Latest / The Elevator Careers Podcast / Elevator Industry Growth, Risk, & Relationships: Your Name is All You Have | Matt Jackson

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Elevator Industry Growth, Risk, & Relationships: Your Name is All You Have | Matt Jackson · The Elevator Careers Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: Your name is all you have in this in this industry.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, I've seen people do the wrong things and and they have left the industry never to be heard or seen from.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um, conversely, I've seen people that have carried themselves really well, have um, you know, through whatever reason, um, you know, maybe been out of work uh because there's downsizing or there's uh uh corporate restructure or whatever, but those people get picked up almost immediately because of the close ties and close-knit relationships in this industry.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, I I just um, you know, uh as cliche as it sounds, right?
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_02: Doing the right thing, uh being genuine, um, all of those things, um certainly they matter in life, but um certainly have witnessed how that how that matters in this industry.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to the Elevator Careers Podcast, sponsored by the Allred Group.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: I am your host, Matt Allred.
• 1:04
  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.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Today our guest is Matt Jackson, founder and president of Blackstone Elevator Consulting.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Matt started in the elevator industry with Koney as an account manager and worked in Denver and Houston before landing in Chicago.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: When Matt joined VDA, he began to see that the business runs best when founded on solid relationships.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Matt brought this philosophy with him into his new venture and worked to create relationships that will stand the test of time.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Matt, welcome to the show.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, thanks, Matt.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for having me.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, I'm excited to get to talk to you a little bit more and uh learn, you know, about the path you've walked in the industry.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: And the uh question I want to start with is how did you get started in the elevator industry in the first place?
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um well, it's um uh you know, like like most things in life, right, comes comes through a connection, right?
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um so uh kind of funny for me.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so I grew up in uh the Quad Cities, which for those that don't know, Iowa, Illinois border, um Montgomery Elevators headquarters was uh was in Mowy in Illinois.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_02: So you know they've got the elevator test tower there, and and that used to be our landmarks, right?
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_02: When we would when we road tripped as a family, we knew we were home um when we hit the test tower.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um but to be honest, I had no idea what Montgomery was.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I always equated it to Montgomery Ward, you know, the department store, something like that.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um but you know, as I as I was going through uh college um and coming time to to graduate, um, you know, I was looking at a number of different industries, um, knew that I was gonna be in, you know, general business sales type application.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and coincidentally, my um, and I didn't even know this at the time, but my my girlfriend, wife now, um, her father worked for Montgomery Elevator.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um, not in not in the branch, um, uh, but more behind the scenes uh operations driven.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_02: And um I got a phone call one night, um, it was late Friday night.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_02: I won't tell you the gentleman's name, but it was uh somebody at Montgomery or Kone at the time um called and and answered and he says, I heard you're a salesman.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_02: And I like got caught off guard.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um and uh so uh conversation uh progressed.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_02: And next thing you know, I'm I'm uh meeting him in his office Sunday morning, had a job offer Monday morning, and um, you know, the rest is history, but I will tell you, you know, I I was always hesitant to share that story for for so long because I didn't want somebody to think that I was put in a position because of a relationship.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um but you know, as as we we grow and and uh age and and gain experience, you start to realize that look, that's that's the way it works, right?
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_02: That's the way our industry works as a whole.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's the it's the relationships, it's the connections, it's being the right place, right time.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_02: And uh certainly I know I've made uh both him and uh my father-in-law proud uh throughout my career.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_02: So that's pretty exciting.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's a great story.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: And and to your point, I think, I think the connection gets your foot in the door.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't necessarily mean you succeed, right?
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to put forth the effort and the energy, and you know, you got to make that happen, but it it gets you the conversation, basically, is what I got.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, you got it.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: You got it.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: Very cool.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: So, so how long before you realize that, hey, I I actually like this.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, it it took a little bit of time, of course, um, because you know, I've felt like a fish out of water.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I remember walking the factory during training and I'm looking over at these microprocessor boards, and and uh, you know, I'm not a very technologically inclined individual to begin with, right?
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_02: My wife helps me set up my computer and things like that.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_02: But um, you know, so I was a very much overwhelmed when I got to through like training and out to the branch, um, you know, it quickly became obvious that this was a a people business, much like much like anything, right?
