Latest / The Elevator Careers Podcast / Be Eager to Learn and Eager to Teach in the Elevator Trade | Fernando Mejia

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Be Eager to Learn and Eager to Teach in the Elevator Trade | Fernando Mejia · The Elevator Careers Podcast

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to the Elevator Careers Podcast, sponsored by the Lred Group.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: I am your host, Matt Mulred.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: In this podcast, we talk to the people whose lives and careers are dedicated to the vertical transportation industry to inform and share lessons learned, building upon the foundation of those who have gone before to inspire the next generation of elevator careers.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Today we are talking with Fernando Mejia.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Fernando started his career as a helper in New York City in 1986.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: He learned quickly, earned his mechanic license, and then worked in the field for nearly 30 years before moving to a management position.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Fernando now resides in Tampa, Florida and manages Central Florida for his company, as well as providing technical support and training in the field.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Fernando, welcome to the show.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I wanted to just start with one of my favorite questions, and that is how did you get started in the elevator industry?
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: That's a great question.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: So we all have our stories, but mine started in 1986.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: I was uh uh uh senior in high school, and I wanted to, I always knew that I wanted to work with my hands and build things.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I wasn't really college bound.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: And so I decided that the next best thing for myself was to take a trade school.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it just chose electrical trade as uh what I wanted to do, and I wanted to be a commercial electrician at first.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: And so one day on the train, heading back from school one night, I met an elevator man.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he was on call working overtime.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: And he approached me and said, Hey, you know, are you learning electricity?
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: He goes, Yeah.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: And he said, uh, have you ever thought about becoming an elevator mechanic?
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: And up to that point in my life, I never thought about that.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: And he says, We have to know everything an electrician knows, plus, we have to know mechanics.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: He says, You work on your own, really good money, benefits.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: You should look into it.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, he uh he told me those words, I'll never forget.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't never even got his name, but I went home that night, I opened the phone book, I picked, I closed my eyes and picked the company.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: I called them up.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: They uh they wanted to meet up with me, and uh they offered me a job right away.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: So it was uh just the right place at the right time.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: You said on the train, which makes me think uh New York City.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Is that where you were at the time?
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, uh, I was going to school in Manhattan and I lived in the Bronx.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: So I was uh spending my days at high school as a senior and my nights uh going to this trade school uh five nights a week from 5 30 to 10 30, and then taking the train an hour ride home to the Bronx to do it all over again.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: So I did that for a year, um, and that's uh pretty much how it went.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: At what point did you realize that you loved elevators?
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you've you've been at it ever since.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: So what when did it click for you?
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think that um I'm always I've always been a curious person.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: And uh getting into elevators, obviously you always start in the construction phase, or you should be starting in the construction phase.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I went through all the departments construction, modernization, repair, and then when I ended up in service, maintenance, it just intrigued me so much because it was almost like it was uh me against the elevator, and the elevator was broken, and I had to figure a way to beat it, you know, like a game.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: And to me, it was so entertaining that I I just uh lived in that adrenaline rush that you know I beat it because I fixed it, and so it just went on from there.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: So you you quickly started to to gain that uh, like you said, that that reinforcement that I won and uh moved moved on from there.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: And have you ever looked back?
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever said, man, I kind of wish I had stayed on the electrician side?
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: No, I actually uh I don't regret one moment of it.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I mean, obviously the industry has his ups and downs, uh, but I still love getting up every day.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: I enjoy going to work, you know, and I think it's very important uh for the new kids out there looking for a profession to pick something that they're going to enjoy and that it doesn't seem so difficult to get up in the morning and drive yourself to a job and do something that you know you love.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it doesn't seem like work.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: It almost seems like fun and they're paying you to do it.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: So it's awesome.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: What what was it in those early days that helped you really dig in and want to learn?
