Employee Spotlight – Mark Roberts

Mark Roberts, CE Yard Person– Saskatoon, 5yrs

Mark Roberts has been working at Redhead Equipment in Saskatoon for 5 years as the yard person for the construction division. He started at the company working alongside another yard person, and then spent a brief stint in the wash bay before being pulled back into the yard. When asked about his day to day role he said “we are always busy, constantly getting machines ready for sales and rentals, moving equipment in and out, knowing where the machines are, the layout of the yard and where everything is supposed to be so it is easy to find when needed.” Not only does Mark work closely with the Sales Coordinator, he works alongside the Sales team and Parts personnel, moving machines and parts, making sure they are ready to go, clean and running smoothly for customers and it certainly keeps him busy.

When asked what Mark finds challenging about his work he mentioned sometimes communication can be challenging when you are receiving direction from multiple people and departments, “There is never a regular day – every day is different, sometimes you anticipate one thing to happen and all of a sudden you have a customer here to pick up a unit or item you knew nothing about and then you get pulled in a completely different direction. In the end we do everything to make sure the customer is happy.” He does say that communication can be a challenge no matter where you work; sometimes you just need to roll with it. In particular communication can add challenges in the winter months and ensuring we have machines that run, “Batteries freeze up, fuel gels, and when we have those communication breakdowns and the machine is sitting outside in the cold, we have to put a heater on it before we can even get it started,” Mark mentioned in regard to the challenge of communication in the colder months.

Mark says he finds reward in customer feedback and from having happy customers, knowing they are having a positive experience when they come to Redhead Equipment, “I enjoy being able to chat with them occasionally and contribute to their positive experience and service here.”

Moving from Weyburn to Saskatoon and finding a role in the Saskatoon branch, Mark says he loves working for Redhead Equipment, “I love the location of this place; I love the people and the hours.” He also said he think the longevity of the company is a result of the quality machinery offered, having a strong brand reputation and exceptional sales and service teams to support those brands. We asked Mark what he found interesting about the work he does and he said “it’s definitely the equipment, every year I love seeing the new changes and updates to the equipment and attachments, and driving the different units is really cool.”

When asked if he could think of a time where our tagline ‘Whatever It Takes’ has been put to task he told us a firsthand story of helping a customer after hours, “I was asked if I could stay late to help load a grader, it was an old, used, gem of a piece of equipment. These guys showed up 40 minutes after we closed, and they said we need to hurry and get this thing loaded because they need to get somewhere before it closes. I told them to go do their other pickup first because we are not going to rush the load, because that’s when things could go wrong. I told them to leave and get done what they needed and come back. They made it to their other pickup and back in due time and I was still waiting around to help them get the unit loaded for them. I don’t mind waiting around to help; I just want to make sure it gets done right for the customer.”

Quick Questions:

What do you think your coworkers would say about you?
That I’m a people person, I talk a lot, I’m a friendly guy and I like being around people.

What advice do you have for anyone starting a career at Redhead Equipment?
Ask lots of questions and pay attention. Nothing is easy – some people are just more experienced.

Given the chance, who would you like to be for a day?
A day in the life of a famous celebrity just to see what their life is actually like.

Bucket list place to travel too?
Hawaii, specifically Pearl Harbour

What is the best gift you have ever received?
It would have to be a vehicle that I received from my parents; it was my uncle’s car that I really wanted for a long time, a 1981 Cutlass Supreme Brohm.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was in school, I either wanted to be a child psychologist or a paleontologist. I enjoyed helping kids learn, and also loved dinosaur bones and digging things up.