Spotlight Series: Meet Inventory Control Specialist April

Meet April Hatfield, our Inventory Control Specialist!

What is your role at Warners’ Stellian? 
Inventory Control Specialist

Tell us more about your role.
I help execute and reconcile inventory counts. Aid in maintaining integrity of inventory at all warehouses, stores and most recently, the repair department. I help to research & answer questions regarding inventory movement and procedural expectations.

What do you like most about your job?
The different puzzles that pop up every day needing investigation and a solution. It is satisfying to work with all the different teams throughout the company.

Tell us about your family.
I am married to Nate, now 22 years. We have 3 sons, identical twins that are 24 and a 22-year-old. Sadie, Ozzy & Ichi are our 3 boxers that never disappoint in bringing all the energy to the arrival home, our fur friends are just the best!

What was your first job?
Latch key teacher’s aid for 1st – 3rd graders, my class focused on science; we did all sorts of fun experiments. Making volcanos, slime, having airplane races, those were fun and simple times.

What do you like to do on your days off?
With summertime here, it is off to the cabin on the weekends. Weeknights, you will typically find me working in the yard or chilling on our patio. The colorful sunsets on our patio help to lull us into relaxation with mother nature leading a chorus of frogs and whatever other woodland creatures that live in the back wetlands that surround the pond. The deer herds & turkeys on their way to the farmers’ fields make frequent visits.

What three words would you use to describe Warners’ Stellian?
Strive for excellence

What’s your favorite appliance, and why?
Water heater, every time! Hot showers, hands down the best & easiest to attain luxury afforded to humankind.

Tell us something about you that would surprise us or that most people don’t know.
I am a fraternal twin.

What is the one thing you cannot live without?
My sense of sight. Nature is amazing, all the walks & drives from Springtime to Fall, taking in all the greenery, it’s a top 5 of my favorite things. My boxers love to join along, especially for a cruise when they can hang their heads out the windows to take it all in.

If you had to eat one meal, every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Papusas – stuff em with all the different things. Birria Papusas are my favorite, but I will never discriminate against any flavor. Soooo, tasty!

What is your favorite thing to do? 
Listening to music; finding those tunes that match my vibe of the moment and allowing it to flow.

Full Steam Ahead

Steam Oven [steem uhv-uhn] noun 

Ovens that use hot steam rather than hot air to cook food. 

Steam Ovens

Around for 25 years, steam ovens are becoming a must-have for today’s kitchen. You might also know them as combi steam ovens, where they can do many tasks a regular oven does, but with the performance of some steam. Let’s dive into some of their key features. 

Photo: Wolf

Cooking with Your Steam Oven 

First, steam ovens are forgiving when cooking food to a specific temperature. You won’t be drying out any chicken in these! Steam ovens don’t mean vegetables, fish and chicken only. Similar to a regular convection oven, it will brown your food to perfection.  

Photo: Miele

Cooking Meat 

Because this oven infuses food with moisture, you can count on it not drying up. This also helps with keeping all those yummy nutrients in the food and maintaining its color. You might notice that food also takes less time to cook because water conducts heat quicker than air.  

Photo: Miele

Baking 

If you’re an avid baker, you’re in luck because you can cook and bake with your steam oven. In fact, you can do both at the same time, without worry about odor transfer.  

Photo: Sharp

Saying Yes to Leftovers 

Not everyone is keen on having leftovers, but your mind might change after reheating last night’s dinner in this appliance. Your family won’t even know it’s leftovers with the steam oven’s reheat mode. 

Photo: Warners’ Stellian Edina Showroom

Cleaning Up 

You see all of that moisture? Not only does that help cook to perfection, it makes cleaning up a breeze! Gone are the days of crusted on cheese from pizza that went rogue. The moisture from the oven makes cleaning your oven fun again.  

Recipe: Wolf

Interested in more kitchen ideas? Read more on our blog, or visit our Instagram for Angela Warners steam oven tips!

Spotlight Series: Meet Sales Manager Kendre Niles

At Warners’ Stellian, one of our core values is family, and each new employee becomes a member of our family. In our Spotlight Series, we plan to share a deeper look into the talent that contributes to our success each day. This week, let’s meet Sales Manager Kendre Niles.

Sales Manager Kendre Niles Warners' Stellian

How long have you worked at Warners’ Stellian?

It’s been five years now. I started as part-time administrative assistant at our Rochester location when I was in college and moved into sales in 2015. I’ve worked in sales in both our Rochester and Woodbury stores. I became the sales manager at our flagship St. Paul store in January 2018.

With experience in multiple positions and stores, what would you say your favorite part about working at Warners’ Stellian is?