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because it seems like there's just an enormous amount of things you would have to know.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like you said, the electricity, the mechanical, hydraulics, programming.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think that the company that I started with um did a great service for me.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_01: And that was that they saw that I had the drive, you know, and that's very important to have in this type of business.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: You need to have self-drive.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and when you have that, you're always looking to improve one way or the other.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm one of those people.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so I was always with the notepad and the pencil, and I was always over my mechanics.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, showed them when I started, and I was always asking questions, and and uh, and the more they told me, the more they wanted to teach me, the more I wanted to learn.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: Who were some of your biggest mentors, especially early on, that really yeah, I think that um um I have many mentors um that I can go back to, but the most uh impactful ones were the ones that were patient, you know, they were they would would sit with me, listen to me, explain things in detail, um, and kind of took their time to explain to me why this was happening and why it should happen and why it shouldn't be happening.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: And those are the people that I think back and I think that they really set the course for me and my career.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: Because if you get negative feedback, you know, you're gonna start to dislike your job and you're gonna hate to go to work, you know.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: But if you have people like the people that I've met, and I think a lot has to do with my ambition, you know, they saw, hey, this kid is gonna make it because he's so curious, you know, he wants to learn, he's so eager.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: He comes here every morning with a bright smile.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, I mean, I worked with one guy that uh was very tough on me.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: And he he at first he didn't want to teach me anything.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: He every time he did something, he would turn his back.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: And uh and I would ask him, Hey, so what did you do?
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: He goes, Oh no, I was just uh, you know, this or that, or fuse or whatever.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: But what I did is I I little by little I won him over and and and I ended up bringing him coffee every morning.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: And every morning he was like, Thank you.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't ask for it.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I says, No, it's okay, my pleasure.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: And every morning I bought him coffee.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: I knew how he liked it because we have gotten it a few times.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: Eventually he was like, you know what?
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: This kid is not going anywhere.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: So I'll let him let me teach him something.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: And he taught me quite a bit, and so um, you know, you just have to uh find a way to make it happen, and uh everybody has different personalities, and you just gotta uh, you know, figure out how how what makes them tick.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's beautiful.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: How how did you come up with that idea to bring him coffee?
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: Because you you could have handled that a lot of different ways, right?
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: You could have complained to your boss, you could have yelled at him, you could have made a lot of different choices.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, yeah.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, uh, so the first thing I could say is that I'm a first-generation uh mechanic.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, what that means is that I don't have at what the moment that I came into the industry, I didn't have a uh brother or father or uncle in the business like so many people do.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: And so I had to fend for myself.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, you know, it doesn't help me to try to be against the people that have the knowledge.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: I have to find a way to make them like me so that they'll teach me, you know, and so that's the way I worked it.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: I worked the angle that, hey, you you know, you got if you like me, you gotta teach me stuff, you know, and it worked out for me.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: How long did it take before those coffees started to warm them up?
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it took quite a while.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: I would say a few months.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: A few months.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a lot of coffee.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: And let me tell you something.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: I was always early to work, uh, always, you know, looking for something to do.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: Like if the mechanic, I the mechanic can never say I was standing around.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: I always look for the broom.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: If I if there was nothing to do, sweep, you know, pick up garbage, you know, uh whatever.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: But uh I was rough in in the beginning.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: The mechanics, um, you know, they uh they treat they treat the helpers back in those days um pretty poorly.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: And uh a lot of them didn't make it because they you know they just couldn't take it.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's tough.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um so once you started to to make friends, do you feel like that's a a relationship you could still call on?
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I don't know if he's still in the trade or not, but um, do you did you build that kind of relationship where you could give him a call today and say, hey, let's walk through this, you know?
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, the the mechanic I'm I'm talking about, he's passed away, but okay.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um he was great.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we reconnected about 10 years later.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, at that point, I was already a mechanic, I was already on my own, and you know, we uh we kind of bumped into each other and and he we talked about the old times and he said to me, and I still remember this, he said, You were the greatest helper I ever had.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: So to me, that meant the world because I was like, you know, I was just trying to do my part, but to him, it was like, you know, I went above and beyond.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: So he appreciated it.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: And he didn't tell me anything back then, but he did tell me later on.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: So it was it was cool.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: Made a huge impression.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's awesome.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um and and I I do hear from some people that that they can call on others.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: And you mentioned you still have a lot of mentors.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: Do you who are some of the people that you reach out to today or that you know that uh if you bump into an old controller and you're not sure how to get through it, how does that how does that go?
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I mean, uh it's a it's a huge business, right?
