Michael Caputa: You Build Trust By Communicating

INTRODUCTION:
Michael Caputa is the Regional Vice President with Blackstone Elevator Consulting in Florida. Michael started his career with Thyssenkrupp elevator as an Account Manager in Atlanta and has grown in several different roles and companies. Michael is an endurance athlete and has proven over and over the power of the mind over matter. Michael believes the best bet you can make is on yourself. He likes to say; “Hard work beats talent. Stay humble, hustle, and never give up.”

SUMMARY:
0:00:00 Introduction and background on Michael Caputa’s career path
0:02:04 How Michael got started in the elevator industry after college
0:02:25 When things started to click for Michael in the industry
0:03:44 Mentors who helped Michael navigate the industry
0:05:54 Biggest lesson Michael learned that impacted his success
0:07:22 What Michael loves most about the elevator industry
0:09:30 Biggest changes Michael has seen in the industry over time
0:11:08 Potential threats to the industry from supply chain issues
0:13:15 Advice Michael would give to the overall industry
0:14:25 Single most important thing for individual success
0:16:40 Importance of customer service and conflict management
0:19:03 Importance of delivering bad news directly
0:20:15 Advice Michael would give to someone just starting out
0:22:42 Thank you and sign off

TRANSCRIPT
Michael Caputa 0:00
The most important thing for me, in my success, and my career has been that personal customer service, Hey, I hear you, I’m here to for you, I pick up my phone, I’m not gonna hide from you. You know, I think this generation also struggles with conflict management. So when something’s going wrong, you tend to want to hide, you don’t want to really address it. And

Matthew Allred 0:26
well, that’s an advanced skill, right? I mean, it’s one thing to say, Hey, I’m here for you. And I have your part. And it’ll be in there in the morning. Right? But when you when you don’t have the part, no, it’s six months out or whatever. I mean, how do you how do you offer empathy? Or how do you? How do you have that conversation?

Michael Caputa 0:41
Listen, I got this advice from an actual divorce attorney. And you’ve talked about guys that have to give bad, you know, bad news. Yeah. You know, ultimately, Bad. Bad news is still news. Right? No news is bad news. The worst is the worst. Sure. And he said, essentially, if I found out that there was something that was contrary or negative for my client, I told them immediately.

Matthew Allred 1:09
Hello, and welcome to the elevator careers podcast sponsored by the Allred group. I am your host, Matt Allred. In this podcast, we talk to the people whose lives and careers are dedicated to the vertical transportation industry to inform and share lessons learned, building upon the foundation of those who have gone before to inspire the next generation of elevator careers. Today, our guest is Michael Caputa, Regional Vice President with Blackstone Elevator Consulting in Florida. Michael started his career with Thyssen Krupp Elevator, as an account manager in Atlanta and has grown in several different roles and companies. Michael is an endurance athlete is proven over and over the power of the mind over matter. Michael believes the best bet you can make is on yourself. He likes to say Hard work beats talent. Stay humble, hustle, and never give up. This is part one. Michael, welcome to the show.

Michael Caputa 2:04
Hey, thanks for having me. Glad to be here.

Matthew Allred 2:06
Thanks. Thank you. I’m excited. It’s always a pleasure to talk to you and to be able to, you know, to get to know you. And a little deeper level today is is exciting. So thanks again. So, I do want to find out. Tell me how you got started in the elevator industry?

Michael Caputa 2:25
Oh, yeah, just like everybody else, total accident, right. So I had gone back to college as a non traditional student, and was finishing up at the University of Georgia, late in my 20s and needed a job. And so I went to the UGA career fair, and was walking around and just kind of overwhelmed with all of the different opportunities. And you know, just at that stage in my life, I really was starting to understand that it’s time to get serious. I had big boy bills, and it was getting ready to start a family. And I saw a booth for a company that my aunt actually worked for. And I couldn’t even pronounce the name of it. So I called her on the phone. And I said, Hey, this company that you work for Thissen croup. She’s like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, it’s Thyssen. Like, listen, don’t go over there and embarrassment. No, I just want to know more about the company. And she said, Well, here’s the deal. I’m in human resources. So I don’t know exactly what they do. But I know that they make really good money. And so I was like, okay, that’s what I want to do. So I walked over to the booth, and I filled out an application whatever gave them my resume. And that’s, that’s how I got into the elevator industry.

