Colin has no plans to give up service yet
Mechanic Colin Veitch has some advice as he prepares to mark 50 years service at Waimate’s White Horse Motors.
‘‘Be helpful to the customer and don’t rip people off,’’ he said.
It was December 18, 1970 when Veitch, just out of Waimate High School, door-knocked the business, then known as Gib Staite Motors.
‘‘I finished school on the Thursday, and I had approached Gib a year before.
‘‘He told me to go back to school and come back in a year, so I took his advice and came back the day school finished,’’ Veitch said.
‘‘I asked him if a job offer was still open, and he told me to start on Monday.’’
Veitch, 68, spent the next four years in an apprenticeship and qualified as a general mechanic.
‘‘We worked on Holdens, Vauxhalls and Bedfords.’’
That was before some key changes in the motoring industry towards the end of the 1970s and 80s, he said.
‘‘Electric ignition was the first lot of it, it was the start of new technology.’’
Veitch said he undertook a few courses to keep up with technological advancements.
The early computers were big machines, he said.
‘‘The gap between servicing got a lot longer, it was every 1000 miles, but now they go out to between 10,000 and 15,000 kilometres.
‘‘Cars are a wee bit better now, more fuel efficient and a pleasure to drive.’’
Veitch said he had always been a fan of cars, more specifically motor racing.
He said there were some highlights over the years and in the past, part of his job, as the company had been contracted to the Automobile Association, had been going out to crashes.
‘‘We had to console people, we’d have to go above and beyond.’’
In his day-to-day work, Veitch said he liked helping people out.
‘‘It’s important to get them the best deal and I don’t believe in ripping them off.’’
He had always remained an employee.
‘‘I am just a worker, I am the boy around here.’’
Veitch said he has no plans to retire. ‘‘I’m not intending to finish just yet, I haven’t told the boss yet but I’m planning on working a few less hours,’’ he joked.
‘‘I’d say to anyone considering it as a career that it is a good trade to be in if you are prepared to work.
‘‘If you can understand computers that is half the battle, you have to enjoy your work to do it well and be helpful to the customer.’’
White Horse Motors manager Cameron Davies, 31, said he had known Veitch all his life.
‘‘He is one of the most honest people I know.
‘‘I came here during my school years and learned a lot from Colin, including a lot of life skills.’’