To Everyone Who Loves Bread - Here You Go from dinqr!

Providing everyone with freshly baked bread on weekends felt like a noble mission to me, and it was important to ensure everything was in place before the first morning customers started to arrive. A prerequisite for that is, of course, that the delivery truck arrives on time.

To make this possible, you had to start early. Not as early as the real heroes (bakers, respect!), but still early for everyone else.

You often rushed out with the bread. Trucks are not allowed to drive faster than 80 or sometimes 90 km/h, and they are often “plugged” so that they cannot go faster even if they wanted to. So, the driving time is what it is. Then there are queues and traffic incidents, of course, but when you’re driving around before stores open on weekends, especially mostly in the rural areas of Skåne, this is rarely a problem.

What often becomes a problem is when you arrive at the store and need to unload.

Stores have a loading dock at the back, and that’s where you come with your bread truck in the morning. The few people working in the store early in the morning are somewhere inside, probably out in the store. The truck driver’s dilemma every morning is that you can’t leave the goods outside on the dock (unattended bread on a loading dock in Skåne turns into a seagull feast, or an insect fest, within minutes).

On the loading dock, there is usually a door phone or some kind of bell. If you ring this, some form of signal sounds inside the warehouse, and maybe if you are lucky, also in the break room. It does not sound out in the store.

^{Photo: a typical loading dock in Malmö, with a typical doorbell, and a typical practical solution (leave the door open) to manage the signals system not working very well}

This signaling system works, but not much more than that, and when you are in a hurry to get everyone’s bread out before they all open, it can be a frustrating experience. You may have made 15 fantastic quick stops on your route, driven smoothly and nicely without problems, yet still be late because you got stuck at the loading dock of all places on the last stop.

But now this problem is solved. Finally. From today, all stores can create a QR code with dinqr using dinqr Smart-Pling, and eliminate the doorbell entirely (saves batteries and other waste, which is just good).

Great for everyone driving trucks who want to deliver on time, good for stores that no longer have to deal with doorbells and sound signals, and best for all of you who appreciate having the bread available in the store when you come in hungry on Saturday morning.

If you are reading this and work in any type of store - do all drivers and customers a favor and take 2 minutes for this.

Here’s a checklist to follow:

1. Create a dinqr account and go in to create a QR code. Takes 25 seconds.
2. Turn on Smart-Pling, and enter the email addresses of those working in the store in the morning. Takes another 25 seconds.
3. Print the QR code (on paper if you want to stick it, on a label/sticker if you prefer that). Takes 20 seconds * with an average speed printer.
4. Test the scan. You and everyone else entered will get an email upon scanning.
5. Place the QR code at the loading dock with a note to scan it upon arrival.
6. Throw away the old doorbell, and remember to recycle the batteries separately.