Thursday, May 31, 2012

We're Too Stupid, NYC Knows Best

As is the case with most over-regulation, the proposed Soft Drink Size Ban in NYC is far-reaching and not logically thought through. The list of unintended consequences grows as more and more businesses find out how badly they will be affected by the ban.

For consumers, the ban ultimately means the city of New York has the final say on how much soda you can purchase in a single container throughout the city at places such as hot dog carts, theaters, restaurants and stadiums. The law says no more than 16 oz is to be sold per container. So, if you want a 20 oz PET from the Nathan's Hot Dog guy, you have to cross the river to get it. The ban won't affect diet sodas, fruit juices, dairy or alcohol based drinks. Also, it wont affect c-store purchases, for now. But, that could change as the city gets more and more involved in raising us like the irresponsible children we are. Thank God for NYC.

NYC Mayor Bloomberg (photo foxnews.com)


NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg is quoted as saying he "thinks it's what the public wants the mayor to do." Really, Mr. Mayor? You actually think people are that stupid? Oh, what's that, they are? "Sodas are really unhealthy and I don't see any reason you need to drink 20 ounces of soda." O.k. everyone, that wasn't the mayor, that was John Q Public agreeing with Bloomberg in an interview on Fox NYC. But, for every person in NYC that agrees with these two morons, I can find a thousand more who don't.

This proposed ban is so ridiculous, I would laugh if it didn't have such a great chance at going into effect. Bloomberg's own appointees at the NYC Department of Health are the one's who will vote to move the measure to reality. 

New York is a typical city where pompous zealots in power think they know what's better for you than you do. And they're going to make the decision for you by passing a law. There was once a time when the city installed cross walks to help you get across the street. But then the bureaucrats decided to give the police the power to fine you for not using them. It never ends. Restaurants can't use salt or trans-fat and they have to list the calories on the menu. You can't smoke inside a public building, or outside in a city park. You can't carry a hand gun in the city for self-defense and you get charged an extra fee (tax) on bottles and cans just in case they don't get recycled. With the proposed size ban on soft drinks, say you want to go to the Knicks game and you want to buy the 32 oz souvenir cup for $9.95. They could sell it to you, but would only be allowed to fill it with 16 oz of soda or face a $200 fine. Wasn't there a moron quoted as saying he doesn't see any reason you need 20 oz of soda. Well, here's a reason, you freaking idiot!

Why infringe on my right to drink what I want? It's not soda's fault people are obese. That reminds me of a cliche; If guns kill people, then pencils misspell words, cars drive drunk, and spoons make people fat. Of course, in NYC, that may very well be the case. But, if you really want that 20 oz Mountain Dew, Vito Marsala knows a guy who knows a guy who has a cousin who knows a guy in NJ that sells them out of his trunk for $5. But, fuggedaboutit! You didn't hear from me.

Friday, May 25, 2012

The Bottle Wrench, A Review


Photo courtesy The Bottle Wrench
Every now and and then, you come across an item and say to yourself "Duh, why didn't I think of that?" That's exactly what I thought when I happened upon The Bottle Wrench, billed as "the manliest bottle opener you'll ever own". An item so functional, yet, so simply designed, you don't know if it's the brainchild of Bob Vila or Handy Manny. Actually, it's neither. Jake Crawley, who comes to us from Savannah, GA, is the creator, or should I say the mastermind, behind The Bottle Wrench. An idea that came about because he was tired of using his wife's wimpy wine bottle opener to open his manly beer bottles. If you've ever had to use a wine opener, you know how emasculating it could be if another male species ever witnessed it. Jake says he went out to his garage and just a couple of hours later, voila! I'm still not sure what took him so long, but what a great invention it is.

Photo by @DrinkPro
Here's the scoop: The Bottle wrench arrived in a manly brown paper bag tied in a 4-way pattern with twine and knotted in the middle with a bow. I imagine this is the only input from a female in the entire process. The opener itself is an actual living wrench - a brand new tool from a real toolbox. Not some imitation wrench with a sticker on it that says "Not For Actual Use" like those replica football helmets. No, this is the real McCoy. Although they come in various sizes, the Bottle Wrench I received is the 1/2", their most popular size. It has a modified end that allows it to perfectly grip the bottle cap and destroy it in an instant!

