President's Message
Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter, and for your continued support over many years!
Here at Skip The Warehouse, we believe in God, Country, Corps, and Customer. We believe in “answering the call,”- always answering our phones, not machines, real humans. We believe in taking care of our Veterans, doing everything that we can to meet the heating and cooling needs of their homes.
I was born into poverty and started my first job when I was seven years old to help "put food on the table." I bought my first bed with my brother when I was 16. Until then I slept on the floor in our family's two bedroom apartment. The Marine Corps helped me get out of poverty. During my reserve time in the Corps, after multiple overseas deployments, I got my college degree. I founded Skip The Warehouse in 2011. I was going through rough times after my service in the Marine Corps - I had two DUI charges, less than $1,000 to my name, and I was struggling to find my purpose, as many Veterans do after they are discharged. I came home every night from a CPA firm, where I was employed, and worked on my dream. When some of my first customers and vendors gave me a chance, they unknowingly breathed new life into me, allowing Skip The Warehouse to become what we are today. However, we still have a long way to go, and many obstacles in our path.
The HVAC distribution industry is extremely difficult to enter, especially starting from scratch. There are a limited number of very large distributors who control the market. Manufacturers sell to the large distributors, and will rarely allow smaller dealers access to the competitive pricing that the “big guys” get. Some manufacturers will not support them at all. They will not let us buy directly from them because they do not want to upset the established distributors they already work with.
But there are exceptions; Unico, Goodman, iO HVAC Controls, EWC, Rectorseal, Diversitech, Friedrich, Daikin, Qwik Products, Sanco2 and Dust Free are manufacturers who have shown that they care about our Veterans and most importantly a free market, where anyone from any income level can put the work in to build a successful brand and company. As we begin to move away from brands that do not support Veterans, I hope that you do the same.
The good news is that, in spite of the challenges we have faced, we have still succeeded. We have just moved into a third location, and are beginning work on our fourth. We now manufacture multiple HVAC products ourselves. We are managing all eCommerce distribution for Unico (a very large and well-known manufacturer). We could never have done any of this without your support, and I am grateful and blessed to have that! We are always here to serve you. Call us, email us, or text us and we will answer!
The few!
Sgt., USMC
