At Your Service

How and when did the “service man” become the “service technician”? It probably started when submerge pumps and electric resets became a part of the equipment, requiring that our service employees know more about electricity than suction pumps. The advent of electronics in dispensers, POS systems, leak detectors and more required that today’s service technicians know more about computer electronics rather than how petroleum products are pumped and metered.

On the following pages, PEI members discuss the challenges of hiring, training, paying and retaining technicians. Also, a couple of service techs share a day in their busy lives.

The Interview
Finding and hiring “qualified” technicians is a major challenge across the board. Companies are looking for individuals to train and grow into the required skill set and are approaching the hunt in a variety of ways.

“We have the advantage of a warmer climate that often attracts potential hires moving from up north.” (Pump is a 55 year-old hand-operated Gilbert & Barker model 2 type 88.) Jim Grau Harry Grau & Sons

Vic Robinson, president of J.A. Robinson Pump Service (Winnipeg, MB, Canada), employs eight service technicians across three operations. Most of his hires come from staff referrals, although he once used a head hunter, with little success. Robinson looks for strong mechanical skills, and always asks the interviewee if he works on his own car. “I’ve not been successful hiring the ‘high-tech’ individual and working backwards to mechanical skills. If they’re sharp, we can easily move them up into electronics.” Robinson wants to know what their goals and ambitions are and what they expect from this job. “We are looking for commitment,” he says, “and the chemistry, the fit is very important.” Lately, he has been hiring 20 and 21 year olds and pairing them with older service techs. Calling it his “youth movement,” he recognizes their technical skills and helps them establish a work ethic. “School doesn’t prepare them for going someplace every day at a regular time.”

Northwest Pump & Equipment Co. (Portland, OR) employs 80 technicians, and Corporate Service Manager Steve Fletcher says he could use more, especially in remote locations. The company posts openings on its Web site, places classified ads in newspapers, and relies on word of mouth. Fletcher points out that graduates of electronics schools don’t always work out, “because those guys don’t want to get gas or diesel on their hands.” He’s had good experience hiring people discharged from the military because of their background in both electronics and hydraulics.

“If you get the wrong person in the field, it shows up real quick.” Eric Henning CGRS

Classified ads used to work at Ray’s Service Station Repair (Memphis, TN) but have lost their effectiveness. President Ray Meggs now relies on word of mouth and looks for individuals who want to learn. The number one thing he wants is personality. “An individual has to have a cheery disposition and a good attitude for working with others before I consider him.” Next are mechanical abilities and electrical skills. Further down the list are computer skills. Says Meggs, “If people are mechanical and fairly smart, they can learn the computer skills.” At one time, Meggs offered employees an incentive of $200 cash for referring someone who was hired, then another $200 after 30 days on the job.

“You have to have feelers out all the time in a lot of different directions. If you’re not hiring, keep the names on file,” advises Dave Embertson, president, Erling Sales & Service (Houston, TX). Fully staffed with five technicians, Embertson keeps a job posting on his company’s Web site and uses www.craigslist.org, an online classified, to hire a service tech. “It’s currently a very hot job board, and it’s free.” The first thing Embertson considers is character. “There are two kinds of applicants: those with a really good work ethic who understand they have to work hard; and those who feel you owe them a living.” The ideal candidate for Embertson is someone who’s equally comfortable with a 36-inch pipe wrench as well as an ohm meter. “But those guys are extraordinarily rare.” Embertson gets a dialogue going with the candidate. “I want to know how they got to where they currently are. This helps me determine if they are taking the right steps and making the right decisions.”

“Sometimes the school of hard knocks is the best way to help someone to learn. Cut them loose and get them out in the field.” Steve Fletcher Northwest Pump & Equipment Co.

