hvac technician

assembler

field service technician

alarm technician

welder/fitter

Johnson Controls

I worked as an intern for Johnson Controls for years prior to being hired full time. And what made me join the company was solely because of the people at my branch. I didn't have a huge passion for HVAC but they were extremely nice and easy to get along with. But my biggest mistake was that interning for a company is far different to being an employee.

When you're an intern you can write off any issues you have because you have to be there for only a few months and once you get tired of the position, it's almost time for you to go back to school anyway. But when you're full time not only is that company a big part of your life now, but the responsibilities go up significantly. And I had to learn that the hard way.

My biggest issue with Johnson Control was that they were extremely unorganized when it came to training new recruits. This wasn't just a branch issue but a company wide issue. The training programs were out of date and did very little to teach me about my position. Not to mention once covid happened they just cancelled it anyway.

And while I loved my team, it was very easy to tell that my coworkers and management team had no idea how to train a new employee. I couldn't help but feel neglected. My coworkers didn't feel too strongly to help me out with my work. As they rarely came to check in on me with projects they assigned to me, and when I did work up the courage to ask for help, often they would just forget about me a few minutes later. Requiring me to ask multiple times on some days. 

The only people that would really drop everything to help me with projects and explain things in great detail were typically my managers. But even then they often had to change strategies multiple times to figure out what to do with me. I wouldn't mind that so much if there wasn't that much stress with the position. But almost from the very beginning they put me on full projects and had me taking licks. 

The majority of the time I would come into the office every morning with a binder on my desk full of information I didn't have any idea how to start. No one would come up to my desk to say something like "Let's go over this new project to make sure you know what you're doing." Instead I would just kind of do my best to struggle through it or neglect it to work on something more pressing. Because a higher up yelled at me for not hitting a deadline. Then I would get yelled at again for that new project too because then I would miss that deadline too. And this would just create this endless cycle of stress everyday. 

I can't tell you how awful it feels to have project managers and contractors yelling at you when you have absolutely no idea what you're doing in a brand new position. I didn't really have an assigned mentor either until things got very dire and my managers finally realized how bad things had gotten for me. The whole experience was mentally exhausting for me. By the time that I put in my letter, I cried in front of my main manager and apologized profusely. He was very cool about it and understood. He was actually the bigger man and took blame. I respected him so much for that, like I said Johnson has some great people just poor organizing. 

Looking back on it now and looking at my first gray hairs on my head that will never let me forget my experience. Johnson Controls isn't a bad company, it's just misled right now. There's some great people there and if you have background with HVAC already, it's probably not a bad job to consider. But if you have zero job experience then I say look somewhere else for now. 

The way they need to improve the process is by just having new hires work on small parts of other people's projects. That way new hires will have an automatic mentor figure, as  team members will have no choice but to check on them to make they don't fall behind because they could get in trouble too. Plus new hires won't feel too overwhelmed with the work.

Where do I begin, the Interview process was simple, but tricked into how far you actually have to travel to certain places, they claim that they will pay for your parking and tolls. You can ask how to set up an app to get refunded but  they do not demonstrate or tell you how, they just tell you to just "call this guy" who never picks up. The apps that they use to show you've arrived on site and the locations of the places are usually wrong and give you a completely different address. Also if you do not show you have arrived on site a call from a supervisor was sure to follow immediately with no so much concern about you personally but why haven't you logged in yet. This also cuts away from work time to log in an establish your location, the time you started, and all other things that aren't relevant, then the costumer doesn't understand why us workers aren't testing till 7:30 or later because we have to follow up these apps. Also you can get suspended if you are reported for talking on your phone wile driving, most of the time it was management you were talking to and then forced to to a safety driving seminar.  In 6 months I have put 30,000 miles on my personal car, the management is so uncoordinated, I would leave my house around 5:45 - 6 am to be at a job that starts at 7. I would travel a good portion of the state, to help a lead inspector, only to be told minutes after arriving that I need to go somewhere else, usually a good 30 min+ drive away. Some lead inspectors take advantage of the other inspectors, while one guy may be doing all the work to test all the alarms, while one guy may just sit at a panel comfortably lounging. Forced overtime to meet their deadlines, Some nights you may not get home till 11-11:30 and then wake up and do it all over again, so the work-life balances doesn't exist. Also they promise you a "truck" so that you do not have to use your car and become a lead inspector which is easier but forced to wake up earlier to possibly pick up your partner if you care (For me I barely was asked to be picked up) and also watched like a hawk because of the app and GPS in the trucks. Also they give you a small window of completing a job, an example would be a hospital, they may have over 4,000 devices each of which needs to be tested, management may tell the customer that they can have it completed in a smaller time frame that you may actually need, and if you need more time the customer may be angry and management usually is upset wit you. On top of all the other ludicrous things that go on are the monthly safety meetings, I understand the importance of safety but these seminars are something a homeowner with ladder could understand and also most of the time the seminars incorporated safety concerns in regulations that had nothing to do with our jobs! Also I know many of guys who put in the time and work and when they would take a break as in not working overtime for a week, management would start to question your work-ethic, almost as if you set the bar low, any overtime you work you be praised for, but if you didn't meet your usual quota your work-ethic was questioned. Also with providing so much for the company your promised to move up through the company, but that may take years, I know guys  that have completely blown my mind when it came to working overtime hours, only to see them sit in the same job for 10 plus years. Also one huge thing in my opinion their is no social skills within the management group to the Inspectors.

