Americans love gas grilling. It’s easy, it’s convenient, and it’s just plain fun. But did you ever wonder how those tanks get to the store? Well, that’s the hard part – and that’s where Blue Rhino’s delivery team goes to work.

 

On any given day, Blue Rhino delivery representatives get to work before most of us even think about getting out of bed. Once their trucks are loaded with about 500 inspected, tested, ready-to-grill Blue Rhino tanks, the drivers perform their pre-truck inspections, update their handheld computers with the daily route schedule, and hit the road.

 

Then the deliveries start. On a typical summer day, a typical Blue Rhino driver will make 16-20 stops at stores to deliver fresh Rhino tanks. By the time his shift is over, the driver will have lifted each one of those 500 tanks out of his truck and put them into displays. He also will have put another 500 or so empty tanks – the ones customers returned – back onto his truck! In other words, by day’s end, he’s lifted about 23,000 lbs. That’s a ton of work – or literally 11 tons of work – every day.

 

Hefting all of those tanks is not the only challenge. Blue Rhino’s delivery team services over 44,000 locations across the country, and not all of them are easy to find despite the GPS device that drivers can access. Parking is also a bear. “Blue Rhino displays are like magnets,” says one of our drivers. “I don’t care where you are, there could be 100 empty spaces in the parking lot but there is always a car parked right in front of the display!”

 

And don’t forget the weather. Delivering heavy tanks on a blistering hot summer afternoon is hard and sweaty work. There’s no relief in the winter; rain, snow, and ice make the roads – and the tanks – slippery and cold. And sometimes snow blocks our displays, making transactions and deliveries nearly impossible. The post office has nothing on Blue Rhino!

 

Blue Rhino delivery personnel also get peppered with questions from customers and store employees. The questions are all over the board. Some ask how the program works, or if Blue Rhino is hiring. Others just need directions. Whatever the topic, our delivery team tries to take the time to build relationships with everyone we encounter. It’s just part of who Blue Rhino is.

Arriving back at the Blue Rhino facility parking lot does not mark the day’s end. There’s always more to do: post-trip truck inspections, updating their handheld computers, and reviewing routes for the next day. Only then is our delivery representative able to head home - to rest up and get ready to repeat the process the next day.

 

Sounds tough, right? Not if you ask our drivers. “There is no comparison!” said George Hayek, when asked to compare driving for Blue Rhino with driving for other companies. “We get to drive, see the city and state, we get good exercise, we have an excellent management team at corporate and the plant, a good route coordinator, the job pays well and you basically make your own hours, which is why I have been here for almost 13 years!”

 

Blue Rhino drivers: working hard to deliver the good times that come from every Blue Rhino tank.