warehouse/driver

counter sales representative

outside sales representative

warehouse worker

warehouse associate

R.E. Michel Company

You come to work clock in if it’s busy you will have to help customers  find parts or direct them to where parts are then use their faulty system to ring up customers that can stop working at any time even when you do everything right. Then on some days you will have to unload the truck and stock it back on the shelves and make sure the shelves are stocked all the time. 

You will learn about hvac parts, equipment and sales and even how the customers(contractors) are but after awhile it can become boring if your manager isn’t interested in wanting to teach you to do more.  

Management isn’t the best. They’ll teach you how to do the bare minimum but most of the teaching will have to be on the employee who’s there before you. They’ll get mad at you if you are working and they’ll also get mad at you if you maybe take a 10 minute break. They get mad at you if you can’t come to work if it’s unsafe such as if it’s snowing  and could even write you up for it. In some cases they also get mad at you if you take scheduled time off.

 There is no work life balance. Some managers want you to work the whole 9 hour shift and will guilt trip you to work more. There’s also some Saturdays where you have to work half day. After awhile it’s not worth the overtime and you’d rather just work 5 days a week if you have to also work overtime on a normal work week . Also a lot of the employees here including the management are lazy. When they find out you can do something well they will leave you to do everything by yourself and get mad at you when you do something wrong or if you need help with customers.  They also have confusing policies when it comes to selling to people may not have accounts or if they’re homeowners. 

This company also wants more people to stay and work here as a long term career but they don’t invest in making sure that employees are trained and know products or equipment and will blame you on any mistakes you make regarding equipment if you don’t know. 

The hardest part of the job is during the busy seasons summer and some days during the winter. It’s also hard when customers get mad at you when you can’t do something because of a policy or if you don’t have a part in stock. 

In summary it’s a ok to work here for a little while and the odds are you will always have a job here if you do everything you’re supposed to do. If you want to move up in the company they wont invest in you. 




Working at counter can require some technical knowledge, but having access to employees and outside vendors who have that knowledge makes it relatively easy to figure out problems. 
New computer system is absolutely terrible, and instead of asking the gentleman who maintained the last computer system to train replacements at a fraction of the cost, the company decided to get a new system that is completely slow and unintuitive which has cost the company A LOT of money.
Customers can be great on some days, terrible the next. One can tip you for your hard work, another can verbally berate you on phone or at the counter. It depends on the day, unfortunately. 
Coworkers are untrustworthy and get threatened by someone who is able to do well at their job, whether someone who's been there 5 years or someone who's been there 20 years. A lot of backstabbing, talking about people behind their back, name calling, raising voices, etc.
Management has no desire to get involved. Some are better than others depending on the store. Some of them that I've seen are engaged and involved whether sitting in their office or on the floor or at the counter or some of them sit in their office with their feet up on their desk watching TikTok all day while only answering phone calls and answering a question an employee has at the moment. Management seems fixated on sweeping problems under the rug or hoping they'll go away instead of disciplining individuals responsible for said problems. Some branches also have two sets of rules. Some individuals come in early or in time, others come in 30 or 45 minutes late for their shift EVERY DAY without getting in trouble for being late. Some individuals are allowed to make comments to incite other coworkers, when those coworkers go to defend themselves they are then admonished.
If you're able to go to work, focus on the customer and what they need, and try to avoid the negligent management and the drama that some try to perpetuate at the job, it's not terrible. If you get easily bothered by different sets of rules for different people, favoritism, backstabbing coworkers, and almost constant drama then I wouldn't recommend the job. 


I began my tenure with R.E. Michel in the warehouse and left as a branch manager. There are opportunities for advancement, however you may need to relocate in order to take advantage of this. A typical day consists of taking orders at the counter, pulling orders, and staging deliveries for the next day. Tasks vary depending on your title, but that's it in it's most basic form. I was fortunate enough to work at a counter with others who had much more industry experience than I, and was able to learn a lot more about the HVAC industry from those around me. There is basic on site training, but it's up to the individual (in my experience) to educate themselves. Some branches are better than others when it comes to training and counter days with the vendors. It is a large company and at times you can feel like a number, but efforts that go above and beyond will be noticed. The pay is average. Raises are given as a percentage based on performance. Any type of increase outside of that is reviewed by the VP. Be prepared to negotiate if you're looking for more money. The benefits and 401K were pretty good as well. Paid vacations and sick days were a plus, but it's use it or lose it. They will not roll over unused time. Overtime is typically not given to hourly employees. If you're scheduled to work Saturday you're given a half day during the week rather than overtime.The hardest part of the job was the work/life balance. I was usually putting in 12-14 hour days, and then tasked with taking emergency calls after hours as well. After hours calls usually meant a trip back to the store to open up for a customer. I didn't feel that the salary was enough compensation for the hours that I worked. I was given an opportunity to work with a variety of people with a ton of experience and have been able to use that experience elsewhere. For me it was a good place to start.

