Delivery Bag Dilema.

[BirdmanSTL17]

For year and years all we have done is just buy a bunch of bags and when they would get worn out or lost we would replace them. but now it seems to be happining a little to often. so im wondering if anyone has some ideas or could share how they do it. i was just trying to find a way to make the drivers a little more responsible with the bags. do you assign daily, or assign them bags and they stay with them. any advice would help.

 

[Daddio]

One store I delivered for had all the bags numbered. The bag number was assigned to the order when it was dispatched. If a bag went missing the driver who took the last order with that bag was responsible.

 

[system]

Make the drivers buy their own bags as required uniform items. Must have it to work just like a hat or shirt. They are responsible for their bags…do it as a payroll deduction and have a few extra on hand for when they do lose them and must BUY a new one for their shift. No loaners…you misplace your bag then you buy a new one for your shift. RESPONSIBILITY BABY!!! :!:

 

[Registered_Guest]

Even if that were legal, how is that logistically possible?

How many bags would a driver have to buy? What if one bought 2 bags and had an order that required 3 bags? Not to mention taking doubles or triples+

Any given day any one of our drivers will take an order that varies in size from 1 to 15+ bags.

We are having the same problem as the OP - I think the only solution is to number the bags (use that fabric paint in the bottle) - and make them inventory items that are counted each night. At least you will know when the bags go missing.
qcfmike:

Make the drivers buy their own bags as required uniform items. Must have it to work just like a hat or shirt. They are responsible for their bags…do it as a payroll deduction and have a few extra on hand for when they do lose them and must BUY a new one for their shift. No loaners…you misplace your bag then you buy a new one for your shift. RESPONSIBILITY BABY!!! :!:

 

[system]

RG how is that not legal? It is no different than requiring any employee that needs a tool for their trade. Part of doing their job. You are not asking anything out of reason here. Warehouse workers need box cutters… I ran contruction crews that always lost staple hammers…like a few a week. Only $27 each and yes we went through the number them…assign them…etc. Nothing worked until they had to buy them and they used them daily…and if you didn’t have one…or loss it…forgot it… I had a drawer full to sell you a new one. There is nothing illegal of requiring an employee to supply tools of their trade. Many fine restaurants mandate chefs supply their own knives.

As far as 15 bag orders… how often? Make them buy what they use in NORMAL daily use. I am guessing 99% of their runs are 1-3 bags at most. If you have a really big run…then have those bags on hand and sign them out and check them back as soon as they return. Otherwise your only option is too number every bag and sign in and out every run and do you have time to number every order out the door and then back in?

Their is always the other option…as another thread is talking about… DROP DELIVERY!!! :idea:

 

[Penelope]

One thing we do is when we get the bags we take them to the shoe shop (or any other place that has large sewing machines will work) and put straps with quick clips on them. We mainly did it because it gives us handles on the bags to make them easier to carry, but it also provides the drivers with straps, so the bag is never set down. (and when the driver is trained they are taught to never set down the bags).

 

[paul7979]

Penelope:

One thing we do is when we get the bags we take them to the shoe shop (or any other place that has large sewing machines will work) and put straps with quick clips on them. We mainly did it because it gives us handles on the bags to make them easier to carry, but it also provides the drivers with straps, so the bag is never set down. (and when the driver is trained they are taught to never set down the bags).

Thats funny because we do exactly the opposite. Our bags come in with straps/handles already sewn in and before we put them to use we cut the straps off. Every time I see a delivery driver for another place using bags with handles I cringe as I see the bag swinging back and fourth as they walk. I’m sure the driver isn’t consciously swinging the bag but in their hurry to get to their destination their arm swings with every step and suddenly the pizza shifts from 30 degrees at one angle to 30 degrees at the opposite angle.

As far as getting worn, it is just a cost of doing business. My bags last long enough that they cost a penny or two per delivery. I’ll eat that cost and not worry about it. I find having our logo screenprinted on the bags does good in two ways. First, many lost bags find their way back to the store when they get left at the customers house. Secondly they don’t end up in use at a competitor when a driver quits/gets fired and goes to work down the street.

 

[Registered_Guest]

qcfmike:

RG how is that not legal? It is no different than requiring any employee that needs a tool for their trade. Part of doing their job. You are not asking anything out of reason here. Warehouse workers need box cutters… I ran contruction crews that always lost staple hammers…like a few a week. Only $27 each and yes we went through the number them…assign them…etc. Nothing worked until they had to buy them and they used them daily…and if you didn’t have one…or loss it…forgot it… I had a drawer full to sell you a new one. There is nothing illegal of requiring an employee to supply tools of their trade. Many fine restaurants mandate chefs supply their own knives.

As far as 15 bag orders… how often? Make them buy what they use in NORMAL daily use. I am guessing 99% of their runs are 1-3 bags at most. If you have a really big run…then have those bags on hand and sign them out and check them back as soon as they return. Otherwise your only option is too number every bag and sign in and out every run and do you have time to number every order out the door and then back in?

