'A good laugh is sunshine in the house.'

William Makepeace Thackeray’s quote certainly applies to Little Rock Delivery Driver Robert Winston. A good laugh never hurts inside the warehouse and out on the road, especially in the heat of summer 2020. The temps are scorching. The miles are long. The equipment’s heavy. And the pandemic lingers on. But, as coworkers attest, Robert Winston keeps a smile glued on his face, a good laugh always right around the corner.

Keeping a (ware)house and delivery team in order requires many moving parts – from order to set up to delivery, to yes, smile and laughter. It often starts with a good meeting.

The Little Rock Warehouse team’s day starts with an 8 a.m. debriefing on what’s being set up, what needs to go out the door, and where drivers like Robert will be heading. Followed, naturally, by a few jokes, a little more coffee, and then two hands on the wheel. In recent days, Robert has traveled 2.5 hours away to Horatio, Ark., to Parigold, and to Texarkana. What keeps him occupied on the road?

“I just started this new thing. I’m listening to stand-up comedy constantly,” Robert says. “When you’re listening to that, you’re laughing, you’re alert and you’re happy. It’s my best friend on the Interstate right now.”

But there’s more to stand up than entertainment, at least for Robert.

“When you arrive at that customer’s office, you’re not frustrated about something else,” Robert says.

A Process in Order

In Tyler, Warehouse Manager Michael Snow knows a solid process is paramount for a house in order.
From the point of sale, a sales packet is created and an email goes out to sales support, warehouse and admin. Admin creates the sales order, and off of that, judging on what inventory is available, Michael will make the order with the vendor.

Once the equipment is in, the warehouse team unboxes it and sets it up to specific configurations. After running tests, and ensuring nothing was damaged in transit, Jerry Ford will make sure toner is set up, or rolls of paper for a wide format are ready to go.

From there, the machine is placed on the “Fence line” where the equipment is wrapped up and prepared for delivery.

“During this process, I receive the set up information from the shop guys, and I proceed to put all the necessary serial numbers on to the sales order, which creates our packing list,” Michael said. “I get back with admin, and we schedule a delivery date for the customer.”

“Once that date is set, we’ll schedule the delivery with our guys, get the necessary paperwork to be signed, and call the necessary connectivity technician for installation.”

New Equipment in Order

In Tyler, setting up equipment makes Kody Molloy feel like a kid again.

The veteran shop tech and former delivery driver is tasked with preparing new equipment exactly to customers’ specs, testing it, and ultimately preparing it for delivery. He likens his daily role as unboxing a set of Legos.

“From unboxing the equipment to pulling out the instructions, it feels like the longer I do it, I know more and more where something goes. I’ve seen myself grow tremendously with these machines,” Kody says. “I can see a machine come in, flip through the instructions, and do it in a little easier, faster way each time. Figuring those things out is fun for me, just having the knowledge, and saying to yourself, ‘I’ve seen this Lego piece before.’”

But as Snow suggests, there’s nothing child-like about Kody’s work ethic. He credits the shop tech’s success to dependability and attention to detail.

“Just as an example, he pays very close attention to serial numbers on machines that come in. If we put the wrong serial number on a machine, when we go to apply Canon credits, you lose two to three hours’ company time researching that issue,” Michael says. “He’s made a lot of positive adjustments to our processes to eliminate careless error. And when it comes to setting up equipment, he’s real quick at it now.”

A Delivery in Order

In DFW, Robert Minnerup, an 11-year driver for Datamax, knows it’s hot. But hey, it’s Texas. It comes with the territory. Robert works closely with logistics supervisor Juan Tapia to continually keep customers in the know on any delivery-time updates.

“We’ll always call the customer and let them know we’re on our way, and how long we’ll be. Upon arrival, we’ll introduce ourselves, we’ll see what everything looks like and then get to unloading the equipment.”

That first impression is so important, says Arkansas VP of Operations Greg Kirtman.

“Most of us have dealt with deliveries (at home or at work) that have ranged from 'rude' to 'ok' to maybe outstanding,” Greg says. “From every aspect of the delivery process. Calling ahead to confirm our ETA, maybe asking for any special instructions regarding parking, security, safety protocols, etc. Being on time, parking in the appropriate spaces.”

He also notes not blocking doorways, not hogging the elevators, being careful not to damage customers’ property during the install and removal.

“Don’t interrupt the customers’ business,” he says. “Having a positive and upbeat mood sharing that excitement can go a long way in reassuring the customer that they made the right decision in picking that equipment and Datamax!

Back in Little Rock, Robert Winston takes that positive attitude to heart. He understands the labor-intensive nature of his job. It gets hot, no doubt.

“It does get tough. The heat can drain you, but you have to fight it. I fight it with a couple of sweat rags, and extra shirt, a hat or visor. You’re going to sweat. But that’s OK.”

Because when he reaches a customer’s office, he knows the heat and heavy lifting come with Creating Raving Fans. In many ways, that very process begins with that delivery truck pulling into a customer’s parking lot.

“The first impression is always the best impression, and we are that first impression that customers have of Datamax when we arrive. When I get there, I’m happy to see them. I’m eager to get their equipment in the door and set up. At that point, it’s like a weight has been lifted off their shoulders – their new equipment is here… and at that point, I’ve got a smile on my face.”

The smile doesn’t fade, either. Robert’s craving for a little more laughter doesn’t end after a hard day’s work. Back in his own car, on the way home, it’s back to stand-up comedy.

A good laugh? It’s sunshine in the house.