The Baker's Man—A Paragon of Many Virtues
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14IS 'call is an everyday occurrence.
Surprise would be caused by the failure of the baker's man to Appear. So highly specialized is the organization at the back of it, that the regular delivery of bread is just taken for granted.
Forty years ago the wholesale baker, as he is known to-day, began to come into his own; In all the thickly populated, industrial districts of the country, home baking was the custom. It was, therefore, in the teeth of some opposition that the wholesale baker commenced ,his activities. His business was to supply the small retail distributor, but, at first, he found great difficulty in persuading the shopkeepers to sell his product, because the prejudice in favour of home-made bread was hard dying.
How Wholesale Baking Began.
There was then, doubtless, some justification for this, but, to-day, the commercially produced loaf is an excellent article of food. Furthermore, the modern tendency in the domestic circle is to eliminate hard work. Indeed, many young wives, nowadays, could not bake bread if they tried. Hence, the evolution of the big machine bakery. producing thousands of loaves a day.
To our readers, the marketing of this huge output is of greater interest than its production. It has many aspects that repay close study. Not only must the goods be pure and well made, but also absolutely fresh. Originally the baker employed horsed vans for his deliveries, and covered a small area.
Now, with the aid of the motor vehicle, he has immensely increased his scope.
Produced during the night, in the majority of cases, the goods are passed to the sales department, which controls an organization for distribution that must be as nearly perfect as is humanly possible. Its high degree of efficiency depends upon the baker's man to no mean degree. He is an unusual sort of chap and his character needs to be many sided.
Men often come to me for this job, who are first-class drivers with long experience and faultless records, and they are surprised when I do not engage them. This is why.
Tough and a Timekeeper.
First of all, the baker's man must have a good bill of health. He must be dependable and not prone to take time off for minor ailments. He must be able to stand all weathers and be a reliable early riser. He must never lose sight of the importance of delivery on time— punctuality is essential.
Next, on many counts, he must be a good driver. Some of the goods he transports are fragile, and bumping airing too fast over badly surfaced roads is fatal. It spoils the goods, disappoints customers, and, in short, is bad business.
He must know .something of the mechanism of his machine, so that be can rectify minor disorders, on the road if need be, without delay.
It is essential, therefore, that the baker's man should be able to locate trouble, to diagnose its cause correctly and to rectify it as promptly as passible so that no time is lost unnecessarily, and no delay ensues in the delivery of his goods. It is only too easy to scare customers by late arrival.
To continue, the baker's man must be _reasonably well educated, because once on the road he is, as it were, conducting a little business of his own, He has his stock, he sells, gets paid here, gives credit there, and is continually taking money and giving change. When he returns in the evening, however, his cash must be correct. As he is talking to his customers while doing all these things, clearly he must be no fool.
Most important of all, he Must be a salesman—more than that, a good psychologist.
Salesman and Diplomat.
These are the grounds on which so many applicants fall down. The efficient baker's man should be able to maintain and to increase the sales on his round, to keep his customers interested in his various lines, to protect the interests of his employer and to reconcile them with those of his customers.
He should possess the ability Instantly to deal with any complaint, and to satisfy the disgruntled party. He must gain personal popularity among his customers so as not to lose business to a competitor. Whilst he should not waste time, he must not rush about so hastily that he gives the impression of not having time to do the job properly.
Driver, mechanic, collector, bookkeeper, salesman, relations officer, all rolled into one, he has a pleasant job, and an important one, and a good man merits good money. His work is far from easy, however, and any bakery sales manager will tell you that the good baker's man is exceedingly hard to find.
ARNOLD Winnows. a 15