Lean Engineer/Project Manager (2010 – Present)	
High profile project manager and lean implementer charged with training and implementing the activities for team members that were assembled to produce automotive batteries in conjunction with ensuring production standards, preserving quality standards, monitoring machine specifications and assembling daily reports.
	Spearheaded numerous critical projects that impacted quality control, inventory control, 5S related issues, and safety. 
	Held numerous kaizen events involving 5S activities, quick changeovers, and waste walks. 
	Instrumental contributor to teams that were assembled to maximize the efficiency of corresponding safety and quality programs
	Warehouse Controller/Manager
o	Observe and maintain inventory levels in response to plant needs
o	Manage several employees with regards to their typical day to day responsibilities 
o	Provide employees with the resources they need to be responsive to both inbound and outbound needs via trucks and rail, to plant and corporate entities
o	Maintain relationships with suppliers and landlord, negotiating expectations from both parties, while staying within the scope of lease terms.
	Contract manager
o	Spearheaded many projects involving contractors, requiring my necessity as a supervisor to many contractors. Typical projects included: 
	Excavation
	Line striping
	Floor refurbishment
	Equipment modifications
	Process improvements 
	Specific accomplishments as Lean Engineer
o	As a warehouse manager, successfully made transition from pre-existing location to new location in response to lease expiration. Brokered new deal to stay at new location necessary to protect storage of 3 quarters of a million in product. Decreased lead times and poor inventory turnover management, allowing better responsiveness to customer demands, while mitigating costs associated with product obsolescence. 
o	Successfully trained entire plant hourly personnel in the discipline of lean manufacturing. As a result, closed 5S gaps relative to other plants in the division, in response to corporate audits. When I began in the position of Lean Engineer, plant stood at the bottom of overall performance and was poorly organized and operating at poor efficiently. In response, I established a “pull” style of production, rather than the traditional “push” style of production. Additionally, established a sustainable auditing system to both establish and maintain the advantages associated with the 5S discipline.  
o	As Lean Engineer, held several division wide quick changeover events, becoming the SME for quick changeover Kaizen events throughout the division. In response, I have attended numerous knowledge sharing conventions across the country to bring other facilities up to speed, preventing the duplication of work across the division. 
o	The value to the facility, as a result of these events, decreased changeover time, sustainably, by 50%, eliminating the need for overtime by a full 24 hours work day per week. Improvements were promptly rolled out across the division.

I wanted to wait awhile before responding to Indeed's requests for feedback. I hoped that after all the dust settled, I would have gained some perspective on my time with Johnson Controls. This is just one person's opinion and you can choose to take as you wish. 

JCI has three domains; Fire, HVAC & Security. I have nothing but good things to say about the people I met, spoke & worked with from the Fire & HVAC sides of the house. To be fair, I'm only observing these departments from a distance. The same cannot be said for the Security side (formerly ADT & Tyco). It was apparent during the "all hands calls" that the HVAC & Fire domains paid the bills, and Security was the step child. Subsequently the training and information was focused to benefit them.

