June 16, 2025 • 33 mins
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This conversation is on effective strategies to better balance on-call duties with personal life, with Aidan Lucey, Refrigeration Mechanic at RAC Services/The Arcticom Group. Aidan shares some great tips for scheduling, family support, and stress management techniques. This one really focuses on the softer skills of effective communication with customers, building a support network, and maintaining positivity on the job - crucial skills for both new and seasoned technicians.
In this episode, we discuss:
-On-call strategies
-Aidan's on-call experience
-Managing stress and prioritizing calls
-Building customer relationships
-Effective communication and integrity
-Handling weekend and urgent calls
-Taking on-call shifts: challenges and strategies
-Building a support network for on-call
-Balancing on-call duties with family life
-Effective communication and scheduling
-Managing stress and mental health during on-call
Helpful Links & Resources:
Episode 237. Tips for New Technicians Getting Into Supermarket Refrigeration with Aidan Lucey
Episode 226. How Busy Technicians Can Better Manage Work and Family Life
Episode 220. Improving Work-Life Balance (Without Compromising Your Success)
Aidan on LinkedIn
The Arcticom Group: https://thearcticomgroup.com/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to the Refrigeration Mentor Podcast. I'm your host of Matthews, and I'm super glad you're here Today. We're diving in on refrigeration topics, day in, day out, learning, striving, growing, tons of training programs. Always going on. , If you get to refrigeration mentor.com, get to the courses pages and check out, , we got supermarket courses, CO2 courses, we got advanced service courses, we got chiller courses, lots of different courses, whatever you're looking for.
(00:01):
And today we're gonna be diving into strategies for surviving and thriving on call. And then really managing the work life of On-Call because that is something that, , I've worked at for years and on-call is not always easy, , just even the mental space that you have to open up. To be able, oh, I'm on call next week.
, We've been doing it for decades. On call and it's something that we know that is one of the tough parts of supermarket refrigeration and commercial refrigeration. But we know if a sy a customer system go down, we need to be there. If it's a blood bank and they got millions of dollars that people's lives are on the line, we have to go to these calls.
I. Fresh set of clothes for the weekend and pretty much I don't make any plans for the week, like to meet friends or do anything because I'm on call. 'cause I feel like, , that's when the disappointment comes in. You make a plan and say, Hey, I'm gonna go to the show this night or do this. But, , and then that's when it's not gonna happen.
The on-call guy who was meant to be on, I was probably second level apprentice, he called in sick and they're like, Hey, do you wanna take the on call?
Yeah, and I, I agree with that. 'cause I was definitely stressed out more than I needed to be because I, I didn't really sit down and talk with people about on call, well, how do I take on a call? What do I talk with the customer about? How do I, which calls for, 'cause I was the same thing.
So you started out there and starting to learn how to triage your calls. What was next? So, and, and that didn't happen overnight either. That takes years of practice. Y oh
That's the tough part. I think you're right on that. And then you are the hero though, coming in on a Sunday or a Saturday or whatever and fixing those problems. And I think understanding what's a high priority call versus a low priority call. Why don't you dive into that? When you're getting those, those calls for like newer technicians who are starting to take on calls, what is the difference and which ones would you take first if we can do a few examples?
Tell 'em I'm back in a couple days. Fans are over road to run. You're not gonna get charged a bunch of labor time for me to sit here washing. So we'll leave those cases empty and then move on to the next one.
'cause that one's gonna make the most noise on the back end for sure. But if you have a rack down, I gotta explain to 'em. Say, Hey, I know it's tough. I know it's a rough weekend. You're down four cases. I've got a sword that's down every single case. And usually when you just explain to 'em like that, usually I'll give 'em my cell and say, look, here's my work cell, call me direct.
Sometimes you don't even know this customer. But it's I think looking at the situation being honest with them about like. There are other costs. Well, 'cause some customers are like you, that walk-in box that has 80 grand is more important than my store. You know what I mean? And there's customers like that.
If I can make it back, I will call you near this time. But not after this time. What I mean? Because you can always, even with a rack down, you got five minutes. To make a quick phone call and just leave a message or shoot a text. That's just as easy. Hey, rack's still down. I'm on this call. I just wanna text you to touch base that I'm gonna be here a lot longer.
So if I at least get that text when I, , I run out to get a mop or do this or that, I get to dig on my phone. I call 'em right away saying, this is where I'm at. I will get there. I have your details and then you're not trying to worry about writing them down or you lose your piece of paper or something.
but this is hard when you start out. Nobody's teaching this stuff, nobody, you know,, and it comes with experience. What are some of the things that you've learned and some tips that I know you said a bunch already, but what are some of the things that you would like to, if you're teaching an apprentice on call, or if you're with them, what are some of the things that you would want them to know?