I'd punch in, pull lines, the belt would be backed up almost immediately due to the amount of people pulling. Only two of the supervisors would actually get up and do something about it, the others as well as the manager himself usually did nothing but sit back and pretend they couldn't do anything about it. What I've learned from this job is that I need to do more research on companies before I apply to them, because if I knew management was going to be this bad, I wouldn't have applied for this job. The CEO convinced everyone to vote against a union through sob stories, the management team constantly had standards that were only achievable if we weren't busy or if we were superhuman, we were given unfulfilled, empty promises, and we would get penalized over the smallest things. And their rewards? It didn't consist of paid bonuses, it was weird things like 'petting zoos' and 'hot dog days'. They refused to hire more people to work the jobs that needed more people working in those positions, they constantly had something to complain about that was either resolved or could be easily resolved, they usually would do nothing about complaints until enough people spoke up about it, and even then, the way these complaints were resolved benefited nobody, and overall, this company never gave any opportunities for people to move up in the workplace, unless you were a favorite of one of the management. The only enjoyable thing about this job was the friends I made there. Everybody else was so stuck up for no real reason.

Always will be able to get at least 40 hours a week. Overtime is almost always available because you can not leave until all the work is done. Yes there is favoritism here if you're willing to be buddy buddy to the boss and rat everyone out, but if you're a good worker regardless there is nothing to worry about. Warehouse work is generally easy. They do not forklift certify you, but will in house train you. The three main machines they use are forklifts, reachtrucks, and pallet runners. All very simple to operate. This company is not to big on letting people go. From my experience they will give you 10+ chances before they even write you up for something. The only way you could get fired is for injuring someone or calling out with no time left. A great starting job for warehouse experience. Over the years they have been continuously bumping up the pay to keep up with the times. The company does care about you, just certain mangers/supervisors are the problem. With the new HR things are getting a lot better though. Best tip is just focus on your work and remember not everyone is your friend. Watch what you say around this place because it will spread like fire. Last thing is the CEO Doc is a great man. He remembers each of his employees names and is extremely kind hearted. I can only see this company getting even bigger as time goes on. Excited to see what will come. 

At the beginning and up till the incident thought it was a decent job. But first few months right after I was higherd there was no manager. There was only 1 other employee that actually took the time to educate me on the parts, how they worked l, and where in the Warehouse they went. The other Warehouse guy knew his stuff, and was good at what he did. But he was rude, nasty, abusive to me mentally and physically, and when I tried to make peace, I guess that was a sign of weakness and he would use it against me. And after he Physically assaulted me on the clock, at the Warehouse, and reported him, nothing was done. I was sideswiped in the work truck and the company never produced proper insurance, which caused my license to be suspended, which was their reason for terminating me. I was constantly told to fudge my driving report and truck inspections, and when I would refuse to drive a vehicle because I felt I felt it was unsafe, they would put me in the other vehicle while the other one was "repaired". This was just my experience 

What is the best part of working at the company?
For the most part, your co-workers are pretty cool. You can find someone who's into or been into things you might like as well. You'll fit right in easily.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
If you like doing things outside of work, this isnt for you. Your quitting time is based on when everything is done, and sometimes your co-workers arent exactly trying to finish up anytime soon. Management also doesnt pay too much attention to who is actually working and what areas or workers may need more help.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Again, you can find someone who is into the same things as you, make the same dumb jokes, and get along with just about everyone there. No one is really unfriendly unless you are first.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Nightshift, you get paperwork for your truck, unload it, sign it out if its a live truck, then put the product away. Dayshift, you get assigned a department, you pull orders until there are no more. Both shifts vary in the amount of work for the day based on the day and time of year.

I took a full time job at R E Michael company.  Although I have learned some things for if I decided to do HVAC work on the side I feel I could serve the world and those I love better in a more career oriented profession.  A typical day of work is warehousing products for HVAC contractors.  Most of my co workers are good people and when it comes down to it we get along, so are most of the contractors that do business with us.  The hardest part of the job is the salary.  The owners did not become rich men and expand to a nationwide company by paying their employees what they deserve.  They are very anti union from the company handbook and that is their opinion, no one has to work for them if they do not accept the salary.  They do provide competitive benefits so I respect them for that, as I have worked for companies where they do not provide that.  The job security is also positive.  The most enjoyable part of the job is the easy going atmosphere.

I started out as a warehouse worker just originizing the place as it looked like a bomb went off. This location was trashed for a number of months and still was trashed when I left. 

Delivery driving was a nightmare.We had people taking delivery orders that couldnt figure out what the customer wanted so about 80% of the time we would deliver incorrect items to customers that were already behind on the project. Even worse was our vendors that we kept messing up with and were on their last legs.

A few customers were very shady and would try to steal in front of you as you made the deliveries. 

The management was older senior dudes that had attitude problems and were mostly miserable towards staff. My manager had anger issues and would try to fight me if something was wrong. I recorded his various threats and also his drinking on the job habits but this company didn't care. 

Horrible place to work. All elements and on your feet for 9 hrs or more

A typical day at work for me would be days I am constantly busy with task presented to me. Helping customers find what they need as well as helping my co-workers with their task at hand. Working with this company I have learned that the more employees you have available, the more efficient a business can be. I learned to deal with time consumption very well. my co-workers can be supportive at times but overall the team effort we set out is satisfying to and extent. the hardest part of the job is maintaining a secure facility. When there is a rush of customers I believe it takes a lot of effort to make sure everybody is moving at a steady pace to get customers in and out hassle free. The most enjoyable part of the job is reflecting at the end of the day how much I improved in the small areas of my expertise to help make a big difference around me and my team.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Warehouse/driver 104 salaries reported	$19.67 per hour
Counter sales representative 43 salaries reported	$21.05 per hour
Outside sales representative 52 salaries reported	$56,971 per year
Warehouse worker 27 salaries reported	$18.89 per hour
Warehouse associate 2 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour

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