Working at 84 Lumber — Reviews by Employees

I like it. It is competitive, but they try to keep stores afloat. The pay is good, but you have to compete. Whiners fail here.

I have worked for some Losers but this is the King of the Hill

Pay - is not bad but considering you get a thorough brainwashing and paid 8-9 per hr at the same time. You're taught three things quickly in the "84 culture" Don't throw anyone under the bus( don't tell anyone what you saw or heard or were told to do), Always do the right thing" (see dont throw anyone under the bus)and be a team player(see dont throw anyone under the bus). Trust me you will hear this from the AM & RVP repeatedly during your interview should you be foolish enough to accept one.

Respect - At the store level the group is very tight or so it seems every group tries to show up the other and that by the way includes the very well rounded and ever widening female owner. She actually if you can believe it talks more trash and w/ such vulgarity most of the guys in the lumber yard would blush. They do not care about you they never will. When they close a store they show up one morning(usually around 5 am when the manager should already be at work) and ask for the keys. Everyone is then told to clean up their stuff while the Corps watch you like you are a convicted felon. Your customers are not notified by the company in any form that there material they are expecting isn't going to arrive or how to go about getting their money back. Forget about going to the competition your customer isn't gonna talk to you
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Benefits- Dont exist you won't be there long enough to become vested, they'll see to that, the compensation pkg may as well be non-existent

Job Security doesn't exist, if the land your store is sitting on is worth more than you can make in a year it has the potential to be sold

Work/Life - Goodbye life I worked 70-80 hrs a week for a 32k Co Mgr job if I couldnt work a 12 hr day I was told I wasn't a team player

Growth - quick rise maybe, faster fall definately

I worked for this company for 1 year as outside sales. One day on of our competers went out of buisness and Donnie our aera manager hired all of their salesman for what the customers had to come to us anyway. Donnie then hired Scott Ponder an incompantant theif.I worked for Wheelers in the 80's i caught someone stealing then he became my boss at 84 he fired me as retalation for turning him in for stealing. Paying for deliveries out of salesman money is stupid. This company is going down hill fast.

I also interviewed there recently. I was given a lengthy questionaire which was apparently meant to test whether or not I was a candidate to be A) stealing from the company, or B) kicking anybody's ass. Very strange. They also gave me an accounting test, which is odd considering that I have two decades of accounting experience and a CPA. Strike two.

The pay was going to be somewhat middling...and I didn't particularly care to spend my days answering to the doddering old man and his sycophants.

I read a lot of reviews on this company, and I can agree with many of the people. I can sit here and tell you so many stories. I started with the company out of college. I worked as a manager trainee for about 8 months. Then I got promoted to an Outside Sales Coordinator about 100 miles from the store I was working at. I found out on a Monday, that the following Monday I started at the new store. Hey, a weeks notice, not half bad....but I had to work everyday that week. So Sunday, I had to drive up to the new area and find a hotel to stay at because I did not feel like commuting 2 hours to work and 2 hours home each night. I spent a week at the hotel, and the "moving expense" did not even cover the cost of the hotel, and the Area Manager said he would pay a few nights, but I would have to stay at a different hotel. (which to this day I still don't know were the nearest one in that chain is located) After about 2-1/2 years at that store, corporate eliminated that position. Lucky for me, they moved me to a near by store, demotion in rank, but keeping my pay. Now corporate is cutting back and lowering the number of manager trainee's in each store and hiring part time people and paying them next to nothing. I was later moved back to the Outside Sale Coordinator position in my new store. Then, after about 5-1/2 years with the company, my Area Manager comes into me at the end of the day and said "Sorry, corporate eliminated the position at the store I was working at they are letting me go.

When I first started with the company, you were promised the world. Easy promotions, good pay (which it was pretty decent when I started, and did make decent money, but lots of hours working) a family oriented company. I had some really good managers that really cared about me, but other than them, the company does not care for you. I do not like to "toot my own horn" but I can run circles around those part time people they hired. I could do anything and everything in that store. ( I could even mull windows which some people in the company don't even know what that is)

In the 5+ years with the company, I saw the culture of the company change completely. We used to run for the phone, drop everything for customers and co workers, we were loyal. Corporate also took away all the bonuses you could get too (possibly why peoples attitudes changed)

I agree with everything everyone has said. The company is running itself into the ground, and I wouldn't be surprised if in 10 years, people will say "84 who?" When I left, they were having trouble keeping vendors. They wanted to extend when they had to pay these vendors, and wanted contractors to pay them right away. We lost a lot of good vendors that really cared about us. Customer service is a must. Some of these vendors would bend over backwards (at least for me they would) and help me out in whatever ways possible. I'd rather pay a little more for good service..........oh wait, isn't that what 84 taught us when we started working there? Some of our products may cost more than the competition, but you are paying for knowledgeable employees that can answer any of your questions and load you up quickly and save you time. Now I wonder if they even have some knowledgeable employees. I also remember them getting rid of an employee with years of experience because he was "non-promotable". Oh wait, that just meant he wasn't willing to relocate somewhere else and uproot his family. I don't know about you, but someone with his knowledge and experience is a huge asset to any company. Good job Maggie and the higher ups. I bet Joe is proud of you. Changing the entire culture of his life long work into a company of lazy, useless people, and eventually running it into the ground. Getting laid off was the best thing to happen to me.

i was a contract driver and i tell you it was a daily battle to get paid for anything plus the incompotent employees and the self sorbed idiot for a manager whom would leave at dif times of the day and not come back he was to busy playin golf than to care about his store and the other employees were so lazy, they didnt liked being inturupted when they were either playing cards or twittering and if you asked for help they'd tell ya its over there just go get it yourself.. the place is a shit hole too, very filthy specially bathroom, covered in mold trash and colapsing ceilings. treat your self to some respect goto lowes,home depot or any place but 84 specially the baldwinsville location......

