I recently talked to the manager of a jobber store in the south who has five delivery vehicles at his disposal. His drivers are constantly on the street, he said, and are running “hot,” making deliveries all day. His town of 30,000 people, with other competent jobber stores in town, is a fairly competitive market.

The fact that his drivers are always in motion would seem to be a good thing: It means he’s got plenty of business. This got to me to wondering. If all of your vehicles aren’t always moving, what’s the reason behind it? Some of it may obviously be attributed to the economy. But consider that another piece could be the person delivering your parts. A delivery position, typically given to entry-level personnel, is much more important than most people would like to believe. There is more to the job than just picking up cores and returns, dropping off parts and gathering signatures on invoices.

During these tough economic times, it’s never been more important to set your business apart from the rest. The fact is, how your customers view your drivers is how they actually view your business. Those attributes about your drivers that you see every day and ignore may not be viewed the same way by your customers.

Much of it comes down to your driver’s appearance. Is his or her hair combed? I know. This sounds silly and remedial, but if your driver appears disheveled, people will think the same of your business, at least subconsciously. Consider a restaurant. If you walk into a seemingly nice one and see a greasy-haired waiter with splotches of food on his clothes, you might think twice of eating there.

The same rationale goes for your drivers. If he or she looks bad, it reflects badly on you. There are a few rules that are musts. The first is no torn clothes. Long hair for men should be swept back into a ponytail. Nose ring? You decide on that one. Facial hair for guys? O.k., if it is well-kept and trimmed. Open-toed shoes? Forget it. No one wants to see hairy toes. Chest hair? Unless he’s Austin Powers, the shirt should be buttoned up high enough to hide it. In short, his or her appearance should be crisp, professional and unalarming.

Then there’s the issue of delivery times. Are delivery times being promised and met? One poorly timed delivery can be a black mark. We’re living in the days of instant gratification and lagging delivery times could knock your operation down from the top of the call list. Make sure to measure and track delivery times and make follow-up phone calls to customers to see how you’re doing.

They’ll probably be surprised to get that kind of call in the first place. Though a huge number of jobs in the United States are service-related, many businesses do a poor job of delivering good customer service. Also, look at your vehicles. How do they look? Would you want to be seen driving around in one? It’s not that you have to go buy a new one; a good washing can do wonders.

Try taking a look at your drivers and vehicles the way your customers might. If you see something you don’t like, your customers probably don’t like it much either.