Job History of R. J. Brown

Dad started to work for Imperial Oil around 1965, when the company was starting up Car Clinics. The idea of the Car Clinic was to make a vehicle check and then report the status of the vehicle to the customer. "It was a diagnostic service that was about 20 years ahead of its time," he said.

When Dad began with Imperial Oil, he moved to Vancouver to work as the supervisor of the Car Clinics in that region. The whole bunch of us came along for the ride too! I started my schooling in Coquitlam at Brookmere Elementary School and stayed there until grade 2. I have many fond memories from my earliest childhood of the house at 551 Cochrane Avenue, with the stream running through the side yard.

Dad's duties in Vancouver included arranging for purchasing, installing and training on the various equipment and processes that made the clinics run. Much of his work involved selling the idea of the product to the employees and service station owners, and coaching them in marketing the idea to their customers.

In 1968, Dad was transferred to Toronto head office. This was a promotion for him. He ended up supervising the man who replaced him out west. The job in Toronto included a fair bit of travel around the province and the country. He continued to play a key role in sustaining and streamlining the Car Clinic program. Later the company added Car Wash facilities at many of their service locations, and Dad became a technical assistant in this area. Again, his duties included overseeing the procurement and installation of the correct equipment, and also consulting work in the design of the car wash buildings.

When self-serve gas stations took over in the early 70s, cross-selling of the "free car wash with fill" became difficult, and car wash services then had to be sold separately. The car washes could not sustain themselves for very long and many closed. It eventually became apparent that his role as an automotive service specialist with Imperial Oil would soon disappear. He would have been able to choose some other positions, but not in the automotive field which was his "lifeblood."

During his travels over the years, Dad made many friends and acquaintances in the automotive service industry. He had occasion to speak with a service supervisor from Canadian Tire who mentioned the great need for training for mechanics. The car manufacturers would not easily allow just any tradesman into their training programs, so there was a considerable need for training. "If I was to offer that training to you, would you be interested?" Dad asked. "Absolutely!" was the response.

In retrospect it was a combination of things that brought about the change of employment for Dad.