Thomas “TJ” Coker, director of operations with Villa Park, Ill.-based Coker Service, has a lifelong connection to the foodservice equipment industry. His uncle, Mike Coker, founded Coker Service in 1984 and TJ started his career with the firm straight out of high school.

TJ Coker, Director of Operations, Coker Service Inc., Villa Park, Ill.It wasn’t just the family connection that brought him to this sector, though. Coker chose the equipment service path because it aligns so well with his own service mindset. “The whole [restaurant] experience is to take you out of your life stress and give you a break,” he says. “We are part of bringing this experience to people. What we do makes what [restaurants] do possible. I always thought it was very cool to be a cog in that wheel. Nothing functions without what we do. That piece of it really drew me to the industry.”

Starting at 18, then, Coker worked his way from parts to warranty to service management. Though never a technician, he even handled some installation and some light equipment repair work at times.

Ten years ago, Coker was promoted to the company’s director of operations. In this role, he oversees human resources and recruitment, implements systems and software platforms to help the business run more smoothly, and manages the company’s day-to-day financials.

This work includes frequent trips to Texas to help monitor the company’s operations in that state. He’s also working with the company’s other leaders to identify new markets where Coker Service could start serving customers. This possible expansion depends, of course, on putting team members in a position to succeed, Coker stresses. “We’re trying to find the best place and the right people to put there,” he says.

Given his service mindset, Coker naturally takes a servant leadership approach to his work. “I like helping people and finding ways to do stuff that makes someone else’s life a little easier, even if it is something as simple as building a system for the company so everyone communicates better and is less stressed out,” he says.

This desire to support people extends to how Coker thinks about his team and the rewards of leadership. Watching his employees build successful careers and lives is one of the most satisfying parts of his job, he says. “I’ve got that 20-something-year-old technician who is able to buy a house. How wild is that? Then they let us all know that they’re having a baby and their family grows from there. Even if you’re just a little piece of making that happen, helping people build that life is so rewarding.”

Over the years, Coker has been deeply involved in the development and implementation of software systems and platforms that have helped the company grow significantly. Key points include his development of a basic database system using different pieces of consumer-level off-the-shelf software. He followed this with the implementation of a more robust, user-friendly system that played a significant role in the company’s success for well over a decade.

Many of the achievements Coker is most proud of, though, came during the pandemic.

With schools and restaurants shut down, Coker Service’s business fell off dramatically. Wanting to keep himself and his employees busy, Coker leaned on some past experience with web development and created a website for parts sales. “There are a few big sites that get most of the market share for parts. I thought if I could just get one tenth of one percent of that market, that it would be worth it,” he says. “So I built a parts website from scratch. It took off. We were doing quite a bit of sales on it during COVID, which was very helpful. We were able to make it through COVID without having to lay off any of our employees.”

While the parts website kept him and some of his office staff busy, Coker also wanted to find work for his field technicians. Simply put, “we were of the opinion that we should not pay folks to sit at home and do nothing,” he says.

The company, then, took on several charitable initiatives that helped techs see some accomplishments at the end of the day. Technicians filled their time, for example, by delivering food to seniors in need through the Meals on Wheels program.

“I think that part of it was fulfilling for our techs,” Coker says. “With everything being shut down here in Chicago, it wasn’t easy to stomach that you had no idea what you were going to do the next day. So just building that consistency and making everyone keep some sort of schedule was huge for us.”

In addition to his work with Coker Service, Coker helps advance the service sector through his involvement with the Commercial Food Equipment Service Association. After serving two terms on the board of directors, Coker was elected CFESA vice president in 2022.

Coker first ran for CFESA leadership in order to serve as a voice for smaller, independent service agencies. Larger companies, along with those that are merging or getting bought out tend to get a lot of attention in the industry but the smaller ones make up a majority of CFESA’s members, Coker notes. He thought there was little consideration for them within the organization. When he was elected and started participating in board meetings, Coker realized he was wrong.

While smaller companies do need a seat at the table, Coker says, he found CFESA staff and leaders from firms big and small were working to better the industry as a whole. “The folks who work and serve on the board are dedicated individuals who will take off their company hats and put on CFESA hats to represent the organization. We make a point of saying that during our board meetings, that we have to take our company hats off and address things as CFESA issues and that the decisions we make need to be for the betterment of the organization.”

As a leader of CFESA, Coker is prioritizing technician training. While larger firms have the resources to develop their techs, smaller companies face more logistical and financial barriers. With Coker championing this issue, the association is moving toward more flexible online training, including YouTube videos, webinars and a coming digital platform offering courses on-demand.

“We have to get this training organized and out to members in a fashion that allows all of us to partake in it. It doesn’t require a lot of resources from the individual; it doesn’t require a lot of money from the companies. We have made huge strides over the last year and a half to make that happen,” Coker says.

This is a natural concern for Coker. It addresses issues faced by the large number of smaller companies in CFESA. But more than that, it also helps these companies thrive, and their employees succeed and grow their career.

It’s a great distillation of Coker’s servant leadership mindset. “Everything I approach,” he says, “I approach with the mentality of ‘How is this going to help somebody else.”

Outside of work, Coker dedicates much of his time to his two daughters. Thirteen-year-old Olivia is a budding competitive swimmer, and 17-year-old Ally is considering a career as a welder, which Coker describes as “a phenomenal pat on the back” given the need for talent in the trades.

Industry Involvement

Commercial Food Equipment Service Association (CFESA), vice president and member of the board of directors

Influencer Give & Take

Tell us about one person who influenced your life.

So many people have influenced my life, probably my biggest influence has been my mom. She sacrificed so much to provide for me, really instilling very early on the servant leadership style I use to this day.

How would others say you influence them?

I had one of my managers query the team. Here are some of their answers: TJ has vast industry experience and people usually listen to what he has to say; TJ genuinely cares about people, and his attitude is infectious.