Meet José Marquez from our West Des Moines showroom!

What is your role at Warners’ Stellian?

Sales Manager.

Tell us more about your role.

My role consists of helping the sales team if they have questions about the sale process, inventory, policies & procedures, NetSuite questions, de-escalation of high stress situation with customers; selling and following up with happy customers and not very happy customers. Overall, it is a fun job. Not the easiest job but never boring.

What do you like most about your job?

I really like helping upset customers. I believe every upset customer is an opportunity to leave a better impression than the previous one. All customers want is to be listened to; I always place myself in the customer’s shoes. My job is to de-escalate the situation and give the customer peace of mind that they will taken care of. Besides problem solving and making customers happy I really enjoy the culture at the West Des Moines store and all my co-workers. I’ve never had a job where I’ve had so much fun and still made good money. 😊

Tell us about your family.

I’ve been with my beautiful wife since high school. I have three beautiful children and a dog. We really like to stay busy. In the summer, we go on bike rides, play basketball, go to the park and go on walks. Really anything outdoorsy. The winter is really tough for us. This year, I got a membership at the Y and it’s been a success. My kids get to burn off energy at the rock-climbing wall and basketball court. We also really like to travel. I want my kids to experience a lot more than what I did when I was a little kid. The first time I ever left my hometown was when I came to the US. I was ten at the time.

What was your first job?

My first job was at Little Caesars. Those were the good old days. Life was simple back then. I would go to school, play soccer, play video games, and eat pizza. Some of the best years of my life!!

What do you like to do on your days off?

I like to spend time with my family when I’m off work. We usually go out to eat at least once when I have a weekend off. I also really like to lift weights and ride my road/gravel bike. I heard in a podcast that a good sign of longevity is having strong legs and good grip strengths and I want to live to 130 so I got some work to do!

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

Family, energy and passion.

What’s your favorite appliance, and why?

I have a really intimate relationship with my Traeger. We have been through a lot together. Any time I’m hungry, angry, sad, or happy my Traeger is always there to help me make the best BBQ or chicken ever. My manger, Dan, recently showed me a picture of a BBQ fatty he made on his smoker, and it was love at first sight. I had to try it, so I made it for New Year’s, and it was delicious. If you don’t know what a BBQ fatty is, you should look it up!! If the Traeger doesn’t count as an appliance, I really love my fridge! It keeps my adult beverages cold and my ice cream frozen. Life is simple!

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

I compete in bike gravel races. I got into it last year and it was super tough. My longest race was 68 miles on Iowa gravel roads in February and it took me seven hours to complete it. It had 3,400 feet of climbing. I didn’t even know Iowa had hills until I did this race. I got my first cramp at mile 35. Both of my legs cramped up in the middle of cornfield, and I almost called my wife to come pick me up. But I’m not a quitter. I got up and kept going; I probably got ten more cramps between mile 35 and the finish line. I’m signed up to do the race this year and my goal is to beat my time from last year!

What is the one thing you cannot live without?

My phone. I’m a very social person. If I didn’t have my phone, I wouldn’t be able to talk to all my friends and family and I would miss all the fun parties.

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

My mother-in-law’s enchiladas! Please don’t tell my mom; she would be upset if I didn’t say hers are better!

What is your favorite thing to do?

My favorite thing to do is spend time with my kids and teaching them new things. At the end of the day, we live through experiences. When I get old, I want my kids to have good memories of me. All the money in the world is not going to buy memories. Money is important, and it sure makes life easier, but memories and time spent with family is priceless!! Thanks for reading!!

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