Hello again, everyone, and greetings from Apex Supply! This is the second installment of my blog, and boy do I have a lot to tell you guys. Training is going GREAT! I am learning something new almost every minute it seems, and I am eager for more! I love learning new things, so needless to say I am thoroughly enjoying my training.

Last week, I finished the warehouse module and moved to the counter. The warehouse was great. It took a while at first to comprehend everything that was going on, but once I got the gist of things, it was smooth sailing! I learned a ton back there – daily procedures, product names and uses, product locations, and so much more. Working in the warehouse has helped me build a solid understanding of how the business operates. My favorite part of working in the warehouse was the fast-paced nature of the job. After all, time flies when you’re hard at work!

I am currently on my second week at the counter. I really like working up here and interacting with all of our customers. You can really learn a lot by listening to them talk about their jobs and how they use our products. I enjoy the customer service aspect of the counter as well. It is an awesome feeling when a customer comes in and isn’t certain of what they are looking for, and you are able to help them find exactly what they need. The gratification that comes from helping a customer is like no other. They say that if you do something you love, you will never “work” a day in your life. Well, if that’s the case, then I haven’t “worked” at all!

Fun fact about Morgan: While I was in college, I worked in the heating and air industry as an installer. That was how I first became interested in working for a supply company. We would go to the supply store to order materials and I would think to myself, “Man, this would be an awesome career!” I could picture myself being on the other side of the counter helping customers with their orders. With the Management Development Program, I am making my vision become a reality, and it is truly a blessing. I can’t wait to see what the future holds!

Well, that’s it for now, folks. I will check back in with y’all in a few weeks to fill you in on how things are going.

Thanks for reading, everyone. Until next time, be safe and have fun!

-Morgan

Over the course of the past few months I have had some great learning experiences outside of my profit center. The first was a trip to EMCO in Vancouver, BC. EMCO is Hajoca’s sister company in the Canadian provinces and my PCM and I traveled there to meet with the local PCM to see how he operates his business. Specifically we discussed how his showrooms are managed and how he has grown to such a large operation. His PC has roughly 95 employees while we have 6 here in Wenatchee. It was really great to see the possibilities!

The second opportunity that I had outside the PC was to travel to Dallas, TX for the Hajoca National Showroom Summit. This
was the first such summit in Hajoca’s history, and it allowed PCMs, Showroom Managers, Consultants, and Vendors to come together and discuss best practices and trends in the showroom marketplace. For a PC that has only just opened their showroom this was an invaluable experience. Talking with other Hajoca teammates about their experience has given us a fresh outlook on the potential our showroom has to offer.

Here at the PC I am wrapping up my counter phase and am moving into the operations phase of my training. In a smaller PC, like Inland Pipe, I will still get plenty of time on the counter but I look forward to learning as many new things as I can. My time in Wenatchee is getting close to being over and I’m looking forward to seeing where Hajoca is going to take me!

Morgan here, writing from Apex Supply in Lithia Springs, Georgia! I am now three weeks into my training, and I am loving every minute of it! The people I work with are awesome, and they happily welcomed me with open arms. Everyone has been very helpful. I just so happened to start during inventory week, so that was a slight challenge, but it was definitely a valuable learning experience. It helped me learn what some of the products are, what they are used for, and it showed me where those products are located. I also got to meet some of the other Profit Center Managers and Trainees who came to help out, so that was pretty cool. Even though it was hard work, I am really glad that I got to experience inventory week.

After inventory was over, I started training in the warehouse, where I will be for the next couple of months. Right now I am learning how to pick orders for customers, and the proper steps for shipping and receiving inventory. I will be completing my forklift safety training this week (which I am very excited to do) so I can start operating the forklift. We have been getting truckloads of products in order to stock up for the busy summer months, so once I am forklift certified, I will be able to help load and unload the trucks. We are also currently working on painting some new yellow safety lines on the warehouse floor. The lines are supposed to help the forklift operators stay within a safe distance from the warehouse shelving units. It is really important to have these lines clearly visible to reduce the chance of having an accident. Remember: SAFETY FIRST!!! The lines also bring some aesthetic appeal to the warehouse. Prepping the floor was a tedious task, but it is definitely worth it in order to have nice, straight, safe lines. This is me showing off our hard work. Looks good, huh?  So all in all, training is going great. I am starting to get the hang of things around here, but I definitely have a lot more to learn! I will keep you guys posted on how things are going. Be safe everyone, and thanks for reading!

Last month I had the pleasure of attending my region’s annual forecast review.  All of the managers in the region meet once a year to present their plans for the following year.  I had spoken with many of the managers on the phone before this meeting but had only met a handful of them.  Since all of the profit centers vary quite a bit, it’s always good to hear about the other managers’ experiences.  Because I will train with one of them in my next phase, I was particularly interested to talk with everyone.  Each manager prepares a packet filled with last year’s ambitions next to the actual outcome.  They also create a breakdown of goals and how they will achieve them specifically.  I sat down with my mentor, my region manager, the vice president, the president, and the owner of Hajoca.  What a room to be in!  I would have thought it would be extremely intimidating but I was surprised at how encouraging the meeting was.  Instead of the forecast being a presentation, it is a conversation.  It is a time for managers to be held responsible for what they committed to do.  Managers are questioned about their weakest areas and their forecast is reviewed critically.  But more than a test or judgement, it is a time to get feedback.  The forecast is especially good for companies like Hajoca that give limited instruction to the managers.

I am now finishing up my counter phase and about to move into operations.  Although, working at the counter won’t be ruled out for me.  Instead of giving up the previous phases, moving to the next one is just adding more training.  I have very much enjoyed my time getting to know our frequent customers.  It’s not all fun and games- I worked in the hot/cold warehouse carrying heavy boxes.  And not all customers are easy to handle and some of them expect us to be mind readers.  Everyone in sales and service needs thick skin and it helps to be able to let comments roll off your back.  Overall, however, it’s rewarding to get praise from customers and co-workers.  Nothing beats the compliments like “You’ve only been in plumbing for 7 months? Wow, you learned fast!”  Many of my mentors are my co-workers but I also get a lot of training from plumbers who chose to invest time in teaching me how to best service them.  I look forward to my next phase, operations.  Next I’ll report about all the behind the scenes work of keeping up the business.

As of now I am 6^th months into my training and it seems like time is flying by! I have been continuing on with my counter sales training, learning the ins and outs of our point of sales systems, and building relationships with our customers. Getting to know our customers’ product preferences and learning more and more about their businesses and styles has been a great experience. Each interaction with a customer, whether it be in person, over the phone or via email, is a valuable learning experience for me.

In the past few months we have expanded our team by hiring Jan, our new Showroom Sales Consultant. In a short period of time she has meshed with the existing team extremely well and we are all excited to see where the showroom can take our business. Having a Sales Consultant, and a wide selection of display products, should really separate us from our competitors in our market.

Wenatchee has had pretty significant snow fall in the last few weeks, and I had my first “White Christmas” in as long as I can remember. The snow can make driving difficult at times but Wenatchee and the surrounding area is really beautiful this time of year! I’m really looking forward to continuing my training and learning more about our business.