I interviewed at this company and immediately got a bad feeling when I had to take a test on their computers, which had a black screen with green letters. Their computer system looked as if it was the same programming they used in the late 80's. In the interview the manager told me he worked their for 12 years. In talking with him, I could tell he was a frequent koolaide drinker. I cannot stand people who get brainwashed by their employer, so that was strike two. They wanted me to work for $32,000 a year 48 hours a week and for the first six months, I would have three hours of self study at home, strike three. Lastly, it was obvious the company does not reinvest in itself. Being a sales company, you want to have the most cutting edge programming to better manage customers. They had a glorified notebook in which to report customer interactions. That technology has been around since people first learned how to make paper. The only way I could move up in this company was to wait until someone above me quit or move to wherever an open position was. They called me back for a second interview and I politely said no. If I could get these impressions from a simple interview, God knows how bad it is to really work there.

the company is mis -managed at every level. there is no job security .84 lumber is a company that quits on itsa its self and on its people

I've spent the last several years working for 84 Lumber and I have to say I'm glad its over. From the very begining I was assured good pay and the fast track to management. Instead I was jerked around with every different position they could possibly come up with. On paper the pay doesen't look to bad, except you have to work between 52 and 60 hrs a week to get 32,000 a year. They also don't tell you the store will be so under staffed that you will end up doing everyones job at some time or another. One minute your doing a quote for a customer, the next minute your out in the yard building loads cause there isn't much of a yard crew. They want you to sell sell sell, but there is zero staff support.

Respect - As far as respect goes, there isn't any. Within the stores I worked at, the people I worked with and managers were good knowledgeable people. I learned alot from my co workers. Thats where the respect ends. From the Area manager up the ladder you are viewed as a piece of meat. They are always looking to can anyone and everyone. If that isn't bad enough they will want you to just pick up and move across the country in a matter of days. This is there idea of a big promotion. Move without help and a dollar or two pay raise.

Benefits - They seemed pretty normal compared to other companies I have worked for. Nothing great but not terrible either. My only complaint was the lack of a vision plan.

Job Security - This is the worst company I have ever been with as far as job security. Every monday morning I would drive into work hoping not see a white corporate rental with a guy waiting at the gate to shut us down. Sales guys and managemnet were always getting fired or they would offer a horrendous pay cut and expect the employee to just quit. If they could save a penny in anyway, your were on the chopping block. They pretty much take any human element out of it.

Work Life Balance - I had no life outside 84. I would work all day everyday and holidays that were a total waste of time. Sales people were the only ones who could vary there hours, and that was only if they were selling lots of materials. You have to work a minimum of 48 hours a week, but I rarely stayed to that number. Heck I couldn't afford to work anything less than 48 hours.

Career growth - This is another joke. They promise the moon and stars but they never live up to it. The few people i witnessed get promoted were loud mouth people who would agree with everything corporate. They never liked new ideas and or school training. Basically they promoted any brain dead fool that would make the area manager laugh and not share any ideas to make the company better.

Any person looking to get into the Lumber industry should avoid 84 like the plague. They don't make it worthwhile to start a career with them, and your always a day away from getting fired or let go. Once you start 84 it seems there is never a way out. Stay away.

84 lumber is built on who you know and who you blow. Your pay can be much different from someone who holds the exact same job. They will be paid more because of who they know instead of what they know. Maggie is so far from reality. iF she only knew what goes on in her own company. I've seen so many inept people given the power to make decisions they are incapable of making. Area manager are a joke for the most part. The man in charge is where it all starts. He must have one hell of a line. He should have been fired long ago. The work enviroment is an OSHA heaven. Why don't they ever come to the yards? Must be getting paid off. There isn't an 84 lumber yard that would pass an OSHA inspection. Deal with it. That is the answer. They allow you to move up the ladder so they can kick you back down. That way they get a trained person that can multi-task. Kinda like buy one get one. You get absolutely no respect from your company or your customers. 84 lumber has become a joke. They pay fairly well until you make too much. That is when they kick you down and take the money back. Absolutely no job security. Two area managers and a manager came and told me "it is out of our hands". Think of what might have come to mind. Maybe a circle jerk? After 18 years of loyal service: it was over without warning or notice. Never had one bad review in my 18 years. Thanks Maggie for the memories. I made you millions and you allow some ass to come and cut me off at the knees. You need to buy a ticket and get into the game. You don't have a clue of what is going on in your company. Ask for an exit interview; no chance that will happen. 84 lumber will fail. It is a ship without a captain. Nobody is in charge. If you sign on: remember I told you so. You will be sorry at some point in your career. It will be too damn late by then. Stay away! Far away!