Local Food Service As A Rookie

"Clock-Creep".

Happened to me the first few months on the Walmart account. It was before I knew the "system" and understood how to work it. Fortunately I figured it out.

I'd start the week with a fresh 70 at 0700 and by the time day 6 rolled around my PTA (start time) was 1100. Happened a lot. Now it's a rarity and usually caused by a dock-out delay, long delay at a store, traffic problem or a combination of all 3.

Enjoy reading your posts and appreciate the time and effort required to write them.

For those reading this take note to G towns comment regarding how he struggled at first on the Wal-Mart dedicated account he is on. Although we're doing 2 very different things they're similar as in It takes determination and time to get it figured out to maximize your work load and efficiency. You have to really want to succeed and to do well in these jobs that require you to hustle. It's easy to get overwhelmed and stressed out but that's when accidents happen. This is especially true when you look at some of the places we're both required to maneuver our truck in. G Town, I feel that keeping a diary regarding food service is the least I can do. Although I haven't taken the advice about starting my career OTR i feel my experiences will help solidify why it is stressed so much to get that year of OTR experience before going local. The advice/warnings I received before taking This path were spot on accurate however seeing somebody's first hand experiences help illustrate the picture of why you guys give the advice you do. This friendly, professional community has been a large part of why I've been successful this far and I feel the need to pay it forward.

I posted that last update as I was waiting for a dock to open up at Hyvee (grocery store). In some of their bigger stores they have a sit down restaurant that we supply as we bigger case sizes compared to what they have on their shelves and needing a ton of the small cans. Although this route technically had a 530am start time i began it around 4am in an attempt to beat the other deliveries to hyvee. It didn't work, they have 2 doors and I ended up waiting 45 minutes before one opened. This particular store allows me to leave their product on a pallet and pull the pallet to their kitchen. What I like most about dock stops is being able to reload my trailer to make it easier for me. I moved my dry pallets in front of cooler (except one as I didn't have space). I was able to move a couple pallets over and as a result I only needed to go through my side door for freezer once today. It isn't the safest to have almost all my weight on 1 side however I only had 12k to start the day and figured I'd take curves slower than normal. This parking lot is gravel and large potholes which is why truck looks like it's leaning really bad.

This was taken at my 2nd stop. Also coincidentally this is one of the places I had fallen on the ice a couple months ago.

Because the kitchen door is above the ground level I parked in such a way I wouldn't need to push/pull up the ramp. Usually I'd have my ramp more centered however the red car, as you can see in the first picture, is parked over too far so I made do with what I had. Between this stop and the next one I had a emptied my cooler pallet causing me to have empty space. To prevent from pallet from tipping and possibly damaging product I utilized the empty pallet and strapped it with the product

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I ended up putting in nearly 300 miles to deliver 11 stops 425 cases, and by the time i got back to the yard and fueled up, and did my paperwork I'd been working 14 hours. I actually finished my last stop 5 minutes earlier than scheduled to. This route is a bit different from when i ran it before, we have 2 new accounts that you have no choice but to take gravel roads as they're in a very rural area. Had to do a sight side 90 to get into my first one. This is after I got in. I had to be careful for the mailbox on the right but also the ditch on both sides. Not to mention the other side of the road is a hill that's rather steep so going into the ditch wasn't an option.

What was nice about getting out there was I seen 4 deer run across the road so I slowed down. As I approached where I believed they had crossed I look to my left and counted 18 deer running around playing! I only know how many their were because I came to a complete stop (gravel road no traffic). I also had a close call on I35 heading down to Osceola. It was very foggy and I'm just cruising along and suddenly I see 2 deer standing on the shoulder just staring across the street. I waited until my tractor was ahead of them and gave the air horn a little honk to scare them off....something I never thought of until it was talked about here. Definitely tell spring is here with how active they are now.

Today's route had me all over the place. Our yard is on the north side of Des Moines near the east mixmaster, where 35/80/235 all come together on the east side, i80 exit 135 I believe. If you use the I35 mile marker it would be close to MM 85 or so. This route took me down I 35 to Osceola, Exit 42. Then an hour northeast, then back to west metro for 2 stops, then I 80 out to Adair, Exit 76. lots of driving! The only reason PFG does a route like that is they're trying to grow business all over central and southern Iowa. As the salesmen land more customers we won't be driving so far between stops. Continued....

