Before I get into this month's topic, I must first admit that I am a cynic.  I believe that 95% or more of the entire human population (yes, that much) routinely and intentionally undertake acts that adversely affect others simply because it may be inconvenient to do the right thing.  If your concern is that your agents fulfill only the most important elements of their contracts, don't waste your time with the rest of this.  If you believe, as I do, that a lack of integrity in one area is usually an indication of a character flaw that may at some point reveal itself in a way more harmful to your business, then please read on.

Your drivers understand.  They know they are delivering advertising publications that gain value when they are delivered promptly and to all locations.  They know that an advertiser will begin to doubt the worth of the publication if she goes to an outlet that is supposed to have the publication and sees none or one several issues out of date.  Yet, many drivers will occasionally or sometimes frequently skip locations on their routes.  They won't make it easy for you, the publisher, to learn this.

With your busy schedule, you don't have time to go stop by stop on each route to make sure they've been delivered.  Many publishers, and even distribution managers, simply drive by the high profile stops because that's easy to do -- even by accident.   This strategy is successful in tracking down your blatantly derelict drivers, but it misses the sneakier ones.  They know two things: (1) you're checking the high profile stops and (2) you're not checking the remote ones. 

In checking the remotes, if you find they are being delivered and delivered on time, it is highly likely that the high profile stops on those same routes are being done and done on time.  It would be counter to reason to deliver to the high-cost, low-volume, out of the way stops and skip the ones where everyone expects to find the publication and expect this to go unnoticed. 

The remedy is a simple one:  check the remote locations.  Look at the map of your locations, and take note of the ones that sit away from the cluster.  Route them in a way that allows you to efficiently touch many (preferably all) of your drivers' routes.  If such a map isn't available, print out a ZIP code-sorted list of all of your locations and route out the least frequently appearing ZIP codes.  These are likely the ones away from the cluster.  Visit them and record your findings.

If you find dissatisfying results, send a message loudly, clearly and in an unbiased way that you expect all agents to deliver to all of their locations all of the time.  You will minimize future problems when drivers realize you will handle missed stops consistently and without regard to who misses the stops.

Ray Boddie, Jr.