Hosted by Jeff Walter, Founder and CEO of LatitudeLearning
In this episode of the Training Impact Podcast, Jeff Walter sits down with Tom Meyers of Excel Truck Group to explore how Excel Truck Group training supports performance across a complex, high-stakes commercial dealership network. The conversation focuses on how training functions as an operational system rather than a collection of disconnected courses in an industry where safety, uptime, and precision are non-negotiable.
Excel Truck Group operates in an environment where training is inseparable from performance. Heavy-duty trucks are mission-critical assets, and every role in the organization directly affects customer outcomes. A missed diagnostic step, a delayed repair, or a breakdown in communication can have real financial and safety consequences. As a result, Excel Truck Group training is designed to support consistency, confidence, and accountability across locations and job functions.
Jeff frames the conversation around a central idea that runs throughout the Training Impact Podcast. Training matters most when it is aligned to real work and measurable outcomes. Tom’s insights offer a practical example of how that alignment takes shape in a demanding industry.
Early in the discussion, Jeff and Tom establish an important baseline. Truck dealerships are not single-role organizations. They are complex ecosystems made up of technicians, parts professionals, service advisors, sales teams, managers, and support staff. Excel Truck Group training must serve all of these roles without oversimplifying the work or overwhelming learners.
Tom explains that technicians alone represent multiple experience levels, certifications, and specialties. Entry-level technicians require structured onboarding and foundational knowledge. Experienced technicians need continuous updates tied to evolving equipment and manufacturer requirements. Parts and service teams must understand systems well enough to support technicians accurately and efficiently. Sales professionals need product and operational knowledge that allows them to speak credibly with customers whose businesses depend on uptime.
Excel Truck Group training is designed around these role-based realities. Rather than delivering generic content, the organization builds training pathways aligned to what each role needs to know and do. This approach reflects the same challenges faced by extended enterprise training programs that serve distributed audiences across locations and responsibilities.
Jeff highlights that organizations often underestimate the complexity of multi-role environments. When training ignores that complexity, performance gaps emerge quickly. Tom reinforces that Excel Truck Group training works because it respects the differences between roles while maintaining shared standards across the organization.
As Excel Truck Group expanded, its training strategy had to mature. Tom describes how informal knowledge sharing can work well in small teams but becomes risky at scale. When expertise lives only in people’s heads, consistency suffers. New hires receive uneven onboarding experiences. Best practices are applied inconsistently across locations.
Excel Truck Group training evolved to address this challenge by shifting from informal knowledge transfer to structured, repeatable programs. This transition allowed the organization to reduce variability without slowing operations. Training became something the business could rely on rather than something it hoped would happen organically.
Jeff connects this evolution to a broader pattern seen across growing organizations. As companies scale, they must move from ad hoc learning to intentional program design. This progression closely mirrors the stages outlined in the LatitudeLearning Training Program Roadmap, which helps organizations assess where their training programs are today and how to mature them over time.
By treating training as a program with defined structure and ownership, Excel Truck Group improved predictability and reduced risk across its dealership network.
One of the most valuable parts of the conversation centers on measurement. Jeff challenges a common assumption in learning and development. Completion does not equal impact.
Tom explains that Excel Truck Group training impact is visible in operational metrics that matter to the business. Poor training shows up as repeat repairs, longer service times, safety incidents, and customer dissatisfaction. These issues create friction across the organization and erode trust with customers who depend on their vehicles to run their businesses.
Effective training produces the opposite effect. Strong Excel Truck Group training supports higher first-time fix rates, improved technician confidence, smoother workflows between departments, and stronger customer relationships. These outcomes provide concrete evidence that training is working.
Jeff notes that this distinction between activity and impact is critical. Many organizations track course completion but fail to connect training to business outcomes. Excel Truck Group training demonstrates how organizations can evaluate training through the lens of operational performance, a principle central to effective customer and partner training strategies.
Another major takeaway from the episode is how Excel Truck Group views training as a system rather than a content repository. Content alone does not create capability.
Excel Truck Group training programs are structured around onboarding, progression, reinforcement, and continuous improvement. New hires are not simply given access to courses. They are guided through pathways that establish expectations early and build competence over time.
Tom explains that technicians, in particular, benefit from clear progression models. Training supports both immediate productivity and long-term growth. This structure helps employees see a future within the organization rather than viewing training as a one-time hurdle to clear.
Jeff connects this approach to how mature organizations design extended enterprise learning systems. When training is treated as infrastructure, it becomes easier to scale, easier to manage, and easier to align with business goals.
Excel Truck Group operates in a constantly evolving environment shaped by new equipment, updated manufacturer requirements, and changing customer expectations. Training must keep pace without becoming theoretical or detached from reality.
Tom emphasizes that Excel Truck Group training is built to reflect real workflows and real decisions. Training content is evaluated based on its usefulness on the job. If it does not help employees perform better in real situations, it does not belong in the program.
This focus on relevance drives engagement and adoption. Employees are more likely to participate in training when they see a direct connection to their daily responsibilities. Jeff notes that this principle applies broadly to organizations managing distributed teams, where training effectiveness depends on how closely learning mirrors execution.
The episode also explores the cultural role of training. Excel Truck Group training communicates priorities and values.
In an industry facing technician shortages, retention is a strategic concern. Training plays a key role in addressing this challenge. Employees stay where they feel supported and where they can see a path forward. Clear training pathways help make growth visible and attainable.
Tom explains that Excel Truck Group training reinforces a culture of professionalism and accountability. When people know what is expected and have the tools to meet those expectations, confidence increases. That confidence translates into stronger performance and longer tenure.
Jeff ties this back to a broader theme of the Training Impact Podcast. Training is not just about skills. It is about creating environments where people can succeed over time.
Training programs do not succeed by accident. Jeff emphasizes the importance of ownership.
Excel Truck Group training is treated as an operational system with clear accountability. Someone owns the program. Outcomes are measured. Adjustments are made based on performance and feedback. Training is not a side project or an afterthought.
This level of ownership aligns with how organizations that invest in franchise training and partner enablement manage learning. Training is tied directly to safety, customer experience, and financial performance.
Tom notes that this approach ensures training evolves alongside the business rather than lagging behind it.
As the episode concludes, Jeff and Tom reinforce a simple but powerful idea. Effective Excel Truck Group training does not rely on flash or complexity. It relies on clarity and intent.
Clear expectations, role-based pathways, and measurable outcomes are what allow training to scale. Excel Truck Group training demonstrates how programs designed around real work and real results can support consistency, retention, and long-term operational excellence across a demanding industry.
This episode of the Training Impact Podcast reinforces a critical lesson. Training creates value only when it functions as a system aligned to performance. Through his conversation with Tom Meyers, Jeff Walter shows how Excel Truck Group training supports scalable operations, workforce stability, and measurable business impact. The takeaway is clear. Sustainable growth depends on better training programs, not more content.
