Produce 101: Be on (Lombardi) time
Fewer business practices are more important than punctuality.
In the produce game we expect our deliveries to arrive on time. From this expectation a produce manager writes orders or figures how many shifts are needed.
And it makes a world of difference if the load that was supposed to arrive at 5 a.m. doesn’t show up until noon.
We’ve seen it. Lived it. In that example the result is almost certainly empty shelves, wasted labor hours, and lost sales. You can’t dictate circumstances outside your control, but we can all work to improve on a personal level.
Punctuality helps kickstart a career. One part-time produce clerk I had used to arrive an hour early. Many times, I put him to work right away. We were always busy, so it justified the few extra hours he accumulated (and increased his pay) just by showing up a tad early.
Oh yeah, once he clocked in, he hustled.
It was a great lesson. As a produce manager, arriving one hour early made so much difference. I could thoroughly walk the department, straighten, cull closely, and make an accurate to-do list for the day.
This carried over in my days inspecting produce on the dock and as a buyer too.
Arriving early allowed me to get organized. That one “golden hour” when no one knew I was there enabled me to better handle whatever arose, be it dealing with a late truck, getting a jump writing purchase orders, sorting through a troublesome pick slot, un-jamming the printer, even just making a fresh pot of coffee.
Getting back to retail — when a produce manager arrives early, it sets a good example.
A produce manager can’t expect their clerks to hit the ground running if they’re not punctual either. If you’re consistently early, you’ve every right to say, “Your shift begins at 7 a.m.; I expect to see you loading a cart and stocking at that time.”
It usually goes without saying; if you set the pace, the crew will follow.
All these years later, my weeks are all about staying focused and following the same direction.
It doesn’t mean even the best among us never mess up. It happens. But like every successful person I know, it helps to be extra-punctual. Meaning if I have a presentation at 10 a.m., I make it a point to arrive an hour early to set up with time to spare. Punctuality pays whether you’re a manager, a vendor, or a produce clerk starting out.
Vince Lombardi was famous for expecting his players to arrive 15 minutes early for meetings and practices. If a new player arrived at the scheduled time, they were, by all expectations, late. This wasn’t the only thing that marked the coach’s success, but small, good habits form bigger, better habits.
It works in pro sports, and it works in the produce aisle too.
Armand Lobato works for the Idaho Potato Commission. His 40 years of experience in the produce business span a range of foodservice and retail positions.