Their is always the other option…as another thread is talking about… DROP DELIVERY!!! :idea:

With all due respect, that’s crazy talk. Try and apply any of that in the real world. No one has time to check out/check in bags. Very few drivers are going to invest in their own bags. There is also the fact that drivers would have to come back from a delivery and load their orders into their bags instead of having them pre-loaded and ready to walk about the door. That in itself would slow service down.

Oh yeah, let’s drop delivery because a few bags get lost every once in a while - instead of just trying to keep better track of it. “Sorry Mr. Smith, we don’t deliver any more because our drivers lose too many bags”.

Well, I guess you are right - if we were out of business we wouldn’t have to worry about losing bags! :lol:

 

[Penelope]

paul7979:

Thats funny because we do exactly the opposite. Our bags come in with straps/handles already sewn in and before we put them to use we cut the straps off. Every time I see a delivery driver for another place using bags with handles I cringe as I see the bag swinging back and fourth as they walk. I’m sure the driver isn’t consciously swinging the bag but in their hurry to get to their destination their arm swings with every step and suddenly the pizza shifts from 30 degrees at one angle to 30 degrees at the opposite angle.

Good point Paul, I forgot they made bags with handles, we inheirited a couple of party bags with handles, that nobody will use because they are difficult to keept straight.

How we have the straps is one front to back and one side to side, since it’s not necessarily a handle, in order to keep the bag straight you have to grab it palm up where the two straps meet. Having your arm in that position eliminates the swinging.

 

[system]

RG you need to read the SARCASM some times. I doubt many would drop delivery. I know all the solutions mentioned here are not perfect by far. The sad but true bottom line is that employees just don’t care anymore. There are a few that do but most just don’t. So how do you fix this?

First…to the OP and everyone… how many bags and how often are we talking here? I realize this is hard to track but is it always the same drivers that lose them?

Now all that said…I had an idea on this one. I agree that even my own thoughts on this have flaws and that the last thing anyone needs is added time and hassle to monitor bag use every minute of everyday. So what? Well, and I know this will ruffle some feathers, I have a reasonable idea that takes no time to implement. Reduce your driver reimbursement by $0.25 per run and place those funds into a bag replacement fund. Use this money to buy lost, stolen, or just worn out bags. Use it to upgrade to heated bags when the fund gets large enough…etc. I know this will not go over well but if the drivers cannot bring bags back everytime they go out then as a business they need to be held responsible for the lost items. Some will argue that it’s not them but the only way to not affect operations is a blanket fund that covers all bags and all drivers.

Another thought to help sell this idea and not make it all bad is lets put in an incentive for the drivers. Realistically this fund could add up pretty fast. So no bags are lost or damaged for 3 months…have a couple hundred in the fund. Give all the drivers an oil change gift cert from some local shop. Have a drawing for a new set of tires…ie: $XXX gift cert from the TireRack…etc. They all talk about the high expense of auto upkeep so make this progam benefit them also not just a slap on the hand for the irresponsible ones that cannot keep track of thier bags.

 

[brad_randall]

paul7979:

logo screenprinted on the bags.

What about printing a coupon on the bag? “Driver forgot this bag at your house? Return it to the store for a free order of breadsticks!”

I’ve been meaning to do this same thing with our metal drink carriers in the form of a dog tag attached to each one.

So many things to do, so little time…

 

[eupher61]

Another solution, and while a little sarcasm is possibly intended, it’s based on real world experience, too:

Pay your drivers well, treat them well, and build the trust that they won’t be stupid with the bags.

And, some duct tape in the same color (or contrasting, if you want to be fashionable) can often take care of rips.

steve

 

[system]

Brad I like that idea a lot but would offer something more… a free pizza and sticks! Also, by doing that you now know 100% who left the bag…and that is worth the expense. First left bag is no cost to the driver. Number 2…well, to each their own as too how far they want to go with it! :!:

 

[SaucyGal]

Bought our delivery bags three years ago, and they’re still in almost new condition. They weren’t cheap, but then again, neither is our pizza.

You get what you pay for.

We used www.deliverybags.com and bought the black jackets for 24" pies and 18" pies.

 

[Registered_Guest]

SaucyGal:

Bought our delivery bags three years ago, and they’re still in almost new condition. They weren’t cheap, but then again, neither is our pizza.

You get what you pay for.

We used http://www.deliverybags.com and bought the black jackets for 24" pies and 18" pies.

Those are the bags we use. They are good bags. I can’t be exact, but I’d say I get about 6-8 months out of one before it’s a little flat, musty and generally too dirty looking.

How are you keeping 3 year old bags looking almost new?

 

[SaucyGal]

Registered Guest:

SaucyGal:

Bought our delivery bags three years ago, and they’re still in almost new condition. They weren’t cheap, but then again, neither is our pizza.

You get what you pay for.

We used http://www.deliverybags.com and bought the black jackets for 24" pies and 18" pies.

Those are the bags we use. They are good bags. I can’t be exact, but I’d say I get about 6-8 months out of one before it’s a little flat, musty and generally too dirty looking.

How are you keeping 3 year old bags looking almost new?

It’s part of our nightly closing duties. Bar rag, soapy water, scrub them inside and out, then hang them on the dry rack until morning. And the few times I’ve seen stitching pop, I take it to our local embroidery shop and they fix it pronto.