To learn more about Excel Truck Group, visit
https://www.exceltruckgroup.com/
For more from the Training Impact Podcast, follow us on Social Media:
https://t-sml.mtrbio.com/public/smartlink/trainingimpactpodcast
Jeff Walter (00:00)
Hi, I’m Jeff Walter and welcome back to the Training Impact Podcast. My guest today is Tom Myers. Tom is the technical training manager for the XL Truck Group, a multi-unit, multi-brand dealer that offers new and used trucks and trailers.
as well as maintenance, repair, collision, specialty engineering, fleet support, and a whole lot more that we’ll learn about as we talk. Tom, welcome to the program.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (00:23)
Thanks for having me.
Jeff Walter (00:24)
Hey, so Tom, I always like to start off with the journey that people take to get where they’re at in life. So how’d you end up as the technical training manager at XL Truck and tell us a little bit more about what XL Truck Group does.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (00:38)
Okay, well, I guess I need to kind of start my whole career. I won’t go through all of it. It’s very long. But I’ve been in some sort of mechanical industry for 50 years. Started out 15 years old at a gas station, worked my way up to there, had lead tech, ended up to go, decided to work on heavy equipment and trucks, did that for a while.
Eventually we lived up in Illinois. We decided to move to South Carolina. Um, started out in the automotive world down here when I moved and kind of got bored with that, decided to go into the forklift industry, had never worked on a forklift per se. Uh, there I started out as a tech, ended up as a trainer and then eventually the technical training manager of Lyft one did that within the total five year span that I was there.
three years ago, I got recruited by Excel to become their technical training manager. And that’s how I ended up here in a very short timeframe. and what I do for Excel is, we have about 380 technicians. I manage every one of their individual development plans from the time they’re hired till the time they retire, or leave us.
along with three other trainers, technical trainers, including myself. also do training in classroom training and I do that for the entire organization. So we have 13 locations on the truck side and five locations on the case equipment side.
Jeff Walter (02:14)
And so that’s a lot of locations, a lot of folks. you know, as I said earlier, you know, a lot of times a lot of these episodes, we’re talking from the OE perspective and those training and their training managers and trying to get programs to, you know, so folks can service and sell. So from your perspective, what are you trying to accomplish with training? you know, what’s, what’s
What kind of impact are you trying to have or what are you hoping to achieve with the training that your techs are going through?
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (02:49)
So I guess part of that has to do with the kind of level of technician that we’re hiring. So that has become a very small group as time has gone on, because there’s less people getting into the industry. So everybody wants the guy that has 30 years of experience somewhere, but it’s hard to steal that guy from someplace else. So we’ve gone as far as hopefully being able to hire
somebody right out of high school to come work for us so very green. So we want to teach them from the ground up, you know, everything there is to know, teach them the right way to do things or I should say our way. Everybody thinks their way is the right way and, and grow that person into a journeyman technician and, go from there. Depending if they have any experience.
Jeff Walter (03:30)
Ha
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (03:40)
We need to get them to understand the difference between if they came from the automotive side to the freight liner side. And then above all of that, we need to get them factory certified. So that is a goal that is required by freight liner for us to accomplish with all of our technicians.
Jeff Walter (04:02)
And, and so there’s the, the brand certification, the factory certified, but is that enough? Like you say you’re focusing on more of the, bringing people into the industry. What is some of the challenges with that and is getting them factory certified enough to get them where they need to be for you as the employer, right? This
You guys are the actual employer.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (04:29)
So realistically factory training is never enough. It is not in depth enough. and unfortunately it’s also one of those things that, you come to, you do online training prerequisite to go to class. You come to class, that’s typically four to five days worth of training. And if you don’t go back to your shop,
Jeff Walter (04:33)
Okay.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (04:52)
and immediately work on something that you just went through class on, you’re gonna lose it. So the challenge there is to come up with courses that we do internal that are not part of Freightliner so that we can keep these guys energized and…
Jeff Walter (04:55)
Right.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (05:10)
understanding everything as far as new technology that’s coming out. And we do that on a regular basis. So we have some of our own internal classes to challenge the technicians when they come to those classes.
Jeff Walter (05:24)
You know, I mean, it’s interesting that you say that because I spent a lot of time with the OEM training managers, member of the ATMC, the Training Managers Council. And, you know, I remember in the last convention down in Georgia last spring, you know, there was a really interesting discussion and it’s, and I don’t know what the right answer is, but it was a really interesting discussion in terms of, you know, they’re focused on their brands.
and their products and being able to service, teaching folks to service their products. And they were having a really interesting discussion, debate about how far down do you go to the general theory, let’s say, like, you know, here’s how, this is how an engine works, this is how transmission works, you know, the general theory, how far down do you go into that versus say, know, specifically with our vehicles, this is how you,
change the brake pads, right? you know, because if you just do that, you’re assuming the person has that general knowledge and skill, and then they can apply it to the particular. And so I’m curious from, from your perspective, how do you see that with Freightliner and Case and other brands you’ve worked with over the years doesn’t have, you know, in terms of what’s like, what’s, what are those, what’s the nature of those courses that you you need to build?
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (06:38)
So, so those, so on the Freightliner side, I don’t know anything about the case side. You know, from Heister Yale, right? They concentrate on their, their piece of equipment, so to speak. I’m the trainer that I want to make sure that they understand the theory. So I’m more of a theory driven person. So once the course becomes mine to teach, after I’ve done my certification with, with Freightliner.
Jeff Walter (06:44)
Yeah.
Right.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (07:06)
I can kind of tweak it a little bit. So I want to make sure they understand theory because I’ve always been a theory person. If I understand the theory of how something works, I can diagnose it and you can apply that theory to anything, you know, so realistically a fuel system on a diesel engines, a fuel system on any diesel engine, right? Today everybody has high, high pressure common rail. I just need to know all the players that are in that particular.
Part and then I can figure out how to make how to how to diagnose it So a charging system is a charging system a starting systems as to starting system As long as I understand the theory of how it’s supposed to operate I just need to know the the players in the game and I can diagnose it so I make sure that our guys Understand theory and I think they can take that to any aspect of what they’re trying to do
Jeff Walter (08:01)
Now, you know, and now look, flipping it from the other side, I was just talking to someone focused on the, talk about the vocational training, know, the folks coming out of the secondary programs or the vocational programs and, or some of the you know, state sponsored work training programs.
And, know, she was talking about, you know, the challenge of aligning those with industry. how, like, where do you see a gap there as folks are coming out of, say, you know, the, the, the, the young adults coming out of those programs where they’ve gone through, you know, some level of training, but now, now they’re in your shop. Uh, and, and, you know, obviously they need the factory training, but where do you see the, is there a gap there or, you know,
How do you bridge the gap is a better way of thinking of it.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (09:00)
So there is a gap and what we’ve tried to do, so we have a couple of vocational centers around the Charlotte area, one of our dealerships. We have actually partnered with them so that we will actually hire, say somebody out of high school, they need to apply. We will hire them as an apprentice, so to speak, or an employee. And then they are gonna go to that vocational center.