I enjoy helping customers select new appliances for their remodel, new home or just replacement. Most people aren’t buying new appliances every year, which means products have probably changed since they last purchased. Showing customers what’s new and helping them make the best choice for their lifestyle is incredibly rewarding.

What’s the most important thing that you’ve learned on the job so far?

You have to take the time to really get to know the customer, understand their needs and set proper expectations so they become a Warners’ Stellian customer for life. It is important to me that the customer knows that I am their advocate from the day they purchase to the day they need a new appliance.

Who is your professional mentor?

Warners’ Stellian Partner Carla Warner is someone who I can always go to for an honest opinion. She encourages me to pursue my dreams and has helped me continue to grow within my career at Warners’ Stellian. She works harder than anyone I know, and I look up to her for that reason. You can tell when she interacts with employees and customers that she does care about them and the success of this company.

When you’re not in the store, what do you enjoy most about St. Paul?

We have so many lakes and trails available to us. I really enjoy walking around Como Lake and the Reservoir Woods Trail.

And just for fun, what is your favorite ’90s jam?

“Jump Around” by House of Pain. It’s one of my favorite songs to listen to when I’m working out in the morning.

Are you interested in joining the Warners’ Stellian family? Apply here!

Spotlight Series: Meet Claire Krenz from Apple Valley

Meet our Apple Valley Sales Manager, Claire Krenz!

What is your role at Warners’ Stellian? 

I am the Sales Manager at the Apple Valley Store.

Tell us more about your role.

I wear quite a few different hats, from salesperson to management. First and foremost, my job is to assist my coworkers and manager and keep the store running smoothly and our clients happy. I help upset customers to find solutions and keep the store looking clean. I do a bit of everything; from assisting with new hire/vendor training managing the floor plan.

What do you like most about your job?

I have one of the best teams at my store. I’m very thankful for getting to train under my manager Jodi and I have wonderful coworkers. I love seeing people succeed in their positions. I also get a lot of joy from helping customers; One of the most rewarding parts of this job is when a client comes in upset, and leaves laughing.

Tell us about your family.

I have a very tight knit family. I lost my father in 2018 but I was very lucky to have him for as long as I did, because he was an amazing man. I have one older Brother who is a data engineer for Target, and my sister is an EMT in Hennepin County. I am extremely proud of both. My mom is a teacher in Lakeville, and we are very close. She’s a huge inspiration to me. Now my family is also my partner Cody and my adorable husky puppy Atlas.

What was your first job?

I worked at Culvers, it’s the first place I picked up a lot of customer service experience. I had a lot of fun there.

What do you like to do on your days off?

I love going on adventures! Cody, Atlas (our husky), and I often take our days off to go up north and fish or hike. I play guitar, love music, and have a passion for cooking.

What three words would you use to describe Warners’ Stellian?

Family, Supportive, and fun!  


What’s your favorite appliance, and why?

Induction cooktops and ranges. It’s the way of the future! Great temperature control, easy to clean and extremely safe. It’s also fun to demo induction cooking with clients, they are always amazed!

Tell us something about you that would surprise us or that most people don’t know.

I love classic rock. I am a bit of a geek about Led Zeppelin and collect Vinyl’s.

What is the one thing you cannot live without?

My planner. I keep a very detailed calendar, so I do not forget anything important. 

If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Oysters Rockefeller.

What is your favorite thing to do?

I love being on a boat in 80-degree weather.

Gas or Electric Appliance – How do you tell the difference?

Are you looking to see if you have a gas or electric appliance, but not sure how to tell the difference? Our specialists are here to help.

You might be wondering, big deal why are you telling us this? In the end, to save you money (and time)!
You don’t want to spend $800 on a dryer to find out when it’s delivered it cannot be installed because you only have a gas hookup and bought an electric dryer.

Model Number

If you are looking online at warnersstellian.com or at your current model here is how you would know.

In the image below you will see the appliance’s model number, WKEX200HRA. From the model number we can see that this specific model is an electric fuel type because it has an ‘E’.

Gas dryer

Now, it the next image below you will see the appliance’s model number, WKGX201HRA. From the model number we can see that this specific model is a gas fuel type because it has an ‘G’.

Electric dryer

Check the Cord

Another way you can check to see if you have a gas or electric appliance is by looking at the cord. The electric dryers will have a normal looking three prong cord. The gas dryers will have a thicker cord.

Electric dryer cord.

This is an example of an electric dryer. Notice the size of the cord and how it is very different from the gas dryer below. The cord does not come with the dryer.

Gas dryer cord.

Here is an example of a gas dryer and the cord comes attached to it.

Note that this is the same thing for gas and electric ranges as well! Did you discover if you have gas or electric appliances? Let us know! You can also check out our appliance buying guides for more information on a specific category.