All new hires at MGS Services (Gaithersburg, MD) go through an initial three-month probationary period, a trial President Dimitri Rosenthal compares to dating. “When you go on that first date, you like the person, but you need to know if you’ll continue to like the person every morning when you wake up together and when you end the day each night. You can’t know that right away.” So how do new technicians become a marriage made in heaven? “We brew them,” says Rosenthal, who posts openings at colleges and technical institutes for technicians with A+ certification. “These in-dividuals know what a network board is, what memory is, what a chip or CPU is, what a video board is. They know about firmware. Then we mold them for our own needs.” Rosenthal believes that it’s easier to teach someone how to install a filter than it is to teach them the basics of electronics. “In other words, it’s easier to downgrade skills than to upgrade.” Rosenthal adds that when hiring, you are sometimes “at the mercy of luck, or better said, at the mercy of the applicant.”

“I look for someone who, as a kid, could take his bicycle apart and put it back together twice on a Saturday,” says Michael LaFehr, vice president, Mid-Michigan Station Services (Chesaning, MI), who employs five technicians, referred mostly by friends and relatives. He often hires individuals from other industries. “Someone who’s been doing equipment maintenance in a large plant fits well.” The downside to this, though, according to LaFehr, “is that our industry doesn’t support the wages they are used to getting, typically union wages.” He questions candidates to determine if they’re comfortable with on-call hours and working weekends. “It’s easy to say in the interview that they are OK, but down the road it starts to add up.”

“This is a 24/7 business, and if there’s a major breakdown, the technician has to be out even on holidays,” says Jim Grau, president, Harry Grau & Sons (Wilder, KY), who admits that it’s often the individual’s wife who minds this job requirement. People moving south from cold climates are a good resource. Grau makes sure to check applicant driving records, something his insurer demands he do. “If he speeds in his car, he’ll speed in our truck.”

MEET A SERVICE TECHNICIAN Lorenzo Perales Area Service Manager/Full Time Technician Erling Sales & Service My experience in the Marine Corps and over 20 years in this industry has helped to prepare for working with just about every conceivable system that my two service technicians and I encounter. I’ve always been a troubleshooter. I love knowing that I can conquer the machine. It’s Man vs. Machine, and I like to think that I win most of the time. In order to conquer that machine, I read every manual and technical bulletin that I can and spend time networking with others in the field. There is nothing better than seeing the smile on the station owner’s face after I have made their equipment work. During the more than 18 months that I’ve been with Erling Sales & Service, I’ve learned to take the 6:00 a.m. telephone call in stride. At least 20 to 25 percent of the calls describe challenges that can be addressed over the telephone. If necessary, one of my two technicians or I will travel to the customer’s site, spanning a 100-mile radius of Austin, Texas. While at one customer’s site, I often field several other calls requiring assistance, constantly communicating with our dispatch office. We field an average of six calls a day. There is real pleasure providing solutions to customers’ issues either the same or the next day, knowing that once they are fully operational, they are able to meet the needs of their customers.

“It’s a small world within this business. Every tech knows all the other techs, so you’ll know soon enough if a potential hire is good or bad.” Susan Gozdowski Ampsco

Superior Equipment Co. (St. Louis, MO) has 11 technicians, many second- and third-generation employees. CEO Doug Wilton says the company looks for mechanical aptitude and ability to solve problems. During the interview, candidates are given a typical service episode. They are asked to describe a set of symptoms and how they would approach the problem. “If the applicant says he’d start by changing out the circuit boards, that tells us one thing. If he says he’d first consult the site history then look for evidence to begin his diagnosis, that tells us something else.” Wilton adds, “We want a good fit for a long-term relationship.” The average tenure of his company’s service techs is over 15 years.

Learning the Job
For many companies, training is done on the job. The new hire is paired with a more experienced technician for anywhere from a couple of weeks to a year.

At Ampsco (Forest View, IL), new hires ride along with more experienced technicians. Service Manager Susan Gozdowski says this goes on for a few weeks. “We want to make sure they are doing it the way we want them to do it.” Safety training occurs weekly at a regularly scheduled safety meeting.