Jeff Walter (09:12)
Okay.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (09:25)
and get training. So they’ll be there for two to three weeks. Then they’re going to come to us and work in our shop for two to three weeks. Then they’re going go back to class for two to three weeks. And by the time this is all done, it’s a two year program. Not only are they a better tech when they graduate, they also end up with an associate’s degree. So as time goes on going forward, and we’ve all seen
Jeff Walter (09:49)
Right.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (09:54)
some sort of degree has some sort of merit to it. and, and, you know, we can grow that person. So they’re getting the theory on the vocational side. So we don’t have to worry about that. We’re going to show them the true hands on, real world learning experience when they’re in the shop.
Jeff Walter (10:12)
And what’s been your experience with that type of onboarding, with that type of employee versus somebody that didn’t go through that program?
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (10:20)
The ones that go through that program are a little bit further ahead. Depending on what that person, other person’s background is, they may have kind of learned, I call it the school of hard knocks, right? They’ve learned it the hard way, doing something wrong or whatever, gone from shop to shop to shop, right?
Jeff Walter (10:24)
Uh-huh.
Right.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (10:40)
The one coming out of that vocational center has a, theory, and then the real world hands on. And they seem to be a little bit more adjusted and understand the reason behind training going forward where the person that has come from the school of hard knocks has the attitude. Well, you know what? I just learned this, you know, my way and I don’t, I don’t need any training. I’ll just figure it out.
Jeff Walter (11:09)
Right,
right. I’ve been self-reliant, ⁓ which actually, on the one hand, which is hard, but it’s amazing how many tools are available today just to every individual. But sometimes you need more than a YouTube video.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (11:11)
Yeah.
Absolutely.
I can say when I started out in my career, unfortunately, there was a lot of the school of hard knocks. There wasn’t as much at disposal when I first started compared to what it is today.
Jeff Walter (11:34)
Yeah. Do you notice a difference in retention or, um, or anything along those lines? Like if you’re bringing people in through those different avenues, you know, say let’s say school hard knocks and the print apprenticeship or, do they have, is it, is there any different in nature? Do they stay sick around longer or shorter or, know, or is it really up to the individual?
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (11:57)
So it kind of depends on their age. So if we look at the age groups, the millennials compared to, I don’t even know all the, the, the, the, what is it? Generation X. you know, I was a baby boomer, whatever those are. Right. So there is some of that. So some of the younger people don’t necessarily care about benefits.
Jeff Walter (12:00)
Okay.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (12:19)
And what you’re offering, they’ll leave you for a buck and a half and go down the street to somebody else. They’re more interested in what goes in their pocket on a weekly basis compared to what long-term is. there. So, and, and some of the older guys that come in say that are in their thirties to forties are now going, Hmm. I have to start thinking about retirement. Right? So what, what, does this company give me?
Jeff Walter (12:29)
Right.
Ha ha ha!
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (12:47)
towards retirement and health insurance and those types of things where younger people don’t necessarily think about.
Jeff Walter (12:54)
So then you see it more from an age perspective or a stage of life perspective,
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (13:01)
Yeah, absolutely. Unless you’ve
turned that really young person into realizing that if you stay here and you work for us for 30 years, do know how much money you will have in your 401k?
Jeff Walter (13:12)
The beauty of compound interest. It’s a, it’s a beautiful thing. You know, I’m, I’m kind of with you. I’m at the, uh, the other end of that spectrum at the, the baby, you know, one of the younger boomers or jet Xers or older genetic, depending on where you put that line. And it’s like, I’m looking back and like, dang, that actually works. You put that stuff, you put a buck away and.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (13:14)
Yes.
Yeah.
Jeff Walter (13:36)
wait a couple of decades and it turns into a couple of dollars. It’s amazing. getting back to what are some of the other challenges. So there seems to be a gap in the training. You’re getting the guys went behind the ear just out of school that may have gone through a
a high school program or a vocational program. So they’ve got some type of training. you got the factory training, the OE training. and you know, it sounds like, you know, what you were saying with the, know, that there’s some type of gap. You need a little bit more theory in there, which the OEs are generally, and it’s interesting because that’s where they were talking about is like, how far down do we go in saying, Hey, this is a Phillips head. This is a regular screwdriver, you know, or as they say, plus and minus. ⁓
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (14:24)
Yeah.
Jeff Walter (14:25)
And I’m old school on that one. But they’re having those conversations as they’re trying to put together their curriculums to make sure, know, like it sounds like there’s that, what you were saying, the types of courses you need to build are on that more foundational level, maybe advanced from the vocational or, you know, like
Give us some…
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (14:53)
So
here’s a perfect example. I don’t know if it’s going to be a great example, but obviously everybody thinks of a truck, a semi right has a diesel engine transmission, yada, yada, yada. We do actually Freightliner makes a fully electric tractor. Okay. So that is a 400 volt electric tractor that’s capable of doing about 300 miles.
Jeff Walter (15:11)
Okay.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (15:19)
depending on load size. So it’s pretty impressive. So think about all the electronics that are involved in that. So you aren’t taking somebody that knows, you know, that, you know, the positive cable goes on the right and the negative cable goes on the left. Now we have to worry about 400 volts can kill you. How do we convert 400 volts DC to drive an AC motor?
Jeff Walter (15:38)
Right. Yeah.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (15:48)
So understanding all of that theory and how that operates and how that works, you can see that there’s more than just basic electrical there. And those are some of the, to make sure that we understand all that. And realistically today, the electronics in a truck is nothing like it was 30 years ago. So, I mean, they have all of the same
capabilities of an automobile for collision avoidance, automatic braking, ABS, lane departure, all of that. we have electronics is where everybody has gone. So understanding basic electric is important, but then they also have to understand how all of this stuff communicates to one.
Jeff Walter (16:35)
So what are some of the other challenges you’re facing? You’ve got, I think you said 22 locations. They’re pretty spread out geographically. What are some of the other challenges? Finding that it sounds to me like one of the challenges is there’s a gap in content between the schools and the factory, right? And you’re filling in that gap in content. And it seems to be, if I hear you,
applied theory. It’s, it’s, it’s, you know, they got the theory out of the school, it’s a certain degree, but then applying it in a certain situation, like, like the, 400 volt truck. Yeah. They might’ve learned something about electric vehicles, but now you’re applying it to a massive tractor, right? And, you know, with 400 volts that, that,
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (17:25)
Right.