Today my manager had called me because a customer accused me of cussing at them yesterday. This customer is newer, I actually delivered their first delivery when "mike"was with me a couple weeks ago on a Wednesday. They ordered last Friday which I didn't deliver, and then again Tuesday which I had. I was making small talk with the kitchen staff asking how their days going. I went out of my way to make sure the customer is satisfied, and asked where i should put their potatoes and onions (50 pounds each) as I had a wheeler full of them and although they're a cooler item for us most customers leave them out at room temperature. This customer was very thankful, told me how much they appreciate it and hope that I'm their permanent driver. I then asked out of curiosity if this was going to be their normal day. This was their 3rd delivery on a 3rd different day. I said it very calm and professional just as a curiosity thing as my routes tend to not change much so I could estimate what time I'd be done for following week. Customer jokingly told me they order whatever day they want. I was done unloading so I got their signature, told them thank you and to have a good day as I always do. They thanked me and wished me the same. Apparently, this customer called their salesman who called my manager. I'll leave out the expletives, but what I'm accused of saying was very profane. Basically the customer accused me of yelling at them, telling them they pick one day for delivery and that's the only day they get it. If they order any other day I'll leave it on my truck and make sure they don't get it. Hearing all this really upset me. I went out of my way to provide this customer great customer service, even did things I only do for 1 other stop and this is how they thank me?. Thankfully my manager knows me better than that and sent me a text asking to call him at my earliest convenience and it isn't urgent. He told me after I explained my side of the story that the complaint sounded nothing like me. I've only had 1 customer yell at me and that was shortly after my training period. This was first complaint I've had, and I've NEVER talked down to a customer. Once my manager documented my side of the story, as they do for everything, he informed me of some unfortunate news. Mike had called him last night after running his route and quit . Mike told the boss that his mom was sick and that he was moving back to east coast, jumping on a plane 830am following morning. It definitely caught us all off guard, knowing how much Mike has been struggling they offered him more time training to which he said no, that he's going back east . I really feel for the guy but at the end of the day he made a decision that's best for him and I wish him the best of luck. My manager was trying to get information about the other food guys in town regarding sign on bonus and pay in an attempt to attract talent. We all talk as we run into each other alot so we all have ideas what's going on at each other's companies. I was also informed that because of how well I've done they're considering looking for an apprentice again. If they do that they'll go through what I did. 2 weeks riding along, 4 weeks schooling followed by 12 weeks of training. It makes no difference to me if we're short handed in our yard or not except now I'll be working 5 days until someone new is brought in and trained well enough to not need help. That's alright with me, more $$$.

Great lesson here from Rob...

Anyone considering a local gig realize that many times frequent customer interactions are required. Rob's approach is spot-on. You don't need to be chatty, but friendly and within reason respond to the occasional request that are perhaps above and beyond the norm. Be professional.

We are in a commodity businesss, where customer service is King, and many times how the drivers interact at their deliveries determines the over level of satisfaction.

As always, great job Rob.

