Staff Spotlight: Cesar Mendez, General Manger
Air Source Industries has been providing industrial and medical grade gases to local businesses for 80 years. We are a small family-owned company with a dedicated and very experienced team that cares for our customers. This is one of the reasons why we’ve been in business for so long.
Cesar Mendez, our General Manager, is one of our employees who is integral to the success of our company. Cesar has worked at Air Source Industries for more than 29 years. He always makes sure our employees are pumped and processes are running smoothly. Cesar shares how he manages the plant operations and how the team surpasses customer expectations:
When did you start working for Air Source and how did you become the General Manager?
I started my very first job after high school working at Bowers on November 21st, 1989 in Huntington Beach. Bowers was a company owned by Robert Bowers, the Air Source Industries owner, and he’s been a big part of my evolution with the company. At that location I was working, they shipped supplies like canes, wheelchairs, and other supplies for older adults. I was actually just supposed to work as a temp for about a week because they needed extra help. I assisted with packing and loading UPS trucks to go out for delivery. That week, turned into two weeks and two weeks turned into a month. 29 years later, here I am working for Bob at Air Source Industries.
As my temp job turned into a permanent position, I started to get more responsibilities. I began learning how to utilize the invoice system and made my way from packaging to the office making service calls. After working in Huntington Beach for about 5 years, the location was closed and I was transferred to the Long Beach location in 1994 and worked there for about a year.
Right after that, Bob started another business supplying accessible rental vans for people with disabilities and he needed a technician to learn how to fix the vans and installing the hand controls. Every time a van broke down, it was very cost prohibitive because a professional technician from Phoenix, Arizona would have to get flown in every time to fix them. That’s why I was sent to take classes to learn how to do the repairs and installations myself, which was more efficient. I got to learn something new, and we were able to save some money for the company.
After Bob sold that business, I started working at his other business called Air Source Industries to learn all the processes of medical and industrial compressed gases, which was around 2001. It was in the early phases of the business because I remember there were only 5 people working there: a sales person, a General Manager, an office lady, 1 driver and 1 filler.
At Air Source, I learned just about as much as anyone could learn. I was trained on processes, regulations, routes, and hydro testing. Since we were such a small team, I learned it all so that I would be able to work in any area that I was needed. Sometimes I stayed late to get testing done because it was required for the next business day. From the start, we’ve always been about doing what needed to get done in order to meet expectations and to be on time with customer orders and service.
My whole journey at Air Source has progressed from being a (compressed gas) Filler, to an Assistant Plant Manager, to Plant Manager and then eventually the General Manager. From my first real job after high school to becoming the General Manager of Air Source, I’ve been lucky enough to work my way up because Bob saw my potential as a quick learner and gave me the opportunity to really excel at my job.
What do you do as the General Manager at Air Source Industries and what are your responsibilities?
Well, I come in and make sure all the orders and customers are going to be taken care off. That’s the top priority for me as the General Manager. Without the customers, we would cease to exists, which is why they are so important.
My job is to make sure everything is running smoothly and we have a plan for new customers calling in to make sure they are getting the best service and are being taken care of. I, like many others at the company, have a very hard saying “no” to customers. I make sure I take the time to talk to all employees to make sure they know what they need to do that day no matter how big or small. Making sure everything is working and running accordingly.
I’m also the company motivator because I want us all to have a great day and succeed as a company. Starting the day off in a good mood and motivated is something that I like to instill on a daily basis. And if we aren’t having a good day, I always reassure everyone that we will make it into a good day because ultimately, we have the power to turn things into something positive and that’s the kind of mentally that helps us thrive.
What does your day-to-day work consist of?
I start my day by coming into the office at 7:30 to make sure all orders and messages have been processed, the trucks are loaded, and verify every cylinder has been filled. I gather all the orders that were processed the previous day and the ones that were called in early in the morning and organize them by location (Los Angeles County, Orange County and the South Bay region in LA). I put together the delivery routes for the drivers, which is usually 5 or 6 routes depending on how many drivers I have that day. I always make a list of all the items going in each truck the previous day, that way I can just set the list on each truck and the drivers know exactly what needs to be loaded for their routes.
I do this process to save time in the morning because the goal is for our drivers to leave the plant by 8:30 am every single morning in order for deliveries to be on schedule. After getting the deliveries on their way, I make sure everyone in the back of the plant (the compressed gas fillers) has a work assignment for the day. I give daily instructions to the Plant Manager, Cesar Zaldivar to make sure everything is running smoothly on the production side.
