We're starting Acorn's first Employee Spotlight of 2023 with a bang! We recently spoke to Mark Grice, one of our UK Service Engineers, about his time working at Acorn. Here is what he had to say:
What are your main responsibilities as one of Acorn's UK Service Engineers?
As you can probably guess, the main aspect of my job role is to carry out annual services on our customers' stairlifts.
What does an average day look like for you?
It largely depends on the day and whereabouts I am working. As an engineer, I am flexible with what jobs I may take on any given day.
When I first started working at Acorn, I was a 'floating' engineer, so I could be sent anywhere around the UK. In the beginning, for the first two and a half years, I spent a lot of time down in Devon and in London. This meant that I was away all week and coming home to my family in Bradford on the weekends. Whereas at the moment, I'm covering work in Carlisle, which isn't too far away from where I live.
On average, I try and aim for five jobs at least, but I could easily have a 7-hour drive time between doing all my jobs and getting back home. They are generally quite long days for me, but I enjoy the work.
Have you always been an engineer?
When I started working at Acorn almost nine years ago, I was hired to work on a part-time, temporary contract. I've been here ever since!
Within a month, I was asked to go abroad and I visited Italy, France, Germany, Austria, and Belgium. I visited Switzerland twice and had a crazy experience there each time. The first time I went was in December, driving an extra-long wheel-base van, which was rear-wheeled drive. I was fine in the beginning, but one of the hotels I was due to be staying in was up on the hills, and my van physically couldn't get there! Luckily, HQ was able to book me another hotel lower down, otherwise, I would have been sleeping in my van.
Do you think your career has progressed during those nine years?
I'd like to think so. I have now been asked to work in the office two days a week, assessing other engineers and determining if any improvements can be made, so that is a great bonus.
I've always wanted to be an STE (Senior Technical Engineer) or a technical trainer, but these roles are too different from a standard service engineer role. Therefore I wouldn't be able to continue working out on the road as much as I do, which is something I love doing, but hopefully, the option is always there for me. I didn't think I would have the opportunity to work in the office at all, so I hope they see the potential in me.
What is one thing people wouldn't expect about being a service engineer?
A lot of people say that the driving part of the job is the easiest part, but I would say the opposite. It is what tires me out more than anything else.
The annual services themselves often don't take as long as people may think, but it depends on what I find when I arrive at a customer's house. For straight stairlifts, it could only take about 30 minutes, and for curved stairlifts, it could be an hour. The driving definitely takes up the most time - I could quite happily take on 15 jobs a day if it was in Bradford.
What is your favourite part about your job?
My favourite part about my job is helping to train engineers who are starting out in the role. They are able to follow me on the road and get first-hand experience of what it is like attending to the stairlifts. When they finish their training program and get told that they have done an amazing job, it gives you a sense of satisfaction that you've done something right.
I also really enjoy getting to know our customers. Once, I went to a customer's home in London and discovered that he was the man who franchised Sooty and Sweep and signed them up to the BBC. He showed me photos of him back in the day - I couldn't believe it, as those puppets were a huge part of my childhood!
I remember one lady, who was 93 years old, and she made it look like I was going in reverse, constantly zooming about her house. I asked her why she needed a lift, and she told me, “In the morning before I have my brew, I'm no use to anybody! By the time I have finished at the end of the day, I can barely walk a step, let alone a flight of stairs.” She used her stairlift once in the morning and once at night, but any other time she would walk up and down.
When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I really wanted to be a fireman, but I wasn't able to as I have two bad knees. I did apply twice and failed both times on the medical aspect because of this. It probably didn't help that I used to play rugby league at Keighley until I was about 16. I backed off due to my exams but then went to work straight away.
What is one thing people don't know about you that they would be surprised to find out?
I'm an open book, so I don't think people will be surprised!
I'm really into motorbikes, or trikes, in my case. My dad and I are on our third one now – we say that it's his retirement plan and my mid-life crisis rolled into one vehicle!
This or that?
TV or Film? – I prefer films. My favourite would have to be Smokey and the Bandit. It's a classic, but I can watch it over and over again and never get bored of it.
Pizza or Pasta? – Probably pizza. I'd definitely go for a meat feast.
Sunrise or Sunset? – I would say sunrise because I'm usually too tired to see the sunset most days. I'm up far too early - I usually set off to work around 6:10 am most mornings, even when I'm in the office.
Lions or Tigers? – I've never really thought about it, but probably lions. That's a random one!
The Amazing Team Behind Acorn Stairlifts
Acorn's passion for helping countless people reach new heights all boils down to not only our confidence in our superior stairlift products, but the attentiveness and support of a team who truly cares about our customers and wants to make a difference.
From start to finish, Acorn assures that our customers are taken care of. From the strict standards we adhere to during manufacturing, to our superior stairlift servicing within your home, Acorn Stairlifts is hands-on throughout the entire process to ensure our customers are getting what they deserve—only the best.
Check back in later to learn more fun details about some of our other dedicated Acorn employees in the weeks to come.