Fireplace and stove general manager job description
A fireplace and stove general manager leads one location: the showroom, the install and service crews, and the office. The price book, the service program and which builder accounts to take are the GM's calls, and the GM answers for installed revenue, customer ratings and on-time installs.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, other building equipment contractors · BLS, May 2025
Lead the strategic and operational direction for our Fireplace & Stove Installation division while ensuring exceptional service delivery and profitability. Oversee multiple departments, coordinating resources to meet customer service and revenue goals. Serve as a key decision maker to drive team performance and foster a culture of continuous improvement. Direct daily operations with an emphasis on safety, efficiency, and market competitiveness.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Direct all organizational departments to ensure seamless installation services and operational excellence.
Monitor and track departmental performance while implementing strategies to meet revenue and customer satisfaction targets.
Develop and enforce policies and procedures that align with company standards and industry best practices.
Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to optimize project workflows and resource allocations.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review daily performance reports to gauge service and installation efficiency.
Conduct regular meetings with department heads to discuss progress, challenges, and solutions.
Engage with customers to ensure their experience aligns with our service quality standards.
Analyze market trends and administrative reports to adjust operational plans and targets as needed.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Average Installation Revenue: Achieve a revenue per installation task of $150 or above.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Maintain a satisfaction rating above 4.8 stars.
Project Completion Rate: Ensure 95% of all installations are completed on schedule.
Department Efficiency: Achieve at least 90% capacity efficiency across operational departments.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Management, or a related field.
Minimum of 7 years’ experience in operations or general management roles.
Strong leadership and strategic planning capabilities with excellent communication skills.
Proficient in data analysis and performance tracking tools with a keen eye for detail.
6. Preferred Experience
Previous management experience in the home services or construction industries.
Hands-on background in fireplace and stove installation or related technical fields.
Demonstrated history of achieving and exceeding revenue and customer service goals.
Experience managing multiple teams in a fast-paced, customer-centric environment.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to occasionally lift and carry up to 25 pounds.
Frequent navigation of construction sites and varying work environments.
Extended periods of standing, walking, and occasional climbing when overseeing installations.
Must be capable of adapting to varying temperature conditions during site inspections.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Occasional weekends and evenings may be required to manage operational demands.
Minimal travel to various installation sites across the service region.
On-call availability during peak periods or emergency situations as needed.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Annual salary range: $80,000 - $120,000 depending on experience and qualifications.
Performance-based bonuses and incentive programs.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plans.
401(k) plan with company match and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We foster a dynamic and supportive work environment that values innovation, transparency, and teamwork.
Our company is committed to professional growth, ensuring every team member has opportunities to level up.
We focus on building lasting relationships with customers by delivering exceptional service quality.
Join us and be part of a forward-thinking organization where your contributions directly impact our success.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
A hearth sale often starts at a burning display and ends weeks later in a living room, with an order, a delivery, a permit and an install crew in between. Each step has a different owner, and the GM answers for all of them.
The floor has to burn
Many shoppers want to see a flame before they buy. That makes working displays, each with its own vent and its gas or power, part of the sales team. The GM decides which units burn, when the floor gets reset for new models, and how fast a discontinued display is sold off. A dark or dated display sells nothing all season.
Older gas units may have bare glass
In 2013, CPSC's chairman said a new ANSI standard for vented gas fireplaces would take effect in January 2015. It would require a barrier on units whose glass gets hotter than 172 degrees Fahrenheit. Units built before then may have no screen, and she thanked the hearth trade group for urging owners to add one. The GM decides whether service techs check older units and offer a screen the maker approves for that model, and how staff talk about hot glass with parents of small children. Source: CPSC: Chairman's statement on glass fronts of vented gas fireplaces (April 30, 2013).
Builder fireplaces take two trips
Builders and remodelers order fireplaces for houses that are still being framed. The unit and its vent go in while the walls are open, and the crew comes back after drywall and stone to finish, start and test it. Both trips come on the builder's schedule, often in weeks homeowners have already booked. The GM sets the builder price sheet, which has to cover the second trip, and decides who tells a builder no when the fall calendar is full.
Service fills the slow months
The U.S. Fire Administration tells homeowners to have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected each year by a professional. That yearly visit on gas, pellet and wood units brings customers back and keeps technicians busy when showroom traffic drops. The GM sets the service program: what a visit covers, how reminders go out, and which months get the most slots. Book most of it for spring and summer, so fall slots stay open for installs and urgent calls. Source: U.S. Fire Administration: Heating fire safety.
