Zac Hampton is a senior technician and trainer for Auston Mealer’s Restaurant Equipment Service based in Dyersburg, Tenn.
Zac Hampton, Sr. Technician and Trainer, Auston Mealer’s Restaurant Equipment ServicePrior to joining Auston Mealer’s, Hampton first worked for the United States Postal Service and then in building maintenance for a nursing facility. Since joining Auston Mealer’s seven years ago, Hampton has become a CFESA Master Certified Technician and serves as a trainer for his group of 15 technicians.
Q: You call yourself “the Why Guy.” What does that mean?
A: The reason is because I’m a trainer. I always try to make sure the guys who are with me know the ‘why’ behind what they’re doing. I try to give them the ‘why.’ It’s amazing when you tell people why they do what they do and then they see another level of understanding. You can just see the lightbulbs go off. They’re like, “Man, this is great.”
Q: It seems as though you have a never-ending desire to learn more about foodservice equipment. Is this accurate?
A: Ever since I’ve been doing this job, every day I see something new. I want to be up to date with what’s coming out. A kitchen can be a dangerous place when you’re doing service. You never know what you’re going to see. You need to be prepared, and we want to make sure we know how things are supposed to operate and know what to look for when working with a piece of equipment. This allows us to make proper repairs.
Q: Equipment is becoming more high-tech all the time. How does that impact a technician’s approach to servicing it?
A: Everything is totally digital since I’ve been here. When you’re shown stuff these days, there’s a lot to it. I’m familiar with computers and how they work. The stuff I’m dealing with now, you have supercomputers and computer boards in some of the equipment. It’s not as simple as it used to be. Now, you have touchpads, and we have to figure out how the circuitry works. I have a laptop with me, and I can download logs for complex pieces of equipment like combi ovens. There’s a lot of complex circuitry in there, and I have to go in and download records off the unit and go through line by line to understand how the machine failed and why. You need the manufacturer’s help to get through it. You get to know the people who are doing tech support, so when you talk to them and get to know them, they can help you get it fixed. It makes a big difference when you get to know them.
Q: What do you like about being in the field every day and having contact with customers?
A: I have one heck of a classroom, and you can sit 26 guys in it. But I’m in the field every day, and I’m in the field with these guys. I won’t ask them to do what I wouldn’t do. I want them to see what my hands are doing. They see what I’m doing, and they learn how to do it because they’re visual learners. I’ll get down on the floor with them to make sure it’s done right. It’s important to do the work properly and to do the best that we can.
Q: What are one or two key ingredients to a successful service call?
A: The first key is knowledge. You need that to do the call completely. The second key is you need the support staff behind you. Dispatch, parts, everyone behind the scenes. You need to have the whole team. It isn’t just one guy running the call. When you need something, people will run the parts to you. I catch calls on the fly and we have the most common parts in our office. We work on ovens and we have parts in go-totes in our office. People can run parts to me and get the equipment fixed for the customer in a timely manner and get the customer up and going. We all work together to make the customers happy. I have to make sure these guys are trained for the equipment they’re working on. We have to make sure the correct person is sent out to the call to the best of our ability.
Q: When you’re training a member of your team, what goes into making sure it’s an efficient and effective use of time?
A: I do deal with five technical schools in my area, and I want to make sure the people they’re training have their basics in. When I’m training these guys, communication is the key. This allows me to be effective when training them and letting them know what needs to be done. It’s a never-ending chore and you don’t know how you’ll respond to them and how they’ll respond to you. I want to get it done; that’s how I am. I want them to do what they’re supposed to do and to make sure we’re successful as a company.