The first few months were decent, mostly training videos and a few opportunities to shadow with my tenured colleagues. Finally received my company car (that you pay $240 for) after 6 weeks. I really enjoyed getting out and meeting the clients in my territory. The formal training focused heavily on sales techniques and the sales process and touched briefly on the product offerings and skimmed the programs/software we would be using to conduct daily business (writing proposals/estimates & booking jobs). The programs were old and always locking up, you'd never know if it was something you did or if it was the program. There was definitely a learning curve to the aged software and only a few people that understood it enough to teach it. So, if you were fortunate enough to sell a job, it was next to impossible to get it booked and installed. The jobs were always getting kicked back by some dept. and you didn't know the process enough to correct it yourself. Even if you could get someone to help, you had to compensate that person by giving up part of or all of your commission to them. You would always have to be vigilant of people, both in your own office and in other territories trying to steal your sales or customers outright. The local manager was little to no help in this area because of his lack of knowledge with the software and he would simply ignore the "pay for help" & cut throat culture (unless it affected his numbers). There was very little "team work", especially between the booking team, Installation department and sales. It seemed as if we were fighting against each other, instead of trying to reach the same goal. 

There was very little guidance or coaching from our regional management and even less from the local manager. The same message; We are not hitting our quotas, we need to do better! There was always talk of someone getting let go because they didn't hit their numbers, and that stress that was always present. The pay was, at best, average. It definitely wasn't worth beating your head against the wall trying to give your best effort for a futile cause. The last 2-3 months were the worst I've experienced in my professional career. I ended up leaving for a competitor and am extremely satisfied with the decision. Life is just too short to put up with BS like that.

Again this is just my opinion and my personal perspective of what I experienced while working for Johnson Controls. 

daily tasks/duties:
PLANON-+8HRS DAILY

• DISPATCH TICKETS (CBD-6bldgs WCK-12bldg at present)
-REACTIVE- approx 20-30 tickets daily, w/follow-up comments, man-hrs, admin complete all input to system
-PPM- approx 350 tickets monthly spread out daily, w/follow-up comments, man-hrs, admin complete all input to system
-Manuel entry of Reactive tickets for above and beyond, non assigned task tickets site wide.

MAXIMO- +5HRS DAILY

• WO/PO
-Create work order
-Create purchase order
-Request signature approval to correct site manager (via email or in person)
-Unapproval of Po for invoice adjustment. Email confirmation to requestor.
• LOG PO ACTIVITY
-Log all po activity of creation to invoice
• INVOICING
-Vendor contact for invoices to pay
- Po adjustment request to match invoice. Approval to site managers, Adjust in system
-Signature approval from site managers, forward to P2P to record. Save electronic copy and file hard copy
• FILEBOUND- RESOLUTION TEAM
-Emails from team requesting steps of correction to be done in Maximo for invoice payment, follow-up emails of task completed.

TIMESHEETS- 1HR DAILY

• Log times
-Verify and get approval from site supervisor of times
- OT Justification log, daily entry and scan at week end to Time entry person, Save electronic copy and file hard copy
-Reg daily hrs log, daily entry and scan daily to Time entry person, Save electronic copy and file hard copy

TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS / EXPENSE REPORTS- +2HR WEEKLY

• Travel arrangements- multiple managers
-Research flight time line w/Travel agency
-Request confirmation from correct manager
-Finalize w/Travel agency of ticket, rental car, hotel arrangements., w/follow-up of itinerary confirmation.
• Expense reports- 2-3 managers
-request for receipts, print out for entry
-Enter into GATES system for reporting manger approval w/attached backup of receipts, Save electronic copy and file hard copy,

MEETINGS- +2HR per Day of meeting (1-2x weekly)

• Weekly site meetings (WCK) w/minutes recorded, emailed to all meeting attendees
• Monthly managers meetings for Site, Regional and Global w/minutes recorded, emailed to all meeting attendees (this including Power point presentations)
• Safety meetings for both JCI (weekly) and Shell (monthly) site meetings.

ON BOARDING –NEW VENDOR REQUEST- 2HRS DAILY (Upon Request)

• Research contact info for vendor by manager or internet
• Email Due diligence pkt to vendor
• Lots of follow-up to vendor retrieving correct info.
• Email info to FMS requesting vendor upload to Maximo system and/or Oracle
• Follow-up w/ FMS of JCI vendor #, inform site manager/supervisor of new information , Save electronic copy and file hard copy

MISC TASK- +1HR DAILY (as needed)

• Office supplies
-research if needed, request approval from manager, place order, follow-up confirmation and deliver.
• Pure Safety training via portal, 1-2 topics monthly
• Daily tool box topics
• Reserve meeting rooms for managers/supervisor meetings at all sites thru OUTLOOK or Lotus Notes
-catering request as needed for managers meeting
-meeting packets for special managers meetings
• Consultation to Sub contractor Admin’s when needed.

