Wholesalers

DanHolohan

What's the nicest thing a wholesaler has ever done for you. I love to listen to your stories.

EBEBRATT-Ed

Leave parts outside the door hidden in the bushes when I can't get their before they close for the day.

The last boiler I did was supposed to be an oil fired boiler with a tankless coil. Delivered the new boiler ripped the old one out set the new one on the pad and removed the cardboard crate to find no tankless and no tanlkess opening.

Took that new boiler back out and back to the supply house (2 hr round trip) + loading and unloading. Cost me about 4-5 hours of wasted time.

DanHolohan

Thanks, Ed. A nice thing followed by a not-so-nice thing.

dopey27177

The greatest thing that a wholesaler and manufacturers rep did for me and was orchestrated Dan Hollohan. Dan arranged to send me to the Little Red School House run by Bell and Gosset in Morton Grove, Illonois, that trip was all expenses paid. The expenses included the hotel stay and two meals a day of gourmet food at the hotel and of course 3 full days or class room and lab work.

Jake

DanHolohan

A great investment that paid many dividends in NYC and beyond. Thanks, Jake. 

EBEBRATT-Ed

Little Red School House, LOL That's a sore spot with me.

Where I worked I had 3 guys, my boss, another "so called" sales engineer and a "project manager". They all went to the Little Red School House.

No fault of the school none of them can size a pump. In fact after they came back they had piped a job and wanted me to go size the pump because they didn't know how.

I told them to do it themselves but I ended up doing it. I don't remember the flow I think it was upwards of 300gpm and they ran 4" pipe which should have been 5" so the pump I picked had pretty high head and it was like a 500foot run one way. Anyhow it worked

I always wanted to go to the "school house" to learn something but my time has past

To them it was an excuse to get out of town and drink beer on the company dime.

And that was that

JUGHNE

My hydronic wholesaler himself made a 270 mile (round trip) to Iowa, to pick up a feeder pump (special order) so it would get on the freight truck to me that same day.

Had it and 3 CI boilers the next day. (220 miles from Omaha to me).

He did this just before taking some much needed personal time off starting the next day.

This is in addition to many other considerations he has done for me.

This is something you remember as you shop around....prices are not everything.

DanHolohan

@JUGHNE, that is incredible. Thanks for telling us about him. 

tim smith

Old heating guys who passed on their knowledge to me, they worked for the suppliers when
they needed to give up field work. They answered many of my sometimes lame questions with respect and kindness. Didn’t ever make me feel little. I have passed on much of that knowledge, I have tried to be gentle, not always succeeded. I really liked learning and they knew that. Some of my mentors, Jack Danforth, Bowles NW, Burnham boiler. Tim Marshall, Bell & Gossett, Larry Harrington company. Archie Arnold, Lennihan supply. AO Smith. These are all from memory, ingrained in my head. I thank them still even though they are all gone.

DanHolohan

That’s beautiful, Tim. Thanks. 

JUGHNE

My closest wholesalers are 100 miles away.
2 electrical companies...one on Wed and one on Thur.

1 plbg/hvac company on Tues and again on Fri.

I have been in a tight spot needing some part for perhaps no heat call in January.
If plgb/hvac was not delivering that day, they would take it over to one of the electrical outlets (a few blocks from Hvac) who would drop it off here.

There was a common sense limit on size and weight for these favors.

UPS is overnight....but you know everything fails Friday morning...so delivery would have been Monday PM.

DanHolohan

I have been in a tight spot needing some part for perhaps no heat call in January.
If plgb/hvac was not delivering that day, they would take it over to one of the electrical outlets (a few blocks from Hvac) who would drop it off here.


Smart thinking on that!