Photo by @DrinkPro
All Bottle Wrenches are individually hand cut and specially modified allowing all manly energy to be transferred directly to the cap and leaves the bottle neck ever purring for your lips (sorry guys, my wife is reading 50 Shades of Grey). On the opposite end of the wrench, it comes with a loop of military-grade 550 Paracord, so, it's durable enough to take camping with you or hang it on your work bench or from your key ring. And, if you need to open a soda for the wife, simply flip the wrench over and use it to pry up the can tab so she doesn't break a nail.

If I could make any improvements to the The Bottle Wrench, I would change the way the Paracord ends are melted to keep from fraying. It leaves an eyesore at the end of what is an otherwise decent, manly look. Another thing I would do is offer more colors for the Paracord, maybe collegiate colors. Jake says this is in his plans. Current colors available are Red, White and Blue> OD Green> Red and White> Blue and White.

The Bottle Wrench can be purchased online at www.thebottlewrench.com . They make a great gift and Jake tells me he's even had wedding parties order them. How thoughtful of a groom to think of his men like that!

The price ranges from $8 for a smaller version to $10 for the original size. Shipping is about $3 and he does offer discounts on multiple quantities. Larger size wrenches are available as well. Check out the website for more details.

Product background:
The Bottle Wrench, Savannah, GA

Jake Crawley, Inventor
Website: www.thebottlewrench.com
Follow @TheBottleWrench 

Enjoy,
@DrinkPro

This blog is the opinion of the author. None of the companies mentioned here have any affiliation with this blog, nor do they endorse its contents...but they should. From time to time, @DrinkPro will receive promotional product from suppliers for the purpose of review. Gregg W Shore is a 23 year beverage veteran who writes his blog @DrinkPro, A View of the Beverage Industry, from the Inside Out. Connect on LinkedIn and follow on Twitter @DrinkPro

Monday, May 21, 2012

Who To Blame When Your Kid Is Fat

Summer is almost here and parents all around will be bringing their kids to the pediatrician for their yearly physicals before next school year. And your little 11 year old isn't so little anymore. He's 5'0" and weighs 165 pounds.

Source: Newsweek cover July 3, 2000
Last year, he was 140 pounds and the doctor told you back then you need to control his dieting. He also said he needs to get "more" exercise. This was the doctor's way of being nice. He knows your kid doesn't exercise, but he can't say it like that. He tells you to make sure he eats "more" vegetables and less sweets, but, he really knows your kid doesn't eat any vegetables at all, unless you count the lettuce on his two Wendy's burgers.

A few years back, when I pretended to go to college, I did a paper on childhood obesity. I wish my wife would have saved it like she saves all my two kids work, but, it's gone, so I'll have to just wing it from memory. I decided to research childhood obesity because that was right around the time when flunky lawyers started to pursue food and beverage manufacturers claiming they were contributing to an epidemic by creating and selling products which leads to fat kids, which, in turn, leads to fat adults, which in turn, leads to huge medical expenses later in life. This became the "new black" amongst tort lawyers who far exhausted the tobacco settlements and sought another revenue stream. (This is the full disclosure part; I make no bones about it, I think these types of lawyers are scum. At the time of my research, I also happened to work for one of the companies in the cross-hairs, Coca-Cola).

My paper was loaded with all kinds of quotes, statistics, data, parenthetical references, citations and footnotes. I had the usual list of MLA items I needed to include to get a passing grade in English 101. But, there is no need to bore you with something you already know; Fat+Carbohydrates+Calories-Exercise = Fatness. That was easy. I wonder what grade I would have gotten if that was my entire paper?

Beverage companies have been under attack for some while and have evolved as a result. The legal battle was picked up by state boards of education when they became influenced by the tort lobbyists. Soon, they began threatening to end contracts with beverage companies who supply their districts with products in campus vending machines, lunch lines and concession stands. Of course, that would have been huge. They went from a purely defensive posture at first to more of an "o.k., we can do a little better" posture later. And it's the later part that really shows how companies react to societal pressures. Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other beverage companies listened to the negative media, paid attention and worked to beat the tort lawyers rear ends. But not in a court of law, rather in the court of public opinion. They created healthier alternatives with less sugar or no sugar, shrunk package and serving sizes, made easy to read labels identifying calorie info, and, at the same time, pretty much took over the single serve bottled water market to boot. All while still offering their regular brands and continuing to innovate new ones.

