JEFF FRANKHOUSER EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

Our June Employee Spotlight is a hard-working GM World Class Service Tech who is always up for a challenge. Congrats and Thank You are in order to Jeff Frankhouser!

Jeff came to Berger in 1998 when he and his wife decided to move to Grand Rapids because of its competitive job market. Jeff was looking for a job as an automotive technician and was debating between a career at Berger and one other Chevy dealership in the area. We think he made the right choice!😉 Jeff said that the reason he’s stayed committed to his career at Berger for the last 25 years is because of the shop, ownership, Matt Berger’s support, benefits, and there is access to any tool you’d need to do the job. 

When asked about the biggest change in automotive that he’s experienced in the last 25 years Jeff said, “the move from gas to hybrid and electric vehicles”. Although a change like this can be challenging, Jeff has risen to the occasion and was the first Berger technician to work on an electric vehicle! 

As a Service Technician, Jeff diagnoses and repairs vehicles that come through our shop. He also performs multi-point vehicle inspections, communicates with our Service Advisors with an estimate of repairs, and follows manufacturer specifications when repairing warranty and customer vehicles. His favorite part about his role is finding a fault in a vehicle, repairing it, and leaving the customer happy. He also enjoys that every day is different. After finishing one job, Jeff takes on the next available job in our scheduling system. One day he could be doing routine maintenance and the next he could be replacing a transmission. 

On top of his ASE Master Technician Certification, Jeff took it upon himself to continue his training and become Berger’s first GM World Class Technician! So what is a GM World Class Technician? All techs have the opportunity to become World Class Technicians (WCT) through training and certifications available from the GM Service Technical College and ASE training programs. The WCT program provides technicians with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills to their employers and automotive service areas. Techs can achieve this elite status after satisfying the strict requirements for their respective Body or Mechanical area. This includes obtaining a Master Technician Certification. That means that while keeping up with his GM training standards, Jeff also had to complete eight additional assessments along with the accompanying ASE Certification to achieve this status; and it was worth it for our customers to know that when they service at Berger, they’re getting the best technicians in the Grand Rapids area!

Jeff is a fan of Berger events such as our Annual Employee Golf Outing and Employee Luncheons. He even used to be a proponent of our Service Department’s softball team. He enjoys the family-like atmosphere and finds our holiday and employee luncheons unique to the workplace. 

When asked if he had any advice for someone interested in working at Berger he said, “Berger will give you the tools you need to succeed” whether that be the best facilities, the cleanest shop, specialty tools, or support and knowledge. 

Jeff wanted to give a shout-out to Matt Berger. He said that Matt is a great owner and makes himself available for the Berger team. He also went on to say that he wouldn’t want to work for anyone else. Jeff also wanted to give a shout-out to all the technicians that he has worked with in the past and present. Without those technicians, it would be impossible to do this job alone. Not every tech has experienced the same problems or repairs on a specific vehicle so it’s important to have that added experience and insight from your fellow technicians. 

When he’s not turning a wrench in the Berger Service Department, you can find Jeff getting in a round of golf, or out on The Foundation, a Berger-sponsored fishing boat, with a few of his coworkers from the Service Department. The team competes in different fishing tournaments around Michigan on the weekends. 

Please join us in congratulating Jeff Frankhouser, our first GM World Class Technician, and our June Employee Spotlight! We’re so grateful to have you in our Berger family!

Jeff Frankhouser Employee Spotlight