Gleaner has nine depots situated across Scotland and is a business proud of its local knowledge and proud to have served its local customers for over 70 years.
Claudia Weeks, Community Content Lead for Fuel Oil News, spoke with Martin Goddard, Depot Manager, to find out more about his role at Gleaner and the realities of operating a fuel distribution business in the North of Scotland through the challenging winter months.
A career in fuel distribution
Martin gave an insight into his career background: “I have been involved in logistics, mainly in the foodservice industry, for nearly 40 years. In that time, I have worked for some big players in the industry including Kerry Foods and Brakes Scotland.
“I hold an OCR Level 3 Certificate of Professional Competence for Transport Managers (Road Haulage) VRQ which allows me to be aware and appreciate the legalities surrounding our profession.
“I joined the fuel industry in April 2021, as a Distribution Manager with Gleaner at the Inverness site after seeing the post advertised and thinking I was ready for a change. Going from overseeing the delivery of frozen chips to delivering heating oil to potentially frozen customers appealed to me!
“In September 2023, I was asked by my line-manager, Garry, to take on additional responsibility for our Grantown-on-Spey Depot as well as Inverness which I accepted, along with a change of title from Distribution Manager to Depot Manager.
“Grantown-on-Spey is a beautiful village set on the edge of The Cairngorm National Park and is spectacularly beautiful. Our depot there is a small one; we have one driver, Robert, and one sales advisor, Brenda, both of whom have been with the company for many years.”
The depot
“Initially, when I started in Inverness, we had five drivers and six vehicles, one artic unit and trailer, four six-wheel tankers (one spare) and one eight-wheel tanker. Nowadays, thanks to the hard work by our team at Inverness and the foresight and support of my senior managers we have expanded to seven drivers and seven vehicles, increasing our fleet by two six wheelers.
“The current fleet has been augmented by two brand new trucks, one DAF and one Scania, both of which have gone to our two longest serving drivers – Kenny and Craig.
“We always try to keep drivers in their ‘own’ tanker. It promotes an ownership of the vehicle and a sense of pride in their ‘wagon’. Drivers wash their vehicles down daily (unless it is icy conditions whereby only the Haz chem boards, lights and number plates get washed down). The drivers also brush out their cabs every couple of days and polish the interior weekly.”
A typical day
Claudia asked Martin to describe what a typical day is like for him at work: “My day starts at 6:00am along with the drivers. Starting early gives me the opportunity to discuss, albeit briefly, any issues with the team that we think may arise that day or any that came up from the previous day.
“The drivers collect their routes, we serve a huge area, up as far north as Thurso, as far south as Dalwhinnie, east as far as Dalcross and west as far as Fort Augustus/ Isle of Skye and Gairloch areas. In whole it is an area comparable to Belgium in size!
“Most of the drivers like their next day routes given to them the previous evening so they are usually aware beforehand of where they are going. We try, wherever possible, to keep drivers operating in the same areas. It helps build and maintain customer relationships if the customer sees the same happy face regularly!
“After the drivers leave the yard – usually around 6:45am – to load at The Caledonian Terminal, Inverness, I begin by checking my emails and address any queries they may bring. I will take the first of the early morning phone calls from filling station owners, placing orders for delivery the following day. From there I place these orders on our new Codas system, and I will look to see how many orders we have that are due for delivery over the coming days.
“We try to deliver within a timely schedule but are sometimes negatively affected by vehicle breakdowns, weather or by issues out of our control. Any overdue orders are given priority to ensure customers are not let down.
“Typically, we deliver to around 60 customers a day, a mix of domestic, commercial, agricultural, forestry harvesters and of course filling stations. Although that number may seem small, especially considering we have seven drivers, some guys have drives of up to three hours before even reaching their first delivery!”
In the office
“I share the office with two ladies, Kelsie and Kara,” Martin continues. “Both are sales advisors who start work at 8am, so I’ll usually try to have a bowl of granola or porridge and a coffee before they arrive. After that, and a brief catch up with Kelsie and Kara, I complete my previous day’s reports, organise any planned maintenance for the trucks, liaise with our service providers, MAN, Scania and DAF regarding any vehicle repairs, and deal with any queries that come in by phone or emails.
“Our office is always busy, the calls come in at a steady rate and before you know it, lunchtime is here. We break the lunchtimes up between the three of us so there is sufficient cover for phone calls.
“I usually go out for a sandwich and a coffee. We have a terrific number of great eateries in the area along with some first-class bakeries. A hot pie on a cold day can take some beating!
“Afternoons are taken up, in the main, by planning the routes for the following day and again dealing with phone and email queries. I try to finish work around 4:00pm each day when I will go to see my mother, who lives alone but is only fifteen minutes from the depot. We’ll have a cup of tea, a chat and watch a bit of Lingo, Tipping Point or the Chase! Life on the edge!”
Delivering fuel promptly with a smile
“My favourite part of the job is working with the best team in fuel distribution. I am lucky to have such committed colleagues who, like me, want to do the best they can to ensure we do what we say we are going to do – deliver fuel promptly and with a smile.
“The worst part of my job is very easy to identify – letting customers down by not delivering within the estimated times. It does happen unfortunately, not often, but one time is one time too many. The domestic fuel market is very competitive, losing any customer is disappointing, but losing a customer through perceived poor service is a bitter pill to swallow.
“If I could change one thing about my role it would be that I wish I had come into the industry earlier. I’m early 60s now so getting towards the twilight of my career and when it does come to an end, I suspect I will look back on my time in the industry with fondness. I’d also like to ‘magic’ a perpetual self-cleaning tanker for the team! That way, the fleet would always look in showroom condition whilst out on Highland roads, regardless of the weather!”
A Scottish winter
Delivering fuel in the winter months can be challenging, particularly in the North of Scotland. Claudia asked Martin about the conditions: “The winters we have now are comparatively mild to what the region experienced 20-30 years ago when heavy and persistent snows closed off roads and railways – sometimes for two to three weeks at a time.
“Although nowadays, we still get snow over these months, the temperature is milder, the rains are heavier and more frequent, and the winds are wilder and stronger. Our drivers are all experienced, even the younger drivers like Craig, Adam and David, they are all young men in their 20s and 30s, adept and professional in their approach to driving in challenging conditions.
A huge thank you to Martin for sharing all about his role as a Depot Manager and for his superb tips for driving in winter conditions.
Top tips for driving in the winter months:
Claudia asked Martin for his top three tips for driving in challenging conditions:
1. Be informed, be prepared. Check the weather forecast and road reports before setting out.
2. Drive to the conditions, not to the national speed limit for the road you are travelling on (unless it is safe to do so).
3. ALWAYS make safety a priority.
Images supplied by Martin Goddard/Gleaner
