DSR Radio

DSR Radio’s Dave Miesse and Steve Dahl have a discussion with Keith Bouserman of Bouser’s Barn Restaurant in Union City, Indiana about transitioning to a new sales rep and what Keith admires most in his sales reps.  A veteran with over 30 years in the food business, Keith explains that he’s had good reps and bad reps, new reps having to introduce themselves, and managers belittling new reps in front of him. Through all of it, he’s learned a little something about this food business game and he knows what he wants in his rep.  Keith explains that a rep, no matter how experienced, should not walk into account acting like they know more than everyone else.  Keith adds that he can tell the ones that are really sincere and the ones that are not going to give him good prices.  He admits that he might not catch the higher prices right away, but that it never lasts very long.  And if that does happen, it takes a lot to win back the customer’s trust…and probably their business.

DSR Radio’s Dave Miesse and Steve Dahl chat with Caroline Kile of Marion General Hospital in Marion, Ohio about how a sales rep can make or break a relationship between a distributor and customer.  Caroline has had to ask for a different rep to replace a bad one and she has also stayed with a company because of a good one.  “When it comes right down to it, it is all about service,” Caroline explains in the interview.  In most cases, the reason a customer buys from a particular distributor ultimately boils down to the rep.    And for a rep to properly service Caroline and other hospital operators, they need to think about what kind of value they can add to the account and realize that hospitals buy more than just low-sodium soup.  Caroline tells us that patient meals used to be only 20% of her business and are now still only up to 37%.  And her particular facility did 60,000 special function meals last year.  Hospitals usually have an extensive spectrum of products they are purchasing because of the variety of customers they serve through all their different outlets.  From Jello to t-bones to PB&J, a sales rep has to realize a hospital can be a very complex customer but a very lucrative one too.

DSR Radio's Steve Dahl and Dave Miesse chat with Joe Sullivan of US Foodservice in Houston, TX about how a sales rep cannot just be an order-taker.  For long-term success with a customer, they need to look forward to you coming in to see them and what ideas you will bring to help their business.  Being your customer's best employee means being more than just an order-taker.  And it means really getting to know everyone involved in the business.  These relationships give you valuable insight into the operation and you never know which one of them might end up running the place.  Make sure you maintain relationships with employees in all areas of the business and don't forget to include them in cuttings.  Being your cutomer's best employee instead of just an order-taker ensures long-term success.

DSR Radio's Steve Dahl and Dave Miesse talk with Phyllis Flaherty from Sysco about not focusing on price.  Focusing on food cost and not looking at all the other factors can lead to trouble.

DSR Radio's Steve Dahl, Dave Miesse, and Bill Hornung talk with Chef Glenn Taylor about helping chefs, even if they think they don't need help or they just won't admit it.