Jeff Walter (17:27)
You know, can really mess you up if you touch the wrong thing or say, but then same thing with the engines too. And the transmissions is like, learned the theory of how a diesel works. might’ve. You know, worked on one a little bit, but now I’m going to apply that theory. And then the OE, if I hear you, if I can summarize that back, you always really primarily focused on, well, this is how you do the thing with my transmission, my brakes, my engines, my.
You know, and that’s, so here’s the application without the theory. Here’s the theory with the application. It sounds like the gap is that you, the courses you guys are creating or when you take on a course that you teach, you, where you expand is that, that a plot, what I would say applied theory, is that, is that a good.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (18:16)
Yeah, that’s a good explanation of it. So we want to make sure, so I mean, we do a Detroit engine class and we tear down an engine, we put it back together so that they understand all of it. We go over all the components. There’s a separate fuel system class. And then, so that’s the Detroit engine. We also do the same thing with a Cummins engine.
So we do that as well. we would make sure that, you know, those are the two major engines that are in our trucks. We make sure we cover all of them so that they understand, cause there are differences. Not, not everything is created equal, similar, but not equal. And we make sure that they understand the differences. and, it’s, it’s truly hands on. And I don’t know. I would say most technicians.
Jeff Walter (18:37)
Okay.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (19:03)
learn with doing stuff hands-on. They don’t learn it in a book, right? So they see it in the book, but then they need to apply it right away so that it sticks. So there’s a lot of hands-on with all of our courses. And then we even bug them. So here’s a real-world bug, a complaint that the driver brought it in for. You need to figure out what’s wrong.
and then we walk them through if they can’t figure it out how to diagnose that. And that is stuff that they are going to see every day.
Jeff Walter (19:34)
And with the 22 dealerships spread around the country, how do you deal with the… mean, one of the big challenges is that hands-on, right? It’s like you’ve got those engines to break down, but they’re in a specific location. And getting to that location is time and money, right? It’s not just the time in the training, but it’s actually getting there.
And back. how do you know, how do you address that issue or how have you addressed that issue?
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (20:08)
Well, so
our training department is different than most. So all of our training equipment is portable and we have trailers. So we will load up a tear down engine, a running engine, put that in a trailer and we will go and do put a class on at one of our other locations, say in Virginia. And we will bring technicians in from the Virginias.
Jeff Walter (20:15)
Uh-huh.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (20:32)
So, and we train in multiple locations in the Virginias and my trainers and myself, we tow trailers that have two to three engines in them or chassis equipment. we have a entire dash out of a new Cascadia that is a training aid where it has roll up windows, the entire dash, all the wiring, the whole nine yards.
So it is just like working on a truck and we will take that and we can bug that like a truck and they use that for the hands-on part of it so that we don’t necessarily have to rip apart a customer’s truck. We’ll screw up our training aid. And we have lots of training aids. So we have an entire air brake board where we will disassemble the entire air brake system and the technicians have to physically put it back together and make it work. ⁓ Yeah.
Jeff Walter (20:55)
I know.
Hahaha.
Very cool.
Very cool. you said earlier, going back to something earlier, you said you get certified to teach Freightliner courses. So that’s interesting. help me understand that. How does that work? How does a dealer, technical training manager or technical trainer get certified from the OE?
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (21:33)
Mm-hmm.
Okay, right. on the Freightliner side, you will have to have gone through every class as a technician first. So once you’ve accomplished that, then you actually are eligible to go to new instructor training academy with Freightliner. So you will go to a location. You actually, they have an entire two week course where you are going to perform as a trainer.
Jeff Walter (21:46)
to teach the class. ⁓
All right.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (22:11)
in front of trainers and they were critique you to make you better, ⁓ and, go through different types of scenarios and, they pretty much put you on the line. It’s, it’s, it’s pretty brutal. but it makes you better. And once you graduate, then you’re capable of going to, let’s say you want to do a basic electric classes, your first one that you’re going to teach.
Jeff Walter (22:15)
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (22:35)
You actually have to go observe that as a trainer to another trainer’s class. And then once you get through that, then you get to do, two practices by yourself with, you know, technicians, and then you have to certify. So another trainer will come in to observe your class and critique you while you’re doing that class. And when you pass, you are certified to do that all on your own going forward.
Jeff Walter (22:42)
Right.
And it’s at the is it at the individual class level? OK, so.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (23:06)
Yes. Yep. So,
yeah, so they have quite a few classes and you have to do that same process for every one of their classes.
Jeff Walter (23:16)
Okay. But first you got to go through the curriculum. You as a student have to go through the curriculum. So that you have the breadth of knowledge. And then you go. So, cause I’m, I got a book coming out. I’m a big believer in the learn, do teach. Like let me learn it, then let me do it. And then you really master things when you teach it to others because they ask you things you never thought of because you just, and,
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (23:21)
Yep, before you’re even eligible.
Yep.
Absolutely.
Jeff Walter (23:43)
And it’s one of things I’ve been a proponent of as I’ve been talking to my clients and others is like, where’s the mentoring the, and I, and I mean the formalized mentoring or the teaching where the student becomes the teacher, not just back at headquarters going out into the field, but the guys in the field that you’re being, that you’re blessing as experts so that they can go and do it. And so it’s really interesting listening to you. I wasn’t aware of that.
program at Freightliner. I haven’t seen that. ⁓ so it’s really interesting.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (24:15)
Yeah.
Well, something that made
me something that made me probably better to understand this was when I was at the forklift company, I also did technical support. So if you ever want to know how much you don’t know or do know, try to explain to a technician on the phone how to figure out and fix something.
Jeff Walter (24:27)
Okay.
without being able to see it.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (24:39)
Right? Cause you can’t see it. You can’t touch it. You know, you can’t, you have nothing. You’re, you are strictly listening to somebody on the other end of the phone and trying to direct them into the right area to figure out what is wrong with that piece of equipment. So it made me better as a listener and then being able to also describe what I want them to do.
Jeff Walter (24:50)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (25:05)
and then tell me the result so that we can go forward. So that whole process really changed the way that I look at things or describe things to technicians, even in my class, they can see me. That helped me grow as an instructor immensely.
Jeff Walter (25:24)
Hmm. All right. That’s yeah. Well, because you’re I mean, I’m just as soon as you mentioned that, you know, I love my mother, God bless her. And she is a spry woman in her 80s and wants to know everything about every piece of technology and trying to describe how to do something with your iPhone over the phone.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (25:47)
Yep.
Jeff Walter (25:48)
Yeah, as soon you said that, I’m like, oh my gosh, that is such a. It’s it’s it’s such a skill because you really have to know the thing you’re talking about to be able to explain it and not just say no right here over here. This thing point right here. Touch that thing, right? That’s really interesting. So just exploring the the certified trainer thing a little bit more. So when when.
So I assume as a certified trainer, then you’re training your staff, or are you participating in training? Are you running classes for other dealer staff?