Today (thursday) my normal route I've been running for a few months was changed up. I used to do a stop 10 miles west of our yard, then drive roughly 30 miles east of there, and then go to the southside of Des Moines for 5 stops . I would then go back to the west metro (where first stop is) and do another 6 stops. After my discussion with management last week regarding inefficiency and our routing being a disaster they looked at all my routes and seen exactly what I was talking about. We have a driver that does the big BBQ joint I've talked about, Downtown Des Moines and then goes to the southside for 2 stops. What they did was put the BBQ joint on me, then go to the southside by the airport for 1 stop (didn't fit on downtown truck) then go to the west metro (Urbandale, and Clive). The stop 30 miles east was put onto a driver that made his way east/southeast that ends up in Ottumwa before coming back. The only downside of not having my southside stops is I no longer have a place to eat breakfast :(. I would always end up sitting at my first southside stop for hour and a half, then the next customer for a half hour which meant I was being paid $70 dollars to eat breakfast and/or take a nap because I am typically on overtime by that point . I had addressed the idle time previously and nothing had changed so I dropped the issue and decided to deal with it. I can not stress this enough, sitting and waiting is not typical in this job. The only reason I have a few stops I wait at is because PFG is still trying to gain more customers and as a result they have less options in routing. They could have had me do my west metro stops and then go to the southside but it would be about 2pm when I'd get over there and they need their product in morning before lunch. The driver downtown has other stops that require him to have them off by lunch so to keep everyone happy they decided to have me wait. The way I was routed today was definitely more typical of how it should be. I had 10 stops 659 cases 16k weight 11 hours with 59 miles driven. 2 1/2 hours was spent driving with 8 hours spent ON DUTY. The only reason I had 59 miles was because of the stop near the airport otherwise it would've been closer to 40 miles. The only questionable decision with my routing is I was sent to a stop for 14 cases that had another driver delivering across the parking lot about 20 minutes after me. I ended up delivering my stop and then called other driver to see where he was. I couldn't get into my next stop for another hour so I offered to help the guy coming to basically where I already was. His customer ordered 250 cases with about 75 frozen coming out of his side door. This guy was helped me out when I've had a couple breakdowns and I had nothing else to do at the time so I climbed into his freezer and helped him get freezer unloaded. It saved him alot of time since he didn't need to keep climbing up and down the stairs and this account of his orders alot of bread so he can only stack 7 or so by the door before needing to climb down and stack it on his wheeler. After I helped with his frozen i took off to my stop to my surprise they were there a half hour earlier than the last time I went there. Today went very smooth and was stress free for the most part. I got thinking back on when I first started driving and how terrified I was with some of the situations I'm in almost daily. I'm still extremely cautious, take it slow, and don't get myself into a position I will have trouble getting out of. Thankfully I'm able to be relaxed and calm in those situations rather than white knuckling it. I also got thinking back on how when I first started driving all I could think of was in school being told not to impede traffic. Unfortunately in the real world you WILL impede traffic. My fear of being in the way was quickly put at ease. My trainer when we first met told me something to the effect of "School taught you to pass your test, I'm going to teach you how to drive in the real world". I no longer worry about cars needing to slow down when I pull out into the street. I don't cut people off but if I waited until there were no cars around at all I would be sitting all day waiting on an opening. If there's an opening you take it, within reason of course. I received a phone call from management tonight telling me they're bumping my start time back to 5am tomorrow rather than 4am as I would've ended up sitting for an hour and a half. That's fine with me, I may actually get some sleep! The biggest issue I run in to is finding the time to sleep. Usually I only get 5 hours. I'm typically getting home at 530-6pm and my kids being so young are in bed by 7 at the latest. I then have to fit a shower in and spend some time with my wife before hitting the hay. Usually sleep 9pm to 2am. I actually took this job to see my family more but it hasn't worked that way. I actually spent more time with them by working overnights. Just something to think about.....

Today was a long, boring day. In any kind if trucking job a boring day is always a good day. My truck was loaded all the way to the tail

as you can see I had to pull my ramp out just to be able to downstack. It's highly inefficient to do that but it was my only option. I end up digging for product and need to place other stops cases off to the side and then throw them back onto pallet in order to be able to close the door. I don't like when I can't use my ramp at first but it is what it is. I couldnt use my ramp until my 5th of 16 stops. The route I had today had me drive 250 miles but I only had 342 cases to unload, with another 250 on my truck for tomorrow (different driver). The BBQ joint that gets delivery Saturday usually gets loaded onto my truck because I have the space. It definitely makes it alot more cramped and forces me to use the side door all day but I understand why it's done the way it is. Why would they send another trailer out with only 1 stop on it and need another driver to bring it out when there's space on my trailer. It was loaded so full today I couldn't even get my 2 wheeler completely in. The blade was sticking out under the door.