And if I need parts I'll let , or whatever it may be. And just keep in touch with 'em as you're fixing it. 'cause if you disappear for two hours from machine room, they don't know you're still on site unless they have to go looking for your van. Right. And they don't have time for that either. Like you don't have time to chase them, but you just need to follow 'em and let them know.
So taking on-call, doing the work is not after you get into it, it's not as difficult as I always say. 'cause most of the calls are not on-call, are not. They're like your weekly calls that you're getting a lot of the time. So it's, it's just sometimes it's, it's more urgent because of the Saturday and.
So as soon as one of 'em would cycle off, everything was bleeding by. Just putting more demand on the rack when it was about 35 degrees outside. And all you can do in that instance is like, Hey, you're already down this compressor. I'm gonna shut it down, just valve it off from your rack. I'm gonna take all the details and we'll get you a quote.
And there's lots of customers out there like that. But at the end of the day, we're out there to serve that, that customer help them out and being on call there, you can come up with a strategy as well as like, I talk to a lot of people about how to get better refrigeration, take more on calls. Yeah.
I was meant to be at this call. Someone has to be there. Can you go? Now you've built that trust, but that is the only way to learn what I learned the most was on call. 'cause you're on your own. Middle of the night, you are the one that needs to figure it out. Yeah.
I mean, yeah, I've seen it, right? Like everywhere you go that, , there's guys who on the weekend, no matter what, they're not answering the phone and that's as an apprentice, there's nothing you can do about that, right? Like it's, that's kind of a management issue to deal with.
And unfortunately, that's how you learn it, right? You get burned like that and , okay, I'm just not gonna take this person's on call in the future 'cause I'm gonna be on my own. Unless it's suits you and you wanna take it and you want the extra money. Right. And then at least it's your discretion.
Can you just cover the half my morning and just get something figured out and be like, if need to be, you're like, okay, I need coverage for half a day. You take the on-call fee for the week and then a lot of times guys will, yeah, you lose your own coffee, but you also get to do the activity you needed to do.
(00:22):
So you guys work together to build that schedule. But a lot of larger companies, , you have 20 or more technicians you have more people who take it on call. At the beginning of the year, you set your schedule. I know this is when my, my kid's birthday is I am not taking on call, but that may be up to your, you and your service manager work out and somebody in your team.
Like I'm lucky where I work right now. I start late. I mean, same as most people right now struggle with daycare, right? So I start at nine and my wife finishes early and picks the boys up. I drop 'em to school. So now I can just work later into the evening, which means I can cover a call or two for the on-call guy.
And, and , it's, it's not all block or white. , Everyone has their own situation. Some people have kids, some people don't. Some people like their time off, some people don't. But we're in an industry that's a demanding industry. You could be eating dinner, and I've seen this lots of time where you have to get up and leave.
And then some Christmas, you're unlucky and you work all, all Christmas day and some other ones you don't. You take the call the pager and not the pager anymore, but Yeah. , You don't get showing your age. Yeah, yeah. But the thing is, is that it's important to understand that talking with your family is key in helping them understand that.
After a day of work, at least all the, , the side stuff is done. So when I get home, I could work all night, get home at seven in the morning, and then, , the easy thing to do is like, ah, I'm gonna bed. You deal with the kids, but you can't do that. It's partnership at home. So I'll be like, Hey, you go to school, your normal, you go to work your normal time.
'cause I see it all, all the time. There's, if there my kids leave stuff on the floor, it's, and they're not picking it up and they're gone to school, it's only one of two people that are gonna pick it up. Pick up that stuff and get it done and then, 'cause then if you get annoyed with it and you, you get resentful for it, then that's when lots of issues happen in relationships with spouse.
So like you're saying, oh, , I worked a 14, 6, 16 hour day and I'm tired. It's like, right, but your partner maybe worked an eight or a 10 hour day and they come home and looked after the kids for another four to six hours. So they've also worked a long day too. The fir the first thing they're gonna wanna do is sit down.
It's like. It's like you need to explain 'em on a level they understand, not be a authoritarian, just telling them how it is. Right?
And don't be afraid to, the customer might not want to hear it, but don't be afraid to say, Hey, I'm new. It's my first on call. I'm really busy, but I'm gonna keep in touch. I have five calls right now. Don't tell 'em what number they are. Like, don't say, Hey, you're number five on the list. , Just say, Hey, I've got this many calls.
I'm like, oh, that's my favorite coffee place. I'm gonna stop and have a coffee, maybe a pastry, take 10 minutes. And it's just. Clears your brain. Maybe bring your book, bring your PSP, whatever you want in the in the van, and just take five, 10 minutes and just clear your brain and reset. Otherwise, you're gonna get so stressed.