Matthew Allred 3:44
That’s awesome. So she at least told you how to say the word right? I mean, that’s Yeah.

Michael Caputa 3:48
I didn’t embarrass myself or her.

Matthew Allred 3:52
So you started where did you start? Then you were UGA finishing up? And yeah,

Michael Caputa 3:57
I did. I finished up at UGA started in March of ’08 with Thyssen Krupp in Atlanta. Started out as a an account manager and went through the Crash Course of learning the elevator industry at that time, they had a training program where essentially, you were in the field as a helper with the mechanic. And so you spent time in service, you spent time monitoring state modernization, and you spent time in new installation. So Monday through Thursday in the field Friday in the office, and I did that for about two and a half, three months and got my first territory as an account manager and had a blast, you know, learning the business, essentially

Matthew Allred 4:46
When did things really start to click? I mean, I just imagine, you know, day one, maybe even week one, it’s like, what is this? You know what?

Michael Caputa 4:55
So a lot of a lot of drinking out of a fire hydrant right now So much new stuff. I mean, before you get in the industry, for me it was you push a button, you get on the elevator, you get to your floor and you get off. Yeah. And you had no idea that there was a multibillion dollar business behind all of this. And so it’s, you know, it didn’t really start to click until almost a year, maybe 18 months into the industry. And actually, now all of a sudden, you start to see that, okay, all the fruit of the labor from before starting to come to fruition. And it starts to slow down a little bit, right? I think about a high school athlete transitioning into college athletics, right? Same thing, everything’s moving a million miles an hour. And then as you get to the end of that journey, everything slows down, and you are able to execute. And that’s essentially what happened about 12 months after being in the industry.

Matthew Allred 5:54
Yeah, thank you, who are some of your mentors that really, you feel like, helped you navigate through that and, you know, succeed?

Michael Caputa 6:05
Yeah, we were very fortunate in Atlanta to have some great leadership. Jay Rogers, at the time, was the regional General Manager or vice president for the southeast, or pretty much, Georgia, not all of Florida, but Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee. And he was such a great mentor, having come up through the industry and gotten all the lines of business, and he was such a, he was a very good instructor and teacher, or he pulled you off to the side and actually come alongside. And at the time, Ryan Vaughn was our sales manager, he was super successful. And he’s had a great career in the other industry as well. And he was extremely helpful in showing me the difference in elevator contracts. And, you know, understanding the nuts and bolts of how we structure the deal or the contract, and you know, how to add value to the client. Those two guys were very helpful as mentors. And then I also had some mentors outside of the business, that were extremely helpful that, you know, were running major organizations, and were able to show me from the consumer side, you know, what they were looking at, or looking for in an elevator contractor. So that was also very helpful.

Matthew Allred 7:22
Awesome. What do you think the biggest, you know, the single biggest thing you you’ve learned, that has really had an impact on on how you’ve been able to succeed?

Michael Caputa 7:33
No, I think it’s not something that I had, hadn’t learned previously, it’s something that I think we all know, inherently is that people ultimately don’t want to be sold, you know, people are looking to buy. And if you can come alongside and add value, and empathy and understanding, then then you are going to be successful, because people are going to be attracted to that. And as much as I knew it, prior to coming into the industry, I didn’t really have the opportunity to practice it, like I did, when I came into the industry. And so being able to see that, you know, nine times out of 10, just getting out of the way, and letting the customer tell you what they actually need, and then giving them value propositions to those needs instead of just trying to sell them things. I think that that is it. And you learn that management too, when you’re dealing with people, right?

