Mentor Interview with Dave Crom-- Owner of Mountain Mechanical--Part 1
1. Do you like your job? Like what you are doing right now?
Yea, I really do, I've been doing this for 30 years, if I didn't like it, it wouldn't have lasted that long.
2. If you could go back would you change your career choice?
No. I would probably do the exact same thing. It has met my expectations it has allowed me to make a decent living and live in Durango.
3. So you like living in Durango?
Yes
4. What inspired you to become a mechanic in the first place?
Well, I think when I was younger I was always dinkin' around with my bicycle or playing with something mechanical. Being around tools. And my dad sorta had a mechanical bench so I was around it when I was younger and I've always been interested and intrigued by it and then beyond that life takes different turns and it's sorta how it worked out. But I was interested and I think if you are interested in and like something you're going to be good at it.
5. How did you decide to open your own shop?
Well that gets back to-- I was in Durango and I had to leave; I was transferred out of Durango and I wanted to come back here. And I wanted to get into a business, so I looked at a lot of businesses but I knew automotives from previous jobs so it was sorta natural, so I kind of sought this out and was able to buy the right property and that just made it all work.
6. (follow up question to 5) So you just wanted to stay in Durango and you liked being a mechanic?
Yes
7. Was it hard as a mechanic to find your first job, you know get your foot in the door?
You know I had to go out and beat the bushes a little bit but what you typically find is small town, word of mouth, if you are able to treat people right, treat them fairly, it doesn't take a whole long time before, somebody tells their friend, somebody tells their relative, and it happens relatively quickly. It certainly didn't start right off the bat but it does build without a whole long time.
8. So does it run in the family, other than Phil, are their other Croms' that are mechanics?
Well my dad in his real younger life was a mechanic and he actually had a gas station and I worked for him in the gas station. I had the interest and that's how I got started
Customers
1. Bad customers everybody has to deal with them at one point or another in any industry where someone is not happy no matter what you do. How do you handle that?
I feel that the only way you can deal with them is to be up front, honest, and make sure there are no surprises so they know up front where you're going what you gotta do and approach it accordingly.
Yea, I really do, I've been doing this for 30 years, if I didn't like it, it wouldn't have lasted that long.
2. If you could go back would you change your career choice?
No. I would probably do the exact same thing. It has met my expectations it has allowed me to make a decent living and live in Durango.
3. So you like living in Durango?
Yes
4. What inspired you to become a mechanic in the first place?
Well, I think when I was younger I was always dinkin' around with my bicycle or playing with something mechanical. Being around tools. And my dad sorta had a mechanical bench so I was around it when I was younger and I've always been interested and intrigued by it and then beyond that life takes different turns and it's sorta how it worked out. But I was interested and I think if you are interested in and like something you're going to be good at it.
5. How did you decide to open your own shop?
Well that gets back to-- I was in Durango and I had to leave; I was transferred out of Durango and I wanted to come back here. And I wanted to get into a business, so I looked at a lot of businesses but I knew automotives from previous jobs so it was sorta natural, so I kind of sought this out and was able to buy the right property and that just made it all work.
6. (follow up question to 5) So you just wanted to stay in Durango and you liked being a mechanic?
Yes
7. Was it hard as a mechanic to find your first job, you know get your foot in the door?
You know I had to go out and beat the bushes a little bit but what you typically find is small town, word of mouth, if you are able to treat people right, treat them fairly, it doesn't take a whole long time before, somebody tells their friend, somebody tells their relative, and it happens relatively quickly. It certainly didn't start right off the bat but it does build without a whole long time.
8. So does it run in the family, other than Phil, are their other Croms' that are mechanics?
Well my dad in his real younger life was a mechanic and he actually had a gas station and I worked for him in the gas station. I had the interest and that's how I got started
Customers
1. Bad customers everybody has to deal with them at one point or another in any industry where someone is not happy no matter what you do. How do you handle that?
I feel that the only way you can deal with them is to be up front, honest, and make sure there are no surprises so they know up front where you're going what you gotta do and approach it accordingly.
