Plumbers at Rheem: Pierce Herrin

There is a saying that goes, “The plumber protects the health of the nation.” If there’s anyone who works and lives by, as well as embodies, the mantra, it would be Pierce. He is a technical trainer with just over four years at Rheem and a strong passion for instilling in learners the importance of plumbing in their daily lives. Pierce is a second-generation plumber and Georgia Tech alum. His journey starts with being brought up doing plumbing alongside his brothers for the family plumbing business, then working as a contractor for 13 years, and most recently training at Rheem. In his courses, he’s trained everyone from beginners who have never seen a water heater to experienced plumbers who know the water heater like the back of their hand.

Making Water Heating Knowledge Accessible

For first-time learners and apprentices alike, it can seem intimidating to explore all the different components of a water heater. After all, plumbers are often working with hazardous materials. Pierce helps to overcome that initial barrier by breaking down the nuts and bolts of the system that is so crucial to our homes. He understands the needs of the people he is training and addresses them accordingly, with plenty of real-life examples to supplement the concepts he teaches.

Pierce’s Unique Approach to Training

What do I like most about being a trainer at Rheem?

My favorite situation is challenging a seasoned veteran of the plumbing industry – hard-nosed and knows it all. By starting a conversation and taking hard criticism, I’m able to gain camaraderie while instilling a newfound desire to pass down to the next generation. That is the greatest help I’ve been able to give.

What is my favorite memory of a time I helped my customers?

Being a steward of the principles and practices of this profession.

What is my proudest moment as a trainer?

Finding a young plumber, raw and inexperienced, but with a desire for a career. I can give them the knowledge to form a foundation to build upon.

What course is my favorite to teach?

Residential tank because it is the basis of all we do, and it’s the best opportunity to teach unexpected topics.

Tell us about a time that a plumber had an ‘aha’ moment in your class.

Haphazardly, we were in the training room, with installed and active units, and even saying, ‘These are LIVE units.’ I proceeded to instruct them on freeze protection and winterizing a tankless unit, calling out the drain on the bottom. An individual asked for a closer look, for he had never heard of it. Well, forgetting where we were, he opened the drain and sprayed all of us soaking wet! Definitely an ‘aha’ moment that we were in a live test lab…

One more thing…

There are three things I cannot speak enough about: plumbing, history and culinary arts. I can go down so many rabbit holes on those topics that I can eat up hours. Hence, I try to always use those loves to my advantage to help people relate to the information I’m teaching.

Training Team

Our trainers conduct in-person training, develop curriculum, answer plumber and homeowner questions about products, film product informational videos and provide customized training sessions for plumbing companies. We’ve built a team with a cumulative of 350 years of experience as plumbers to make sure that our team can answer questions based on first-hand experience.

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