Quarterly Route Drive Winner: Steve Jenkins, Midlantic Vending, Moorestown, N.J.

Anyone in business knows it's hard to find good employees. When one displays an above average work ethic, smart managers give recognition. And that's what happened for Steven Jenkins, route driver at Midlantic Vending in Moorestown, N.J.

First recognized at the company level as the Midlantic Vending 2009 Employee of the Year, Jenkins is now being recognized by Automatic Merchandiser and Kraft Vending & OCS as the Route Driver of the Year, second quarter winner, because of his positive and proactive attitude.

The contest selection is based on comments and a numerical score in the following areas: years as a driver, number of machines serviced, miles traveled, accident and citations, thoroughness, customer compliments, truck and machine condition, and sales.

Attitude Counts

"Since he started with Midlantic Vending (six years ago), he has had an unbelievably positive attitude," said Alan Drazen, vice president and the person who nominated Jenkins. While he has his own route, Jenkins is also a relieve driver or route jumper. When Jenkins sees a machine that's not serviced to his standards, he will talk to the regular route driver, without speaking to management. As a result, the quality of all of the machines has gone up.

"I'm sort of OCD," said Jenkins, "so everything I do has to be perfect in my eyes or I can't walk away from it."

Jenkins got interested in becoming a driver when he worked for UPS 18 years ago, but there were few opportunities in the area, even when he began focusing on vending jobs. It wasn't until 2005, when a friend told him about an opening at Midlantic that Jenkins got a chance to fulfill his goal."The thing I enjoy most (about my job) is making customers happy," added Jenkins.

"Steve really looks after the company and equipment like it's his own," said Drazen. Midlantic has mostly branded machine in public locations, so the close attention to cleaniness and level of service is especially important.

Jenkins is flexible with his hours, picking on weekends or holidays, or staying late to prep machines if the company is behind. He talks to management about ways to do his job more efficiently. He strives to learn all the facets of vending operations.

Outside of work, Jenkins is an activist for stronger hit and run laws in Pennsylvania. He is fighting for House Bill 208 which includes a longer minimum sentence. "It's near and dear to my heart," said Jenkins. For fun, Jenkins goes to live events, like NASCAR and baseball games.

"I've been in this industry for over 30 years, and I can't think of anyone with a more exemplary spirit and who services equipment at a higher level than Steve does - it's great to see someone like that get recognized," added Drazen.