Mentor Interview with Dave Crom-- Owner of Mountain Mechanical--Part 2
Customers
1. I think we left off with customers and how you deal with the ones that are hard to please?
Well, I think probably the most basic thing is probably communication you need to make sure that they understand; what we're doing, why were doing it, what their car needs, and how much it's going to cost. And make them understand that. And some customers even though they understand, they may not want that, if you talk about it up front, and communicate up front then they have a choice what they-- either do the repair that we had talked about or maybe they don't want it done. But if you talk about that going in you avoid that problem in the future down the road. So I guess the key is communication and some are not going to be satisfied, or don't want our services, but you communicate that in the beginning and then let them choose so there are no surprises later on.
Career based questions
1. Have you had any memorable customer?
I have a lot of them. It's not just 1, there is probably a couple of dozen that you become friends with, a lot of them have been customers for decades now. We've been here almost 30 years, and their is actually a car in here today that was a customer of ours, from the beginning, I would say the mid-80s, and they remain loyal, they bring all of their stuff here and you end up becoming friends with them. So not just one, I could probably sit down and think of 10 or 20 off of the top of my mind.
2. In your whole career, what's the most memorable thing that has happened while in this career?
Well you have a lot of things that probably would come to your mind that were accomplishments where you succeeded, probably their is one-- You tend to remember the things that didn't go right. And I remember one job in particular, where I sort of got in over my head and it really went south. And I had to stick with it and had to buy an expensive part to fix this thing and it's kind of one of those things that one thing led to another but I should have right in the beginning-- I tried to over-haul an engine that shouldn't have been over hauled. And we shouldn't have over-hauled it. But I did it and it turned south, and it got expensive, we ended up being okay and the customer was happy but you learn from those lessons what roads to go down and I shouldn't have gone down that road. So you have the hardest ones and the ones you remember the most are the ones where things didn't go as you planned.
3. So giving advice to someone like me, wanting to be a mechanic, what's the best advice you can give me?
Probably a couple things, but cars are so complex today that education is most important. And when I was younger people that worked on cars were probably the people that couldn't pass Physics or Chemistry or Trigonometry. But now cars are so complex that you really need to have that understanding of the sciences to be able to repair that. Cars are no longer just replacing parts, you have to understand electronics and how things work to figure out what the problem is- to diagnose the problem. And that's one of the most challenging things, is being able to diagnose what is wrong with is. It is probably one of the most difficult things. Bottom line is repairing cars is no longer buying a part and putting it on, things are much more complex and intricate than they used to be and without education in the sciences and particularly in the automotive field someone will never be able to rise to the top and be efficient at it. But if you do have all of that it's pretty satisfying.
4. (follow up on 3) So education would be the top thing you would tell someone to do first?
Well you need a little bit of hands on but then you need to go to take some of the sciences in the class and then if you are really serious about it you need to go to a school that teaches automotive and make sure it's a good one. I think the one in Farmington, San Juan, does a pretty decent job. But you need that education you can't just go in and fix cars you have to have that technical and scientific understanding of how they work. To be good at it
5. Do you think I, being 16 and a woman, would be at a disadvantage?
Well the age, there is a process of gaining the education and experience. Sometimes it's difficult to get the insurance and what young people sometimes really don't understand there is a lot to learn, and you have to have an education. But the experience thing is probably more difficult to come by, and the reason that is, is because it is costly for a business or a shop to train somebody. It takes time, but probably bigger than that is the liability. If someone in training, what would seem like a minor mess up, like the drain plug not tight, double gasket the oil filter, etc. it could be a $5000 mistake and that is probably the biggest thing. There is a lot of liability there is a lot of things that could go wrong. And the training process takes a while, but you want to make sure that you avoid those pit falls in the learning process that are expensive.
6. What would you think would probably be your funniest memory, looking back now it was really funny.
You know there are a lot of them. I road tested a car with them and they had a noise in the car, and from experience I knew what it was, it was an air conditioning line that was rattling on a fender. And I said "Oh I know what that is" and I got underneath the hood and I grabbed that thing and went to pull it to bend it and it broke off in my hand. So all of the refrigerant and oil just sprayed all over me, the car, everything, right in front of the customer. So their are a lot of those things.