The door still latched but with how much driving was between stops I opted to give myself a little piece of mind and put the lock on there. We have locks for anytime we're away from the truck (lunch or it's sitting in the yard). Company policy is lock it regardless if it has product or not. I put the lock on there to help make sure it wouldn't wiggle around too much. The door latched properly but I just wanted to be safe because if it opened my wheeler would definitely come out. I couldn't fit it in my frozen section because that pallet was all the way to the top of the door. My only other option was to wiggle it into the passenger seat of the truck but I felt with needing to drive an hour to my first stop it would get in the way while looking at mirrors so I put it in back. Our trucks are governed at 65 mph and When I'm out on these highways I never run against the governor. I typically do 62 or 63 because it isn't gonna make me lose much time and it's alot less stressful. Too often I have a far or truck cut into my bubble causing me to slow down to create a safe following distance again. By going slower it allows me to not need to slow down as the speed difference gives me my space again quickly. It also prevents another truck doing the same or just a hair more than me creating a rolling roadblock. It gives me the option of passing another slow truck by running 65. When I first started driving I always did 65 on the highway but would get so frustrated because so many other drivers refuse to back down while you're trying to pass. Numerous times I had to back down from passing because traffic was building up behind me. Also, on I-80 it is very hilly and since I'm loaded so light compared to OTR guys so I have no problem going up the hill. However the heavier trucks pass me going downhill from gravity. I just got to the point of being so irritated that I decided to slow down and I'm really happy I did. This week I had 60 hours should gross just under 1700. This calendar year I've had 13 weekly paychecks and have grossed $19,000 thus far. If I continue at this rate that will put me around $76,000 for the calendar year. Great money but it truly shouldn't be the long term answer. I see how our driver in his 60s that's been doing this for 40 years struggles to even walk after a day of work, as well as all the old timers running routes in their 50s at the terminal and it really puts into perspective how brutal this is on your body. The only advantage I can see to starting your job in food service is that you would most likely be paid hourly so it would allow you to make a good, consistent wage while trying to learn how to maneuver. It would help take the focus off how your burning your clock trying to back up (not making money). With that being said I still feel OTR is by far the best way to start your career. Multiple accidents in your first year could very easily be the end of your career completely and doing food service will definitely put you in alot more tight situations where its extremely difficult NOT to hit something.

Ran my usual route today, however we gained a couple more customers so they had to move a couple of my normal stops to another driver so I could get to new stops at a decent time. The day overall went well however had to deal with an overly excited security guard. My 2nd stop was a well known company that handles alot of data, safe to say probably 90% of members here use them, or had previously used them until their latest controversy regarding privacy...or the allegations of helping our current president get elected...anyways, They give us a 1 hour delivery window, 6am to 7am. We used to be able to roll in their anytime between 4am and 10am but now they're being a picky customer and requiring us to hit that window. Unfortunately if we want them to buy from us we're obligated to abide by it otherwise one of the many other guys in town will jump on it. They order 3-4 times a week ranging from 20-50 cases. To ensure I'm there at the window we're provided I'm usually scheduled to arrive there at 530am. I usually park on the road outside but it's not the greatest spot. Narrow shoulder that slopes down, traffic can't see my trailer until shortly before reaching me despite having my parking lights and 4 ways on as they come up over a small hill and there I am. I attempted to gain entry and the guard at the shack turned me away, told me I can't be on the property until 6am. I ended up backing onto a small gravel road on the outside of their fence that they use to patrol the perimeter. Within 5 minutes (while I was browsing TT this morning) another security guard comes up yelling at me to leave their property now. I thought it was a huge over reaction. I hadn't exited the truck, I was simply sitting there in a safer place than on the road while waiting to be allowed access. I ended up heading over to the Bass Pro Shop parking lot to wait until 6am. I informed my manager when he got into the office I'm not going out there if I'm scheduled that early as it isn't safe, I'll go out there after 6 so I can go right in. After the run in with security they ended up having 2 guards on the dock while I unloaded which I found odd as they haven't had security there for a couple months as I'm a regular there. I understand being cautious because of the value of their product/company but I felt disrespected with the way the security guy approached me yelling at me. One stop I have on Mondays I also used to have when I ran the downtown route on Friday. This is the stop. Ignore the black lines, used them to black out company names.

