaints and problems being much higher than expected.
Answer the following showing complete work for each one:
Q1. Compute Ventura's direct-labor variances.
Q2. Is the direct-labor rate variance consistent with what you might expect in a tight labor market? Explain.
Q3. What has likely happened that would give rise to customer complaints?