How much fireplace and stove general managers make
The closest BLS group for fireplace and stove general managers is general and operations managers. General and operations managers who work for other building equipment contractors earned a median of $123,170 a year ($59.21 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $105,770 median for general and operations managers in all industries. About 5,250 of the 3,503,020 general and operations managers in that survey work for other building equipment contractors.
The template offers salary, bonuses and incentive pay. Pay the bonus on installed, paid jobs as well as on showroom sales, so a big October of orders that can't be installed doesn't pay out early.
Other building equipment contractors
$123,170$123,170 median Middle half $81,860–$170,700 10th–90th $58,190–$227,430
All industries
$105,770$105,770 median Middle half $72,320–$167,280 10th–90th $50,090–$253,390
$0k$50k$100k$150k$200k$250k$300k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Other building equipment contractors
$58,190
$81,860
$123,170
$170,700
$227,430
All industries
$50,090
$72,320
$105,770
$167,280
$253,390
BLS doesn’t publish pay for fireplace and stove installers on their own. These figures cover other building equipment contractors, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Has run a location with a sales floor and field crews, and owned its results
Knows which product lines and channels carry the location's profit
Prices installed jobs to cover venting, gas work, finish work and the trip
Calms a homeowner whose new fireplace misbehaves the week it turns cold
Wins builder and remodeler accounts without giving away fall crew time
Teach these on the job
Each brand's line and how its displays are vented and fueled
Which add-ons your price book sells with each unit
Which builders you serve and what each one pays
Your service plan and reminder system
Your point-of-sale system and deposit rules
The GM watches the point-of-sale system for showroom sales and deposits, the field calendar for crews and technicians, and a weekly list of open orders by step: sold, ordered, received, scheduled and installed. Any order stuck at one step too long is the GM's to chase.
Fireplace and stove general manager interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Matching sales to install capacity
Showroom sales are strong, but installs are booked [eight] weeks out and customers are canceling. What do you do?
A strong answer: Adds install capacity carefully (hires, vetted subs, overtime limits), sets honest install dates at the sale, aligns sales pay with what can be installed and works the backlog by priority.
Behavioral · Choosing an install manager
Tell me about a time you had to choose between two internal candidates for install manager, such as your best installer and a strong organizer. How did you decide?
A strong answer: Defined what the job needed (scheduling, coaching, permits and inspections, customers), used structured interviews and trial duties, checked how each led crews, explained the decision to both and supported the one not chosen.
Give the GM a fall target and a spring-and-summer target for each measure, drawn from this location's own results.
Average Installation Revenue
Installed revenue divided by installs completed, by product type. Count the venting, gas work, surrounds and finish work sold with each unit; a falling average often means add-ons aren't being offered.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Survey buyers after the first month of use, not only on install day, and read showroom, install and service comments apart. A good sale followed by a unit that won't stay lit is a GM problem.
Project Completion Rate
Measure against the date the salesperson promised, not a later rescheduled date, so sales and operations see the same gap. Review the misses with both teams in the same meeting.
Department Efficiency
Each department's output against its paid hours: installs per crew week, service calls per technician day, sales per showroom hour. Track it by month and by season, not as one yearly figure.
Career path
Sales managerLeads the showroom team and its quotes.
Operations managerAssigns installers and keeps units, parts and permits moving.
General managerOwns a location's showroom, builder accounts and service program.
How does a hearth GM split work with the sales manager and operations manager?
In this bundle, the sales manager leads the showroom team and its targets, and the operations manager runs the install calendar. The GM owns what sits above both: the price book, which builder accounts to take, the service program and the location's profit. A GM who spends the fall writing quotes or moving crews has stopped doing the GM's job.
How much does a fireplace and stove general manager make?
General and operations managers who work for other building equipment contractors earned a median of $123,170 a year ($59.21 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $81,860 and $170,700 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
How should a hearth GM set showroom hours?
Match them to when buyers come in. Check your door counts or sales by day and hour. If fall Saturdays and weekday evenings are busiest, staff them with your strongest salespeople and keep the displays lit. Shorten hours in summer if traffic drops. The template sets weekday hours for the GM, so decide who runs the floor on Saturdays.
Should a fireplace company charge for in-home estimates?
Some do and credit the fee toward the sale, which screens out people who are only curious. Others keep estimates free to stay level with competitors. Either way, decide who goes, what they measure and photograph, and how fast a written quote follows. A quote that arrives a week later can lose to a company that sent one that night.
What do the GM template's lines about climbing and temperature mean?
They point to site checks and showroom work. The GM may lift a log set or a box of glass media onto a display, climb a ladder to check a new vent cap, or walk a builder's site. Some checks mean a January morning in an unheated new house. Name those tasks beside the template's wording in the posting, then ask candidates how they would handle each one.