I parked at the green line on the street and had to deliver to the red X on the backside of the building. This customer won't let us drive on their parking lot as they're afraid we'll damage it with the weight of the truck. They actually order more from us now as they dropped a produce company because produce company refused to deliver from street. They ordered 57 cases today, I took 7 trips in, each trip was 88 steps one way! Their parking lot is on a hill making it even more exhausting. I'm discussing this stop to show that you can't always get right outside the door and it ends up adding much more time to deliver. AT THE END OF THE DAY THE CUSTOMER IS HAPPY and that's all that matters. I had 596 cases, 54 miles, 14k pounds and ended up putting in 12 hours . I finished 10 minutes ahead of schedule today despite sitting for a half hour at 2nd stop. One of the new customers i delivered to was scheduled for a 1200 delivery time. Middle of lunch for most places is a no go so I skipped over them . The reason in doing so was I've never been there before so I don't know how they feel about lunchtime delivery (turns out they'd be upset), and although I looked at Google maps satellite view to get an idea of how to set up it obviously isn't accurate for the time I would be there. Instead I went and did a keystop we have (don't open til 4pm) and 2 daycares then got there around 2pm. They were happy with that time so I know in the future I can push them back if need be. In foodservice, as in any kind of trucking, you must be able to problem solve on your own and plan your day out ahead of time otherwise you're going to be alot more stressed. I delivered to the Fraternity I struggled with last week ended up nailing the back perfectly on my first try with no pull ups. I Was very happy with myself especially after how I struggled last week. Regardless, the most important thing is I didn't hit anything.

Nothing really happened today. I had to deal with drizzle all day and in turn it had the back end of my trailer rather slippery. It also caused my freezer compartment to freeze up as the drizzle was falling inside, and was also tracked in by my shoes requiring even more caution while unloading. Dealing with those safety hazards it made me think of a couple other safety things I haven't discussed much. I know I've talked about our keystops, the places we have a key to and deliver before customer arrives. For the most part these are the first few stops we do and with it being dark out your head has to be on a swivel and be aware of your surroundings. There's one place that really creeps me out but thankfully I don't deliver there anymore since I changed routes (unrelated to that). What makes this stop so creepy is its not in the greatest neighborhood, got a bus station similar to greyhound right down the street and the homeless shelter is a couple blocks away. Don't get me wrong, I'm not putting down people who are down on their luck and/or homeless however If I leave cases towards the tail of the truck I've had stuff go missing by the time I've come back. I carry a bag with me that has paper logbook (required to keep one on me despite having ELOGS), GPS just in case and a few other things. Whenever I'm in that area my bag gets thrown into the back. Another driver had his bag stolen from the cab 2 blocks away from that stop. They also took a money bag.......more on that in a little bit. I've been approached by people wanting to go into the bar in this situation to "listen to the jukebox" despite it being completely dark in there. They then ask if i have free samples i can give them, and then offer to help me unload for a quarter. They could be just trying to be nice but it gives off a creepy vibe especially since it's pitch black out being that it's 4am typically.

Regarding the money bag : sometimes when we deliver we're instructed on our paperwork and scanner that it's a COD account. We are required to collect a check upon delivery. Most times the customer just requests to pay at time of delivery but we do have some customers that don't pay their bill so if they want their delivery they must pay first. I don't mind when I collect a check because it holds zero value for somebody that could possibly steal it. Where I have issues is when a customer is constantly refusing to pay or their checks bounce. In that case we must collect cash. Typically the salesmen deal with picking up cash because they're going in with folders and laptop bags so it's easier to conceal it. I'm stuck putting it in my pockets and heading to the nearest Wal-Mart for a money order. The only times I've had to accept cash was for an account out in the middle of no where and because I owed the salesman a favor. The salesmen are paid commission and have to use their personal vehicles with no reimbursement for wear and tear or gas. Instead they claim it on their taxes so this salesman really appreciated me doing that for him. When I collect cash I make the customer count it in front of me and then I count it out back to them. Not only does carrying cash on me worry me regarding theft, but if there's discrepancies in what I signed acknowledging customer paid and what I turn in then it comes out of my check. Most of our customer invoices are $900-$1500, however there are some quite a bit over that. A couple weeks ago we had a note in our paperwork to double check money orders when we get them. Driver claims he gave the cashier the correct amount but she put it for $100 less. Unfortunately that comes out of his pocket now because he didn't turn in the same amount he collected. Company policy is anything over $500 needs a money order but I've had an order that was $200 I went and got a money order for. I feel alot safer in the rare event I have to collect cash that it isn't loose and thats why i get everything in money order. I just subtract the money order fee from the amount given to me. Now obviously if I were to be robbed I wouldn't be liable for the lost money. I'm just thankful we hardly ever collect cash.