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, and there's um people from all different companies, and you know, we're all like a brotherhood.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, whether you work for this company or that company, at the end of the day, we're all technicians, we're all mechanics, we all want the same thing, you know, we all want to do good.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we a lot of times uh rely on each other to get us through situations because the truth of the matter is there's too many types of equipment, vintages, uh styles, models that um nobody can know everything.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um but you know, over the years you get to build a repertoire of you know your strong suits, you know, what type of equipment you're better at.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, uh over the years, you know, you learn some so many different types of equipment, but there's always some equipment that you've never seen or never heard of or you've never experienced.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: But somewhere you probably know somebody that has worked on those.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: And those are the people that you make a phone call and you say, hey man, I'm working on this.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know what I'm looking at.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: And a lot of times they'll help you and they'll guide you and at least at least get you in uh heading in the right direction.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: And that's always amazing to me.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: I I hear that quite often talking to people because it's amazing to me because I've never seen it in other industries that I've been exposed to.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: And and just that that even you know, different companies, you know, whatever, it may be competitors, uh, that you can just call somebody and say, hey, help me, help me through this.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: To me, that says a lot about the relationships, a lot about the the friendships and just how deep those are, and and that you you respect each other.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: They're like, hey, I might need your help next week.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna help you today.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's almost like um, you know, you always try to reciprocate with these guys when they help you, and if they call upon you to help them, you try to be there for them because you know that next time you might be calling them again.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, it's like you build uh like you said, friendships, um, you build a circle of friends, and depending on your your uh department, you know, you learn uh it's not it's not always knowing what the problem is, but it's knowing who to call if you run into a problem.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: So it it works out good.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: We all understand how we work it.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but when you never want to burn a bridge, right?
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: Because you never know when you're gonna need that help.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: What what are some of the I guess the big moments, uh maybe big decisions, or maybe it was a a a career opportunity that have made the biggest impact in your career as you've gone from helper to where you are today?
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think that uh working in the field um when I went into uh service, maintenance, troubleshooting, is that I always wanted to do my best, you know, and I and uh by doing that, I tried to uh lead by example.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I always felt like I wanted to be the best technician in my uh uh office.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I wanted to have the best route, I wanted it to be the quietest route with the least amount of callbacks.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted the customers to all like me.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted the inspectors that we dealt with to appreciate my work.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: And and so I worked very hard at that and uh never thought that it would open opportunities for me, but obviously um, you know, it did.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um people noticed that I was uh one of those workers that went above and beyond.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: I was always um uh trying to get better, and they appreciated that.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so the opportunity came where um I was working for one of the big four, and they reached out to me and said, we'd like to have a chat with you about a possible management position.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: And I was uh excited.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, sure, let's go.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: And so they sat me down and they said, Look, you've been an exemplary uh field technician, you've been very reliable, you know, you hardly miss any days of work, and uh, we're so happy with you that we like we like to offer you this position.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_01: And it was a service operations, a repair manager um in a different city in Florida, and so um they said, you know, it comes with these benefits, obviously um you you wouldn't be working in the field anymore, but more of a management type.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so uh it really got me excited about you know moving up and and uh in my career and starting something different.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: And so I took that the opportunity and uh you know wanted to learn everything about the management side.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: So that's how it started.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: How long ago was that that you made that jump into management from the field?
