Month 4- September 2013

 

This month I transitioned from the warehouse to working at the counter and interacting with customers. So far, it has definitely been a fun experience; our customers are some of the most interesting people you’ll ever meet. I’ve learned a great deal about the products we sell and how they’re used in application by our customers. Working the counter has probably been my biggest challenge so far, but I’m lucky to have strong veteran (30+ years) sales people to help me along the way. Within the Hughes Supply family we also have an NFL picks competition going on and it has definitely made the counter a fun place to be!

                Over the past few months I’ve been working on a business project for the annual Hajoca Manager’s Seminar in October. All of the MDPs from across the nation have also been working on this project throughout the year.  In a few weeks we have the opportunity to present our projects to Hajoca’s president, Rick Fantham. My project is primarily focused on how our company handles customer returns and ways that we can improve the current policy we have. This project has required a ton of research; digging through dozens of reports to collect data on returns and talking with employees about our returns process. I’ve definitely learned a great deal about our business and how we balance customer service and overall profitability.

                I found myself once again with the opportunity to travel this month, but this time I had a few management trainees to join me on the road. We made a trip to the West Palm Beach profit center to help them move to a new location. This move required a lot of manpower; people were needed to load product onto pallets, take down the racking, load the trucks, etc. We worked some long hours, but definitely had a great time getting to know each other! Pedro, Cathy, and Steve have quite a bit of industry experience and it feels great to have fellow trainees here in the state of Florida to share ideas with. I truly believe Hajoca has a great way of finding fun, smart, and talented people.