Bimbo Route Ride

Sooo, the last three days have been quite an experience to say the least.  The last time we spoke I had just completed my Culture Class and was about to start my training on a route.  I have been on a route ride in the US before and let me tell you, it is nothing like this....

On Thursday, when Joe and I arrived at the plant in Azcalpotzalco (I dare you to try and pronounce that) at 5:20am we were greeted by a highly guarded gate.  Before anyone enters or exits the premises they have to show their Bimbo ID and get searched.  We were armed with our Bimbo Credentials and the name of the person we were suppose to meet; Carlos Arturo Ibarra.  We figured we would just show them our cards and ask for Carlos Ibarra.  Well, no one had ever heard of this person and we were stopped in our tracks.  I placed a call to one of our supervisors (I am pretty sure I woke him up) and let him know that we could not get in.  After waiting outside for 40 mins, a gentlemen came up to the gate and had security let us in.  His name was Arturo (as in Carlos ARTURO Ibarra).  He is the head supervisor for the area.  We went up to the offices and he explained what we were going to do.

For the next couple of days Joe and I would be riding with some of the route guys that service the Tiendas (Mom and Pop stores), learning the entire process.  I would ride with the Bimbo guys, Joe would ride with the Marinela guys, and then we would switch.

On most of the routes out of this plant there are two vendors per truck.  On the Bimbo side, one guys does the bread and one guy does the cake.  I was paired up with two characters; Martin (bread) and Carlos (cake).  Martin has been working with Bimbo for 24 years and Carlos for 7.  Despite the language barrier, we hit it off very quickly.

Not to get side tracked, but anyone who has struggled through a language barrier knows how difficult and exhausting it can be.  But I digress....

Their trucks are already set and loaded when they arrive.  Martin immediately showed me how to check in the load so we could get going.  Before getting started on our deliveries, we stopped at a small food stand to get breakfast.  They ordered me a sangwich *Mexican accent* that I was kind skeptical about eating but I took it down anyways, and we were off.

In total, their route consists of about 30-35 small Tiendas that they deliver to.  Today we were delivering to 28 of them.  Now when I say small Tiendas I mean SMALL!!!  Some are only big enough to fit on person at a time.  Some are only a store front and they serve you out of a window.  Its pretty crazy.  They sell all types of stuff from cold cuts, to drinks, to canned foods.  I even saw some that sold shoes and hair die.

Just to take you through the delivery process real quick.  We check in by using the Hand Held to scan a special bar code for Bimbo.  They do the orders for the store right there based on what is left on the shelf.  We take back any out of code product, which is reimbursed to the store.  We go back to the truck to break down the order.  There is no more than 16 feet of space for both bread and cake so the deliveries are not that big.  I think the most treys we delivered was about 12 (and these treys are smaller than the ones in the US).  After breaking down the order, we run back to the store to check it in.  All the product is delivery by hand; no dollies to roll it in.  The owner then checks that we are giving them the amount of product we are charging them for.  When we are done merchandising the product, the owner pays us, in cash, which is then deposited into a little drop box in the floor of the truck.  Each Tienda take about 15-20 mins to service.  Some of them we can pull right up front and some we have to go 100+ yards.  I will reiterate, these are SMALL stores.  To get to the back to deliver to some of them we needed to pass the product over the counter and pretty much crawl through a tiny door.

 One of the doors I had to crawl through.  It's about 1.5 feet by 2 feet.  It's like going through the door in "Alice in Wonderland".

By the end of my first day on a route I was breaking down the orders, checking them in, and merchandising the product.  It's not all that difficult, but these guys work fast.  They know the business and get through these stores as quickly as possible.  They also have great relationships with all their stores.  They even know people who hang out around the stores.  Relationships are a key part of the business here. 

On Friday, it was pretty much the same process.  This time however, we got through the gate no problem.  Martin let me check in the load and we continued to make our deliveries.  We delivered to 28 stores again, some the same, some different.  Today, I arrived before Martin and checked in the load myself.  We only hit 25 stores today.

Me looking spiff in my Bimbo uniform!

For breakfast this morning we stopped at a Tianguis, which is like an outside market.  I wasn't very hungry so while Martin and Carlos ate I walked around real quick.  These places are pretty cool.  They sell a whole plethora of stuff: vegetables, meat (which they chop up in front of you.  There were pigs heads hanging from some of them.), DVDs, glasses, game consols (PS1, SNES, NES)

On Thursday I also started my Spanish lessons with Alicia.  I really thought I was getting a good grasp on Spanish but I have been struggling since I arrived.  I realize it is only the first week though and I am sure I will improve quickly.

Tomorrow we are going to the Pyramids with a group from Bimbo.  I am pretty pumped, although we have to leave at 7am and my feet and legs are already killing me.  However, why work so hard unless you can have a little fun, right??

 We went to a store today after work and this is a picture of the bread isle.  It is 36 feet long and we own about 34 feet of it.  Not a lot of competition. 

  Orowheat Section.