GPS Systems

[AndrewPMQ]

I’m looking to interview a couple operators who’ve implemented a GPS system into their delivery and food truck operations. Has anyone found that GPS is a great way to speed up delivery and save money?
Shoot me an email at Andrew@pmq.com
Cheers,
Andrew Abernathy
PMQ Associate Editor

 

[Registered_Guest]

Mr. Pessimist checking in…

I think the exact opposite - that GPS is a great way to slow down delivery, confuse drives and worst of all - give them an excuse for not knowing where they are going when they leave the store.

I’ve had more trouble from my drivers that think they know it all because they have a GPS - and I’ve considered actually banning GPS’ totally.

My POS grids orders and there is a huge custom map on the wall for the drivers to use that corresponds to the grid displayed by the POS. Look at the map, know exactly where you are going BEFORE you walk out the door. Takes 15 seconds.

I hate it when I see drivers standing there fiddling with the GPS in their cell phone trying to put in addresses, trying to get it to accept the street name, etc., etc. Or when I see a driver get into his/her car and then spend the next 2 minutes screwing with their GPS.

The worst is the driver who calls after being on the road for 30 minutes because they are lost - and I find that they are miles away from where they should be - and they say “but my GPS said…”. ! :evil:

It’s not rocket science. If you don’t know, in your head, where you are going your shouldn’t even leave the store.

 

[Rockstar_pizza]

I totally agree, I have had several problems with drivers who are to lazy to look where they are going, the gps sends them to county road 600 north instead of 600 east! It became so bad last year that I finally told them that I spent a good deal of money on a mapping system and every employee is putting taking his or her job at risk by leaving the store without knowing where they are going, and sure enough I had a girl take a large order to a street right down the road, she was gone an hour when she called and said the address was wrong she was on the street in the TOWN next to us.
I had to remake the food and send another driver out. She no longer works for us

 

[Rick_G]

I have to agree with the others. Every time someone tries to use a GPS instead of learning the area it leads to the problems they described. The only time I can think of when a mapping program helped was getting used to having two new roads in our area with idenctical names except one started with “D” the other a “G”. I punched Graydon Ct into my Blackberry and whenever Draydon CT or Graydon CT would come up I would look at it to refresh my memory as to which one was which.
I have watched drivers punch an address into their GPS and then leave the parking lot and go the wrong way. I too have told my drivers do not walk out the door until you know exactly where you are headed. I even had one new driver argue with me about the location of one of our regular once a week customers because his GPS said… He did not last the 2 week probationary period.

Rick

 

[Daddio]

The only GPS I would consider in one of my vehicles is a location device so I could check on the drivers progress. I agree with the other posters when they say a driver should know where they are going and how to get there before they walk out the door.

I have a GPS in one of the vehicles to use as a speedometer because there is a problem with the on-board equipment being 10% out. It is locked so the driver can’t use it as to key in addresses.

 

[system]

I think it dumb downs your drivers and not too mention the entire generation that, and boy I use this word lightly, require the use of them. I live in a mid-sized metro with about 160,000 pop. within a radius of 10 miles. The city is set up on a traditional streets and avenues setup. I am flatout amazed at how many people do not understand the numbering system that a setup like that uses. 52 2nd Ave…and 5200 2nd Ave… they have no clue as too where each are or how too find them. It’s like using the Dewey Decimal System at the library. How many kids know it or use it? Yes it is a dying system, as are libraries… but this is a street in a town where you live! Geez!!! Also, do you really need the GPS to tell you how to go to the store that you have been going too for the last 10 years??? It’s not a Tom-Tom…it is a DUMB-DUMB!

 

[wa_dave]

We don’t use them as we have a mapping system on our computer. They enter the street and number and up it comes circled on the map. Just jot down theroute and off they go.
Too many times I have hear of GPS sending people the long way (drivers learn the quickest route) or tell them to turn where a street may be no entry etc.
They sounded good at first but have proven to be too slow, inaccurate and taking the thinking away from drivers (who rarely use their “grey matter” anyway )

Dave

 

[Pakula_s_Pizza]

When I saw the topic I thought everyone would think I was crazy if I said I hate when my drivers use gps. I am surprised everyone feels the same. My drivers with gps are always Slower. Crazy but true.