Matthew Allred 8:29
Yeah. And like you said, maybe you hadn’t had a chance to practice it as consistently. But when you’re in that role, it’s like every single day, you you see it over and over and over. Correct. Well, what have you learned to love most about the industry?

Michael Caputa 8:43
You know, I think what I learned loved most about the industry is it’s still a service based industry for the most part, and it’s relationship driven. And that’s why it gets me fired up. It’s people, right, it’s the people, your clients, and it’s also the your employees. The just, it touches everybody from the passengers to the owners, to the contractors. And it’s all about relationship. And I love that I love that, you know, I’m not sitting behind a computer, doing spreadsheets all day, you know, I’m actually getting out there and rubbing elbows with people.

Matthew Allred 9:22
Right, right. What would you say are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen in the time that you’ve been in the industry?

Michael Caputa 9:30
I think you know, when you look at I think the world has changed, which is now causing the industry to change. Correct? So you look at some of the things that have happened just from a global standpoint or from even just here in America. You know, we had the recession in the mid 2000s. And that that changed the industry. We we had to figure out ways to continue to supply services while our costs were start, you know, were increasing. And then you had another great period of time between 2012 Up until 2019. With the pandemic, and so I think what you’re starting to see the biggest changes are the way that we deliver service, how do we deliver service? By managing cost? And then also technology? How do we leverage technology? Because an elevator, the elevator industry as a whole has never been technological, even though there aren’t there is technology in it, you know, the elevator system can be complex. But now we’re starting to go into different areas, the Internet of Things to do predictive maintenance. We’re looking at AI now to get algorithms and to, you know, try to figure out how the better way to service or to see how others can function better. And so that’s what I think we’ve seen the most changes is, you know, how do you manage cost? Sure, in a world in a world where prices are pretty much staying the same? And then how is it how is the technology can also help us be successful moving forward?

Matthew Allred 11:08
Yeah, yeah. One? And, you know, talking about constantly i Know, certainly, there have been some issues with supply chain over the last few years or whatever. But and I don’t know that they’re threats to the industry, per se. I think that, you know, that’s part of my question, though, is is and maybe it’s for certain business models, or certain businesses, you know, could be a threat, how are you seeing those things affect businesses

Michael Caputa 11:36
I actually I read a quote from the CEO of ChatGPT, because there were a bunch of people that are concerned that AI is gonna take over the world, and we’re gonna be, you know, working for robots. And I see this with the industry. And the reason why I bring it up is that, you know, you get concerned that the industry is going to suffer or have some negative consequences, but you can never underestimate the power of humanity, and the ability for people to pivot and to make changes. And so I do see an opportunity to where, you know, as the industry changes, there will be a market for other players to come in, whether that’s the small, non union independent companies, or even the mid level, union independent companies to come in and to not influence the market, but capture a portion of the market that the majors may or may not be able to capture. And so I see the industry continuing to grow and, and continuing to evolve and accommodate the needs, because elevators aren’t going anywhere. I mean, even if we didn’t build another elevator, you know, in the rest of the history, there’s still be enough, right? And so it this, it’s here to stay. But I really think that the companies on the contracting side that are going to be the most successful are the ones that are going to be the most fluid, the ones that are going to be the most, to spot the changes, and then to put resources where the resources needed to put in order to service the customer.

Matthew Allred 13:15
Yeah, well, and to your point, that’s, that is humanity. There’s always somebody that notices, oh, my gosh, if I just, you know, put my service or my talent here, then boom, I’m gonna create a whole new industry company opportunity, whatever.

Michael Caputa 13:29
Absolutely. And that’s, you know, one of the things that is another great asset or attribute of, of our industry is that it’s not cookie cutter, every opportunity is not the right opportunity for every client or customer, or contractor. And you can have niche, boutique elevator companies, you can have the big, you know, the mean, who’s gonna build the big airports and right. So it’s great that it’s well rounded, and that there is so much opportunity for all all different companies to be successful.

