The fix is in

Steven Ho adds the human touch to a job that can be very mechanical

STORY SUMMARY »

Steven Ho became an auto mechanic somewhat because of his father.

Who: Steven Ho Title: Lead technician Job: Repairs and maintains Toyota, Suzuki and Scion vehicles

"I like doing things with my hands. I like fixing things," Ho said last week. "And I guess I picked it up from my dad (James Ho). He's not a mechanic -- he used to be a cook; he's retired now -- but he always used to fix things around the house. He'd help me fix my bikes, so I guess that's where I got my start: fixing bikes."

The younger Ho's first job around cars was pumping gas at a Shell service station in Kapahulu. He worked there while attending Kaimuki High School, from which he graduated, and then while he attended Honolulu Community College, where he earned an associate of science degree in automotive technology.

Next he got a job as a mechanic at Honolulu Ford, and not long after that he joined Servco Pacific Inc.'s Servco Auto Honolulu, initially as a lot attendant.

Three months later he was named a mechanic, and currently he is one of two lead technicians at its repair facility in Mapunapuna, where he has been for almost all of his 21 years working for Servco

Servco Auto Honolulu sells all makes and models of Toyotas, Suzukis and Scions, and Ho can fix or do the maintenance work on any one of them.

Ho is 42 and resides in Aiea with his wife, Laurie, and their three sons: James, 11, Caleb, 9, and David, 8.

---

FULL STORY »

Mark Coleman: What is your work title?

Steven Ho: Lead technician.

Q: Is that the same as auto mechanic, basically?

A: Basically, yes.

Q: Does the term "lead" technician mean that your in a senior position of some sort?

A: Yes. I'm one of two lead technicians here; the other is Andy Pasqua. He's a big part of the shop.

Q: So you supervise people?

A: I help people, yes. As one of the lead technicians, I help the younger guys when they need help.

Q: How many people do you work with?

A: Oh, sheesh. ... We have over 20 technicians in our shop right now, so there's a lot.

Q: How long have you been an auto mechanic?

A: Well, I've been at Servco about 21 years, and I've been a mechanic for about 24 years.

Q: Who were you working for before you joined Servco?

A: I was at a gas station while I was going to school. I started at a gas station in Kapahulu, a Shell, and then I went to a Ford dealership, and then I came to Toyota.

Q: Do you work only on cars, or do you also work on trucks and other vehicles?

A: Whatever Toyota has, I work on. They have trucks, they have SUVs, they have passenger cars and they have vans.

Q: Has fixing cars gotten more complicated or more simple through the years?

A: It's gotten more sophisticated through the years, with all the changes in technology.

Q: So does that make it more simple or harder?

A: Mmmm. ... I guess sometimes it's simpler because we have new tools that we can work with, and then you still have your basic, fundamental principles that the car is built on, and we still gotta diagnose the car by that.

Q: Are you a general auto mechanic or do they have you working on just particular kinds of repairs, like brake jobs or something?

A: I do everything from bumper to bumper, so that could include air-conditioning, brakes, engine repair, to diagnosing the trouble codes.

Q: You mean on the computer?

A: Right, right -- the computer trouble codes. One thing I never thought I would be able to do is fix a car based on software. When I started, it was just fix the carburetor or whatever, but now, the technology is rapidly changing, and software is a big, integral part.

Q: What's the most common repair for which people bring in their cars?

A: We do a lot of servicing here at Toyota -- oil changes, the brake repairs, the normal servicing -- and then whatever the customer needs. If they have a special concern on their car, then we'll address it.

Q: What kinds of repairs do you like to work on the most?

A: I like the challenging ones.

Q: Like what?

A: Well, it may be electrical, or it may be something that has something kind of unusual on the car. I like to tackle those.

Q: Are there any repairs that you don't like doing?

A: Well, they're different, so I'll just go with it. It needs to get done. (Laughter)

Q: Is it hard to avoid getting oil or grease all over you while doing your job?

A: Depends what you do. If you're working on the computer, then you're basically going to stay kind of clean. But if you're working on the engine, then, yeah, you're going to get dirty, so you can't be afraid of the oil.

Q: What about getting burned by hot engines? Does that happen very often?

A: Not too often. We try to be real careful.

Q: What tools do you use the most?

A: Oh, I don't know. ... I use a lot of air tools.

Q: Like what are those?

A: Impact gun for tires, air ratchets ...

Q: What about your working conditions? Is your work space air-conditioned?

A: I wish it was air-conditioned. (Laughter). But, no, it's an open-air shop, so basically I just have a fan blowing.

Q: Are you ever surprised with how messy some people are about the insides of their cars?

A: Oh yeah. (Laughter) French fries, and wrappers, and ... Oh boy. (Laughter)

Q: How do you keep up with technological changes in your field?

A: Oh, that's a good question. I read a lot, and also we have online information that we can look up. There's also technical assistance that I can call on to stay on top of the changes that come out all the time. It changes so fast.

Q: Where would you call for that?

A: Here locally. There's people in our department that I can call for assistance.

Q: Have you ever toured a Toyota factory?

A: Well, if I get a chance to tour it, that would be great.

Q: I got to tour a car factory once, in Japan. They had robots and everything. Speaking of which, do you think your job could ever be replaced by a robot?

A: No.

Q: Why not?

A: Well, first, you need to listen to the customer, to interpret what they're trying to say, and then figure out where is it on the car that they're trying to talk about. So there's a lot of interpreting and understanding.

Q: Have you ever had a car come in that's in such bad shape that you thought it wasn't really worth repairing?

A: Once in awhile, there are those cars that roll in that are such bad shape that all you can do is make your recommendations and see if the customer wants to go ahead with the repair.

Q: Do they usually follow your recommendation?

A: Sure. They do, yeah.

Q: What kind of car do you drive?

A: A Toyota Cressida.

Q: A Cressida? Didn't they stop making those in 1992?

A: Yeah, it's a really old car. It just so happened I found an old Cressida, and I decided to pick it up. It was in good shape.

Q: Was it because the engine is the same as the Toyota Supra, which was a sports car?

A: Yeah, it does have the same engine, but that's not why I picked it up. The real reason is that it was just cheap. (Laughter)

Q: Do you do your own repairs?

A: Yes.

Q: Do you get to use the shop?

A: Yes.

Q: Lucky.

A: Yeah.

Q: What advice would give to vehicle owners to help them minimize the number of times they might need to take their cars in for repair?

A: That's a good question. I get that a lot. OK, sure: Maintaining your car, periodically, and listen to your car. So if you hear something or you feel something, by all means, bring it in. It's kind of like your body; you feel something wrong, you go, "Oh, I better go see a doctor." Same way.

Q: So what's the best thing you like about your job?

A: I guess working with the people. And working with the customers. Also the new technology every year, and the changes in the cars. There's something new every year.