“Check out craigslist. It’s currently a very hot job board online, and it’s free.” Dave Embertson Erling Sales & Service

M & M Service Station Equipment Specialists (Silver Grove, KY) has approximately 30 technicians at multiple branches, and Mickey Meyer, vice president, is always looking for more. He’s had success hiring experienced technicians whose spouses’ jobs transferred them to the area. “They usually find us through the PEI Directory.” Meyer recognizes that the expertise they bring is valuable, but he also hires inexperienced technicians and provides training. For at least six months, new technicians are paired with experienced ones for in-field training.

“If you get the wrong person in the field, it shows up real quick,” says Eric Henning, vice president of construction services at CGRS (Fort Collins, CO), who points out that it takes a good two to three years for a technician to be completely independent. Technicians are well-schooled in the regulations, starting with the basics. Says Henning, “They have to know the reasons behind the regulations so they understand why they do what they do in the field.” Training sometimes takes place during an afternoon, though Henning adds, “While we’re developing technicians’ skills, we have to keep charging, so we expect them to learn some of this material in their off hours if they want to grow.”

“Good service has three pieces: First, you have to have enough manpower to be at a client’s site in a timely fashion. Second, the technician has to know what he’s doing. Third, you have to have the parts.” Vic Robinson J.A. Robinson Pump Service

Jim Grau uses a lot of video material in his weekly training, including videos from PEI, OSHA, Red Cross and his insurer (safe driving). Grau points out that once a technician achieves manufacturer certification, the recertification can be done via the Internet.

This year, Erling Sales & Service started doing internal training two days a week during the first hour of the workday. One topic is covered at each session and includes safety, driving, a particular piece of equipment, etc. Says Dave Embertson, “We’re in that stage of development where we’re relatively small and I want to add a more formal training department, but right now we’re training ourselves. PEI is a very good resource for training materials.”

Every month, Superior Equipment Co. holds a one-hour company meeting. Twenty minutes of that hour are devoted to a safety topic, 10 minutes to customer service. Doug Wilton points out that employees are formally trained in customer service, and topics include managing customer expectations, recovering from a service failure, and giving your best effort every day.

New hires at J.A. Robinson Pump Service ride shotgun with a seasoned technician for two to three months. Says Vic Robinson, all staff must attend an eight-hour training program held on a Saturday, which includes five presentations and barbecue. Employees are given a day off to compensate for the Saturday training.

MEET A SERVICE TECHNICIAN Jeff Wyrick Service Technician Superior Equipment Co. At 28 years old, I am the third generation in my family to work for Superior Equipment Co. Every day of my job is a new adventure in which I will see five to ten customers with various problems. I never know where I’ll be or what problem I will be solving. While my typical day may start at 7:30 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m., there have been times when I haven’t gotten home until late in the evening or even the following afternoon. The key to my job is to get our customers up and running as quickly as possible. When I started working for Superior Equipment Co., I worked as an apprentice for almost a year. A word of advice to those just beginning their career: Don’t wish away your apprenticeship. Take your time and within six to eight months, all that you’ve learned will come together. I had taken some courses in computer repair in college which helped to prepare me for what I encounter now. Sharing the information that I pick up from supplier Web sites is important. During downtime, I update my laptop with the latest training materials offered by various suppliers. I even review supplier Web sites while at home in my living room, in order to stay up to date on the latest information.

Service, Sales, or Both?
Since it’s all about sales, are tech-nicians required to sell at a customer site and the opportunity presents itself? If so, how do they learn this skill?

Mid-Michigan Station Services Vice President Mike LaFehr (center) points out, “Things as simple as taking a company car home or using a piece of company equipment at home go a long way in helping someone feel connected and loyal to the company. Construction Supervisor Don Ostrander (left) and Service Technician Scott Voorhies (right) make sure the company’s service mission is carried out.

“Some techs are good at fixing things, but they are not good at talking,” says MGS Services’ Dimitri Rosenthal, “To sell, you have to be able to communicate. This comes with experience, but it also comes with a personality.” Rosenthal points out that if a technician can up-sell, they do. “The better the team plays, the more everyone benefits.”

