How to Train a New Route Driver

As a veteran driver, there is a good chance you will be asked at some time to help new drivers learn the skills that you have mastered. Introducing the new driver to the company and making them aware of how they will interact with other employees is management’s responsibility. When it is time to turn the new person over to the individual who will oversee their driver training, there is a good chance that that person will look to veteran drivers to help in this process.

A wise man once told me that the four steps of training are explaining what has to be done, showing and demonstrating how to execute the necessary tasks, allowing the new hire to perform these tasks, and finally critiquing their quality and progress. I certainly believe that this formula is applicable to route driver training, and now I will elaborate on the different skill areas that must be covered to produce a successful route driver.

Basic Technical Vending Skills

The trainer has taken our new employee to their first stop, showed them where to park, loaded their cart full of product and are at that critical point when they arrive at the first vending bank and begin to open and service the first machine of our new driver’s career.

The first step in training at this point must be the actual mechanics on how to fill a vending machine. This will include simple but important processes like how to release the shelves in a snack machine or rotate the shelves in a food machine to fill it.

A good second step will be to explain how the machine is to be merchandised. The demographics of your customer will play a major role in what products you provide to them and what quantities are required. It is important to explain that each account is different and that to maximize sales you should adjust the menu to meet unique customer demands.

Another important training activity at this time is to demonstrate and explain the cleaning and sanitation requirements of their job. It is critical that new hires understand that dirty equipment will result in lost sales as customers today are more and more discerning as to where they purchase their food items.

Finally, at this point, our new employee should be trained in the basic repair skills they are expected to perform such as clearing coin jams, resetting health timers, e.g. They should also be interested in how and when to call in a machine malfunction that needs the attention of a qualified mechanic.

Before they leave a location, they should be instructed to check that each machine is securely locked to prevent product and/or cash shortages.

The Customer is Always Right

One of the most critical training points for a new route driver is conveying to them that they are in the service business and the most important part of their job is keeping their customers happy.

As a piece of this activity, they must understand how to handle customer requests, customer complaints and refund handling. They should be empowered to address these issues immediately, along with their ability to give customers product samples.

In most cases, the company is represented by impersonal vending equipment more than 90 percent of the time. Of that remaining 10 percent, more than 90 percent of that interval the company is represented by the route driver. Their attitude and service skills will play a major role in the company’s success with customers.

The route driver must be trained in being the person that pays attention to changes at customer locations. A change in client contacts or a visit by competition to the account must be learned quickly in order to protect the business, and a well liked driver will be the company’s first line of defense.

Finally, a new driver must understand that they are route sales people. They are charged with giving the customers what they want and not just filling slots in machines. How they market new products and communicate other changes to customers will play a major role in their success.

Cash Handling/Sales Reporting