January 2014

January was an interesting month. I cannot believe I have been here for five months already! I am almost halfway through Phase I of my training program. Of course we had the New Year holiday and then after that there was some crazy weather in my region. Needless to say, the whole month was a little abnormal between the short weeks from the holidays, irregular hours because of the weather, and then pipes bursting and freezing. I am definitely not complaining about the business we got from that though! I am excited to see the new business we will get when construction starts in the spring and summer as well.

At the end of the month, I traveled to Spartanburg, South Carolina to take a tour of the Kohler plant there. I was actually surprised at how many steps there are in making bathroom fixtures. I never really thought about it honestly; it was also surprising to learn how many people are still involved in the process rather than machines.  On my way back from the plant tour, I had a little extra time so I stopped and visited our profit center in Hendersonville, NC. They have a different type of business than we do in Kingsport and it was eye-opening to see the way a different profit center operates.  We sell mostly commercial plumbing supplies and fixtures and they have a beautiful showroom so the whole operation is somewhat different than Kingsport’s. Both are good, just different.

My counter renovations continued in January. I finally received one of the displays I had ordered to go in the sales display area. My specials for the month were Nebo tools and gadgets, and that seemed to be pretty popular. We also updated our computers, printers and software at the counter.  That has been a very positive change; the processes are more up-to-date now and I feel much more efficient.

I am hoping to be able to visit my family in Kentucky this weekend, but I am not sure the weather is going to permit. I’m ready for spring! Stay safe and warm, everyone!