Wednesday I ran the downtown route. That day is ridiculous. I had 22 stops 18k 743 cases. I ended up needing to use my 16 hour extension as i didn't get to the yard until my 15th hour. I was only scheduled to work 13 but due to needing to wait at a couple customers and traffic I went over my 14. I first had to wait at wells Fargo arena for a concession stand. Typically I need to just show security my documentation and give him some information and they'll give me the key. However this time I was informed they were working an event across the street at another venue and never gave the key back so I had to call the salesman of that account as he has contact information for the customers. After 8 phone calls over 15 minutes he finally answered, and another 20 minutes later customer showed up. There was a hockey game going on that night so leaving was not an option unfortunately. Total time at that stop was 1 hour 15 minutes for 10 cases. I was frustrated but it is what it is. I was only 45 minutes behind because I had hustled earlier in the day allowing me to get 30 minutes ahead. After that I decided in order to ensure I could get everything offloaded before my hours ran out i would need to skip some stops to avoid backtracking as much as possible. One thing also working against me is my last stop leaves at 430pm. I had noticed 6 cases of fryer shortening for my 21st stop were all on the bottom and I'd need to unstack the entire pallet just to get to them which made my decision to skip ahead even more of a no brainer. It's not too often that it's viewed as being ok to skip over stops but I've demonstrated that there is valid reasons when I do it and the salesmen don't hassle me too much anymore. I've had multiple salesmen call me 5am Monday morning asking me to skip some stops to get to their customer before lunch. The reason being they were much more busy than anticipated over the weekend and wouldn't be able to open for lunch until I showed up because they were out of so many items. Usually results in me needing to move alot of cases, but the salesmen will be appreciative because their customer is happy, and customer is so happy it results in me being offered lunch haha. I clocked in at 330am and didn't clock out until nearly 7pm, putting me a half hour behind to start Thursday.

Thursday was easy! I only had 8 stops, 486 cases, 12k weight and logged 66 miles. I was extremely shocked to see such an easy day. It made me excited to know that I'd get to see my kids that night. Unfortunately with my kids being so young they get extremely cranky by 6 or so because they're so tired. My wife trys to keep them up til 7 but they're usually ready for bed by 630. She was able to keep them content enough so I could atleast read them a bed time story Wednesday night just before putting them to bed. Seeing the smiles on their faces makes what I'm doing worth it and it's what keeps me going. Anyways, I ended up hustling more than usual and made it back to the yard before needing to take my 30 minute lunch. When I got back to the yard a supervisor and manager from Illinois were there to have meetings with each driver one on one. It was very nice to be able to talk face to face and I was ultimately told I'm doing a great job and keep it up. We also discussed my drive cam videos which over the last quarter (3 months) I've had 29 "events"that saved. There was only 1 video I was coached on which was as I moved to the fuel island in the yard doing under 5 mph I didn't put my seat belt on. They coach us within a day or 2 of the event, but they also address it at the next driver meeting to remind you and to ensure you're not repeating the same mistakes. The other 28 videos were the result of bumpy, uneven roads. In those videos as long as you're doing everything right...no messing on phone, maintain safe following distance, wearing seatbelt etc. Nothing will come of it and it isn't docked against you. I ended up clocking out 9 hours after I started my day and because I made it back to the yard before my 8th hour I wasn't required to take my 30 minute break as I wouldn't be operating a CMV past my 8th hour. This short of a day is very rare so I took advantage of it as well as the warm weather (50s!!!) And took the kids to the park. Continued.....