|
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 in defense of his country. 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 adventures included shepherding large groups of misbehaving airmen
across the country by train; capturing a mysterious Japanese incendiary balloon bomb
after pursuing it on foot for hours across British Columbia farmlands; or seeing the ill effects produced by 50
caliber machine gun bullets as they careened across a crowded airbase. His
stories could enthrall listeners as they ranged from the humorous to the
dangerous, and yet he had the ability to make even the most serious of them have a funny ending or moral.
At the wars conclusion he was asked by the
R.C.A.F. to
remain in the military and become a permanent member. He declined and returned to his family in Ottawa,
Ontario and restarted his refrigeration career. Over the
next decade he worked for Ottawa's then-largest refrigeration company as a tradesman,
lead serviceman, and service department head. 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.
As post war manufacturing switched back
to civilian production the household refrigerator and appliance markets
began to expand. Recognizing this trend he began repairing domestic equipment in the 1940's and
50's. This led to him opening his own refrigeration repair company which eventually
specialized in domestic refrigeration and appliances.
Later in his career he was asked by the
Government of Ontario to be a test subject for the new Appliance Repair
Technician examinations. They wished to use his knowledge to test the validity
of the questions. He completed all the examinations with a perfect score. His consultations
with government officials resulted in the examination questions being made more pertinent
to the upcoming generation of appliance service technicians.
He was renowned for his sense of
fun, fair play, and unlimited humorous recollections that endeared him to both
customers and competitors. Throughout his fifty plus years as a service
provider he was especially known for his free and open exchange of information and willingness to help other technicians solve difficult technical problems. He
believed that only by helping one another could the overall service knowledge of
the trade be increased. We, the following generations of
appliance technicians wish to acknowledge his influence and thank him for stressing the importance of technical education,
and the necessity of striving for excellence within the appliance repair trade.
top of page
|
At
M G Appliance Repair Services we provide excellence in service throughout a
range
of appliance brands. We are the Factory Authorized Service agent for
Electrolux, Frigidaire, Gallery, Gibson, General Freezer, Arctic Air, Danby, Haier, Icon, Heartland, Crosley, Kelvinator, SmartChoice, Tappan, and
White-Westinghouse. As their Ottawa area representative we provide
warranty coverage for their products.