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Our founder was Mel Grummett. He
entered the refrigeration trade in 1938 starting as an apprentice and quickly worked his way up to tradesman level.
Having been raised during the depression he had a determination to succeed at whatever job he undertook.
As he often stated, "lack of
food, or sleeping four to a bed, is a great incentive to work hard at whatever
you do".
With the outbreak of the Second World War
he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. Due to his inherent
technical and leadership skills he
became an instructor of aircraft instrumentation mechanics. He was particularly proud
to have taught the first groups of Canadian women trained
in this
type of work. Some of his military adventures included: shepherding large groups of misbehaving airmen
across the country via train; many hair-raising rides in bombers to test new
instruments; pursing and capturing a mysterious Japanese incendiary balloon bomb in British Columbia;
and seeing the
devastating effects produced by 30
caliber machine gun bullets as they careened across a crowded airbase. His
wartime adventures could enthrall listeners for hours, making even the most serious stories have a funny ending or moral.
At the wars conclusion he was asked by the
R.C.A.F. to
remain in the military as a permanent member. He declined their offer and returned to his family in Ottawa,
Ontario. He restarted his refrigeration career and over the
next decade worked for Ottawa's largest refrigeration company as a tradesman,
lead serviceman, and service department manager.
When post war manufacturing switched back
to civilian production the household refrigerator and appliance markets
expanded. Recognizing this trend he began repairing domestic equipment in the 1940's and
50's, eventually starting his own repair and sales company. One which later specialized in domestic refrigeration and appliances.
He was a founding member of the Ottawa
chapter of the Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (RSES) of Canada, and one
of the first persons in Ontario to obtain a Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanics
license. Later he was asked to be the test subject for the
new Appliance Repair
Technician examinations -- thereby testing the validity
of the questions. He completed all the examinations with a perfect score. His consultations
with government officials resulted in the questions being made more pertinent
to service technicians.
During his fifty plus years as a service
provider he saw major changes in
the appliance industry. Having started as simple electrical devices they had
become extremely complex, thereby requiring an appliance technicians knowledge
base to be extensive. He took every opportunity to
learn about any new products and pass on the information to others. Renowned for his sense of
fun, fair play, and humorous recollections, plus a willingness to help other technicians solve technical
problems he
believed that by helping others the overall service knowledge of
the trade could be increased.
We, the following generations of
appliance technicians, wish to acknowledge his influence and thank him for stressing the importance of
education,
and the necessity of continuing to strive for excellence within the Appliance
Repair trade.
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At
M G Appliance Services we provide excellence in service to a wide range
of appliance
types and brands. We are the
Factory Authorized Service agent for Arctic Air, Crosley, Danby, Electrolux, Frigidaire, Gallery, Gibson, General,
Haier, Icon, Heartland, Kelvinator, SmartChoice, Tappan, and
White-Westinghouse. As their Ottawa area representative we provide
warranty coverage for their products.