Matthew Allred 14:07
Yeah, absolutely. What What advice would you give, I don’t know, maybe to the industry overall, or to, you know, certain. Just curious what you’re seeing, or maybe if you, you know, wave a magic wand to change something, what would you say?

Michael Caputa 14:25
You know, I think that just remember what your strength is. And then remember that when you overplay a strength that can become a weakness. And so stay, you know, it’s hard when you have so much pressure to perform. But I think that the industry needs to remember its roots. And it needs to remember, you know why we’re here. And that’s to provide quality service and safety to the client and to the riding passenger. In when we stay in our lane and we figure out you know, the best way Ways to maximize those things, then I think that you provide a service that is valuable, and is needed. But the pressure, I see a lot of pressure and you know, it’s inherent people, you got to grow. If you’re not growing, you’re dying. And so you may become ambitious, or you may lose sight of of what that strength is, and then you sport or you overplay that strength. And then all of a sudden, you’ve gotten a whole nother set of challenges and issues on your hands.

Matthew Allred 15:29
Yeah, absolutely. And maybe you’ve you’ve spoken to this, but, you know, just by talking about, you know, knowing your strengths, playing your strengths, what would you say is absolutely critical to success as an individual in the elevator industry?

Michael Caputa 15:43
Customer service. Absolutely. Communication over communication, never assuming it’s so easy now in the, in the smartphone era, and in emails, just to get lost in that, you know, I’m just gonna send him a text or, I mean, quite frankly, we’re treating email as, as instant messaging anyway, in this in this era, and you can get wrapped up or you get so many phone calls, you can’t return voicemails, but the most important thing for me, in my success, and my career has been that personal customer service, Hey, I hear you, I’m here to for you, I pick up my phone, I’m not going to hide from you. You know, I think this generation also struggles with conflict management. So when something’s going wrong, you tend to want to hide you don’t want to really address it.

Matthew Allred 16:40
Well, that’s an advanced skill, right? I mean, it’s one thing to say, Hey, I’m here for you. And I have your part. And it’ll be in there in the morning. Right. But when you when you don’t have the part? No, it’s yeah, it’s six months out or whatever, me, how do you how do you offer empathy? Or how do you? How do you have that conversation?

Michael Caputa 16:55
Listen, I got this advice from an actual divorce attorney. And you’ve talked about guys that have to give bad, you know, bad news. Yeah. You know, ultimately, the bad news is still news. Right? No news is bad news. The worst is the worst. Sure. And he said, essentially, if I found out that there was something that was contrary or negative for my client, I told them immediately, I wanted them to know immediately, I didn’t want them to have to be, I think in our human nature, we’re cynical. And if we’re not getting any information, we’re already thinking the worst. So you deliver the news, right? You go ahead and deliver the news. And then and then but to reassure them, and let them know that you’re not going anywhere, and even if you don’t have the solution yet you will you remind him that you will. And you that’s how you empathize with him. And then he said, you know, with good news that can wait,that has a shelf life

Matthew Allred 17:54
Wow, that is that is a little bit backwards. From what I mean, I’m tempted right when when it’s bad, it’s like, oh, my gosh, I don’t want to deliver. So i’ll wait for a week.

Michael Caputa 18:04
Yeah, yeah. But I what I have learned in all of that is that as much as I would like to think that I am this great. fragment, you know, tackle box mentality that I can compartmentalize and put, put these bad things in their place and focus on the good. I’m really not, because it always weighs on me anyway. So I want to get that off my chest as individuals so that I can move on, and really start focusing on solutions. I think if you’re, if you’re if you’re stuck in the fear of it, or it’s, maybe it’s not fair, it’s just uncomfortable. Nobody wants to deliver that news. But it really prohibits you from moving forward at your full capacity. You get it out on the table. And we’ve all had our fair share of of being being reprimanded or say, or spoken to, in a way we didn’t like, but quite frankly, the more and more you do it, the more and more you see that people appreciate it.

