It's Not What You Know. Sometimes It's Who You Know…
H2O Vend Insights | Lessons From 30 Years of Workplace Refreshments
There's never a particularly convenient time for a van to break down. But Thursday evening, with a full Friday schedule ahead and a vehicle loaded with everything needed to keep customers supplied, is certainly somewhere near the bottom of the list.
Last Thursday, one of our vending operators' vans decided it had done quite enough work for the week, thank you very much.
Unfortunately, the operator hadn't.
With Friday's machine replenishments already scheduled, we suddenly had a rather large, van-shaped hole in our plans. And while our operators are remarkably resourceful people, asking one to carry several hundred kilos of drinks, snacks and supplies around Norfolk in a shopping trolley seemed a little unreasonable.
Fortunately, after over 30 years in business, we're reasonably accustomed to dealing with the unexpected.
A little rearranging of schedules freed up a spare vehicle, one of our engineers delivered it on Thursday evening, the stock was transferred, and our operator was ready to start Friday morning as planned.
Crisis averted. At least temporarily.
When Your Customers Are Also the People You Call
Friday morning brought the next challenge: getting the poorly van to a garage for diagnosis and repair, and arranging a replacement so that the spare vehicle could return to its normal duties.
A few telephone calls later, things were moving.
The van was recovered to Marshland Service Centre, a local garage that also happens to be one of our customers, where the team could investigate the problem and, hopefully, work out whether it had a future beyond becoming an expensive garden ornament.
Meanwhile, Eastern Rent-A-Van, another of our customers, arranged a replacement vehicle to keep us moving while the fate of our own van was being determined.
By the time the arrangements were made, what could easily have become a major disruption had turned into a fairly ordinary Friday.
Well, ordinary by our standards.
And it occurred to us that there was something rather nice about the whole situation.
Here were two local businesses that we supply, helping us when we needed them. Not because of some complicated commercial arrangement or grand strategic partnership, but simply because that's what businesses do when they've built good working relationships.
WE SUPPLY REFRESHMENTS TO HELP KEEP THEIR BUSINESSES RUNNING. WHEN WE NEEDED ASSISTANCE, THEY HELPED KEEP OURS RUNNING.
There's a pleasing symmetry to that.
The Little Things That Make a Big Difference
Take Paragon Motors, for example. They're another of our customers, but they've also supplied most of the new vans in our fleet over the years. We buy vehicles from them, they buy refreshments from us, and both businesses benefit from a relationship that extends beyond simply being a name on each other's customer lists.
Of course, buying a fleet of commercial vehicles isn't quite the same as popping down to the shops for a pint of milk. That's where CCS Finance comes in, helping us arrange the finance that makes investing in new vehicles possible without having to empty the company piggy bank every time we need another van.
And once those vans arrive, they need to look the part.
That's where East Coast Signs comes in. They're responsible for the signwriting on our vehicles, turning what would otherwise be a fairly unremarkable collection of white vans into some of our most effective advertising.
Those vans travel across East Anglia every day, visiting customers, delivering stock and generally making themselves visible wherever they go. We've always thought they're among the best advertisements we have.
Then there's GE-BE Transport, whose vehicles are regularly in and out of our yard, handling incoming deliveries and outgoing shipments. It's another of those relationships that helps keep the wheels of the business turning, often without anyone giving it much thought.
And not every valuable business relationship involves engines, deliveries or logistics.
Sometimes it involves sandwiches.
Pippa's Pantry and Classic Catering have both supplied buffet platters and catering for our staff meetings and events over the years. Because while a productive meeting might depend on having the right people around the table, we've found that putting something decent on the table rarely hurts.
And when the occasion calls for something a little more substantial, there's Royal Blue Meat Co., whose excellent hog roasts have made more than a few of our gatherings particularly memorable.
There's probably a serious business management theory somewhere about the relationship between staff morale and a really good hog roast.
We haven't researched it extensively, but we’ll keep trying!
None of these arrangements is particularly remarkable in isolation. They're simply examples of local businesses providing good products and services to one another.
But put them together, and they tell a much bigger story.
More Than Just a Transaction
As a family-run business, we've always believed that good working relationships should amount to more than an invoice arriving at the end of the month.
We understand the pressures that come with running a business. The unexpected problems, the difficult decisions, the occasional days when everything seems determined to go wrong at once.
And we know how valuable it can be to have reliable people at the other end of the telephone.
Of course, supporting local businesses doesn't mean blindly buying everything from the nearest supplier regardless of cost, quality or service. We're all running businesses, after all, not charities.
But when local companies offer the right products, good service and fair value, why wouldn't we support one another?
The benefits go beyond the immediate transaction.
Local businesses employ local people, support local families and contribute to the communities in which we all live and work. The money we spend with one another helps sustain that wider network of businesses, trades and services that can be surprisingly easy to take for granted.
And there's another benefit that's harder to put a price on.
Familiarity. Trust. Knowing who to call when something goes wrong.
In an increasingly connected world, it's remarkably easy to do business with companies we've never met, never spoken to and couldn't point to on a map.
There's nothing inherently wrong with that. We work with suppliers and customers across the country ourselves.
But there's still something reassuring about dealing with people you know. People who understand your business, answer the telephone and recognise that sometimes a problem needs sorting out rather than adding to a ticketing system.
GOOD BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS AREN'T JUST ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN EVERYTHING GOES RIGHT. THEIR REAL VALUE OFTEN BECOMES APPARENT WHEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG.
The Value of Knowing Who to Call
We often talk about the importance of customer service, reliability and building long-term relationships. Usually, we're talking about what we aim to provide for our customers.
Last Friday was a welcome reminder that those relationships work both ways.
And while this particular story started with a broken-down van, a recovery truck and a hire vehicle, it reminded us of something much broader.
The local businesses we work with aren't simply names in an accounts system. They're part of the network of people and companies that help H2O Vend do what it does.
Some provide vehicles. Some help us maintain them. Others keep our deliveries moving, make sure our vans look the part or provide the food that brings our team together.
And, of course, we do our bit by keeping their people supplied with coffee, cold drinks, snacks and the occasional chocolate bar when the working day calls for one.
It's a simple arrangement, really.
We support their businesses. They support ours. And together, we all become a little stronger.
So, a genuine thank you to Marshland Service Centre for taking care of our poorly van, Eastern Rent-A-Van for getting us mobile again, and to Paragon Motors, CCS Finance, East Coast Signs, GE-BE Transport, Pippa's Pantry, Classic Catering and Royal Blue Butchers for being part of the network of businesses that help keep H2O Vend running.
And to the many other local businesses we work alongside, whether as customers, suppliers or both.
It's easy to overlook the value of the businesses on our doorstep when everything is running as it should.
But sometimes all it takes is one poorly van to remind us.
And as for the van itself?
Well, it's still enjoying the hospitality of Marshland Service Centre, although the early indications suggest its engine may be more than just a little poorly.
Still, if the worst happens, at least we know a good local company that sells vans.
Funny how these relationships work, isn't it?