You can read how many calories have been cut in school drink choices, something like 80%. Companies had to fight for their right to exist in the important school channel. And they had a lot of help along the way from unlikely sources; their competitors. While it is still entertaining to watch the old school trench warfare in the convenience stores and supermarkets, in this battle, they all wore the same uniform. Among other help were groups like the American Beverage Association www.ameribev.org , which consists of hundreds of companies in the entire beverage industry who employ over a quarter of a million people. A lot of people have a lot at stake.

Click here to watch the ABA's video
The fight isn't over though. There are special taxes being proposed which would do nothing to stop childhood obesity, but it makes a lot of liberal thinkers feel like they are making a difference. Right now, there is some creepy lawyer drawing up the next plan and the beverage companies are hard at work spending tens of millions of dollars a year trying to do the right thing.

None of the lawsuits or proposed legislation will do an ounce of good as long as little fat Johnny sits on the couch playing X-Box, eating Doritos, slamming Cokes and getting zero exercise. And there's a good chance mom and dad are porkers, too. One statistic that stood out during my research is if a kid's parents are obese, then there is a 64% chance the kid will become obese too. If the parents are not obese, the chance is reduced to 16%. And, it's not because of genetics. Kids eat what their parents eat. How many people have a secret snack cupboard for them but a fruit and vegetable cupboard for their kids? How many 300 pound parents make their kids go exercise? The answer is none and none. Speaking of exercise, another focus could also be the fact that P.E. programs have been eliminated in many schools in the past 20 years. Do you think that may have anything to do with keeping our kids physically active?

We have to watch and control what our kids eat. And we have to lead by example. Of course snacks are fine in moderation, but moderation often becomes the norm and parents act surprised when the doctor tells them their kid is fat and is going to have a lifetime of health problems unless they change. But, just because a kid is fat, I shouldn't have my choices affected.

Now, sure, the lawyers will say all they ever wanted was to force the beverage companies to make healthier products, but, we know better. I think it was Ronald Reagan who said it best about politicians, many of whom are lawyers: "The second oldest profession bears a striking resemblance to the first". Well said Ronnie, well said.

This blog is the opinion of the author. None of the companies mentioned here have any affiliation with this blog, nor do they endorse its contents...but they should. Gregg W Shore is a 23 year beverage veteran who writes his blog @DrinkPro, A View of the Beverage Industry, from the Inside Out. Connect on LinkedIn and follow on Twitter @DrinkPro

Friday, May 18, 2012

Could It Be Time For a Re-Route?


It always looks easier on paper when management is changing or adding new routes. Once a rep gets out on the street, though, that's when you truly know how efficient the re-route was. If you ever participated in a re-route, I bet the first thing you did was identify who your strong and weak performers are. That's good. You should always know who those people are.

Striking a Balance Isn't Easy, but Essential
Photo source: @DrinkPro
Building routes around those character attributes is essential to maximizing your sales rep's potential. You should not only try to place people in roles where they can succeed, but also where they will be challenged. If not, they will never grow beyond a certain threshold, nor will your business. If you have a rep who is good at a particular channel, say, urban independents, you would naturally want to place him there. And if you have a rep who lacks sufficient skills to properly service large stores, you may not want to give him that segment of your business. But, you have to strike a balance, because managing solely to those abilities, will undoubtedly lead to failures elsewhere. A new route is no place to find out an employee cannot handle the job.

Stops Per Day?
Another thing you have to consider during a re-route is what are the industry averages for a sales rep. You should be using some sort of data to determine efficiency in relation to stops per day and number of accounts in a rep's entire universe. Can your small store rep effectively call on 23 stops in a single day? The operative word is "effectively". Probably not, if he's going to do all the things required of him. 
Photo source www.prweb.com
Did he rotate the cooler and display, place POS, sell in the new focus items, pricing surveys, check for damages, etc...? Now, what about 15-17 stops. Does that sound achievable? Maybe. If he starts on time, he should be able to get it done. If start time is 5 am and he works 11 hours, he's ready to transmit his orders and go home at 4p. That gives him 30 minutes per stop plus drive time. Some stops may take 45 minutes, but others may only take 15. It will balance out. Yeah, he's doesn't have that much time to chit-chat with store owners beyond what is reasonable, but no one said this is a part-time job, you got to keep moving! Also, you have to decide what's achievable for mileage and traffic and whether or not there is a sales meeting on certain days, too. This all factors in.

