warehouse associate

warehouse associate ii

inside sales account executive

senior material handler

field service technician

Imperial Supplies

Safety - Safety is treated as secondary to making rate.  The number of accidents and machine-on-person near-misses is alarming for a facility of it's size and number of employees.  Machines have hit and damaged walls, cages, and metal racking.  Product has fallen off of shelving, almost on people, and at least two people have suffered back injuries.
Pay and raises - The starting rate for the Pittston, PA, area was high.  This is offset. however, by the non-existent raises that only happen once a year with the recent round of raises running from 0 (as in no raise) to 25 cents.
Staffing - This location has been under-staffed and under-equipped since it opened.  Part of this is do to the high turnover rate in management and part of it is because of the companies unwillingness to adapt to unforeseen changes.  Example: Initial expectations were that we would ship an average of 6,000 units/day and have 30 employees by this year.  We hit that 6,000, and passed it, by the end of last summer.  Despite this fact the company refused to hire more employees, keeping us below the 30 employee count, until just recently.
Management - Most of the in-house managers (as of the time of me typing this) are good people.  They work hard, climb in to the trenches, and deal with all of the same things the average worker does.  The problem is that the in-house managers are micro-managed by superiors from out of state who rarely seem to have a grasp on what is actually happening.  Example: We had a VIP visit and present a "state of the company" speech last fall.  In this speech he bragged about how we were growing "and hiring."  The problem is that we were told we weren't hiring at that time.
Culture - Imperial pushes a top-down culture that encourages "competition" among it's various managers.  This some times ends up in managers trying to exert authority, and competing ideas, over a location.  I've seen one manager come in from out of state, tell us to ignore what another manager from out of state said, and contradict our own managers.  This happens on an almost monthly basis.
Retribution - This does happen and is especially common among upper management.  They don't like it when you ask questions and they don't like people who think for themselves.  They want you to shut up and do what your told.  Any variation of that will get you "marked," as a former lead put it, and they will make your life miserable.  You won't get a raise, they will fudge numbers to make it look like you aren't making rate, they will throw you under the bus, and they will ride you that much harder than anyone else.
There is no such thing as confidential - Imperial has monthly round-table discussions.  This is supposed to be a time when employees can bring up concerns in a "confidential" setting.  This is not the case and the managers who attend have used what is said in these meetings to throw employees under the bus in favor of scoring points.
Training - Each position has a training plan and an SOP.  Both of these are largely ignored and it's not uncommon to see someone thrown in to a function without being properly trained.  This is made even more absurd when you realize that most positions have a rate or quota attached and you WILL be coached for not reaching those rates, even though you weren't trained correctly.
Communication - It's a small warehouse with around 30 employees.  You can walk from one end to the other in under a minute.  Everyone has access to company e-mail. there are several quick-erase boards, and a PA system.  Despite all of this communication, especially of important information, is non-existent.  Things like call-outs, PTO (paid time off), and the like are often not relayed to the correct managers.  
Outdated software - Every aspect of the software used is outdated by over 20 years.  This limits the capabilities of the facility to adapt and adjust and affects every aspect of what happens, including in-putting your hours.  I have seen people shorted hours and pay because of system "glitches."

I want to be clear.  Most of the employees at this location are good, hardworking, people, as are most of the managers.  Most of the problems come from the micro-managing, conflict-encouraging, outside influence of upper-management.  As I said it's not unusual to have one person come in and tell you to ignore SOP's (standard operating procedure) just so another can visit a week later and write you up for ignoring the SOP's.

Working for Imperial Supplies as a whole is not a bad company, but unfortunately the management in the Reno distribution center lead me to leave. I enjoyed working with the people in Reno and building a team member first culture among my department, but the senior west operations manager and the DC Supervisor would seem to find a way to either hinder the progress made, or stop it all together. I believe this stems from a lack of understanding of the processes that make the building run. They don't know how to perform any of the tasks that team members do all day, but then they make decisions that impact the entire operation without a strong foundation of how it works. This leads to team member frustration that gets put onto the shoulders of the floor leads and then the senior west operations manager and DC supervisor then question why everyone is so stressed as if it isn't obvious. Many people have left because of them, and I wouldn't doubt if more continue to do so. You can try bringing this to HR, but they prefer not to have them involved hence why the building doesn't have an in house HR specialist. This is why nothing is changing in the building unless another higher up comes in then is is all hand on deck. They do good job at making the distribution center look good for when leaders come to visit, and then let it go back to chaos after. To anyone viewing this a starting point for a career for growth and development I would look elsewhere until a change in leadership is made. I came into the company with those intentions and realized the only way I would be able to achieve that is by being a 'yes' person. Their model seems to be to push someone until their breaking point, and then reprimand them for not pushing harder. I tried fitting this model, but soon found out that any of my input was null and void even if I could gather support from multiple team members on ideas. For me, I like being able to bounce ideas off of others to come to a well rounded solution for the well being of everyone involved. Instead, the senior west operations manager and the DC supervisor would prefer to continue to give directions made with no understanding of its impact, just so they can continue to get promoted and leave the team members doing the hard work behind. 