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (26:32)
So all of our classes are listed in Freightliners LMS on a calendar and they are open to anybody that is a Freightliner dealer across the country. yeah, yeah. So we, I’ve had people, I just had a group here from Texas a couple of weeks ago here in Rock Hill that attended one of our training classes from another dealership. They had six people here.
Jeff Walter (26:37)
Right.
okay, so it does go cross.
All right. So, so I would assume, so you’re, you’re creating the offering when you’re, I’m assuming you’re, creating it when it’s makes sense for your network, your deal, your dealers, but then, you know, Hey, if it’s, if I got a dozen people that need that course, but I can fit 20, I got eight open seats.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (27:19)
I wish we could do that many, Freeliner doesn’t limit it to six people in a class. But yes, I build our calendar around our needs, but then it’s open to the entire organization. So if I’m doing a class that would help somebody at another dealership, they’re more than welcome to attend that class.
Jeff Walter (27:21)
Hahaha!
Okay.
Right.
And that, I mean, I think that’s awesome. It’s something I’ve been a proponent of it. Well, cause it, it, it, again, it’s challenging the trainer, right? It’s, it’s, and it’s building a network of trainers that are not on your payroll, but are actually out in the field. they’re, they’re, they’re, they, they, the problem with the trainers back at headquarters is they’re not doing the work anymore.
They become the professors, you know what I’m saying? And the universities that aren’t turning a wrench and aren’t close to it. you know, I think it’s just, I think it’s just great way to get the whole learn to teach. Like I said, it’s like you get that person and you become a certified expert. That’s really cool.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (28:13)
Yeah.
And right. And part of the reason why Freightliner does
it this way is so that if, if I have somebody attending one of my classes or I send one of my texts to somebody else’s class in a different state, the goal here was to make sure that regardless of whose class you were attending, you were getting the same level of training from that instructor. So we network internally.
There’s about a hundred and I think 85 or so, maybe more in the entire, training network, the Freightliner training network across the country and Canada. and, and so we all communicate to one another. They think we have meetings and things like that. So the, the goal here is to make sure that the courses that we are teaching.
you’re getting the same training regardless of who’s teaching the class.
Jeff Walter (29:16)
Right, right. It’s the same syllabi. ⁓ and, and they’re picking up the same knowledge and skills. And the only difference is the difference you have with any two instructors teaching the same course, right? Everybody’s got their, their take on it, but that is, that is so cool. So, so I’m, curious. Yeah. I’m, going to put my CineCat on for a second because these are the questions they had asked to me when I bring things like this up.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (29:18)
Yep.
Okay.
Jeff Walter (29:41)
Well, why would that, why would you, why would you, why would Excel truck want to have their people spend their time training other dealers people? Like what’s in it for Excel? Do you know I’m saying?
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (29:56)
I guess the, well, so we do charge. So we get that revenue into the, into the training department for them to come, to come to our class. Same thing with our guys go to one of their classes. there, there is, you know, everybody charges for training. so there is, there is no downside to it. and it’s not like we’re training competition. So all the dealer groups have.
Jeff Walter (30:05)
Okay.
Right.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (30:22)
You know, they’re, they’re OARs that we deal with. So I’m not training competition. and who’s to say that a truck that we worked on today doesn’t end up at one of the other dealerships three weeks from now, because they sing travel cross country. And, know, realistically, I hope that that dealership has just as well a trained technicians as we do.
Jeff Walter (30:24)
Right.
Alright.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (30:47)
So we’re open for the same service.
Jeff Walter (30:48)
Well, so
yeah, well, well, so let me understand what you just said there on the monetary side. So let’s just for, you know, say, of course, so at Freightliner, you know, a certain course would be a hundred bucks. Just, you know, throw a number out. so if you’re training, if you’re running the class, is it, does that, does that mean when, when your staff enrolls, it is, it’s free or is it free?
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (31:15)
internally?
Jeff Walter (31:16)
Yeah. Like,
like what, like, like, let’s say you’re going to run one of these classes and it’s a hundred bucks a student and you’ve got three and internal folks and three external folks. Is there a cost savings for Excel truck for the three folks that the Excel instructors, do you know I’m saying? Do they get any? Yeah.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (31:24)
Mm-hmm.
So depending on location, right? The,
the savings would be the fact that the technician hasn’t had to travel. Okay. Um, internally, obviously P and L’s and all of that corporate stuff. I, I will be billing the particular dealership for that technician to be in the class. Cause realistically the training department is kind of its own separate entity as well. Um, and we want to track.
Jeff Walter (31:47)
Right, right.
Right, okay, so.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (32:09)
Internally in the co in the company, they want to track how much money is being spent on training at each location. So they have a budget for training. and, and so that’s how we track it internally. And then obviously externally, you know, we’re going to charge those guys a hundred bucks to be in our class as well. but I’m not worried about where that’s.
Jeff Walter (32:19)
Gotcha.
Yeah. Well, so if we look at that little, that example of, know, six, six people, three that are part of the network, you know, three that are employees, three that aren’t the class is going to, you’re still going to get the 600 bucks for the class. The difference is the three internal guys. It’s an internal accounting thing, right? This department, you know, spends a hundred bucks per employee to fund this other department. Same as if they had gone to an external class.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (32:59)
Right.
Jeff Walter (32:59)
Right. So, but net-net for the group, it’s zero, right? Because it goes from one bucket to another. But then $300, the tuition from the external students stays within Excel and nothing’s going to Freightliner. they’re not, yeah. So that answers the question is, well, one, if you, it’s interesting. I haven’t.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (33:04)
Mm-hmm. Right.
Nope. Nope.
Jeff Walter (33:22)
come across this. So then the motivation for a multi-unit dealer or any dealer for that matter to do this type of, to get their guys certified to train would be, well, you can conduct these classes when you’re training your folks. There’s an internal accounting, but net-net you’re keeping the money in the family as it were. There can be some incremental revenue.
And your staff gets the benefit of having access to the instructor 24-7, right? Because I got to imagine that you get a lot of interaction with internal learner students versus say the external. Yeah.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (34:06)
Right. Exactly. Exactly.
So that is a relationship you’re constantly building with your, with our own technicians. so the reason why not all dealers across the country have done this is that there’s a huge cost for, for training aids and, and all of that to purchase, to be able to do this training, Excel and other
Jeff Walter (34:11)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (34:30)
dealers across the country have realized that even though that there’s a huge cost, it actually pays off in the long run to be able to do it internally, so to speak.