As a former SimplexGrinnell employee of many years, I made a decision to return to the organization after the JCI acquisition. 

Upon my return I quickly realized that I had never worked for such an organization that was so disorganized, dysfunctional, cared so little about the overall welfare of their team, and so poorly managed and operated.

Leadership was non-existent and most individuals tasked with management responsibilities were inept and incompetent.  Most direction given was usually misguided and lacked good decision making.

We were always in crisis mode.  Unable to source equipment and material internally, everything was always on back order with long delays.  I found myself ordering our own products through 3rd party vendors so I could get work done. In some cases when we did receive material, it was found to be defective or broken right out of the box. Quality control was a thing of the past.

Compensation was far below average for this industry yet the work load was overwhelming, daunting, and stressful.  A normal average day for me was about 12-14 hours, 6 days a week.
 
Inability to hire new talent and staff as needed to backfill vacated positions. Job burnout quickly consumed folks so longevity was not very common in most roles.

Vital staffing and various positions have been eliminated and replaced with virtual and software applications.  Finding simple answers to questions was near impossible.  If you are not computer and software savvy...you are DOOMED with a steep learning curve. At my particular district, there was nobody from HR on site that I could ask questions if needed.  Fortunately for me, I had some experience and familiarity working with these platforms in the past.

I had enough after 5 months and found the door.  After giving my notice, I was treated like the bad guy.   In fact, my manager did not even bother to show up to my final day exit interview as scheduled by him.  After 45 minutes of waiting, I was able to finally track him down by phone.  He asked another colleague to collect my company equipment and walk me out the door.  To this day I have still yet to receive my final leave and earning statement or any information regarding my 401K transfer.  Honestly...I can't say I'm too surprised at this point.

I am still trying to wrap my head around how JCI has managed to destroy and dissolve what was once a successful and thriving organization filled with so much life, energy, and excitement alongside a team of professionals that shared an understanding, focus, and passion for the fire protection industry.   


I worked as a counter sales associate and honestly liked the job, a lot. Great benefits and work hours and decent pay but without question, the worst manager I have ever worked for in my career. I should say management in general because even the manager's manager wouldn't back you up regardless of whose was at fault.

As I mentioned, I really liked the job and the customers and I think most of them liked me. I received many awards and certificates of appreciation while at JCI for outstanding customer service. I performed all the functions described in the position and feel like I did the job well. My downfall, a lack of HVAC experience which is why I had to "chime in" considering nowhere in the ad did I see mention of HVAC experience required. When I interviewed for the position the manager knew I didn't have any real HVAC experience but what I did have was a great customer service background and a great reputation for getting the job done and always making sure the customer was satisfied.

The formal training for such a large company is very lack luster, in fact it's not there at all. The manager had many years of experience working for a couple other HVAC manufacturer's. As I mentioned I didn't really have any HVAC experience and they provided no training except giving you manuals and I am a hands on person. I can't do something once every couple of months and expect to remember all the details without my "cheat sheet". When I used that, I had no issues. The problem is I didn't know all the model numbers and nomenclature because again, I didn't use these on a daily basis.

Absolutely the worst manager I have ever worked for and he loves to write people up every chance he got. He also loves to talk about people behind their backs and will tell you the same about someone else when not in their presence. He loves to micro manage and tell you how to do things but would get upset, depending on his mood that day, when you had a legitimate question. Horrible, just horrible.

For such a small place their is no Team spirit or comradery. He slithers and hisses like a snake when he walks and talks. We had a young guy come to work for us who was very knowledgeable in the HVAC industry but he ran him off in record fashion.

The manager will stab you in the back so be sure to wear a Kevlar vest in reverse. Not only will he throw you under the bus, he will back up and run over you again, and again, and again.