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: Let me see.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: That was um 2015.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: 2015 is when I made jump into management.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I haven't looked back because as we as I got into management, I, you know, in the field I wanted to help.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um I felt like I wanted to help people.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, of course, I had a route, and so I took care of my route, whatever amount of buildings and units and customers I had.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: But I felt like in management, I could reach more people and I could be uh helpful to more people, not only internal, external customers, also uh the route guys, you know, other people in management.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: I just felt like I could be uh um made more of an impact on a broader scale, and I love that.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: So that's why I stayed in it.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: So you so you get an opportunity, it sounds like to to mentor a lot of others, not just uh mechanics, but but maybe some of the superintendents and and uh a much bigger area of of influence in the company.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think um I think one of the problems that um the few guys don't get is that they don't see the management side.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: And so they have a disconnect as to, for example, um guys want parts.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: And they said, Oh, I don't know why the the office has such a hard time sending me these parts.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: I need them.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: And they don't understand that you know that there's a lot more to it than that, you know, there's you know uh contracts and how much money they're making off of this one building.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: And if you uh, for example, you know, if you're getting a set price for this contract monthly in a year, you make X amount of money.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_01: And if you if you pour more money than you're making, then you're losing money on the job.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: And they don't, you know, obviously they don't see that part of it.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: So when I came into management, now coming from the other side of the fence, I could relate, you know.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: So the other opposite is true.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_01: So in the office, managers don't really realize all the hoops that the guys have to jump through to get a job done.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_01: For example, traffic, you know, weather, you know, if you live in the coldest states, um, you know, dealing with management, security, um, you know, getting to the location, um, getting the parts that you need, you know, and then doing the work.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: You know, sometimes they they send X amount of parts and they're missing something that is crucial to completion of the job.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: And then on top of that, they give you a time restraint and you feel that pressure, immense pressure.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: So being on both sides, I can help both ends, and I felt that that was a good fit for me.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's awesome.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: What would you say is one of the biggest challenges that you've had to overcome to continue to grow and be successful?
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: There's many challenges.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I think uh closed-minded people, um, people that um assume that um their way is the only way, you know.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, as as we grow older, um, I think that one of the things that we learn is that um not everything you see or know is exactly true or is the right way of doing something.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: Just because you do something for 20 years and that's what you've been taught doesn't necessarily mean that's the best or safest way to do it.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: You have to adapt, you know, with the times.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, I came into this field where everything was relay logic or you know, circle circuits.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_01: And then I transitioned into the computer age and CPUs and solid state boards.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, the old school guys don't want to learn the new stuff, they don't want to deal with computers and laptops and tools.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: The new guys feel that they that they can only fix elevators if they have the tools, the laptops, the you know, the handhelds.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: And so I'm in the middle.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: I go like you don't, you know, you you can both work it, but you gotta figure a way.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you gotta uh ask questions.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so um there's always challenges, like I said, between you know the office personnel and the field personnel.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um there's many challenges.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, the on the newer, newer generation, the older generation, uh technology is a big challenge.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there's some guys that we literally have to teach how teach them how to use a smartphone.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, okay.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I just had one guy today, believe it or not.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: I asked him for a picture of what he was what he had on his phone, and and he goes, How am I gonna do that?
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm going, just swipe your swipe it, you know, uh take a picture with your phone and then send it to me.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_01: And he was like, Uh, how do I do that?
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: So I had to teach him step by step.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: And he goes, Wow, I learned something new today.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: So Yeah, like you say, it seems very simple to to maybe the newer generation, but if you've never had to do that, then that's new.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's new.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's new.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: What would you say you love the most about the industry and and what you do?
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: What is it that gets you excited every day?
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: People.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: I love people.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a very uh social person.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: I love interacting with all kinds of people, you know, and it's funny because like we're we are typically working on an elevator and somebody will come near us and just say hello.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: Next thing you know, there's a full-blown conversation, and they'll tell you a story.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: You know, uh I had a lady tell me that she lived in Switzerland for many years, and you know, she never had to use an elevator.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: And when she came to the United States, she had to uh get on an elevator, and it was so weird for her.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: And so you hear all these stories from all walks of life, and you know, for the most part, people are nice and kind and uh generous.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we've had people offer us bottles of water because it's hot and we're sweaty and we're working hard.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: So um it's the people.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: I I that's what I get out of it.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me a little bit about um, you you told me about this before, but you uh you started your own uh a website to to kind of teach people, teach mechanics elevator skills.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: And uh how did you kind of come into that or decide that, hey, I'm this is something I'm gonna do?
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so while working for one of the companies and even in the company I'm at now, um we I wanted to share the knowledge that I've been given uh over so many years.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, this is my 36th year in the industry.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's my whole life, right?
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: This is all I've known.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I and again, I still love it.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, um what what I worry the most is that one day when I retire, um, I don't want people saying, Oh, yeah, that Fernando guy, yeah, thank God he retired.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know, he was no good.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I I'd rather people say, man, that Fernando, he was so helpful.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: He was always kind.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_01: He always tried to help in any way he could.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so that led me to do the training part because I think knowledge is power.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: I also feel that when you work um safely and efficiently, you know, then you can be successful.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: And so my training consisted of doing like a weekly training session, whether in the classroom or individual training, one on one with different mechanics, whether in different departments.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted to reach more people in a broader scale.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: And so I decided that what better way with technology?