Volume
Photo source: faqs.org
When you discuss volume, it could skew your re-route. You will never be able to have all routes designed with equal volume. If you do, then you probably have routes that are either too heavy or too light. Which means you should either add a route or two or trim a route or two. There will always be heavy routes and light routes, but if they call on the same channel, there should not be more than a 20%-25% difference in volume from top to bottom.

Changes in Route Dynamics
Supermarkets open or close along with small stores all the time. There are some areas that have a constant turnover of business. I know it's a pain in the rear to do so, but, to ensure you are maximizing your rep's fullest potential, re-routes should be done on a yearly basis because routes can change drastically over that period.

Enough Already!
Re-routes can be agonizing for sales reps and managers. You are never going to make everyone happy, so don't even worry about that. You just have to finish because it's taken you three weeks so far and you have to make sure your normal work gets done as well. Lock yourself in an office and don't get distracted. If you want to maximize your company's potential, it's well worth it.  

This blog is the opinion of the author. None of the companies mentioned here have any affiliation with this blog, nor do they endorse its contents...but they should. Gregg W Shore is a 23 year beverage veteran who writes @DrinkPro, A View of the Beverage Industry, from the Inside Out. Connect on LinkedIn and follow on Twitter @DrinkPro.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Jacksonville Craft and Import Beer Festival 5/18/2012

If you're in Jacksonville Friday, May 18th, be sure to plan on attending the Jacksonville Craft and Import Beer Festival held at the Jacksonville Veteran's Memorial Arena.

Learn more at www.beerfestjax.com
Tickets are $30 for regular admission but the great deal are the VIP tickets for $45. VIP tickets grant you access to the show 1 hour early, exposure to some rare craft beer the regular ticket holders wont get and also gets you into the VIP Lounge. There will be tons of restaurants sampling food and dozens of breweries on display including Brooklyn Brewery, Rogue, Stone Brewing, Bell's, Terrapin, Osaka Blues Brewery, Intuition Ale Works, Dogfish Head, Avery Brewing and many more. Every ticket gets you a 5 oz Collectible Beer Sampling Glass (sorry, only to the first 4,500 guests).

Be sure to say hello Tom Vess and all the great folks at Champion Brands, distributor of the fine craft beers you'll be enjoying. Proceeds will benefit the Southside Business Men's Club and the Jax Chamber West Council.

There will be live entertainment, parking and just in case you want to make a full night of it, a special $99 rate at the nearby Hyatt Regency.

Tickets available in advance here or at Total Wine and Broudy's Liquor & Spirits. Or at the Verteran's Memorial Arena box office the day of event. For more information, visit www.beerfestjax.com.

Enjoy

@DrinkPro

This blog is the opinion of the author. None of the companies mentioned here have any affiliation with this blog, nor do they endorse its contents...but they should. Gregg W Shore is a 23 year beverage veteran who writes his blog @DrinkPro, A View of the Beverage Industry, from the Inside Out. Connect on LinkedIn and follow on Twitter @DrinkPro.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Grab Your Umbrellas Because Sparkling Ice is Pouring On the Sales

I think it's safe to say Talking Rain has a powerful thunder storm in their portfolio. And it has been unleashed on the rest of the country.  Beverage meteorologists across the nation are predicting strong winds (dollar sales) and heavy rain (volume) to continue, at least for the rest of this year.
 
Of course, Talking Rain is based in Washington state, where else.
Talking Rain's (TR) Sparkling Ice has been around for about 20 years. As the name implies, Sparkling Ice is an enhanced sparkling water that is naturally flavored. It comes in a tall, slim 17 oz PET and has eight flavors, each of which touts zero cals and zero carbs. But, how come most people haven't heard of Sparkling Ice until recently? TR decided to change it's strategy to target consumers who are leaving the CSD category. It's strategy included launching the brand on a national scale and aligning with distributors in all critical regions. The result? 2103% increase in volume vs YAG (excl Wal Mart).


How did they achieve such a large increase? By gaining authorizations and POG in large chain stores and securing a distributor network (a lot of beer houses) that can service those stores regularly. The average retail for Ice's 17 oz bottle is around $1.19, but expect to continue to see 10/$10 throughout the Summer and probably the rest of the year. This price point is essential to the brand's recent surge, by targeting consumers who are looking for value, especially when considering a new product.