Jeff Walter (34:40)
Yeah. Well, especially if you’re a multi-unit operator, a multi-unit dealer, right? Cause then you can pick the location. You know, when your people need certain types of training, you can pick the location. You save all on that travel, which is not just the, you know, it’s just the expense and the people’s time, right? And the hotel stays and all, and feeding them and all that kind of stuff. And that’s huge. But, and that, but then also you’re, you’re, you’re, getting a higher quality, you know,
A, you know, a, a, a quality of training. It’s geared specifically to what you guys are doing and can, you know, and then, and then there’s some incremental revenue to help out offset other training costs. But yeah, you gotta, you, and you get, but you gotta make it a bit. could see that, but that’s really interesting. That’s really, really, I really liked that. You know, that because it gets that, because I, and I liked the fact that it, the program allows you to go. Not just your people, but across and then sets up.
You know, get entrance to the club of other dealer trainers, right? Or other trainers. so, so then that allows you to take your knowledge that much further, but that’s all within the, that that’s not back at headquarters or at the OE training center. That’s, that’s local to the, to the dealer network. That’s, that’s really cool. I really liked that.
That’s again, just because I’m a big fan of this learn to teach. ⁓
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (36:07)
Yeah. And then
once a year Freightliner does sponsor put on a technical training update. So we will go, all the trainers will meet somewhere, go over new material, things like that. And so that we do all get together, spend some time together. It’s really, you know, it is interesting and it’s a, it’s a really cool network to be part of.
Jeff Walter (36:28)
Yeah. Now, have you guys looked at, that, yeah, that’s, that’s, that’s really good. Now does case do anything like that?
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (36:35)
I, I don’t know yet. ⁓ so from on the, on the, the case equipment side, all the there, the OEs are doing 90 % of that training, you know, so that’s done it at a case headquarters, so to speak. Yeah. Yep. Yep. We don’t do any of that internally. so
Jeff Walter (36:35)
Or you just don’t know yet. Yeah. Okay.
Mm-hmm.
or service, you know, technical centers.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (37:00)
And I haven’t quite figured out that whole nuance yet. So that the equipment company with us is relatively new, probably like eight months or so right now. So I’m still learning their LMS and figuring out how to, how to get technicians into training and working on their development plans. So that is something that I do.
On the Excel truck side, I have a development plan worked out for every technician we have here. And I’m doing that now on the, on the case equipment side or Excel equipment side as well.
Jeff Walter (37:34)
Yeah, it just is a note. think you said the the the y’all recently acquired the case dealers, so that’s all new to the organization. In case people are wondering, hey, why haven’t they figured this out? It’s because it’s all new.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (37:40)
Yep.
It takes time, and,
know, to understand all of it. And, it’s another LMS that I deal with, every, every OEM manufacturer, that we get training through or have guys signed up in is a different LMS. there’s everybody has their own quirky way of doing things and allowing you to have admin rights.
Jeff Walter (38:03)
Uh-huh.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (38:12)
Admin rights on one LMS is not necessarily the same admin rights in another one. So that’s a challenge all on its own.
Jeff Walter (38:20)
And so you said, know, Freightliner and Case, are you dealing with more than two LMSs or what other brands are you dealing
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (38:26)
yeah.
So I have a Freightliner LMS. have a Case LMS. I have a Mac. So a couple of our dealers are also Mac dealers. they have their own LMS. Allison Transmission, which Allison Transmissions are in trucks. So they have their own LMS. Eaton, which is a transmission that would be in a Freightliner
Jeff Walter (38:36)
Okay.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (38:50)
depending on the engine, they have their own LMS. Cummins, they have their own LMS. So, I mean, that was what.
Jeff Walter (38:55)
⁓
And Detroit diesel.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (39:01)
No, luckily that’s part of Freightliner.
So that one, that one’s fine. but you can kind of see the, the amount of different LMS as I’m involved in. and if depending on training, how to get those guys into specific manufacturer training. So we can’t do all of it in-house. So Allison, we don’t do in-house. Eaton, we don’t do in-house. a lot.
Jeff Walter (39:21)
Bye.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (39:27)
Cummins we do do in-house, Mac we don’t do in-house, and Case we don’t do in-house.
Jeff Walter (39:33)
Yeah, now
on the ones that you say you don’t do analysis that because the program doesn’t exist within the brand or is. OK. That you.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (39:40)
Yeah, they don’t allow us. If they did,
trust me, we would be all over it. I’m a firm, I would much rather do training in-house than having to send guys away, but you know.
Jeff Walter (39:45)
Right, right.
Yeah, interesting. And I just got to imagine that that is a, just feels a better way of doing things. well, I mean, thinking from the OE standpoint, like if you can put in place the process to ensure the quality of the instruction, right? I mean, you got to start with that.
then having a network of trainers that are not on your payroll, that are dispersed across the continents, me it just sounds like a great idea and that has benefit on so many levels. It’s interesting. I’m going to bring that up.
We have another client that’s a chipper shredder company, you know, and,
You know, and, and they have a, you know, it’s a classic mid tier, you know, OEM although, you know, you know, equipment manufacturer. And it’s like, they’re going gangbusters. They have a training department. They have a, you know, they have a number of trainers. They’re all going nuts, hopping on planes, flying everywhere. Like just because they, because they do a good job. Right. And it’s like, I’m sitting there going like, Hey, if you built out a certification program for the trainers.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (41:04)
Mm-hmm.
Jeff Walter (41:10)
You can leverage the dealers and, then, you know, Hey, guys, you don’t have enough people flying around all over the place. You don’t have to fly around all over the place. Your dealers don’t have to jump on, you know, don’t have to send people all over the place. Um, I liked it a lot. I really liked that. That’s really cool. Um, any, so shifting gears a little looking into the future. Um, I was at ATMC last spring.
And there was a guy from, uh, you know, it’s just talking about AI, but there was a, that, or VR or any of that. There was the guy from design interactive. He is Matt. Yeah. Matt Johnston, think his name was, but, um, you know, about the, the, the, um, you know, uh, the, you know, not the virtual reality glasses, but the augmented reality glasses. Um, and he was talking about using it in training.
I don’t know, were you there?
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (42:09)
No, I did
not make that one. That was something that came up at our, TTU last year in Texas. When we were all together was the use of VR goggles and things like that. So there’s been some talk about it. They’re, they’re working on it. It isn’t perfected just yet. I’m not.
Jeff Walter (42:16)
Yeah.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (42:29)
We can, kind of demoed it there. there’s been some more communication on it. Some, I don’t know if some, or one dealer has actually been demoing it and trying to help, you know, push development of it. And it’s, you know, I’ve, I’ve seen, I don’t know, probably three or four different phases of, of that, over the years. So that’s been tried by.
a couple of different auto people where you had glasses on and part of the lens you could actually see like a wiring schematic and things like that. There was something where you could actually like look at the truck or a vehicle and the wiring would come up in the goggles and overlay it on the truck. So that’s what Freightliner is kind of working on that you are up at a truck.
Jeff Walter (43:06)
Yeah.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (43:17)
And you are trying to see how the wiring goes that would come up in the VR goggles or whatever, while you’re actually staring at the truck and you could, you could see all of that. that they are trying to push that envelope and see where it goes. I don’t know where I stand on it just yet.
