Anyone worked for Benner Mechanical?

[Trublshter]

Curious if anyone has experienced working for Benner Mechanical based in Kentucky. I have reviewed their website and just looking to hear techs experience with them. Thanks.

[12andstilllearning]

I worked for Benner from July of 07 to jul 08. I lived between 3 markets in Tn with guys in each market. When work slowed down i lost hrs. Over the summer i worked plenty of hrs. you do have a dispatcher and they dispatch via fax or email to out lieing techs. Still have Friends that work for them one just transferred to Indiana. If your in a good market will be a good job. Good luck

[Trublshter]

Thanks for the info 12. Think I'll look into them.

[fitz2180]

Be Carefull

[temp rise]

have to agree with fitz2180 though fitz and i did not agree with one another he is right about Benner stay away...

[Trublshter]

Thanks for the responses. I found out all I needed to know to not bother with them which saved me a few steps.

[wisconsinapp]

Thanks for the responses. I found out all I needed to know to not bother with them which saved me a few steps.

Just wondering what you found out about them?

[timebuilder]

Just wondering what you found out about them?

Yes, do tell.

[hvacpope]

Benner, MetroTech, Lennox Nas are the "burger King" version of HVAC, they bid work low, make money on parts and cheap labor, hire mostly inexperience techs, pay them as little as they can, only managements counts, "techs" are disposable, managers get pay base salaries plus bonus, the extra $$$ depends on how hard they drive you to do more with less, to them we are just a number literally.
That type of "business model was confined to the residential market, them 3 outfits plus some more are trying really hard to screw the commercial side of the trade.

[wisconsinapp]

Benner, MetroTech, Lennox Nas are the "burger King" version of HVAC, they bid work low, make money on parts and cheap labor, hire mostly inexperience techs, pay them as little as they can, only managements counts, "techs" are disposable, managers get pay base salaries plus bonus, the extra $$$ depends on how hard they drive you to do more with less, to them we are just a number literally.
That type of "business model was confined to the residential market, them 3 outfits plus some more are trying really hard to screw the commercial side of the trade.

And here we go again with the generalization of all large companies. I know first hand because I work at Benner, I have worked there for about a year now. And I will go through your entire list of reasons why you would stay away:
We bid work low: Well, yes we do, but with the amount of work we have along with the number of techs we have throughout our service area we can afford to do so.
We Make money on parts: Well yes we do. Of course we do. You mean to tell me that the company YOU work for does NOT make money off parts?? So yes we do make money off parts, but I will tell you this much, our mark up is not NEARLY as high as some of the other companies I have worked for.
Cheap labor/inexperienced techs/not paying very much: Well, I will say, do we get paid what the union shops are paying? Probably not, I will be honest. But the one thing that we get is the peace of mind knowing that we will be working 52 weeks a year. Like I said, I have worked here for a year now, and the worst week I had for hours throughout the first year was 34 hours of straight time and 4 hours of overtime. Not too many union shops in our area can say that. Inexperienced techs is the one I find most interesting. Because between the 6 techs we have in my area, we combine have probably over 100 years of experience. And I am probably the most inexperienced in the entire company that I have heard of, and I only have 5 years of experience.
Techs are disposable and "managers" get a bonus based on how much we as techs do : Well I really have no idea where this idea comes from. Like I said, probably just a generalization of all big companies. But in all honesty the owner is pretty good at "distributing the wealth" if your area does great one year, he has NO PROBLEM giving that area a great raise, if the area does poor, well they aren't getting a raise. Your raise basically depends on the performance of the area. And really, we arent "just a number" I understand to the owner, yeah we probably are, he has about ten thousand things to keep track of, I cant really blame him, but to our field supervisors, our dispatchers, service managers, we really arent. Most employees that I have came in contact with at Benner have been here 5+ years, so we arent just disposable. If we have any issues, they work with us to get them resolved, plain and simple.