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_02: And uh it was the relationships that you were creating that um, so it wasn't, I wouldn't say it was the elevators that tied me in, uh, at least early on.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it was the relationships as I progressed through my career and moved from you know general account management into specifically when I relocated from Denver to Houston in a modernization role, um, that's really where I grew a you know a passion for elevators because now I'm diving into the the the nitty-gritty, the the the true mechanicals, how things work, um, and and really grew an appreciation for that.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Cool.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: So it sounds like yeah, initially it was it was the relationship.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: So even though I'm feeling overwhelmed looking at these uh these you know microprocessors, the people reassured me that hey, this is this is stuff you can do.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need to be to panic over that.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, you got it.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_02: Describe that uh uh the culture of I think you said it was Kone, or had it had a the acquisition happened or um um no Kone um Kone was already in place, so Montgomery Elevator was the company that I knew growing up, uh or as Montgomery Ward or whatever you want to call it, but um uh that acquisition had already taken place.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_02: So when I when I started an industry, it was under the Kone brand.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Gotcha, gotcha.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: And the culture, uh, I mean it sounds like it was very supportive.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you you dove in and never looked back, is what it sounds like.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, you know, it was uh that was a great place.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and and I the people there were uh, you know, some of my closest relationships today still still reside in that in that in that capacity as as they do in the various other roles that I've taken throughout my career.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_02: But um yeah, I just you know I created a couple what I would say very meaningful relationships um shortly after, you know, moving on to the branch, you know, out to Denver in the in that role.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, a superintendent, a mechanic, uh a uh, you know, a supervisor, those guys um really um I I feel I feel very uh confident that they brought me into their fold because they they knew that I was that I'd put forth the effort and I'd put out put uh you know um so they were willing to invest in me where I was willing to invest in them and uh you know made that made that transition and uh made it a lot of fun.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome, awesome.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: Who who were some of your biggest mentors that that you feel like really put your feet on solid ground?
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_02: You know, so you know 17 years in the industry, right?
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_02: That's uh there's been ebbs and flows in that.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, different people coming in and out.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I could say early on, um, you know, there's a gentleman by the name of John Hoppe who um uh unfortunately passed away uh a number a few years ago, but uh you know he he is he was my first boss, right?
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_02: And he um he really brought me under his under his wing, um, set me up for succeed, um, set me up for some failure as well, um, intentionally.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_02: But but but it was um you know, he he was he was great in that.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um John Muncy, who was the branch manager down in Houston when I relocated there, truly taught me everything that I know about the modernization business, and um just such a great um uh friend and mentor to me.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um but then you know it's it's funny because now obviously in the in the consulting side of the business, right?
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_02: I look at um, you know, one of one of the individuals is a direct competitor of mine right now, um Jim Turner with Lurch Bates.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_02: Um he um he really um you know there was an opportunity that we were working on together.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, I didn't know him from anybody, but he took the time to get to know the person, not just a not just a bid that came in and uh really helped educate me one on how I was going to operate uh in the contractor side, but but I'd say that that's carried over largely to how I operate in the consultant side.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um and you know, yes, we we compete against each other now, but but that's okay, right?
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_02: It's still somebody that I I very uh highly respect.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_02: Same with Mike Smith, right?
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_02: He was president of VDA, right?
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_02: When I when I joined the firm, um, you know, I looked at him or I still look at him as a as a mentor.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, what he did um in the growth and development and building of a brand and and the um level of integrity that he did that really um motivated me to want to take similar steps and and to where I am today.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_02: So um, you know, again, it's um you know, this is such a small, small industry.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and you know, I just I believe in the relationships there is plenty of work for everybody for to go around, which which is a great thing.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I I I believe we can we can work, you know, have a have a you know competition, if you will, in in our respective businesses, but still have a still have a lot of respect for each other.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's that's awesome.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: I hear that I hear that often, but I think that's one of the things that makes the elevator industry a special place.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I agree.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: The the friendships, the the camaraderie, the does never seem to die away.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's uh you know, wherever you go, you can still make those phone calls and and talk to your friends.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, absolutely.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever um thought, man, I wish I had done something different when I was in in college and looking around, and were there any other avenues that you thought, man, you know?
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, so I think this goes back to, you know, just my my evolution, right?
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_02: So moving from Denver to Houston, um, yeah, I I stepped away from the industry for about a year um to pursue an another opportunity that really um very similar, working with similar clients, right?
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_02: Building service uh to call it call it modernization type.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_02: So it's very uh very similar to what I was doing, just a different product, right?
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_02: Not not elevator specific.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um and while I enjoyed that, uh what I what I quickly realized is that you know um that elevators, as strange as it is, had a had it had a pull on me, right?