Buyer beware

Current local management is disengaged from sales team. No guidance, no training, lack of fairness, no help. Promises made and rarely ever delivered. Major changes made without notice. 
Beware this is not an outside sales job which it should be. 
Management would rather have you in the office than out selling. Instead, scheduling ineffective sales meetings. Management lacks knowledge of the position, industry and especially sales skills. Do not expect help, there will be none. One sales team member was without a working computer for 4 months while being expected to still perform their job. Also they say you have a territory....you don't. Other team members will be calling on your supposed customers or management will just decide to switch customers around without your knowledge. Beware management will promise you a local territory but you will be left with what the other sales team members do not want. However it will be sold to you in your interview as there is so much opportunity! Also local management will not allow sales team members to make sales decisions on their own when selling to current or potential customers regardless of experience. Expect to have both hands tied behind your back and waiting for a decision from local management  if it is worth the company's time to pursue a sale (by that time the customer has made the decision to go with another company). If a sale/customer is of significant size expect that management will insist that they need to have separate meetings with customers you have sold in order to attempt to upsell them on other services that they do not need or have even requested. I cannot tell you how many customer relationships or potential sales this had cost the company on a local level. Its unfortunate as this used to be a good company to work for. Unfortunately the current local leadership is failing and those working on the sales team at this branch will suffer until changes are made. Seriously if you like being a puppet and told constantly what you have to do only to be told the next day you are not doing it right or constant changes that everyone is expected to know but was never informed this job is for you. However, for those seeking a real career sales position locally look elsewhere you will be glad you did.

The reason why I left Johnson Controls was simple, they don't care about their employees. 

Don't get wrong, there are people who work there that care about the employees, but the overall company has proven to me they just don't get it. 

Almost non-stop overtime since the time I started and by the time I left. 

Employee benefits aren't great, I'd consider them on par with what a full time retail employee should expect.

The pay isn't terrible, although I still personally feel like it fails to compete with fair wages when you consider how much money they make on a monthly basis. Many of the jobs feel like they deserve more pay than what the company offers.

In order to save money, they suddenly decided to change our weekly payroll to every other week. When you are used to getting paid every week, this is a low blow. The company offered to give people "loans" to make the transition easier.

Even though we were told that we met all their sales goals for the year, the bonus they had hyped up so much for us wasn't coming because of "metrics" and that they were going to review them so we were more likely to get it in the future, while also failing to actually explain what the metrics were and what we had actually failed to achieve in order to get it.

It just felt like a whole carrot and stick situation, except all you get is the stick. I think when they announced we wouldn't be getting our bonus that I had started to seriously look in to a new job.

Some of the managers are fantastic, but there are a number of problematic ones that continue to be employed there and I don't understand why.

I had to go to HR several times about one person who was constantly screaming at people, on the production floor, in front of other co-workers. It wasn't right, but the last time I went to HR about this, they just asked me, "Okay, but what did he do to you?"

When you have a toxic work environment like that, it doesn't matter if you aren't the one specifically being screamed at, it ruins the vibe and makes you feel less human.

I loved some of the people I worked with, but the company is no friend of the blue collar worker. 

At the beginning of my time with the company I really enjoyed my job. I loved helping customers, and felt I was doing something to assist the communities we supported. When COVID hit I had the opportunity to work from home, and in the beginning there were several glitches to getting started. Although the issues are finally getting to the point of being resolved, there is also an issue with a lack of management support while working from home. Then, to find out that new employees are making more than seasoned ones, and getting offered a “hazard bonus” while the employees that have had to remain on site the entire time have not received such a “bonus” is demeaning at the very least. It seems as though a multi million dollar company should consider more options to keep all staff safe, while I was personally lucky enough to work from home, several colleagues were not, and multiple were diagnosed with COVID 19 and NOT compensated during that time unless they had sick time available. 

The lack of support for staff that were diagnosed with COVID or hand a mandatory quarantine period makes it hard knowing that there is a substantial risk of going to work. When our laptops are not working for whatever reason, we have to go into the office. At one point I know a colleague who began showing symptoms while waiting for her computer to be fixed and was placed on quarantine. After TWO negative COVID tests she was required to remain quarantined, and could not work for the two weeks as the laptop was being repaired. They were only compensated for time based on what sick time they had available and were not paid for the remaining 5 days of quarantine. 

The company does have the full potential of being amazing; but they are falling short where other companies are excelling. The pay is not enough, but there is a substantial amount of overtime available to help compensate that. They just need to do a better job of supporting their employees, as they are the ones supporting their customers and clients. Without our support there wouldn’t be a Johnson Controls to speak of, but they just are not meeting their employees needs.

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