Jacob Garcia, Gradys Foodservice
Jacob Garcia has been with Gradys Foodservice for roughly four years, but he’s truly wise beyond his years. Garcia traces the start of his foodservice industry career to a broadline distributor where he sold everything from food to smallwares to store opening packages for a decade.
For the next challenge in his career, Garcia was looking for a company that would afford him the opportunity to grow as the organization sought to take the next steps in its evolution by not only bringing value to its customers but also to its employees. He’s found that and more at Gradys. His client base includes national and regional chains, healthcare operators, educational facilities and more.
Q: You work with a lot of different clients across a variety of segments. That’s a lot of projects to track. What do you do to make sure none of the details fall through the cracks?
A: The best way to make sure nothing falls through the cracks is to duplicate the process. It’s a process that our team has created, and we teach it to the people who we bring on board. It’s a process that is built on experience. We’ve learned what works and we’ve learned from our mistakes. It’s a tried-and-true approach. That’s what ensures none of the details fall through the cracks and the mutual success for our clients and for Gradys.
Q: You’re known for establishing collaborative and cooperative supply chain relationships. What’s the secret to doing this?
A: When building relationships with someone, you have to make sure they are going to step up to help solve problems when they arise. We have to find those factories, reps, etc., that will partner with Gradys to ensure the right problems are being solved. That’s important for Gradys and for our end user. The end users chose Gradys and myself to help them solve specific problems. So we need to know we have the partners who are committed to solving those problems with us.
Q: If something goes wrong on a project, say something shows up dented or maybe a piece of equipment does not quite meet what was specified, how do you approach correcting the situation?
A: It starts with clear and honest communication with the end user to keep them updated throughout the project on both good and bad developments. And then we have to ensure we have the right team in place to make sure that we can resolve those issues. This is life and things happen. You have to make sure you have those fail-safes in place for your projects.
Q: The last few years have challenged everyone in different ways. In what way would you say you are stronger today than you were three years ago?
A: It’s in the way I pursue new clients. What I’ve learned is that I have to build a discussion based on the customer’s point of view. It has to be based on their business conditions and the challenges they face. From this information strategies are developed, and we can plot a path toward success together.
DSR 3-2-1
Jacob Garcia, Gradys Foodservice, sits down with Jason Wange, Foodservice Powerplant Network, to talk about being named an FE&S DSR of the Month. Foodservice Equipment & Supplies Presents DSR 3-2-1 is sponsored by Salvajor.
Find more episodes of DSR 3-2-1 here.
Foodservice Equipment & Supplies Presents DSR 3-2-1 is sponsored by Salvajor.