Ray’s Service Station Repair technicians are directed to check if anything else needs repair. Says Ray Meggs, “We instruct them to ask the customer if they need anything else. They are told to listen to the customer. It goes back to the number one thing we look for when hiring a technician: attitude.”

Keeping the Grass Green on THIS Side of the Fence
The average tenure of a service technician working at these companies is 13 years. Once you’ve found them, hired them and trained them, how do you keep them?

“It’s easier to teach someone how to install a filter than it is to teach them the basics of electronics.” Dimitri Rosenthal MGS Services

Bill Jarvis, vice president, Maryland Pump, Tank & Electric Co. (Baltimore, MD), answers this question with two words: “Pay them!” Jarvis is working hard to find a way to keep his 10 technicians from getting burned out and has developed a new on-call rotation schedule. “Instead of being on for an entire week, they rotate both a weekday and a weekend on-call. This means on-call every seventh or eighth weekend, and one weekday night every week and a half.” So far, it’s working well. For efficiency, the company outfits each tech with a Samsung 1730 Pocket PC. Dispatch is done through the PDAs, and when the service call is finished, the information is sent back to the home office, wirelessly and without paper.

Mickey Meyer notes that M & M Service Station Equipment Specialists pays for all tools, except hand tools.

Steve Fletcher makes sure that Northwest Pump & Equipment Co. technicians get recognized for a job well done. He tells of a recent project where they worked 15 days straight to convert 60 locations. When finished, Fletcher instructed his techs to take their wives to dinner or to the beach for the weekend on the company. “You get ten times more mileage out of that because they feel appreciated.” Fletcher knows from experience that keeping a service tech’s wife happy keeps the tech happy. “My wife called herself a ‘Northwest Pump bride’ and I know first-hand that service techs can be away from home a lot. Now I really try to focus on keeping them all happy.” Group fishing trips help build teamwork.

“PEI’s safety material provides the basis of our training program.” Mickey Meyer M & M Service Station Equipment Specialists

What About that Copier Guy?
As the petroleum equipment indus-try changed from mechanical pumps and a couple of wires in a conduit to motherboards and hardware, the per-hour service charge did not keep up with the required training and skill set needed to do the work. So why is it that the copier repairman can come into your office, do a couple of twists and turns on your equipment, then charge you an astronomical rate and have the audacity to include a mileage charge? This, it seems, is the million dollar question. Or should we say, the 95 dollar per hour question.

“The fastest guy to zero wins,” says Vic Robinson. He points to people who “throw a wrench in the back of a truck and call themselves ‘technicians.’” Robinson’s goal is to get his rates up in order to pay his employees what they need to be paid as high-tech technicians. Robinson severed a 30-year relationship with a major oil because they wouldn’t pay him per hour what he needed to be paid to keep his people. “It was a difficult thing to do, but at the end of the day, four years later, I’m better off for it. We’re trying to create an atmosphere that says this is high-tech equipment and it needs to be addressed differently.”

“It’s very competitive,” says Mid-Michigan Station Services’ Michael LaFehr, “and there is always someone willing to do the job for a dollar less.” Add to that the guys who go out on their own and undercut their former employer by $10 or more an hour. “We’re at a point right now where if a couple of the bigger companies would just bite the bullet and raise their prices, we could all follow suit and get away with it.”

Three years ago, Bill Jarvis stopped paying attention to what Maryland Pump, Tank & Electric Co. competitors were charging and started charging what he needed to charge. He hasn’t looked back.

What will not change is our commitment to our customers. For this, we are dependent on our service technicians, the ones who carry out that commitment on a daily basis. They are truly the backbone of our industry.

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The PEI Journal • Second Quarter 2008 • Volume 2, No. 2 • Contents are Copyright © Data Key Communications, Inc.
All rights reserved. • Nothing may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission of the publisher.