After taking care of business in the back of the plant, I go into the front office and do the same with the staff there to make sure they all know what needs to be done that day and that they have a plan for new customers that call in. I then work with the Office Manager, Daisy to make sure her team captures every single sales call that comes in.
After debriefing with everyone, I go to my office and work on making sure that we are up to speed on any new or upcoming regulations. I always carve out some time to work with Bob to see how we’re going to take the company to the next level and I’m always looking and observing for things that need to be improved that I can share with him. I also help answer any calls that can’t be handled by the front team and also run daily invoices to our customers. After spending a few hours in the office, I like to check back with my guys in the back to make sure everyone is following procedures and safety precautions; I like keeping them on their toes.
Even though I manage the entire plant, I like to be involved in the day to day because we’re the type of company that helps each other out no matter what our title is. If someone needs help, there’s always someone to step in and assist. We’re a team and I like to make sure that every part of our business is running smoothly, from the front office to the back of the house.
What is the most challenging part(s) of your job?
Well, I want to start off by saying we are truly blessed because we have a really good crew of workers which makes my job a little easier. The company is made up of everyone working collaboratively and they all care about their work. They concentrate on what they have to do and they always do their best to get it done.
One of the challenges I have is delivery trucks breaking down while they’re en route to customers. Sometimes they have issues and it’s difficult to manage how you’re going to take care of customers when the truck is stalled. Having the right amount of people to be able to react is important in those types of situations, but it can definitely put us behind schedule when we have these type of unexpected occurrences.
Another challenge is keeping up with all constant regulations. As a compressed gas supplier, we are regulated by different agencies so we have to be thinking about that on a daily basis. It’s important for us to be compliant with all the rules and regulations. This is something that keeps us focused and constantly on our toes when we have inspections. We have to be compliant to keep the company running so that’s something that is very important to us along with the safety of all our employees and customers.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I enjoy coming in and seeing everyone engaged and doing what they need to do. That gives me a great feeling because it shows that everyone is there to get work done. My team works so hard on a daily basis and seeing them hard at work every morning is a great way to start my day.
I also enjoy talking to everyone in the back who is filling and testing because I’ve been there and there are times when I help out too. I’m not the type of manager who’s always locked in their office. I don’t feel like that’s an effective method, in my opinion, and being able to engage with my employees is a nice break from sitting in front of the computer.
Something else that brings a smile to my face is getting new customers and when someone compliments the company or an employee. I get the sense of reassurance that they are doing things right and our focus on the customer is working for us. That’s what satisfies me the most and making sure everyone is happy.
How do you go above and beyond for your customers?
My motto is, work to deliver the next day. I always try to stick to that at all times because it’s part of our customer service model. We always go for the gold, which in our eyes is going above and beyond for our customers. Sometimes you have to make decisions that may not be the best for the business, but can yield greater success. That may consist of doing some extra work or trying to help or make something happen for someone that’s asking for immediate help or whatever it may be. If we are able to help that customer and make it happen we will do it. It doesn’t always work out that way, but we always do our best.
We pride ourselves on our customer service because I believe our customer service level is amazing! For example, a crew of guys will reroute themselves if something comes up or someone needs their gas delivery sooner. If someone is scheduled for delivery that day, and they’re at the end of the list and need it at that moment, we’ll prioritize that delivery, even if it means backtracking. We service our customers in a way that other businesses don’t. The bigger supplier tend to just focus on the sale and don’t always act on the customer’s best interest. We treat our customers the way we’d want to be treated and financially, sometimes it won’t make sense that day, but it pays out in the long run because the customer is happy and they’ll remember what we did for them.
Is there anything else you want to share or tell your customers?
I just want to let the people know that this company has been in business for 80 years now. We’re a private, family owned business and care more than anything to make the customer happy. The level of service we offer is by far the best in our industry and we are all about transparency and reliability, which other companies lack.
Our customers are a huge part of our successes and we wouldn’t be a company without them. We have great people on staff who dedicate their soul to this company on a daily basis and it shows through our customer service.
As a company our goal is to service the customer with the best service possible, which will allow us to grow steadily. We don’t want to grow too fast at once because we have to make sure we have time to focus on our customers and provide the service they deserve from their local gas supplier in Long Beach.
Conclusion
Air Source Industries provides high quality industrial gases and medical grade gases to local businesses in Orange and Los Angeles counties. If you’re a business looking to switch over to a new gas provider, Air Source Industries has you covered. We make the transition process smooth and handle all of the installation for you with no downtime. Just call our friendly staff at (562) 426-4017 or fill out our get a quote form to get started.