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_02: And sure, and that I missed that side of it and really feel uh being able to be a um a product or or service expert in my field versus being thrown into another industry um that I didn't know much about.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_02: Of course, I had the relationships to to develop it, but but uh, you know, so so of course, yeah, I explored I explored outside the industry, um realized pretty quickly this is where I want, you know, this was the industry.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_02: And then it just took me a little bit longer to figure out exactly where I wanted to be in the industry.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: Sure, sure.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: So what what is it that you love most about the industry?
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, I think um, yeah, it's it goes, it's probably overstated, but the people, uh first and foremost, I I think because of um, you know, we we can look out look out the window right now and you see, you know, hundreds of high-rise buildings, right?
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_02: Or um, and then and then so you've got kind of the two parallel industries being the building or property um property management industry, if you will.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_02: And then you've got the elevator side.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_02: It's um each of those in their own right are extremely close, close-knit, right?
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_02: Where people know everybody knows everybody, and um, you know, so in some ways, I feel like I'm part of the building owner management uh industry because I can walk in and I know them, they know me.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we can we can have uh productive conversations, both personal and professional, um, same way as within the actual elevator side.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I think I think that's um that's probably the biggest draw.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm certainly there's other industries that have same same opportunities.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but for me, this was a this has been a great fit.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um, the other side is, you know, uh particularly with where I am now, um the the enjoyment that I get of helping a client or even a contractor to help deliver something exceptional for our our shared client or stakeholders.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's just really exciting, you know, especially when you start talking about you know building a new building or or redevelopment or modernization.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, it's there's something tangible that um that comes from that that uh you know it's is is pretty exciting to be a part of.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: So so you mentioned you know what you're doing now.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me a little bit about um you know Blackstone Consulting, right?
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: That you've you've started.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: When did you go live with that?
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um so uh January 1st.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_02: Uh okay, brand new.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_02: This has uh been very, very fresh.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um it's been, you know, bottom line is it was a you know regardless of where I was in the industry, right?
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_02: I I've always wanted to do something for myself and and not for myself in a selfish manner, but to be able to um you know create a legacy for for my family, uh quite frankly, and and uh for my kids and and but also to to have um you know have that flexibility um to be more involved in my kids' lives and and you know the coach uh coach every one of them in something and you know at every event.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_02: And uh that's a whole that's a whole nother um uh challenge.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_02: But but um you know, so I've always wanted to do something um for myself.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_02: It really took um you know moving into the consulting side of the business to uh as much as I loved being an account manager and then in the modern modernization world, um moving to the consultant, consultant side of the industry, I I quickly realized that this is where my home is for my career.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um when when you know I made that just uh decision, um, you know I it was it was a matter of time before I wanted to embark on this.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: Gotcha.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: How did you how did you make that shift from the uh the contractor side into consulting?
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: What what happened to make that happen?
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_02: Well, coincidentally, so I mentioned uh I mentioned uh individual that a mentor to me um had actually reached out um with a um to to to see if I was interested in engaging uh for them a a very well-known project uh within the industry and and kind of take over and and manage that, which which, you know, I was man, I was so excited.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_02: But prior to that, I hadn't given much thought to consulting.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, you know, there's a there's a misconception that um, you know, historically you look at the guys that retired and now they're consulting, right?
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_02: Or they um you know let's call it later later stage in their career.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um so while it maybe was in the back of my mind, I hadn't put much thought to it uh until I received that call.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_02: And and that was that was an interesting proposition, and quite frankly, one um I was very interested in until um you know what it boiled down for me not accepting that and then and then moving in the direction that I did was um you know that was a it was a long project and um I know my personality um and and my ambitions.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_02: I would have gone crazy being in the same building for a number of years, um meaning full-time.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_02: So um, so that's why I didn't didn't pursue that opportunity.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but it'll it started to get my mind thinking about the consulting industry as a whole, and the opportunity uh came up and and I jumped on it.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and you know it's it's just uh it's been such a rewarding experience.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it says a lot about uh the relationships you're creating, because like you said, I hadn't I hadn't thought of getting into consulting, but obviously somebody saw something in you and said, Hey, I'm gonna call that guy and see, you know, because I can see that he can he can do this.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: And and if you hadn't built that relationship, there's no way you'd have got the phone call.
• 18:39
  unknown: Correct.
• 18:40
  unknown: Correct.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: Very cool, very cool.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: So that got you into consulting.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then what was it?
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you said you kind of wanted to start your own thing.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: Was was that a a difficult or challenging process to say, okay, I'm going to create this new firmware?
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_02: Uh yeah, most I mean, most certainly, right?