I worked in customer service taking inbound calls, taking orders and working with customer issues of product. If there were delays in delivery, I would track the order. If there were questions on product, I did give customers guidance on parts and usage as possible, if more technical, I would connect the customer with the product management team. I would also handle claims, returns, file claims with shipping sources and if it was deemed a handling issue, connect the quality assurance team to address the problem with the manufacturer. I learned a lot about parts and pieces of trucking equipment, which I did have experience with working as a garage secretary at SuperValu but this also involved school bus parts, heavy construction units and many other venues of transportation I had not been exposed to before. The training was fantastic in the time spent to teach us hands on of the importance of the "heat shrink" tubes for electrical units, even doing welding. It was the best! Management was great but I am sure there were parts of the business I was not exposed to that led to the sell out to our competitor. My co workers I had no issues with, I am still in minimal contactwith a couple, but the core group has gone in different directions after the layoffs and sell out. The hardest part of the job was the ability to find the right answer for a customer who was not sure of what answer they needed. They had a need but did not know exactly what answer they needed. A search of the initial information was helpful and when it was above a technilogical situation, quality assurance was a great tool to provide an answer. Many times it was a repair situation and our quality assurance team did have experience in repairs of tractors, trailers, heavy duty equipment as needed to address those questions.The most enjoyable part of the job is I enjoyed working with the people I worked with, the customers I still stay in contact with.

VERY good benefits, that make up for the pay, however, the pay is average. If you're serious about your job, there's opportunity for advancement within the warehouse and corporate, however it is tough to get a promotion into corporate, even though they say they promote within. The work is not mundane. The product is changing, you're not doing the exact same thing for an entire shift. 

HARDEST part of the job: The warehouse is not climate controlled, so it gets VERY hot (like an oven) in summer. Warehouse jobs are physical (frequent heavy lifting, A LOT of walking, a bunch of very nimble wrist/hand movement needed, etc...) Management would benefit from communicating better and no over-reacting/reacting inappropriately. 

You DO work on a quota system, that impacts your reviews and yearly raise. At first the quota for your job may be difficult, but with experience it will be attainable.


The work atmosphere is enjoyable. There's isn't an absurd amount of overtime and rarely work Saturdays. Working Sunday is non-existent. The shifts are small, so everyone gets to know one another on a more informal basis. Management is mixed. Some of them go above and beyond their pay grade, to make sure everything is done correctly and efficiently. While others can be not understanding and too harsh. 

If you are a college student, this is a great place to work for. If you have a college degree and are looking to get your foot in the door, to move to corporate, the warehouse is a good place to start. If you are lazy and not a team player, this is not the place for you.

I've been at Imperial for a few years now and found that if you work hard, come with an attitude of "how can I make Imperial function better?" and provide results, you will be given opportunity for advancement. If that's in your current department or another department, they will work with you on providing you the resources to be successful.
My particular team works together like no other team I've ever been a part of. We are constantly having "mini-meetings" and discussions on how to better do ABC, or how to approach XYZ situation. I look forward to coming in to work every day because the people around me are driven to make us better. In my four years, Imperial has taken this strong individual team dynamic and is now focusing on making us much more cross-functionally team oriented. This is great because our team continues to work well together and we think critically about how each action affects other departments.
Management is well-trained to provide necessary training and coaching without micro-managing, which I cannot say about a lot of companies I've worked for in the past.
Hardest part of the job: Adjusting common processes to fit into new markets to support our double-digit year over year growth.

First off, I really enjoyed working with my coworkers - they were the bright spot in my day. Unfortunately, my manager was the reason I left. Essentially, my manager is a boss, not a leader. There are good managers in the company, but mine was not one of them. It is very telling when your coworkers find out you’re leaving and decide they can finally be candid about their frustrations with our manager. Heck, I even heard from a coworker in another department that they don’t like the condescending tone my manager would use when someone would ask them a question in a meeting (certainly turns on the nice when upper management is present though!). I would add poor communicator of necessary details and work expectations to the list. Our 1:1s consisted of my manager talking about themselves and their outside of work plans, or how tired they were having to be in meetings all day. Rarely was there a “thank you” or “good job” for the work being done. One coworker even reached out asking if I could outline some of the team’s long standing frustrations during my exit interview. Since they were a new manager when I started I did cut some slack while they found their bearings…but two years later I stopped caring, lost patience and found something better. 

