National Clothesline

As you have read before, I am very protective of the drivers. Too often they are blamed for mistakes, missed bags, etc and many of you know that it is not always their fault.

However, I also believe that they should be held accountable for their work, production, efficiency and, of course, the time they spend on the road.

Usually, most of my calls are on how to build the routes through marketing and how to manage all route personnel. However, I only spend about 10 to 15 percent of my time talking to the individuals on the front line, the route drivers.

When I venture on an on-site project, I quite often ride on the route with the drivers in order to observe demographics and to provide marketing training. I probably have ridden with over 100 drivers and I decided to provide these somewhat fun but educational top 10 tips for those on the route. Some come from what I did when I drove the routes and what other drivers do to help in growing and maintaining routes, while staying somewhat sane and efficient.

Now some of these are quite common and may be an intellectual insult to some, while others are quite unique and may have never been tried. So, here we go.

10. Keep dog biscuits on the van. Now this is an old UPS trick that provides delivery drivers a safety valve when walking up to a home for picking up and delivery. Usually this is for those over-friendly dogs who must think that a driver carrying a bag of clothes is their best friend or some sort of scratching post.

Also, I quickly realized that I see dogs 10 times more than I do the customers and it actually becomes part of the daily routine. Many drivers take two biscuits; one for when they get out of the van and the other once the pick up or deliver clothes.

Warning: Do not run out of dog biscuits. Rover may become a little discouraged. Also, do not mix up your box of Cheez-Its for your box of Milk Bones.

9. Do not smoke in or around the van. Oh boy, this one kills me as a consultant as I see smoking in the van quite frequently. So often drivers have their “smoking spots” just like they have their bathroom breaks. They pull over in a cul-de-sac and light up, sometimes in front of a client’s home.

I once rode with a driver who was convinced that the smoke doesn’t stay in the van while driving. Those who do not smoke know all too well that smoke just magically exits out the cracked windows and does not stay in the vehicle. Ah, no.

Today more than ever, people are self conscious about how their clothes smell and quite often complain about the quality. Smoky clothes certainly are a problem.

Another driver was convinced that the plastic protects the clothes. Other drivers thought it was OK because the smoke will be eliminated when the clothes are cleaned, but they forget about the bag itself.

This is a biggie, but your quality and your image are definitely at risk when your driver smokes. Hold them accountable when it comes to this issue, otherwise your route may just go up in smoke.

8. Keep the van clean and maintained. The fact is that we have “Cleaners” printed all over our vans, so it is very critical to keep the van clean, outside and in. No trash, coffee cups, etc on the dash board.

I had a driver who may not have ever thrown away the newspapers in the van. I found one newspaper that had “Nixon Resigns” on the cover.

This is your store on wheels, and your vehicle defines to the customers how much we care about the image and branding of the company.

Also, replace vehicle wrap if it is discolored or damaged. Plus, do not deliver clothes in a vehicle that even Fred Sanford wouldn’t own. I rode in a van that was so rusted, every time we hit a puddle, 20 gallons of water came in the rear wheel well.

Twice, I had a van that broke down while we were training. That was great.

If you are classified as a quality or high-end drycleaner, keep your van looking sharp, clean and recognize that this is a billboard on wheels.

7. Have your competitors’ bags with you. This is a no brainer. When — not if — you ever run over a cat or dog, simply put the road kill in your competition’s bag and leave it on the porch. I can’t believe I am the only one who thought of this one.

6. Weather report. Many drivers are programmed to watch the weather and quite often listen to the radio. It is critical that clothes not be delivered, in the morning especially, unprotected from the elements, unless it is a covered porch or screen.

Bad weather is uncontrollable, but we can head it off at the pass by being proactive and recognizing what lies ahead in the daily forecast. The biggest key is to have a proactive game plan.

5. Market supplies. As you may have read before, I don’t always recommend having the drivers sell while driving, unless they are equipped with this characteristic. But, I do stress that your van must be fully equipped with marketing materials on a daily basis. Too often, there are golden opportunities that end up being lost when a prospect comes up to a driver and asks them about the service.

Give the driver the proper tools to at least hand out information about the route. Also, I recommend that the drivers hang 40 door hangers a week with a next-door neighbor plan. This is the least they can do to assist in the building of the delivery business.

4. Communication with management. One thing that is becoming quite apparent is, that drivers do not always communicate with management about issues that concern operations and customer service.

Too often, the drivers take it upon themselves to correct issues without trying to prevent them from happening again. Or worse yet, they end up talking to production and try to “fix” the issues and, in turn, make matters worse.

They must diplomatically communicate with management on specific issues that concern the operations.

Also, when a route customer starts to become irregular, the route driver is always the first to know. He must assist in the retention of delivery customers by communicating with management when a client is “missing” from the route.

For marketing purposes they can share info about clients who are moving or prospects who have moved in. One thing I don’t recommend is drivers stealing the “for sale” signs out of the yard of their best customers; I think that might be illegal in some way.

3. Represent drycleaning. One major rule that gets quite overlooked is that we must be a product of our product. In other words, we must represent drycleaning in every aspect of our business.

This must ring true of the drivers. I see all extremes: drivers wearing suits while other wear ratty jeans, t-shirts, ball caps etc. I know it is hot, uncomfortable, etc., but in our marketing pieces we brag about quality.

However, if our drivers look like a maintenance guy or a rap artist, what does that say about what we believe in ourselves?

Drivers should have cleanly pressed pants, shirts, etc. Also, they should be clean in appearance, cleanly shaven, etc.

One of my favorite clients is MasterKleen in Columbus, GA. One of their drivers wears a cleanly pressed white shirt with a tie every day. He even keeps an extra shirt just in case the one he is wearing gets dirty.

The point of this is that if our employees don’t believe in our very own product, how can we convince our customers to?

2. Use the manifest thoroughly. Too often, drivers think I preach about using the manifest because they are not held accountable enough. Well, this is true.

However, the manifest is a great tool that assists them in their daily operations. The one thing that I know is that drivers quite often get blamed for bags being missed, misdeliveries and other mistakes.

With proper use of the manifest, you can document the times you drove by, mark off clothes when delivered, highlight deliveries, mark if you pick-up a bag etc. When you follow the proper systems, the manifest will assist in eliminating 95 percent of the errors before they go out the door and any dedicated driver would want to comply with these standards.

1. Know your customers. The best drivers I see actually get to know their customers by name, usage and sometimes their clothes. Now, I don’t want them to over-service the clients, but too often the drivers do not make a proactive attempt to see the customers, face to face.

I wrote before about a driver who averaged around $100 a week in tips and gift certificates. He makes it a point to see the customers face-to-face as much as possible. If it has been longer than two months, he proactively knocks on the door to communicate with them.

Christmastime is a great gauge for this; you’ll know if your drivers are doing a great job by the amount of gifts they receive.

OK, number 7 probably stunned you and I only did it three times, but hopefully the rest haven’t. If you are a dedicated driver, you should be willing to take part in the above recommendations.

If you are the owner or manager and your driver is not willing to try some of the items above, then you may want to look for a driver who will. I believe that it only takes a couple of small bad habits that affect your business in a negative way.

The biggest thing that I preach is, generally, customers love the service and like the driver. Do not allow your driver to hold you handcuffed by allowing him to be in total control of the routes.

Too often you are faced with eliminating a driver and not having a back-up plan. Again, your manifest is the biggest link in this department. It must be kept in order and the drivers must use it to its fullest capacity. Failure to follow this procedure will end up causing you major headaches down the road. And trust me, this is not your best route to success.