1. I think we left off with customers and how you deal with the ones that are hard to please?
Well, I think probably the most basic thing is probably communication you need to make sure that they understand; what we're doing, why were doing it, what their car needs, and how much it's going to cost. And make them understand that. And some customers even though they understand, they may not want that, if you talk about it up front, and communicate up front then they have a choice what they-- either do the repair that we had talked about or maybe they don't want it done. But if you talk about that going in you avoid that problem in the future down the road. So I guess the key is communication and some are not going to be satisfied, or don't want our services, but you communicate that in the beginning and then let them choose so there are no surprises later on.
Career based questions
1. Have you had any memorable customer?
I have a lot of them. It's not just 1, there is probably a couple of dozen that you become friends with, a lot of them have been customers for decades now. We've been here almost 30 years, and their is actually a car in here today that was a customer of ours, from the beginning, I would say the mid-80s, and they remain loyal, they bring all of their stuff here and you end up becoming friends with them. So not just one, I could probably sit down and think of 10 or 20 off of the top of my mind.
2. In your whole career, what's the most memorable thing that has happened while in this career?
Well you have a lot of things that probably would come to your mind that were accomplishments where you succeeded, probably their is one-- You tend to remember the things that didn't go right. And I remember one job in particular, where I sort of got in over my head and it really went south. And I had to stick with it and had to buy an expensive part to fix this thing and it's kind of one of those things that one thing led to another but I should have right in the beginning-- I tried to over-haul an engine that shouldn't have been over hauled. And we shouldn't have over-hauled it. But I did it and it turned south, and it got expensive, we ended up being okay and the customer was happy but you learn from those lessons what roads to go down and I shouldn't have gone down that road. So you have the hardest ones and the ones you remember the most are the ones where things didn't go as you planned.
3. So giving advice to someone like me, wanting to be a mechanic, what's the best advice you can give me?
Probably a couple things, but cars are so complex today that education is most important. And when I was younger people that worked on cars were probably the people that couldn't pass Physics or Chemistry or Trigonometry. But now cars are so complex that you really need to have that understanding of the sciences to be able to repair that. Cars are no longer just replacing parts, you have to understand electronics and how things work to figure out what the problem is- to diagnose the problem. And that's one of the most challenging things, is being able to diagnose what is wrong with is. It is probably one of the most difficult things. Bottom line is repairing cars is no longer buying a part and putting it on, things are much more complex and intricate than they used to be and without education in the sciences and particularly in the automotive field someone will never be able to rise to the top and be efficient at it. But if you do have all of that it's pretty satisfying.
4. (follow up on 3) So education would be the top thing you would tell someone to do first?
Well you need a little bit of hands on but then you need to go to take some of the sciences in the class and then if you are really serious about it you need to go to a school that teaches automotive and make sure it's a good one. I think the one in Farmington, San Juan, does a pretty decent job. But you need that education you can't just go in and fix cars you have to have that technical and scientific understanding of how they work. To be good at it
5. Do you think I, being 16 and a woman, would be at a disadvantage?
Well the age, there is a process of gaining the education and experience. Sometimes it's difficult to get the insurance and what young people sometimes really don't understand there is a lot to learn, and you have to have an education. But the experience thing is probably more difficult to come by, and the reason that is, is because it is costly for a business or a shop to train somebody. It takes time, but probably bigger than that is the liability. If someone in training, what would seem like a minor mess up, like the drain plug not tight, double gasket the oil filter, etc. it could be a $5000 mistake and that is probably the biggest thing. There is a lot of liability there is a lot of things that could go wrong. And the training process takes a while, but you want to make sure that you avoid those pit falls in the learning process that are expensive.
6. What would you think would probably be your funniest memory, looking back now it was really funny.
You know there are a lot of them. I road tested a car with them and they had a noise in the car, and from experience I knew what it was, it was an air conditioning line that was rattling on a fender. And I said "Oh I know what that is" and I got underneath the hood and I grabbed that thing and went to pull it to bend it and it broke off in my hand. So all of the refrigerant and oil just sprayed all over me, the car, everything, right in front of the customer. So their are a lot of those things.