Jeff Walter (43:20)
Yeah.
Yeah, well, there was some futuristic stuff. So when I was at the conference, was some futuristic stuff like what you’re talking about, right? Like where you’re looking at a set of brakes and it’s like, you oh, this is a Toyota Land Cruiser and blah, blah, blah. But then, Matt, and it was so simple.
It was, and his, his, use case was, there were augmented reality classes, but for instructor led training and, that you could have the students, dispersed geographically at like a local, training center and the instructor could, you know, through the glasses, you know, do the instruction, but then
the instructor could control which view, all the glasses had cameras on them, and then the instructor could control which camera was operating at a given time. So that if like a student raised their hand and said, you know, having difficulty getting to the starter, you know, on what I’m working on, it’s kind of under here, you know, and getting back to that, you know,
tech support that you know, it’s it’s not exactly where you said it is and he could like flip a switch and then all of sudden everybody saw that students view and Then the instructor could walk them through but then all the other students saw it also and he owes it was so interesting because I thought it was It was such a Simple thing relative to all the wiring diagrams popping up, you know, like the things you were saying that’s like
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (44:48)
Right.
Jeff Walter (45:10)
That’s like something you see in a movie, Like, yeah, you put the glasses, you know, like minority report, you put the glasses on, you start doing this. And I thought, I thought that was it, but I thought that was so interesting in that it was so basic yet so powerful if we could figure out, you know, especially with hands on stuff, right? Now in that case, the case he was saying, everybody had went to a, everybody had a, you know,
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (45:17)
Right.
Jeff Walter (45:38)
training engine in front of them, right? So they could go, they just went to the local place, but then you can, so I thought that was interesting, you know, but I, we’ll see how it turns out. I don’t know. I don’t know. Yeah.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (45:52)
Yeah, they’re working on it. It’s not
there yet. they actually have tested work where, you know, on a, on a freight liner, the transmission is called the DT 12. They actually have a, that I’m in the goggles and you can disassemble it, you know, virtually and take pieces off of it where you’re actually having to pick up the impact gun, put the socket on it, take the.
Jeff Walter (46:05)
Mm-hmm.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (46:20)
Which, which bolts out at which time and things like that. it just, if you, we were, the one guy was messing around with it and he dropped the bolt on the ground. Just didn’t put it in the tray and that really kind of froze the program. Didn’t understand that he dropped it on the ground. so yeah. so I mean, it was, it was, it was interesting.
Jeff Walter (46:40)
I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (46:47)
You know, and I can see where.
Some of that would work well once we perfect the little weird, quirky things. That could work. The younger people really…
Jeff Walter (46:52)
Mm-hmm.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (46:58)
gravitate towards that because they’ve been playing video games and things like that. So they, they have a tendency to gravitate towards that. So that’s kind of the goal is that we have to figure out a way to get younger people interested. so we have to kind of dial into what they’re used to where older, more seasoned technicians, right? They’re not going to be interested in that, because it’s technology, you know, some of us struggle with cell phones and
Jeff Walter (47:22)
Hahaha
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (47:26)
All that other kind of stuff, know, so, it’s kind of geared more towards the, the, the newer generation to, to peak interest. you know, that’s always a goal to try to figure out how we can get younger people involved in any of these industries, depending on not just trucks, right? It could be the automotive world, the heavy equipment side doesn’t matter. Just trying to get people into this.
Jeff Walter (47:42)
Mm-hmm.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (47:53)
world, to speak is becoming a, it’s always a challenge, fewer and fewer every year. the, don’t know what the average age of technicians here at Excel, but I’m going to say it’s at least the upper forties, lower fifties of the average age. So, you know, that’s, we, got to figure out a plan because.
Jeff Walter (48:06)
Uh-huh.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (48:13)
Eventually, there isn’t going to be anybody, right? We aren’t going to have enough people to backfill all of those spots. So that’s probably one of our biggest challenges.
Jeff Walter (48:23)
And on that challenge, is it a recruiting challenge or a retention challenge in your, are we not getting enough in the funnel or are they just not staying? You know what saying?
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (48:31)
It’s.
Yeah. So this goes back to when I was in high school, I think. So that was in the late seventies. you have high school. Counselors, right? That are pushing you towards college, pushing towards college. they still do that today. Push you towards college. You need a degree. You need some sort of degree, where if, if they went to say, a two year.
Jeff Walter (48:50)
Right.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (49:00)
you know, junior college or something out of high school and learned a trade. they would be in the long run, I think better off, you know, I’ve been doing this for 50 years and there hasn’t been one day that I’ve been out of a job. So, you know, unfortunately there’s other fields where people have been laid off, can’t get a job, things like that. This industry, you will always have a job. Robots may be able to build it.
Jeff Walter (49:03)
Right.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (49:29)
But they can’t fix it.
and it was an trade.
Jeff Walter (49:31)
Well,
I think that’s, I have a feeling like that is shifting.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (49:37)
Yeah, it did slowly.
Jeff Walter (49:39)
you know, slowly shifting in that I think we’re, we’re as a society building a greater appreciation for
skilled technicians in the broadest sense. know, we’re, and I mean, technician from the perspective of, you know, somebody that learns a technique, the other, the true sense of the word, they learn these techniques and then they use their hands to implement these techniques on a physical thing to do something. know, whether it’s, you know, lab technicians or,
you know, automotive technicians or vehicle, you know, there’s, and there, I just feel like it’s gaining more credence because you’re right. Like we, we need that. Like somebody, somebody’s got to build, know, somebody’s got to build the building. Somebody’s got to, you know, repair the, the, equipment. So like we lit no matter, I mean, I was a computer science
guy. I’m a virtual software dude and I run a software company. But we are physical beings living in a physical world and we need physical things and those things need to be built and maintained and they’re getting more sophisticated and therefore the skills of the technician become more more sophisticated. Like you were mentioning before, it’s almost like vehicles today are
big heavy rolling iPhones. Yeah. mean, there’s so much fricking technology in them right now. So much advanced technology in them. And you know.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (51:08)
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah,
my wife who, you know, she drove a school bus for 35 years. She drove kids to a vocational center. and she got to talking to some of the teachers and things like that. And, and I love my wife dearly. You know, she got into discussions with them and said, you know, my husband has probably gone through more training and classes than you ever have or will.
And they looked at her like, what are you talking about? I’ve got this degree. I got a teaching degree. goes, my husband probably goes through anywhere between 40 and 50 hours of training a year. And he’s been doing that for 30 plus years already. And they just, they were like dumbfounded and didn’t realize that, you know? and it is, it’s never ending technology in vehicles.
Jeff Walter (51:55)
Right.
Right.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (52:10)
changes rapidly compared to the human body or, you know, the book, right? It is evolving quicker than anything else. And, you know, you got to stay on top of it.