Distributors I've talked to throughout the Southeast said they are going through about a truckload a week. They've told me they have Publix stores selling upwards of 80-100 cases per week at 10/$10, on the high end. The low end is about 40 cases week. Wal Mart sells for $1 and these same distributors say the volume is even higher in those stores. Look for pallets on the cart rail, action alley and/or 4 foot sections top to bottom. Not bad for a relatively new brand in Florida.
Sparkling Ice's line-up, including two newcomers, Lemonade and Coconut Pineapple

If there is a downside (and there almost always is), the only one I heard of is the shape of the PET. It just annoys sales reps and merchandisers. They say the bottle is like a bowling pin. When stocking shelves, if one bottle falls over, it knocks over nine more! And it's not a real downside, but I'm trying to be critical here!

There have been some recent occasions of beer distributors dropping some NA business, mainly due to the growth of the craft beer category (they need the space in their warehouse), but if a beer distributor currently carries TR in their market, they won't be letting go of this golden nugget.

This blog is the opinion of the author. None of the companies mentioned here have any affiliation with this blog, nor do they endorse its contents...but they should. Gregg W Shore is a 23 year beverage veteran who writes his blog @DrinkPro, A View of the Beverage Industry, from the Inside Out. Connect on LinkedIn and follow on Twitter @DrinkPro.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

How The Heck Did She Do That?

Today is Mother's Day. But, everyday should be Mother's Day. We should always honor the moms out there who gave birth to us, fed us, changed our diapers, got us ready for school, pinned on a corsage, lied for you to a girl on the phone...oh, sorry, that last one slipped out.

Photo Source: BabyCenter.com
You get the point. Moms have always been there for us, through all the skinned knees, performances, games, scout meetings, break-ups and countless other times, when, if you could count on one person to be there, it would be your mom.

How do they know to always be there? When you're young, you think because it's there job. You can't comprehend the scale on which things get done. You don't notice how the food gets on the table, but you notice when it's not on the table. You don't notice how clothes end up folded in your drawer, but you notice there's a pile of laundry in your hamper. You don't notice when the toys get picked up from the floor, but you always know right where to find them, neat and orderly. You don't understand how she drove everyone to a game, practice, concert, sleepover, skating rink, karate class or theme park, on-time and in a car that burned more fuel per mile than the space shuttle, but you got there.

Photo Source: SheKnows.com
There will come a time when your dad doesn't have to take you to the drug store to get a Mother's Day card for your mom. When that time comes, that's when you begin to realize, not just all mom did for you, but how she did it. It wasn't just because it was her job, it was because she loved you. Then, look back in amazement and give her a big hug! Happy Mother's Day, Mom.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

From Dinosaurs to Cadillacs-My Journey Through the Beverage Tech Time Warp

Yes, when I started delivering beer, there was a such thing as refrigeration. It wasn't that long ago! O.k., yes it was. I wasn't even old enough to drink beer. Heck, I wasn't even old enough to drive the truck that carried the beer. Back then, in Florida, you needed a Chauffeur's License to drive a big truck and you had to be 18 years old. I was only 17. Don't ask me how, but I must have made a mistake when I filled out my DOB on the paper application. Anyway, I'd get to the warehouse around 4:45 a.m. to get a good parking spot and wait the usual 10 or 15 minutes until the warehouse manager, Joe, showed up to let us in. We were so anxious to see what kind of route we had waiting for us. Too often, we ended up disappointed at the number of stops or cases. So, there I was, behind the wheel of a 45,000 lb low-boy trailer, without a lick of experience on how to make a right turn, let alone back it up. Next to me on the bench seat sat my aluminum clip board we called a "tin". Inside the tin, were my invoices for the day. Pre-printed on continuous form paper at night by company elves and left on each driver's cubicle. Triplicate sets of invoices, still attached at the perforations. White (customer), Yellow (cash) and Pink (charge).We'd tear off each set and sort them by address and then place them in order according to how we will run the route. The thought of separating invoices each morning now annoys me to no end. But, those were the good ole days, and I didn't know any different.

