Phelps Builds Customer Relationships Through Consistent Service
Phelps Uniform Specialists operates 38 routes out of its headquarters in Muscatine, Iowa, and regional depots throughout the Midwest.
Because Route Service Representatives regularly serve the same customers, they become familiar faces and trusted partners. That consistency creates a strong connection and allows them to provide highly personalized service. When changes are needed or new products should be added, customers trust their Route Service Representative to understand their needs and take care of them.
“Our Route Service Representatives aren’t just making deliveries,” says TJ Long of Phelps Uniform Specialists. “They get to know the customers, understand their businesses, and learn what they need. That consistent, face-to-face service is how we build trust and create long-term partnerships.”
Decades Of Growth Created Opportunities for Route Optimization
Since its founding in 1981, Phelps has added and adjusted routes as the company and its service area have grown. Over time, this growth created some route overlap, with multiple Phelps trucks occasionally serving the same areas on the same day.
“We don’t need two different RSRs going to the same block on the same day,” Long says. “That’s a clear indication that we have an opportunity to optimize our routes.”
Optimizing routes involves more than reducing drive time. Customers know their Route Service Representatives by name and are accustomed to consistent, dependable service, so changing a route must be handled carefully to preserve relationships built over many years.
That is why routes go untouched for years across the industry. The risk is not carelessness, but the potential impact on customer relationships.
Phelps Tested Three Platforms And Chose Route4Me
Phelps evaluated the market before committing. “That’s when we started looking into route optimization,” Long says. “We tested three different systems, and we ultimately chose Route4Me.”
Distance between depots was part of the decision. The depots sit at least two hours apart, which means each stop near a service boundary must be evaluated to determine which depot can serve it most efficiently.
“We have to find that middle point and determine which depot is best positioned to serve each customer,” Long says. “That’s where Route4Me helps us. Then, within each depot, we can reduce unnecessary route overlap.”
Route4Me Made Phelps Self-Sufficient In Two Months
Phelps did not start alone. Route4Me paired the company with a specialist who works on large route networks and worked directly with Long.
“He taught me how the software works and explained how and why he would optimize the routes,” Long says. “He worked with us a couple of days a week for two months and helped us a ton.”
Two months in, Long was running it himself. He could do a full depot reroute in an afternoon. “It’s very, very, very easy to use and to manage,” Long says.
Phelps Reviews Every Depot Every Six Months
“Every six months, we review our routes and determine whether anything should be reoptimized based on our growth plan,” Long says.
Phelps has structured reroutes for every one of its depots and can continue reviewing them regularly because Route4Me reduces the planning process from months to an afternoon.
Phelps Maps New Prospects Before Adding Them to a Route
The same map answers a sales question. When Phelps is working a prospect, the team drops the address onto the existing routes and looks at what happens.
“We’ll drag and drop a prospective customer into the area. If they’re 40 minutes away from our closest customer, we can see how adding that location would affect the route,” Long says. “Is it going to create a 12-hour day? If so, we may need to build more business in that territory before adding the stop.”
This gives Phelps a clear picture of how new business can be added without compromising customer service or creating an unreasonable day for the RSR.
About Phelps Uniform Specialists
Phelps Uniform Specialists is an independent laundry serving the Midwest. The company delivers rental uniforms, mats, mops, and towels across Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, and South Dakota.
