Question for roadtek or others who will respond: "You mentioned that you started in the shop then after 2 years you went out on the road.

Would you share what you experienced in the transition, what obsticles did you incounter, if any, and how you overcame them.

Was it a "Culture" shock or was it a smooth transition?

How well did you adjust to the fact that all you had to work with was what you had on your service van and had to do things by your self?

Did any of the other "Roadies" who had been at it awile, offer you any help with time management, or maybe some "do's and dont's,
any "nuggets" of info that would help? Or did they "throw you to the wolves and let you fend for yourself?

After going out on the "road", Was there ever a time you wanted to go back into the shop?

Just curious , Thanx in advance for any response, from you or others.

Response to edward T:
The statement you made concerning the TONKA toys and taking things apart just to see what makes them "Tick", is so true, you can't be afraid to dive into something that maybe you have only a small amount of experience at, you need to have confidence in your self and not be afraid to take on a challenge.

Most are afraid to tackle things that they have not done, for fear of making a mistake, but that is how you learn, sometimes trial and error are the best teachers, if you are a quick learner and remember not make the same twice, you will be all right.
Anyone who says that they have not made mistakes is, well.....you know what I mean.

I think it might be easier to list 10 things a good road tech should -never- do, sort of a 10 commandments for road service techs.
I am SOOO tempted to say a good tech should be just like me,,,, but I won't say that... (big dumb rednecky grin)
I have to agree, it is far more important to know what you don't know (than it is to know it all) and not be afraid to ask, but that is not what any customer wants to hear about.
A good first impression (same like a salesperson) and a good attitude are always important, and understanding that we are selling all the time, count high on my list too...
I guess a smile for everyone, and thick skin to not be offended, and a lack of the sense of smell help when you have to work over by the dumpster are all good attributes in a service tech...
I find that the kind of people who, when they were kids, never had -enough- Tonka toys make good techs, as do those who, when they were young, tore stuff apart to see how it worked also make good techs.
Naturally a good set of tools, and the willingness to add to their tools as budget allows are also as important, as is pretty fair "mechanical aptitude" (they MUST know "righty tighty, lefty loosy").

I will agree If you listen to customer he will let you know whats going on 90% of time.And most of what you see is what you have seen 500 times before.Its the new gotya that I like, it makes you think.I do get 10 to 15 calls a day" I pulled a drain plug and oils coming out what do i do?"I dont mind helping but some dont even want to think they want spoon feed.

I will have to agree with the others. Above all I feel the best road techs have great communication skills. I personally have taken a Dale Carnegie course on communications. However I was a road tech for 7 years prior to that. If you know what questions to ask and be persistant until you get to the bottom of the problem and can sort through the B.S. then you have a leg up.

Second. You don't need to be a "know it all". Just a healthy understanding of how it works and a natural curiousity along with a side helping of resourcefulness (a get r done) attitude, Makes a great tech.

I have been a road tech for 9 years and just recently moved into a training role. I tell our guys, "this isn't a difficult job as long as you stop to think once in a while. The guys that try to rush through the job without thinking about what the real issues are are the ones having the most problems.

My background:
I started as a shop tech in 1978, in 1980 I became a road tech. 2 years ago I became a team leader and trainer, and now manage a satellite office.
My definition of a good tech is; someone who is reliable, trustworthy, able to adapt to different work environments, able to adapt to different people, able to diagnose and repair in a reasonable time or know when to ask for help, not afraid of something new, someone who wants to learn and shares what they know, a sense of humor but knows when to be serious.

I think the last qualification that you need to be a road service tech is the "great mechanic" part. I have seen superb techs not make it on the road and I have seen mediocre tech's excel on the road. This is what you need to make a good road tech:

1. Logical thinker. Don't think the worst when you walk up to a broken piece of equipment.

2. Good to Great communicator. I think this is probably one of the most important qualities of a good road tech. If you can't communicate with your customer you probably won't make it on the road.

3. Personable. You can't have the personality of a star fish. You need to be able to meet and greet new faces and be able to get along with just about everyone and likewise people need to be able to get along with you.

4. Independent. This is not as important, but if you want to be a "great" road tech I think this is very important.

5. Confident. Again, this isn't extremely important but is a quality of "great" road tech's. Don't take this too far and be cocky. That isn't good.

6. Employer minded. By this I mean that you need to be thinking of your employer. Don't overbill the rental department just because you can get away with it. Don't overbill your customer because you want to bag out early on a Friday and you know your contact at the customer location will never see the bill.

I'm sure I will think of more later and I will post them as I come up with them.

Must relate to customer.Be able to obtain the information required to repair customers lift.You dont got to know it all just be able to find what they need at time.IE if you cant fix it or company dont work on it who will.Rework held to a min.Self control at customers location,No flying off and telling him how big a **** he has,Dont call your stuff junk even if it is after all they own it.Be acountable for your time and actions while on or off company time,No charged for front page crime here.Be able to give a level of service that you would accept if you were the one paying for it.