Continuous form invoice- the edges would always end up on the floor in your truck
 I remember when I went to work for Coca-Cola Enterprises, they too, had the same system of pre-printed invoices. Like half-asleep robots, we'd tear those invoices apart and sort. I always wished the company elves could do this for us rather than leaving a big stack, but they never did. Then one day, it happened. We were told we were switching to hand-held computers which the drivers would take with them and print once you arrived at the customer's location. This was my first real experience with streamlining the delivery process. Wow! So big time, we've finally arrived. Introducing... The Norand 4500! A complete computer processor that did all we needed it to do; print the invoice, and a duplicate, if need be. Oh yeah, speaking of printing, the printer was a separate unit that weighed about 10 pounds, but seemed much heavier at the end of the day. It had to always remain plugged in at night so the batteries could charge.
 
Norand 4500
It wasn't always so smooth. There were times when you'd arrive to work in the morning and none of the hand-helds had the day's routes in them. Of course, we had a guy, Pat, who was the "super user". He was basically self trained on these things. You'd have to go to his office and stand there in the door with your hand-held until he looked up and said "what do you want?", even though he knew. He could reboot them and bring up all kinds of weird menus with small fonts and he'd press buttons so fast, you couldn't keep up. Yes>No>Yes>Yes>No>Yes>Enter. That should do it. He'd hand it to you and tell you to go put it in the cradle on the wall. And don't even try touching the hand-held while it's "thinking", he'd yell at you.

Motorola MC 9090
Around ten years later, the company upgraded again. This time, to a Symbol by Motorola with a wireless printer. Whoa! A whole new set of problems. Except Pat was in another department, as if he knew what was coming. This time, it was me who was the unofficial super user. In all honesty, we managers picked up on them pretty quick. The worst part was trying to troubleshoot over a Nextel. That was frustrating, but it was how we evolved.

Nowadays, it's has evolved even more. Sales reps and drivers can look at real-time inventory on their iPads and iPhones, swipe credit cards and perform countless other functions in the Cloud. Some operations have even gone paperless, except for a little thermal receipt, and large chain customers can now link directly to the distributor's system and place orders.

I'm curious to see where technology will take the beverage business in the coming years. It changes so rapidly, the next great advancement will be here before we know it.

This blog is the opinion of the author. None of the companies mentioned here have any affiliation with this blog, nor do they endorse its contents...but they should. Gregg W Shore is a 23 year beverage veteran who writes his blog @DrinkPro, A View of the Beverage Industry, from the Inside Out. Connect on LinkedIn and follow on Twitter @DrinkPro



Friday, May 11, 2012

How to Retain the Best Delivery Drivers

Here we go, Monday morning in Distribution Land, and delivery supervisors across America are on edge. Yesterday was the big game or a holiday or some other significant event and you know certain drivers always call in sick the next day. It's 5:09 a.m., 39 minutes after the time they're supposed to notify their supervisor if they are calling in sick. You try him on his Nextel, "User Not Available". You call his cell phone and it goes straight to voice mail after one ring. The last resort is calling his house and waking up his wife. "Should I?", you ask your self. "Heck yeah! I don't want to run that route." Besides, you want to spend time with a new driver today making sure he's ready to go on his own full route tomorrow.


This scenario is repeated day after day in the beverage delivery business, and always has been. But, not for all companies. Let's face it, all employees miss a day here and there. Everyone has doctor appointments, all our kids get sick, cars break down, pets die, I get it. But, what is it about those organizations who never seem to have these attendance problems? What do they have in common? Ask yourself these simple questions:

