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HYDRONICS


FROM THE FIELD My mentor


BY DAN FOLEY CONTRIBUTING WRITER


many people. The list would be too long to print in this column. I worked at Arlington Heating & Air Conditioning from


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1987 to 2002. My former bosses and owners of the company, Tom and Linda Croker, were like a second set of parents to me. They afforded me opportunities I would’ve been hard pressed to find anywhere else, for which I’m grateful to this very day, and always will be. Most of what I know and practice in my business, I learned while working for them. We should all establish a connection with someone we


can look to for guidance as we formulate our ideas, philosophies, and business practices. Growing up, I had the benefit of a strong, disciplined father who happened to be a Marine Corps colonel. The threat of his size 101


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on my backside kept me on the old straight and narrow in many ways. In the business world though, one mentor stood out


among others: Woolye M. Croker, who founded Arlington Heating Co. in 1944. He was the father of Tom, my aforementioned boss. Mr. Croker sold the company to Tom in 1978 but,


fortunately for me, never really retired. He would come to the office every day and handle pet projects. When I began my career in 1987, Mr. Croker took me under his wing, and from him I learned much more than just the heating and air conditioning trade. Saturday mornings were our time together. We would


never meet at the jobsite. Instead, we would meet at the office and always take his car, with me driving. This was our ritual. Looking back, this routine gave us time to talk about the job and chat about many other things too, as we drove. Early in my career, with the help of Mr. Croker, I sold


my first job and worked on the installation. It was a simple job: a furnace and AC change-out in a small


We should all establish a connection with someone we can look to for guidance as we formulate our ideas, philosophies, and business practices.


duplex. That next Saturday morning we rode to the site together so he could inspect the project. I beamed with pride as he quietly surveyed my work, nodding in approval. As we were leaving, the client offered to make payment by check. “Not necessary,” I answered. “We


ince the early days in 1987, when I began my career in the mechanical trade as a summer helper, I’ve been blessed with the guidance and support of many,


Who is your mentor? Who brought you along when you were a rookie?...


...We should let them know how much we appreciate them and how important they are.


have an accounting department and they’ll send you a bill.” We got back into Mr. Croker’s car. He looked at me and


said, “Danny, did that client just offer you a check?” “Yes,” I responded. “Never, never turn down payment when a customer


offers it!” I managed a meek “Yes, sir.”


“Now go back in there and get it,” he said. I thought to myself, “He cannot be serious.” But he was.


I sheepishly knocked on the door and asked for that check. On our way back to the office, he shared stories about


starting in the business during the Great Depression and the struggles he went through. He talked about collecting “five dollars here and ten dollars there” from builder clients on a Thursday so he could make payroll on a Friday. He gave me perspective on the kind of economic


challenges I had never experienced. I learned that in this business, cash is king, and I learned never to turn down money that is owed to you. Another time I was part of a crew installing a system he


had sold. We had a particularly bad day, as some of the fittings got installed out of place. “Plumb and level” would not have been an accurate description of the results. The system worked, but it was not our best effort. Nonetheless, we looked at it, shrugged, and I remember


mumbling something about not being able to see it from my house. Who cared what it looked like if it worked? The next day we noticed that the same job was back on the calendar. “There must be a mix-up,” I said to Mr. Croker. “We finished that job yesterday.” “Yes,” he replied. “And now you’re going back to do the


job right.” He never yelled. He never raised his voice. He never


chastised. He didn’t need to, as his disappointment was apparent. It cut through me and the lesson was learned.


e Turn to FOLEY on p 48


phc october 2011 www.phcnews.com


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