My department was also slow to fill positions that have now been open for 9+ months, resulting in some team members experiencing poor work-life balance. One coworker was frustrated with our manager’s “solution” to their heavy workload - they were advised to just “find a faster way to do it”, which is laughable. 

Come into the office  at 7:45am for work at 8:00am. Monday, Wednesday and Friday we would have team meetings to get motivated. Then I would go on the phones and cold call until 10:00am. After that I would call customers if they were scheduled for calls that day and see how they are doing on their products. 

I think the management could use some work they weren't all on the same page with the training process, which really is tough on new hires. They had a really high expectation for annual growth for the whole company, which means you almost had to hit your numbers. They don't have a very good turn over rate, they pretty much hire to fire. which in my eyes is a waste of time and money for the company. 

One thing that I really enjoyed about working there was the co-workers, it was a great group of people. I actually wanted to make a career out of Imperial, but the manager didn't see that. I was accused of something that wasn't true. I think the manager had a personal problem with me. My plan was to use my degree in there marketing/E-commerce department, but was told by managers not to go there because I wouldn't make as much. Money wasn't the issue, I wanted the experience. 

The hardest part was getting the leads we called on to convert over to Imperial. The cost savings wasn't always a true statement when said to a new lead. 

One thing that I really enjoyed was talking to people because that's the type of person that I am. I enjoy getting to know someone and understanding what they really need.

I had the complete honor of being with this company for three months.  Even though my time with Imperial was short, it was an amazing experience.  I determined that after three months and going through the companies talent development program that a sales career was going to be very challenging and difficult for me.  Not because of the training or anything the company didn't do for me, I just found the "art of the sale" very difficult and challenging and I didn't see myself long term in this very demanding profession.  My skill set lies elsewhere.  This company cares for its employees.  They have an amazing all-inclusive environment, paid parking, free food, amazing work/life balance and employee first philosophy.  Even as a new employee and in training I went to work every time knowing I was valued and appreciated.  The leadership team are kind patient and very knowledgeable and set you up for success!  I would recommend this company in the highest regards. 

It's a place where profit is their number one priority. They will hit ya with the we made 300 million tag line in the interview , I'm sure of it.There are shareholders to every company. The people that buy from you. The people who you buy from. And the people who work for the company. They value these shareholders in this order. The term you will here alot is what ever best serves the customer. No matter how over worked the employee is or short staffed you are. There is a huge turn over here because of this. My advice take an inbound or first shift job here. They are held to lesser standards and time demands. Not saying They don't have their own stress. Such as gossip and dead weight. Stay clear of the second shift.The dollar is not worth the stress of not knowing if you get to go home at 7 or not every night. That's another thing they don't tell ya in the interview it's til finish not 7pm. So they think the dollar gives them right to hold you. There is opportunity to move around but more of a popularity contest then who can do the best job. Alot of nepotism and favoritism. And some of the leaders have superiority complexes. They will tell you they are leaders constantly. But also some of the first out the door when extra help is needed. 

I am very happy working here so I am sharing this honestly for anyone with a positive attitude, can pass a drug test, background check, willing to show up to work daily, and looking for a career!  Check out Imperial Supplies Careers (Grainger is our parent company) They have an intensive training program! I will admit it was overwhelming at first, but I stuck with it and so glad I did! It is a very supportive environment! Training for my position (Dedicated Account Advisor) is 3 days on site in Janesville, WI, Mondays  & Fridays work from home. After  training, WFH except in office Tuesdays, when they have fun snacks. They give you a laptop, monitor, headset, and hub! Thats all you need.  And there's room to grow! They give new hires 18 vacation days, plus holidays, 6% to your 401K whether you contribute or not! Vested immediately! Full benefits Day 1! They also have Mental health care, FSA, HSA, Stock purchase plan, Free on-site gym with showers, on-site Cafe with free coffee, and affordable food, and more!  This is a Great place to be!

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Warehouse associate 82 salaries reported	$15.76 per hour
Warehouse associate ii 80 salaries reported	$16.40 per hour
Inside sales account executive 17 salaries reported	$43,000 per year
Senior material handler 13 salaries reported	$19.81 per hour
Field service technician 29 salaries reported	$22.43 per hour

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