The always enriching ‘ride-along’
Even though my Labrador retriever has ample space to romp around in our yard, nothing perks her up more than when I say, “Wanna go for a ride?”
I don’t have to ask twice as she leaps into my well-worn pickup truck. Like every dog, I suppose, she relishes every minute, head and tongue hanging out the window the whole trip. She doesn’t say much, of course, but she’s great company.
In the retail game, we occasionally have opportunities to “ride-along” with someone, too, don’t we?
As a produce supervisor, I jumped at the chance to ride-along with one of the chain’s district managers. “Gary” was a seasoned grocery veteran, having managed numerous stores and, at the time, oversaw about 15 locations. Like myself, Gary’s job was to travel and make (mostly) unannounced visits in our territory. It was a learning experience for us both. Gary didn’t have extensive fresh produce background, and my “total store” knowledge was limited, at best.
Our store visits by design were not long in duration — maybe 30-45 minutes at most. It was, as he said, seeing a “snapshot” of how things really are in the stores, both favorable and otherwise. He spoke to store management, always keenly observing key areas especially important in a store operation. Meanwhile, I did the same with the produce department. Sometimes, we compared notes on the spot; sometimes, we saved our thoughts or concerns for when we got back on the road.
And since this shared district was rural, sometimes, in the hours between stops, we had ample time to talk about what we saw.
“Did you notice that last store’s entrance?” Gary would say. “They keep it spotless, dump the trash regularly, the windows are always spotless and they’re quick to hustle carts back in from the lot. Makes a great first impression on customers. And they’re quick to open additional checkstands when needed.”
I’d chime in, too. “Maureen is the produce manager there. I spoke to her briefly — department’s always in great shape and she keeps in touch. Her department is consistently dialed-in. Maureen trains her crew to be meticulous and it shows. Wish we had twenty more just like her.” Gary nodded in agreement.
Not every store visit went so smoothly, as some visits lasted longer depending on the store conditions. But in every stop, we were able to walk stores closely and discuss each situation, be it something that had to do with out-of-stocks, service levels, quality, inventory, sanitation, rotation, the list went on. Funny thing about what Gary saw in a total-store view and what I saw specific to the produce department was that the fundamentals we looked for were similar throughout the visits. Gary made follow-up notes and calls, as did I.
The best part of the ride-along was just having what I call “windshield time.” The long stretches of travel between the stores gave us ample time to talk about store issues, and produce ones, of course. The travel time helped us to get to know each other better. We talked about work all right, but also about our families, what our kids were up to, about our favorite fishing spots. This made the time pass quickly.
That ride-along helped each of us understand the other’s roles much better. It also made it a whole lot easier to communicate with one another in future calls down the road.
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.
