As a young supervisor, I recall the moment well. I was writing our weekly produce marketing bulletin in the director’s office (on our only, pre-internet computer) when a vendor came in to meet with him. I started to gather my things and excuse myself when my director, Mike Aiton, held up his hand.
“No,” he said. “Stick around. These are people you should get to know.”
It surprised me, but then again it shouldn’t have — for two reasons. First, my director, my mentor (whom I’ve written about occasionally) was humble and was open about most everything that went on within our chain. Mike wanted us to learn as much as possible about whom we bought from, our specifications, how we organized our week, having input on new or remodeled stores, pricing philosophy, advertising, marketing, merchandising and more. As supervisors, we were often invited to sit in on the meeting if the vendor or another visitor was in the office.
Second, that’s just how our director was. Mike made the other specialist/supervisor and me feel like we were indeed part of the team.
That was the beginning of my understanding about relationships in the produce game. Another example came when I attended a PMA. One of our buyers was in deep conversation with a specialty produce shipper from the Los Angeles area. Mike noticed and pulled me in close. “See how Ken is talking with that person? That’s what a good working relationship looks like. That representative is probably second or third generation in that family business. Rock solid. We’ve been doing business with them for decades.”
Years later, I came to experience the same thing.
I had already gotten to know Tim — a longtime Washington fruit salesperson when I was hired as a buyer for a large foodservice broadliner. Tim helped me manage the category through his seasoned eyes. When a variety had promotional opportunities, he let me know. If a commodity was short, about to spike or plunge in price, or supply was weakening, he provided valuable notice. Among many other efforts, Tim helped consolidate my “picks” (number of times my trucks had to stop in the loading process). He anticipated my needs, thereby saving on transit time and enhancing my overall buying performance. In short, he looked out for me.
Years later when I moved to a Southern California-based retailer, I needed a solid Washington fruit source. Even though Tim had since moved on to another shipper, I sought him out. Once again, he helped me get on track. It was like we never skipped a beat. That’s how the produce business works best, with relationships like this.
The produce business is interwoven with such examples. Both internally within an organization and externally between buyers and sellers. Retailers, foodservice, growers, shippers and anyone involved in coordinating fresh produce from point A to point B. It happens because there’s a track record built with knowledge, trust and faith in one another.
“Stick around. These are people you should get to know.” A lasting lesson.