 

[pizzatime]

I agree with the above posters. One of my drivers would get in his car and sit in the parking lot for minutes with his gps.

We have maps and the “Hey, where is such in such street” systems- works great.

I also agree with daddio about having something that I can see where the driver is at.

pt

 

[indie_pizza]

Pakula's Pizza:

When I saw the topic I thought everyone would think I was crazy if I said I hate when my drivers use gps. I am surprised everyone feels the same. My drivers with gps are always Slower. Crazy but true.

I’m surprised that I’m the only one here that seems to encourage it. I’ve lived in my town my whole life and routinely get deliveries to streets I’m unfamiliar with. My round trip delivery averages around 12 minutes (so most of my orders are delivered 20-25 minutes after the order is placed) and a lot of that is because I use a GPS to my advantage.

Some of the delay people may be seeing is drivers sitting and waiting for their GPS to get a signal, which, depending on the model, can take a few seconds or a few minutes. If I’m going somewhere that I’m not positive about, I reach across my passenger seat as I’m loading the food and turn my ignition on, then drive down to the end of my alley and stop to enter the address (about 15 seconds) and it’ll have a signal at that point. We’re in a downtown location, so lots of stop lights and stop signs to slow me down, so I’ll adjust if it’s sending me on a slower route. When I’m driving into a low sun in the evening or delivering on dark nights, I love being able to see the turn coming up, rather than trying to see street signs. You have to understand basic layouts of your town and why 52 is going to be a much different location than 5200. I also like having it when I’m delivering on an East-West street so I can easily know if I’m in the 600’s or 700’s without trying to find an address on houses in the area, as opposed to our North-West streets that I can easily tell by passing 6th Ave and 7th Ave which block I’m on.

 

[pizza2007]

I so hate delivery - for a number of reasons that indie pointed out. In general, I’ve discovered during interviews, that drivers who were quick to point out that they possessed a ‘GPS’ were more clumsier, and clueless about general life skills, like walking, talking, ‘navigating’ than those who did not own a ‘GPS’. As a result, I now use the ‘GPS’ caveat as a discriminator of future hires.

 

[Registered_Guest]

indie pizza:

Some of the delay people may be seeing is drivers sitting and waiting for their GPS to get a signal, which, depending on the model, can take a few seconds or a few minutes. If I’m going somewhere that I’m not positive about, I reach across my passenger seat as I’m loading the food and turn my ignition on, then drive down to the end of my alley and stop to enter the address (about 15 seconds) and it’ll have a signal at that point. We’re in a downtown location, so lots of stop lights and stop signs to slow me down, so I’ll adjust if it’s sending me on a slower route.

It doesn’t really matter WHY they are sitting in there car - the fact is that the GPS is causing them to sit in their car instead of TAKE THE DELIVERY! I’ve got one driver that starts acting all “secret service” as he stand at the dispatch area cupping his phone to his face and “talking” to his GPS…lol. It’s hilarious and maddening at the same time.

I really don’t see the need at all if you have a proper delivery map. Mine even has block numbers on longer roads - so you even know what part of the road you are going to.

I think it’s funny that you will “adjust if it’s sending me on a slower route”. If you know the fastest get there, why are you using the GPS in the first place? :lol:

 

[Daddio]

Another problem with a GPS in my area is the data base does not include the new developments. I am in an area where 25% of my deliveries are not in the GPS data base yet. If a driver is relying on the GPS to get him there he will be out of luck.

 

[indie_pizza]

Registered Guest:

've got one driver that starts acting all “secret service” as he stand at the dispatch area cupping his phone to his face and “talking” to his GPS

No, I have no patience for drivers that think their phone is a proper GPS unit. Just eliminated a guy who used his phone for GPS and refused to use our proper store GPS. He had more “late” deliveries than our entire staff combined in his first 90 days.
Registered Guest:

I think it’s funny that you will “adjust if it’s sending me on a slower route”. If you know the fastest get there, why are you using the GPS in the first place?