  1. Have all employees read and signed the attendance policy in the employee handbook? If not, print it out and have them sign it. Make sure it clearly states the company's policy. It should state that they must call their supervisor before a certain time if they can't come to work. Leaving a voice mail is NOT acceptable.
  2. What is the morale of the driver staff? Good managers have a pulse on the morale of the delivery department. Make sure your delivery supervisors handle situations correctly regarding negative talk amongst drivers. This is the number one cancer in any organization and it must be stopped at it's source. Make sure drivers are all treated the same with regard to workload, not ability. Nothing pisses off good, hard working drivers more than knowing they get slammed day after day while those who have trouble finishing their work are given light routes.
  3. Do you have "lead" drivers? This is important on several fronts. One, it shows a driver you trust in them to handle more "senior" tasks such as training new drivers and delivering special loads. Two, it gives them an opportunity to get noticed by other managers and is useful for their own career development. These should be your more experienced drivers, but only those who are good trainers. This designation should be accompanied by a pay increase, typically around $10 a day to their base.
  4. Are there regular meetings? Drivers should be meeting with their supervisors daily, but regular department meetings should take place weekly. These weekly meetings only need to be 20-25 minutes long and need to touch on KPIs, DOT and safety, that's all. Don't let the drivers turn it into a bitch session about the sales reps and the warehouse, or you'll be there all morning. And besides, drivers like to get the hell out in the morning so they can get done and go home. Be sure to provide doughnuts or something at every meeting, and make sure you get enough!  
  5. Do you have a recognition system in place to reward good work? Whether it's a gift card, a plaque or even a nice polo shirt, have something that shows them you appreciate their hard work. These should be presented at general sales meetings at least quarterly, if not monthly. And, at least twice a year, you should have food for them, and only them (sales and warehouse departments can have their own meetings and food). It goes a long way.
  6. Do you have the proper equipment? Hand held computers, vehicles and hand trucks are the most common equipment issues which lead to diminished work performance. In my experience, you need to have the top equipment. If a hand held won't upload, a driver's truck won't start in the morning or his hand truck has a flat tire, the day is already going downhill. Be sure there is staff in place who can fix these issues on the fly. The fleet department should be open when the drivers arrive to work. Someone should have a decent knowledge of how to reboot a hand held or fix a @Magliner wheel (the best there is) at 5 a.m. If not, drivers are going to miss cut-off delivery times and that snowballs fast!
  7. How are the drivers compensated? Ahhh, finally. THE topic. Even your most loyal drivers know what the competition is paying their guys. They've been recruited from supervisors in the field. Are your drivers getting paid on the higher end of the salary scale for comparable jobs in town, or, are they in the middle or bottom of the scale? If you don't know, I suggest you find out. See if other companies are paying base plus commission. Are they paying commission on empties? All these things matter. Also, be sure to have a yearly merit review in place with potential to receive an increase of up to 5%.
Stay ahead of your competition. They're probably out there right now trying to steal your top talent. Be sure to find out all you can about drivers. Companies like @CocaCola employ lots of good ones. See one delivering to a store, stop and talk to him. You can find more information about delivery drivers @BeverageInd and @BevNet and other magazines and blogs. You're not always going to be the market share leader in your business, nor do you have to be. But, you should always strive to have the lowest driver turnover, which will result in lower OPEX and hopefully, higher bonuses.

This blog is the opinion of the author. None of the companies mentioned here have any affiliation with this blog, nor do they endorse its contents...but they should. Gregg W Shore is a 23 year beverage veteran who writes his blog @DrinkPro, A View of the Beverage Industry, from the Inside Out. Connect on LinkedIn and follow on Twitter @DrinkPro

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Searching for a Beverage Job in Florida?

If you're one of the billion unemployed beverage people in Florida, consider this; Pack up and move to Miami. A bunch of beverage job postings in Florida show a trend, and, if you know anything about Florida, you'll understand why. Most of the available jobs are in South Florida, specifically, Miami.

Florida's population has been growing at a pretty good rate for the last twenty-five years, and South Florida has been leading the way. Most growth is due to immigrants and snowbirds. And what do they have in common? Most end up in South Florida.

So, it only makes sense that beer, rum, vodka, whiskey and energy drink companies are hiring people in FL to fill their growing needs. A recent look at the beverage job board BevForce.com shows 40 of the last 50 companies who posted a position for Florida need to hire someone in South Florida. These jobs range from the entry level Brand Ambassador all the way up to VP of Sales. The companies range from small start-ups like SK Energy, partially owned by rapper 50 Cent, all the way up to global brands like MillerCoors and Bacardi.

The salaries vary as much as the companies themselves. Almost all jobs above entry level have a salary that can be negotiated. It depends on your experience, but they will low-ball you. Think of them as a used car salesman, in reverse (figuratively). They are going to try to offer you a small amount, so, be prepared to answer the question "what's the salary range you're looking for?" If you do your homework and learn the average salaries for that position and for that company, you can put yourself in a spot to get the higher end of the salary range for that job. You can search sites like GlassDoor.com to see what current and former employees are saying about specific companies and also get salary information for certain positions.

And one more thing; if you speak Spanish, and you're willing to relocate to Miami, you just jumped a bunch of people on the list!

This blog is the opinion of the author. None of the companies mentioned here have any affiliation with this blog, nor do they endorse its contents...but they should. Gregg W Shore is a 23 year beverage veteran who writes his blog @DrinkPro, A View of the Beverage Industry, from the Inside Out. Connect on LinkedIn and follow on Twitter @DrinkPro