And how can I make it better for the next call? And then just go there with a more of a clear mind on it. I love this. Aiden, I love this. I think it's very important to, to talk about some of these things 'cause it is a. A mental stress not only a physical stress, but a mental stress when you're on call, because I know it used to take a big toll on me for a while.
'cause the call is gonna come no matter what. And I found the biggest thing is don't think of how to fix the call on the way there. 'cause you're just gonna fry your brain. Just roll the window down. If it's summer, not winter in Canada, roll the window down and just enjoy the small things. Stop. Have a coffee, listen to tune for a couple minutes, read a book, whatever it is, and just slow yourself back down.
Welcome to the Refrigeration Mentor Podcast. I'm your host of Matthews, and I'm super glad you're here Today. We're diving in on refrigeration topics, day in, day out, learning, striving, growing, tons of training programs. Always going on. , If you get to refrigeration mentor.com, get to the courses pages and check out, , we got supermarket courses, CO2 courses, we got advanced service courses, we got chiller courses, lots of different courses, whatever you're looking for.
(00:01):
And today we're gonna be diving into strategies for surviving and thriving on call. And then really managing the work life of On-Call because that is something that, , I've worked at for years and on-call is not always easy, , just even the mental space that you have to open up. To be able, oh, I'm on call next week.
, We've been doing it for decades. On call and it's something that we know that is one of the tough parts of supermarket refrigeration and commercial refrigeration. But we know if a sy a customer system go down, we need to be there. If it's a blood bank and they got millions of dollars that people's lives are on the line, we have to go to these calls.
I. Fresh set of clothes for the weekend and pretty much I don't make any plans for the week, like to meet friends or do anything because I'm on call. 'cause I feel like, , that's when the disappointment comes in. You make a plan and say, Hey, I'm gonna go to the show this night or do this. But, , and then that's when it's not gonna happen.
The on-call guy who was meant to be on, I was probably second level apprentice, he called in sick and they're like, Hey, do you wanna take the on call?
Yeah, and I, I agree with that. 'cause I was definitely stressed out more than I needed to be because I, I didn't really sit down and talk with people about on call, well, how do I take on a call? What do I talk with the customer about? How do I, which calls for, 'cause I was the same thing.
So you started out there and starting to learn how to triage your calls. What was next? So, and, and that didn't happen overnight either. That takes years of practice. Y oh
That's the tough part. I think you're right on that. And then you are the hero though, coming in on a Sunday or a Saturday or whatever and fixing those problems. And I think understanding what's a high priority call versus a low priority call. Why don't you dive into that? When you're getting those, those calls for like newer technicians who are starting to take on calls, what is the difference and which ones would you take first if we can do a few examples?
Tell 'em I'm back in a couple days. Fans are over road to run. You're not gonna get charged a bunch of labor time for me to sit here washing. So we'll leave those cases empty and then move on to the next one.
'cause that one's gonna make the most noise on the back end for sure. But if you have a rack down, I gotta explain to 'em. Say, Hey, I know it's tough. I know it's a rough weekend. You're down four cases. I've got a sword that's down every single case. And usually when you just explain to 'em like that, usually I'll give 'em my cell and say, look, here's my work cell, call me direct.
Sometimes you don't even know this customer. But it's I think looking at the situation being honest with them about like. There are other costs. Well, 'cause some customers are like you, that walk-in box that has 80 grand is more important than my store. You know what I mean? And there's customers like that.
If I can make it back, I will call you near this time. But not after this time. What I mean? Because you can always, even with a rack down, you got five minutes. To make a quick phone call and just leave a message or shoot a text. That's just as easy. Hey, rack's still down. I'm on this call. I just wanna text you to touch base that I'm gonna be here a lot longer.
So if I at least get that text when I, , I run out to get a mop or do this or that, I get to dig on my phone. I call 'em right away saying, this is where I'm at. I will get there. I have your details and then you're not trying to worry about writing them down or you lose your piece of paper or something.
but this is hard when you start out. Nobody's teaching this stuff, nobody, you know,, and it comes with experience. What are some of the things that you've learned and some tips that I know you said a bunch already, but what are some of the things that you would like to, if you're teaching an apprentice on call, or if you're with them, what are some of the things that you would want them to know?
And if I need parts I'll let , or whatever it may be. And just keep in touch with 'em as you're fixing it. 'cause if you disappear for two hours from machine room, they don't know you're still on site unless they have to go looking for your van. Right. And they don't have time for that either. Like you don't have time to chase them, but you just need to follow 'em and let them know.
So taking on-call, doing the work is not after you get into it, it's not as difficult as I always say. 'cause most of the calls are not on-call, are not. They're like your weekly calls that you're getting a lot of the time. So it's, it's just sometimes it's, it's more urgent because of the Saturday and.