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: And so I created this application.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um and uh I don't know if you want me to say the name.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, please, please.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: So the the site is called Elevate Your Skills with a Z at the end.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: And basically it uh has uh a lot of a lot of good information.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it talks about print reading, which is one of the things that we're losing nowadays because of the newer kids.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_01: Again, they think that you got to have a tool to fix it, you know.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: But if you learn to read a print, you can fix any elevator.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: So you say we're losing that.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I I believe you're what you're talking about is is that a lot of the guys who know how are retiring and moving on.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's a skill that is becoming more scarce.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, it is definitely a skill that's uh that's fading away with when the older guys like myself start to retire, and uh the newer newer generation is uh uh slowly getting away from that, you know.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: And and the print for those of you that know is is basically the brains, the layout of of how the elevator works.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_01: And it doesn't matter the vintage or the model or the style.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: If you have the right print document, uh you can fix the elevator.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: And it tells you exactly how it's supposed to work and you can figure out what's wrong with it.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: So um that's one of the reasons that I went to uh the application so that I could share my the information with more people, and so far it's been working great.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for sharing that.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: So elevateyourskills with a z.com, correct?
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: Correct.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: So tell me, what is one of the I'll say it's a hidden pitfall that prevents people from succeeding in this industry?
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure you've seen people come and not succeed.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: What is one of the big things that trips them up?
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um stubbornness.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_01: You know, um I think um some people come into the industry looking for the quick dollar.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they like they want to come to work, they want to be on their phone, they don't want to pay attention, they just come to work for a paycheck, you know.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_01: And this is one of those industries that doesn't work like that.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you you have to, it's almost like you're in a battlefield and every brother has to give it the same amount of effort in order for all of us to succeed.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: We're one team.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_01: And when uh uh one or a few individuals are not up to that, it is noticed.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_01: It is noticed by the others.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: And so when that happens, they're less likely to help, support, teach, you know, uh encourage those few.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: And so um I've seen many people quit because they can't they they they claim that nobody wants to help them, but in my eyes, I see that they're not giving enough effort, you know.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: So just like my career at the beginning, you know, I had to show that I wanted to be there, that I wanted to learn, and that I wasn't going anywhere, you know.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: And so when they fail to show those those things, then the other guys are not willing to help.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: No, I can see that.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, if if if there's somebody there that you can tell they just don't care or their heart's not in it, they're they're just others wouldn't necessarily want to help them.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: If you could just share maybe one piece of advice that you've learned.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I would say uh to the young people coming into the industry, I would say um do it if it's something that you're passionate about.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_01: If it's not elevators, find something that you want, that you like, that you want to continue to learn and always try to get better each day, and you'll succeed.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_01: In the elevator trade, you have to be willing to put in the hours and the sweat, uh, blood and tears.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: Succeed.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, to the older guys like myself, uh, on the way out, I would say don't leave this industry without sharing what you know.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_01: You know, pass it on.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, a lot of times, guys, they they feel insecure and they think that if they teach others what they know, they might lose their job, you know, and and I've never thought that way.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_01: I always felt that my skill set um would keep me working.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: And thank thankfully to this day, I've never been out of work ever, ever, ever in all those years.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: So um share your knowledge, you know, take a kid under your wing, mentor them, um, and then they could pass it on forward.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_01: And that's my advice.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's beautiful.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, I'd I'd love to just kind of end right there because that's so so great.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, is there any parting words uh before we before we end today, that anything else you'd like to say?
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_00: But I love what you just said.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, I think that uh this has been a great opportunity for me.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_01: I thank you for inviting me, and hopefully we could do some more in the future.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_01: And uh knowledge is power.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: Fernando, thank you so much.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's been a pleasure talking with you, and uh, and then we'll get a chance to talk again.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: Have a great day.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: Bye-bye.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to the Elevator Careers Podcast, sponsored by the All Red Group, a leader in elevator industry recruiting.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: You can check us out online at elevatorcareers.net.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: Please subscribe, and until next time, stay safe.