Jeff Walter (52:14)
Yeah.
Yeah. And I think we’re, I think we’re getting there as a society to appreciate the skill needed to do those things. And, certainly like, you know, I, I, I’m just amazed when you look at the economics of it, to your point, it’s like never, never worried about a job. and you can make a really good living, like really good living.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (52:48)
Yeah. But there’s a huge investment that goes along with that as well. So the downside to being a technician is you have to buy all your own tools. And that can get very expensive.
Jeff Walter (52:48)
And it’s amazing.
Yeah
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (53:00)
Jeff Walter (53:05)
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But I think those, yeah, I’m more taking the long-term view. Like those are things that can be changed or mitigated or, you know, like, or addressed over time. like, like immediately as soon as you say that, I’m like, gee, I wonder if you can use, what is it? The, uh,
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (53:26)
Yeah.
Jeff Walter (53:43)
What’s the educational savings accounts, the 503 B’s or something like that, whatever they are. Hey, can you use that? Like if you’re a, can you use that to buy your tools? Like, Yeah. Yeah.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (53:54)
I don’t know. mean, we used to be able to deduct tools
that you can’t do that anymore. So, you know, that was a depressing year for me. ⁓ You know. ⁓
Jeff Walter (54:04)
Yeah. Or the
other thing is, you know, as you look at, you know, the other thing is that like dealer groups and folks like that are getting larger. You know, it’s not just mom and pop anymore. Right. And the tools are not just a wrench and a screwdriver. They’re, they’re, getting much more sophisticated and expensive. And so it’s, it’s interesting because, you know, actually I never thought about this, but if I think about, um, on the medical device side, um,
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (54:15)
No.
Nope.
Jeff Walter (54:31)
We have a client that makes robotic surgical equipment for the brain. And another one does the laser surgery, the machines that do lasik surgery. And the interesting thing is, I found this interesting, kind of going to the tool thing, is they sell it to the medical centers, but it’s used by the surgeons. And I wonder if in other…
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (54:39)
late fix order.
Jeff Walter (54:54)
You know, and so was an interesting conundrum from a training perspective and all that is like the piece of equipment. It’s a large capital piece of equipment. It’s expensive. So they’re not expecting the docs to buy them. There’s, but, but, you know, and I wonder if we, if, if we’re getting to the point with the, you know, I mean, buying your own tools was one thing 50 years ago when you needed, you know, wrenches and screwdrivers and
a voltmeter to make sure there was some juice flowing through the wires, right? Yeah, and a torque wrench. And not so much anymore, right? And I’m just wondering if that paradigm will shift. I wouldn’t be surprised if it did. Just like I don’t, I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole four-year university paradigm shifts. Because I think we’re going through, I mean, shifting my hat.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (55:30)
Yeah.
Jeff Walter (55:48)
I think, I think we’re as a society going through a, well, what is really the value of that? Cause it’s really, it’s, it’s expensive in terms of time and money. And, with so much advances in training technology, um, and sell, you know, and, and, you know, mean, geez, you can, you can learn so much about so many things without ever stepping foot in a school.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (55:58)
Yep.
Jeff Walter (56:15)
Right. And, like, and, with, with, with just the investment of your time that, that we couldn’t do when we were kids. Right. Like, you know, you, know, back to like, back then it’s like, well, you could, if you could go to the library and read the world book encyclopedia, you can learn a lot, but you couldn’t really learn a lot. Yeah, exactly.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (56:15)
Yeah.
True.
Right. Well, we didn’t have the internet, right? ⁓
We didn’t have much TV. Yeah, well, only if you held the antenna right. yeah, yes, the whole thing has come immensely huge.
Jeff Walter (56:41)
Come on, there were three channels.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (56:53)
I understand the expense that that’s, you know, ginormous. Even going to college these days is astronomical. ⁓ it was astronomical when I went, I thought it was. So everything’s relative, you know, it didn’t take any time for me to rack up $10,000 in debt, going to college. and I never finished. I was also like you, a computer geek. was in computer science.
Jeff Walter (57:01)
Yeah, ridiculous.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (57:18)
and mechanical engineering at the same time. and look at what I ended up doing. I’ve been working with my hands ever since I didn’t finish. but. You know, I will say that all of that did help me become the person and the abilities that I have today. So I’ve been able to apply all of that to, to what I do every day.
Jeff Walter (57:39)
I think it’s going to be interesting the next 10, 15 years as we see this all kind of shake out. And I wouldn’t be surprised if things are reorganized themselves, to rejigger themselves. But I do think it’s fascinating. And I think to your point earlier,
There is a massive global need for technicians of all stripes skilled, or more broadly, people with skills, whatever those skills are. you’re right where the rubber hits the road. And I think the vehicle technician is probably one of most sophisticated.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (58:06)
Yeah.
Jeff Walter (58:19)
Vehicles are probably some of the most sophisticated pieces of technology we have that are at scale. And so those technicians are, we need a lot of them. And it’s interesting. So.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (58:31)
Well, yeah.
If you think about how many automobiles are sold, you know, monthly, daily, yearly, however, right. Um, what, what we have today in 2026 is a whole bunch different than what we had in 1970. Right. Um, so, you know, the, the, of us that were able to evolve in what we have today.
Jeff Walter (58:57)
Ha
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (59:00)
are still doing it. You know, so it’s, you know, I’ve seen a lot in my life. I’ve been very blessed. I’m very lucky to have been in an industry or in an industry that continually changes. And it’s never dull. There’s never been a dull moment, you know, and that’s, guess, what keeps me in it. Can’t get bored.
Jeff Walter (59:06)
Yeah.
Well, Tom, think we’re at a good stopping point. If anybody wanted to reach out and contact you or the folks at Excel Truck, what would be a good way for them to get a hold of you or?
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (59:39)
Well, the
easiest way would obviously to be use Google, right? Excel, Excel truck group, uh, that, that comes up with, uh, all of our locations across Virginia, uh, North Carolina and South Carolina. Uh, even Excel equipment is in there as well. Uh, in there are phone numbers. There’s a link to the, to the training department. Um, and you know, that’s the easiest way to do it.
Jeff Walter (59:42)
Okay.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (1:00:07)
I am on LinkedIn. so matter of fact, you found me on LinkedIn.
Jeff Walter (1:00:11)
That’s,
I did in that. So you’re on LinkedIn under with Tom Myers with Excel Trek Group. ⁓ Tom, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and your experience today. I just really enjoyed it. I learned something, which is why I love doing this. So thank you so much.
Tom Meyers Excel Truck Group (1:00:14)
Yeah.
Yep, absolutely.
you’re welcome. It’s been great. I enjoyed it.
Jeff Walter (1:00:34)
And to everybody out there, thanks for listening. We really appreciate it and have a great day.