So as soon as one of 'em would cycle off, everything was bleeding by. Just putting more demand on the rack when it was about 35 degrees outside. And all you can do in that instance is like, Hey, you're already down this compressor. I'm gonna shut it down, just valve it off from your rack. I'm gonna take all the details and we'll get you a quote.
And there's lots of customers out there like that. But at the end of the day, we're out there to serve that, that customer help them out and being on call there, you can come up with a strategy as well as like, I talk to a lot of people about how to get better refrigeration, take more on calls. Yeah.
I was meant to be at this call. Someone has to be there. Can you go? Now you've built that trust, but that is the only way to learn what I learned the most was on call. 'cause you're on your own. Middle of the night, you are the one that needs to figure it out. Yeah.
I mean, yeah, I've seen it, right? Like everywhere you go that, , there's guys who on the weekend, no matter what, they're not answering the phone and that's as an apprentice, there's nothing you can do about that, right? Like it's, that's kind of a management issue to deal with.
And unfortunately, that's how you learn it, right? You get burned like that and , okay, I'm just not gonna take this person's on call in the future 'cause I'm gonna be on my own. Unless it's suits you and you wanna take it and you want the extra money. Right. And then at least it's your discretion.
Can you just cover the half my morning and just get something figured out and be like, if need to be, you're like, okay, I need coverage for half a day. You take the on-call fee for the week and then a lot of times guys will, yeah, you lose your own coffee, but you also get to do the activity you needed to do.
(00:22):
So you guys work together to build that schedule. But a lot of larger companies, , you have 20 or more technicians you have more people who take it on call. At the beginning of the year, you set your schedule. I know this is when my, my kid's birthday is I am not taking on call, but that may be up to your, you and your service manager work out and somebody in your team.
Like I'm lucky where I work right now. I start late. I mean, same as most people right now struggle with daycare, right? So I start at nine and my wife finishes early and picks the boys up. I drop 'em to school. So now I can just work later into the evening, which means I can cover a call or two for the on-call guy.
And, and , it's, it's not all block or white. , Everyone has their own situation. Some people have kids, some people don't. Some people like their time off, some people don't. But we're in an industry that's a demanding industry. You could be eating dinner, and I've seen this lots of time where you have to get up and leave.
And then some Christmas, you're unlucky and you work all, all Christmas day and some other ones you don't. You take the call the pager and not the pager anymore, but Yeah. , You don't get showing your age. Yeah, yeah. But the thing is, is that it's important to understand that talking with your family is key in helping them understand that.
After a day of work, at least all the, , the side stuff is done. So when I get home, I could work all night, get home at seven in the morning, and then, , the easy thing to do is like, ah, I'm gonna bed. You deal with the kids, but you can't do that. It's partnership at home. So I'll be like, Hey, you go to school, your normal, you go to work your normal time.
'cause I see it all, all the time. There's, if there my kids leave stuff on the floor, it's, and they're not picking it up and they're gone to school, it's only one of two people that are gonna pick it up. Pick up that stuff and get it done and then, 'cause then if you get annoyed with it and you, you get resentful for it, then that's when lots of issues happen in relationships with spouse.
So like you're saying, oh, , I worked a 14, 6, 16 hour day and I'm tired. It's like, right, but your partner maybe worked an eight or a 10 hour day and they come home and looked after the kids for another four to six hours. So they've also worked a long day too. The fir the first thing they're gonna wanna do is sit down.
It's like. It's like you need to explain 'em on a level they understand, not be a authoritarian, just telling them how it is. Right?
And don't be afraid to, the customer might not want to hear it, but don't be afraid to say, Hey, I'm new. It's my first on call. I'm really busy, but I'm gonna keep in touch. I have five calls right now. Don't tell 'em what number they are. Like, don't say, Hey, you're number five on the list. , Just say, Hey, I've got this many calls.
I'm like, oh, that's my favorite coffee place. I'm gonna stop and have a coffee, maybe a pastry, take 10 minutes. And it's just. Clears your brain. Maybe bring your book, bring your PSP, whatever you want in the in the van, and just take five, 10 minutes and just clear your brain and reset. Otherwise, you're gonna get so stressed.
And how can I make it better for the next call? And then just go there with a more of a clear mind on it. I love this. Aiden, I love this. I think it's very important to, to talk about some of these things 'cause it is a. A mental stress not only a physical stress, but a mental stress when you're on call, because I know it used to take a big toll on me for a while.
'cause the call is gonna come no matter what. And I found the biggest thing is don't think of how to fix the call on the way there. 'cause you're just gonna fry your brain. Just roll the window down. If it's summer, not winter in Canada, roll the window down and just enjoy the small things. Stop. Have a coffee, listen to tune for a couple minutes, read a book, whatever it is, and just slow yourself back down.
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