Matthew Allred 19:03
Yeah well. And to your to your point, I mean, I know that, you know, helping people find a job, right? If they don’t hear something quickly, they’ve already assumed the worst. They’ve already assumed it. And so the sooner whatever it is, right, that you can just give them give them something. least they’ll know they’re there. They’ve already walked that path andsaid, you know

Michael Caputa 19:25
and it’s unfortunate, because, you know, when you’re around the people that are constant optimists that just kind of rubs off on you, like these people are the ones that nothing’s gonna faze them, you know, and that’s, that’s kind of what I’m striving to be is, is, you know, I’ve got some bad news for you, but that’s not the end of the story.

Matthew Allred 19:43
It’s not the end of the world right now. At the end of life. It’s not the I mean, life goes on

Michael Caputa 19:48
it’s not and you gain so much more credibility. Doing it that way. Then ducking and hiding. Right? So

Matthew Allred 19:59
Yeah no, That’s great. And I mean, it kind of feeds in. And this, again, maybe this is a little redundant, but what would what advice would you give to somebody who’s brand new? They’re just finishing up at UGA? They’re starting next week with TK in Atlanta. What would you say to them?

Michael Caputa 20:15
Oh, listen, show up every day with a great attitude. Right? Show up every day with a great attitude, and be willing, I think that that is the number one thing that keeps people from achieving the maximum success is they become concerned about not knowing what they don’t know. Whatever we magnify becomes the biggest thing in our life. Right? It’s why it’s called magnify, you take out a magnifying glass, you’re gonna make it bigger. So focus on the fact that you know what, you got the job. That was half the battle you got through school, that was a pretty good accomplishment. So you can do some things. And now just go out there and really start betting on yourself. Are you going to make mistakes? Yes. But I told all my employees as a manager, if you’re not making mistakes, I don’t think you’re trying doing anything. Don’t make the same mistake twice. Right? I mean come on can we get real here, so So go out, you know, and I think our culture kind of works against us. I mean, we do have a cancel culture. But you know, what, still put your faith out there bet on yourself, and go out there. You know, I remember my first day, and when they gave me my routes, they handed me a route book. This is back in the old days. So I had a binder and had every one of my jobs in there all my routes. And I’m like, No, I don’t know what to do here. So it was just it was kind of overwhelming. So I went and met with my mechanics, and they made total fun of me, because I was, you know, not an elevator guy. You know, it’s kind of the, the fraternity of elevators, you know, you’re not gonna make it blah, blah, blah, whatever it was, just, yeah, I said, Hey, guys, I want to do stuff that’s gonna make your job easier. So show me on every one of these jobs, what I can do to make it easier for you, it’s gonna make your job easier. And they did. And so when, and that was back when we were going from the mechanical door edges to the new, high tech, infrared door edges. And so I made these proposals. I think I had like, 10 of them, and didn’t know what I was doing. But I just went out and sure enough the first one, I go to put the proposal down on the customers desk, and he starts asking me questions, and I had no answers. And I said, those are all great questions. And I’ll have to get to you. You know, I’ll get the answers for you and come back, but Matt, by the time that I had delivered all of those proposals. I had already answered those questions that that first customer had, just by going through the process. And so that’s my advice. You know, just get out there and do it. You know, you’ve come this far, you can do it.

Matthew Allred 22:42
Well said. So thank you, Michael. I appreciate you being on the show today. But a lot of fun, and I wish you the best in your new adventure. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you for listening to the elevator careers podcast sponsored by the Allred Group, a leader in elevator industry recruiting. You can check us out online at elevatorcareers.net Please subscribe and until next time, stay safe

Transcribed by https://otter.ai