Techtown Service Calls

JR Weber, director of sales at General Parts, gives his top tips on working with clients to set up effective planned maintenance programs. Greg Smith, training and safety manager for EMR, finds an operator has unsuccessfully altered a slicer to match the electrical. And techs from Clark Service Group, Gary’s East Coast Service, Smart Care Equipment Solutions and CFESA reveal their best customer service advice.  

Joe Pierce, owner and CEO of Pierce Parts & Service, shares his top tips for a successful install, from what a contract should address to steps to take after the big day. Duffy’s AIS CEO Wayne Stoutner joins next to talk about a short-sighted operator who refused to invest in a conditioned makeup air system. (Yes, things turned cold.) Plus, service techs from Smart Care Equipment Solutions, Refrigerated Specialist Inc. and EMR give advice on how to balance work and home life.

Stuart Schwadron, RATIONAL USA’s manager of consultant services, talks about the latest features on combi ovens and how to service them in episode three of Service Calls. (Hint: Redesigned touchscreens come with a front membrane that techs can replace if damaged instead of the entire component.) Next, Roy Cagle, install manager for Hagar Restaurant Service, proves perseverance pays off when he answers the call of a beer cooler with a condenser leak. And Jeff Boakes, manager of technical service for Delfield/Welbilt, fields questions from service techs on R290 refrigerant.

In episode two of Service Calls, Jay Sanderson, senior technician with Gary’s East Coast Service, explains how he solved the mystery of a malfunctioning thermostat on a countertop fryer.

Next, John Schwindt, general manager and vice president of Hawkins Commercial Appliance Service and president of CFESA, talks about the importance of service tech training—from starting with a solid foundation to participating in ongoing courses. 

In Nuts & Bolts, service techs sound off about how to professionally handle stressed operators.

In the inaugural episode of Service Calls, a podcast by Heritage Parts in partnership with Foodservice Equipment Reports, hear how the team at University of Michigan prepares equipment that’s been sitting idle all summer to feed hungry students in the fall. Plus CFESA’s Dan Reese recounts how an eagle-eyed tech, responding to a customer’s report of smelling gas coming from a boiler-based steamer, caught and corrected a careless installer’s shortsighted move. Plus service techs reveal the surprising things they always carry on their trucks to help service calls go smoothly.