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_02: There's um there's always um, you know, I've got I've got three young kids, um, you know, didn't it didn't come from money, so to speak.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_02: So it's not like there's a big nest egg to fall back on.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so yeah, certainly the the scary part was the risk, right?
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_02: What if this doesn't happen?
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_02: Um what and and this, you know, circles back to um the overall relationships that uh that have been created over the years that um you know where where my wife and I jointly decided is worst case scenario, right?
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_02: I I do this for six months and it just isn't panning out.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_02: Guess what?
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_02: There's a spot for me in this industry, right?
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and and I've I feel very confident in in those opportunities that that would be present if I if I needed to.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_02: The good news is, right, here we're less than that that window, and and I'm more confident than ever that that things are moving along in a way that I don't need to have the fallback plan, right?
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_02: Which is which is exciting.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_02: But um, but that was um, yeah, I would say that was certainly the the hardest uh part in the consideration.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: Sure, sure.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: Taking that leap, right?
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, all right, we're gonna do this thing.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: But I but I think to your point, you know, you've you've dug in, you've got the skills, you've got very very desirable skills from a lot of companies.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, could I find another spot?
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: Well, absolutely.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: Can I bring value?
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: Can you know there's not a uh a question about that?
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, yeah, no, that's uh and that's that's the fun part, and and that's the exciting part to, you know, is uh you know, that's what that's what it's about, is is it's a people business, right?
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yep, yeah, no, that's great.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: So what what are some of the the biggest issues you see facing the industry overall?
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um yeah, and and you know, I don't know if you've heard these before, but but I do think that uh you know if I were to pinpoint probably two key issues.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the first is there there's a real concern over the aging workforce in the from a from a technician standpoint, right?
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um and and you know the there's still a lot of legacy, uh, you know, is the nice way to say it, but there's a lot of old equipment out there, right?
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um and and the the workforce and the and the skill set to be able to properly maintain that equipment, it is um it's drastically moving away, right?
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um, which is which is forcing certain buildings to modernize premature um to to where they otherwise would have, right?
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_02: It and you wouldn't have thought that that would have to be a consideration, but it really is.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um it's one of the things that we talk to our clients about um all the time, and we talk uh engage in the dialogue with the contractors all the time about about the that concern.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: And and how they're uh trying to mitigate that.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um the the other part is, you know, um, and this is I've always presented this as a joint issue, right?
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and what I mean by that is it's it's the it's the preventative maintenance side of the business, right?
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_02: And um people are doing more with less.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_02: And and you know, the the challenge is uh, you know, part of my job is educating our clients, right?
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_02: They they want class A elevator service, sure.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_02: But are they willing to pay for it, right?
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um you know, if if you look historically throughout our industry, right?
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, I remember when I started, you know, you'd go find a 20-year-old service contract for one hydraulic elevator, and you know, it was I mean, in 1980, they were charging$200 a month to maintain that piece of equipment.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_02: Today, well, um, you know, that same piece of equipment's probably being maintained for$150 a month, right?
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_02: And and it's not like our labor force is uh, you know, I mean, wages have gone up, right?
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_02: Doubled, tripled, you know, gone.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so it's a it's a real education um that needs to take place.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I and I feel like we play a big role in that, um, in educating our clients on, hey, look, we want we want to put provide you optimal performance, right?
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_02: Here's here's where the expectations are, um, and and really uh preparing them for what to expect based upon that.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_02: And um, so you know, I in the same so I I I presented uh you know how we address that with our clients, but same time on the elevator side, right?
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_02: You still have, I mean, look, if they can't afford to maintain the equipment and meet the end meet the requirements requirements of the specification for X, then don't price it as at X, right?
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so so it's it's really a um it's a it's a real challenge.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um because the it's not going to get any better the way it is, right?
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_02: And and how does that happen, right?
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_02: We have to hold the elevator contractors accountable to the agreements that they agree to.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_04: Sure.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_02: And and um where where appropriate, renegotiate those to make sure that um they're doing what they're what they say they're gonna do.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_02: So um, you know, there's there's ways through that, but that doesn't that does not change overnight, right?
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_02: Uh absolutely we're we're we're we review contracts that are 20 years old and um you know so and and a year old.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_02: So um it's really trying to find that balance.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um education uh in in that in that space, I think is really important for both the the clients and the contractors.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: And as you talk about it, what I what I kind of envision is you know you're you're in somewhat of a diplomatic role of bringing two parties together and and kind of walking that fine line and and kind of helping both you know educate and and and communicate because uh like you say there's there's uh there's definitely some room there that that they need to to figure out what what the real story is.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yep, you got it, you got it.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_02: And and you know, you I think you hit the nail on the head, right?
