From Service Technician to Supervisor: A Conversation with Altec’s Kermie Jackson

Kermie Jackson, a Service Supervisor at Altec’s Florida Service Center in Riviera Beach, FL, has worked at Altec for 14 years. After working at a bakery as a mechanic, he decided he wanted to learn how to repair bucket trucks and came to work at Altec as a technician. He is passionate about customer satisfaction, teamwork and helping others achieve their career goals.

We sat down with Jackson to ask him about his job and learn more about what it’s like to work for Altec’s Service Group:

Altec: Where did you work before you came to Altec?

Jackson: I was a mechanic at a bakery. It was mostly electrical, with no hydraulics or pneumatics. I worked there for nine years and decided I wanted to be a mechanic somewhere else. So, I put my resume on Monster.com and was contacted and asked to interview. Here I am today, 14 years later.

Altec: What role did you start out in at Altec?

Jackson: I started as a Technician. Once I mastered that, within five years, I became a Master Technician. I took the initiative to make myself better. Altec helped me a lot with classes. After being a Master Tech for about nine years, they moved me up to Supervisor. I had no plans at first to be a supervisor. I just did my work and the manager saw how aggressive I was at working and the ability I had to talk to customers, so he decided to move me to Shop Supervisor.

Altec: How would you describe your coworkers?

Jackson: As far as a work family goes, I think we are much closer than that. It’s like your mom and dad, for example, and Altec is your mom. Altec helped me out tremendously. Our son got in an accident and they were there behind me one hundred percent. If I needed anything or needed anybody to talk to, they were there. That was a big help. There’s no us, I, or you; it’s a team. That made a big impact on me as far as being a team player.

Altec: From your experience, what career options does Altec offer to technicians?

Jackson: As far as your career goes, there are different avenues. Becoming a supervisor isn’t the only route you can take. There’s also a technician who went to work in our training department. We even have a Master Tech that’s going to work in our Tech Support department. It depends on you and where you want to go and how you want to get there, to prove to yourself that you can do something.

Altec: Can you describe what it’s like to work at Altec?

Jackson: Every day of my 14 years, I’ve learned something, or somebody has taught me something that’s been here less time than I have. It’s easy to move up; you just have to want it. Once you get on the Altec team, you’re in. They’ll treat you with respect. They’ll teach you anything you want to know. They’ll inform you.

Altec: What do you enjoy about your job?

Jackson: I like working with our customers. The best part is when they get their truck repaired, and say a week later, you call them and ask them, ‘How is your truck doing? Are you having any problems?’ That’s customer satisfaction.

Altec: In your 14 years at Altec, what values have you noticed are important to our company?

Jackson: Customer support, that’s the biggest thing. We support our customers one hundred percent. We support manufacturing. We support sales. That’s the Altec team, support. It’s one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. Nobody supported me in my previous jobs the way Altec did.

 

At Altec, we know if we put our minds and hearts and backs into something, we can do anything. We care about people. We look after each other.

And no matter where we go, across the nation or the globe, we know one thing holds true: our equipment, our services, and our solutions are used to advance our communities and improve other people’s lives.

Does a career at Altec seem like the right fit for you? If you’re interested in joining Team Altec, check out our current job openings here.