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to hear it might take nine to 10 months to get switchgear in.
“We say it over and over again: we’re not the chef; we’re the waiter. We don’t make the stuff,” he said. “It’s still a
very difficult message to get through, though.”
The Next Generation
Goodless said the company’s reputa- tion for fast response and competitive bids has helped it earn multiple awards for customer service.
At the same time, though, growth is challenging at a time when building trades of all kinds are beset with a tal- ent drain.
“The workforce situation is awful,” he said. “You can get people, but it’s very hard to get good people in. But I’ve been pretty fortunate; I’ve been able to pick up a few people along the way during the past couple of years, and I’m working on a third one right now.”
Part of the issue has been the pipe- line of new, young talent not keeping
“I tell them, ‘if you work hard, if you work diligently, you can have anything you want. The sky’s the limit if you want to work.”
up with the pace of retirements, but Goodless said that might be changing. “Over the years, we noticed a huge
decline in the electrical trade,” he said, referring to the programs young people were choosing to study. “Every- body went into computer technology. That’s really what happened; they all went into IT, computer technology, and they weren’t going through the electrical programs. But now, I think the classrooms are filling up again.”
He’s gleaned as much through con- versations with teachers at the trade schools in Springfield, Westfield, Holyoke, and others, who say students are more serious than before about entering the electrical field and other trades. Part of the reason may be the talk of graduates of four-year colleges entering the workforce with six-figure debt and a cloudy career path.
“A kid in a trade, they’ll pay their dues and go through the program, and at the end, you can make well over 100 grand a year. And you’re going to do your side jobs like everyone does and make another 25 grand,” he said. “I tell them, ‘if you work hard, if you work diligently, you can have anything you want. The sky’s the limit if you want to work.’”
And work hard Goodless has over the past four-plus decades, outlasting many former clients whose compa- nies are no longer in business. And it’s work he relishes.
“Everybody will have something different to say,” he noted when asked what he enjoys about running this 78-year-old business. “I love going after a bid, going over the numbers, and win- ning the bid. That gives me a thrill. My second-biggest thrill is going out and doing the buys.”
He’s also got his eye on making sure Goodless Electric continues to be a force for many years to come, even after it moves past family ownership.
“I always think about what I’m going to do with this business as I’m get-
ting older. My ultimate goal is to turn
it over to the employees, or half to the employees and maybe sell the other
This wall represents some of Jeff Goodless’ first projects for clients in the late ‘70s.
Staff Photo
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