Like I said, my Benner experience thus far has been great. I can't complain one bit. Pay is good, benefits are GREAT, and our office is great to deal with. I know people probably say since we are a big company we change out parts that dont need to be changed out to meet our quotas, and make sure our vans pull in enough money etc, just like it seems people on here say about all big companies, but I haven't had an issue with it at all. If I am on a PM thats scheduled for 10 hours, and I take 14, oh well, at least the job is done right and the customer is happy, if I take 20 hours on a 10 hour PM, yes I may catch some grief for that, but what company would be happy about a situation like that, but I know I wouldn't be fired over the situation, more than likely just a phone call asking what went on, and just a simple explanation of the situation.

Bottom line, anyone that is looking for a great non-union shop to work for, Benner is an EXCELLENT opportunity. I haven't heard of anyone complaining about the company and wishing they were elsewhere. If anyone has anymore questions about working here, or any concerns, please feel free to shoot me a PM. Trublshter, it would have been EXCELLENT for you working on the east coast, since thats probably one of our most busy areas. They always find a way to keep you busy.

[Spanky McCranky]

I gotta agree with everything Wisconsinapp said. My experience with Benner has been very positive, except for some slow times, which can happen anywhere. I am really amazed by the respect and understanding shown to the techs, at least this tech. The quality of work is as good as any shop I've worked at. The quality is determined by each individual tech. I have NEVER been told to speed up or cut corners. I have NEVER been denied parts or resources because it was deemed above Benner standards. BTW, Pope, I don't think you'd be happy anywhere, judging from your many negative posts

A couple of other Benner positives: ALL travel time paid. Overtime paid after eight hours, not 40. Very competetive wage (at least in my case).

[tech93]

I do work for benner mech for about 1 now have had no problem with them.
I work in the northeast pa nj and ny we work and would like it to grow more.
benner is good company if your a good tech there always work

[timebuilder]

I gotta agree with everything Wisconsinapp said. My experience with Benner has been very positive, except for some slow times, which can happen anywhere. I am really amazed by the respect and understanding shown to the techs, at least this tech. The quality of work is as good as any shop I've worked at. The quality is determined by each individual tech. I have NEVER been told to speed up or cut corners. I have NEVER been denied parts or resources because it was deemed above Benner standards. BTW, Pope, I don't think you'd be happy anywhere, judging from your many negative posts

A couple of other Benner positives: ALL travel time paid. Overtime paid after eight hours, not 40. Very competetive wage (at least in my case).

I am surprised, and pleasantly.

[timebuilder]

I don't see a link on their site for applicants...

[Spanky McCranky]

I don't see a link on their site for applicants...

Yeah, I would call or fax them. They found me on CareerBuilder.com.

[wisconsinapp]

Yeah, I would call or fax them. They found me on CareerBuilder.com.

There is an HVAC job posting site as well. PM me if you want that one since I know we arent supposed to list other web-sites. But thats how I found mine and I know they are always looking for techs on that site. As far as drive time, yes it is ALL paid for. I am working out of town catching up on a few things out west where we are short handed, and I got paid from the time I left my house in southern WI until the time I got to Rapid City, SD. So 800 miles, 12 hours of pay, for nothing but driving. (Not really a standard distance by ANY means, but still got paid every minute of it, normally I am within 2 hours of home every day.) But all in all, GREAT place to work. Like I said, the best part is, if you run into a snag on a job and go over the estimated hours, not a big deal, I have never had a word said to me about it. They would rather have a quality job done than cutting corners.

[temp rise]

Beware Benner is being SOLD soon so your good bennies and decent pay are about to go away get a better job while you can

[wisconsinapp]

Beware Benner is being SOLD soon so your good bennies and decent pay are about to go away get a better job while you can

How do you know this? I have yet to hear of anything of this sort.

[temp rise]

Connections ... and you will not here a word until it happens my friend

[hvacpope]

Benner hired many tradewinds refugees, it would kind of suck big time to be bought by lennox once again.