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_02: The the way I view this business um when done the best is in a partnership approach, right?
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_02: I there there's no um certainly there's times when we have to be strict or stern and and you know assess penalties and other things where it's appropriate, but that's not what our goal is.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_02: Our goal, you know, I I firmly believe when when our contractor is succeeding, uh, when our when our manager, property manager, client are succeeding, who at the end of the day, it's their stakeholders that that win, right?
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_02: It's their tenants, it's their their residents, it's it's whatever.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_02: And and that doesn't work when when all three of us, meaning consultant, contractor, client, are not working together.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, nobody wins, right?
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: Because ultimately you've got a an elevator that that nobody can ride because it's not getting the service or or whatever.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: So everybody loses.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, and so yeah, I see that very symbiotic relationship.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: Very much so.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: Very cool.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm just curious if I always like to ask this question, but uh, are there any um stories that are that are clean enough to to record that that you think are maybe funny or just something that has happened?
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I'll I will share um and I I referred to John Hoppe earlier on as uh as one of my mentors in the industry.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_02: So he is my first boss, and um I was probably a week into um you know following training, moving out to Denver, and he go, he sends me to our largest account, and he goes, Hey, you know, I created this proposal, and I don't know what it was, it was something very minor, right?
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_02: It might have been door edges or something uh, you know, something like that.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um go go meet with with uh the client, he's expecting you.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um, he should sign this on the spot, right?
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_02: Kind of thing.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_02: So he's I'm sitting there, I'm all excited.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, this is gonna be my first sale, you know.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_02: And so I go sit down and I I do my best elevator speech and and sales pitch, you know, straight everything I learned straight out of training.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so sounded probably sounded like a script.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but I so I I meet with him, he goes, All right, well, let me see it.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_02: And no joke, the guy just tears it up right in front of my face.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_02: And I go, so I, you know, I I'm all apologetic, and I'm going, I'm running back to the office, tail between the legs, and I walk in, and everybody's in the conference room just dies laughing.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_02: So they said, of course, and um and so I you know, I think that was uh that was uh something that I'll I'll always certainly always remember.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: A little bit of uh love from the office.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: They wanted to, I guess, yeah, give you that opportunity, right?
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, you got it, you got it.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's hilarious.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_02: The the other stuff, I mean, I wouldn't say funny stories, but I just I would say that uh one of the unique things of this industry that's been uh really fun is you know it's both the places you get to see, right, and visit, right?
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_02: Everywhere from you know top secret government facilities that in and around um to sports stadiums, you know, in and out of professional locker rooms, um, you know, that all of that's really, really fun um and enjoyable.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_02: But then, you know, the the other side is the people, right?
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_02: Because, you know, when I'm working with a client, right, it can be anybody from the uh, you know, the the engineer, uh the building engineer on site to um you know some extremely wealthy and affluent individuals that own these major properties or property firms.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_02: Uh you know, I I've sat I've sat down with one of the top five uh most wealthy individuals in in in the United States and sat across the table from him talking elevators, right?
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_02: And that that was pretty that's pretty cool.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, that's awesome.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's cool.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so as we uh as we wrap up this interview, what is what's something that you've learned throughout your career that you'd want to pass on to our listeners or maybe a future you know either future generation or maybe somebody who's brand new to the industry?
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_02: Uh yeah, I I I mean, you know, not not to just go back to the relationship piece, but just to reinforce that how small this industry is, right?
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_02: And um your your name is all you have in this in this industry.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, I've seen people do the wrong things and and they have left the industry never to be heard or seen from.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um conversely, I've seen people that have carried themselves really well, have um, you know, through whatever reason, um, you know, maybe been out of work uh because there's downsizing or there's uh corporate restructure or whatever, but those people get picked up almost immediately um because of the close ties and close-knit relationships in this industry.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, I I just um, you know, uh as cliche as it sounds, right?
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_02: Doing the right thing, uh being genuine, um, all of those things.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um certainly they matter in life, but um certainly have witnessed how that how that matters in this industry.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: Sure, sure.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: And it sounds like it'll serve you well, you know, throughout your career.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: Matt, thank you for being with me today.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's been a lot of fun.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I appreciate your time.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_00: And uh good luck as you keep building your business.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks so much.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_00: You bet.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to the Elevator Careers Podcast, sponsored by the All Red Group, a leader in elevator industry recruiting.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: You can check us out online at elevatorcareers.net.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: Please subscribe, and until next time, stay safe.