February 2014

February was plagued by the same crazy weather we have had all winter. At one point there was 8-10 inches in Kingsport and the surrounding areas, so needless to say, our work hours were definitely affected, but we did the best we could and still served our customers well. I never thought too much about it before, but very low temperatures really affect the repair business especially in our industry. Pipes burst, backflows and valves freeze, and when everything starts to thaw out, people begin to notice leaks. While new construction slows down, other business picks up so it has been fairly busy the past few weeks.

I am still working on my counter renovations. As a part of that project, I have been learning how to use power tools (which is terrifying to my dad and brothers). I told Dan, one of the inside salesmen, he had to take a picture for the blog, but I actually ended up using it as proof to my family that I do actually know how to use an impact driver.

 

We got some exciting news about some changes going on in our region, and I think it is going to be very positive not only for our profit centers, but also for the trainees. As I understand it will open up some new opportunities which we may not have had before, so it is great to know that the executive managers care about keeping the manager trainees informed and involved. I really appreciated hearing the news straight from my regional manager and the President of the company rather than some version of it getting passed through the grapevine. One of the company values is “Straight Talk” and they really do practice that here; I have witnessed it many times!

Despite the bad weather, I did travel quite a bit. I turned 26 this month, so I went home to Kentucky to visit family. I also traveled about an hour and a half to Knoxville, TN for my first inventory experience with Hajoca. It is a totally different experience to inventory a pipe yard and warehouse than it is to inventory a retail store as I had done in the past, but I actually liked this so much better. I thought everything went very smoothly, and I have to give kudos to the team there for having such an organized warehouse. Also, on a personal note, I am a total foodie and will go out of my way to visit restaurants that have been featured on the Food Network. Naturally, my favorite part of inventory was getting lunch at Pizza Palace just down the street from the profit center in Knoxville. If you are ever in the area, look it up.

After I left Knoxville I went straight to Atlanta to a conference with our new regional manager, but technically that was in March so I should save something to talk about in the March blog.