My point is that I use GPS as a tool, not an infallible technology. It doesn’t know which streets have stop signs every corner and which are direct, unblocked routs (we’re in a smaller town). I’m saying that you can use it for it’s strengths, but be aware of it’s weaknesses. It also doesn’t know alternate routes to get us out of our downtown area faster at 5:00 when everyone is jamming the streets to go home or (like this summer) when there is heavy construction on the roads. Once again, I use GPS as a tool, not an infallible technology and it works for me.

 

[indie_pizza]

Registered Guest:

I really don’t see the need at all if you have a proper delivery map. Mine even has block numbers on longer roads - so you even know what part of the road you are going to.

Do they take the delivery map with them? I have a guy who has a Goodwill Hunting complex where he just memorizes…right, 2 blocks, left, 7 blocks, right, 3 blocks, left 1 block…etc. I can’t do it.

 

[Rockstar_pizza]

Not to get off topic but something Daddio had mentioned earlier, I have been thinking about putting a GPS modular in my car toppers. There are times when I NEED to know where my delivery drivers are, ie…when a customer is calling to see where their food is, when I have another delivery and all my drivers are out, and of course when a delivery is taking soooo much longer than it should.

 

[Registered_Guest]

indie pizza:

Registered Guest:

I really don’t see the need at all if you have a proper delivery map. Mine even has block numbers on longer roads - so you even know what part of the road you are going to.

Do they take the delivery map with them? I have a guy who has a Goodwill Hunting complex where he just memorizes…right, 2 blocks, left, 7 blocks, right, 3 blocks, left 1 block…etc. I can’t do it.

No, 99% of the time you don’t need to have the map or even write anything down. It’s not like you need to know to turn left out of the parking lot. Usually, you just “know” how to get to a certain point in the trip - then all you need to remember is a few turns from that point. Or write it down.

Of course brand new drivers take a little more time at the map - but after a couple of weeks, that learning curve is complete.

 

[system]

No driver should be on the street until he/she has a bare minimum understanding of the delivery area. Time is money for both the driver and the shop. Since I would consider myself “old-school”, I believe that GPS systems would hamper delivery 100%. Experience is the key. While the new guy is keying in the GPS address, I am halfway there, plus planning a shortcut to the next stop and/or coming back to the store.

As far as GPS devices in cars to track drivers, don’t bother spending the money. Use the cell phone. If a driver is stopped at the 7/11 buying a candy bar, that is time wasted that he could have another run. The drivers who hustle appreciate that kind of driver, as it means more runs for them. The owner/manager can also appreciate that kind of driver, as we see, say four nights in a row that driver X takes so many runs, while the hustler takes 10-15 more per night. The owner/manager then knows who is working for them and to whom to give the hours, SANS GPS.

 

[royster13]

In my delivery driver days I could deliver more in a night than most other drivers…It was because I planned my routes, had map books in my car, phoned clients to ask them where they were, etc. etc…I used to get accused of getting all the “good” orders…I was motivated and showed it every night I worked…

PS…I also used to take single runs versus waiting for doubles (did not like doing dishes or folding boxes)…When I got to the door I explained to my clients that my boss wanted me to wait for another order but I wanted to get their pizza there hot…It helped the tips…

 

[indie_pizza]

PPG2270:

No driver should be on the street until he/she has a bare minimum understanding of the delivery area. Time is money for both the driver and the shop. Since I would consider myself “old-school”, I believe that GPS systems would hamper delivery 100%.

I guess I fail to see how the 15 seconds it takes to punch in an address every 4th or 5th delivery slows things down so much. If I’m not positive of the street/area, I more than make that up by not having to slow down looking at house numbers and street signs.

It works very well for me, but as we see all the time at TT, what works for one person may not work for another person, or even anyone else.