Everyone wants to find fulfillment in their work lives. The question is: do you do what you love or love what you do? To do what we love creates a vision, a plan, a path to be forged. To love what we do invites us to simply live in the moment and soften to our surroundings. So, what do you do? Do you chase the dream toward something better, or alter your perspective and learn to find the beauty in where you’re at? After an in-the-field interview with Aaron Vaughan, our top delivery driver in May, the answer seems much less intimidating than you’d expect.
This week’s newsletter was originally intended to be a day-in-the-life style focus on our Happy Day Eats delivery drivers. Naturally, we drove over to Southway and met with the general manager, Dylan Mckelway, to get the ball rolling. He showed us how the dispatch system runs as he pushed a button, directing Aaron back to the restaurant. Aaron is consistently on the leaderboard as one of our top drivers, so his arrival didn’t take long. When he made it, Aaron walked through the doors with a grin suggesting he’d already had a great day. We waved goodbye to the Southway team and without knowing what to expect, the field trip began.
The first thing I noticed was how smoothly we were driving. Aaron has been in the delivery driving business for quite some time, with 6 of those years being for Happy Day. Over the course of his time here, he has driven thousands of miles through the Lewis-Clark Valley, and with that kind of time comes a lot of knowledge. Aaron drives an electric car, which not only saves on gas, but significantly benefits his job. Smooth, quiet driving is only a small perk, one of the bigger ones being the built-in technology that allows him to have most aspects of his job programmed directly into the car. As he effortlessly started guiding us to our first stop, Southway on Thain, the questions began. Aaron told us that aside from Happy Day, he has delivered for a few other businesses, all of them being large restaurant chains. He described the differences between chain restaurants and our local delivery system, citing that the unique culture of Happy Day is what drew him in, and keeps him here. He described the impact of receiving personal letters from corporate rather than a generic notice you might get from a larger chain, but he also described his appreciation for his manager, Dylan.
Dylan started working for Happy Day as a delivery driver and has climbed his way into the position he holds now. Aaron explained how inspiring that is, but also how beneficial it is to have a manager that fully understands every level of the restaurant, something that can be hard to find in this business. He then went on to describe what it’s like working as a tipped employee, which was when the angle of the story started begging to be changed. As we listened to him explain his job, I realized that he wasn’t really talking about a job. Aaron explained that he loves what he does. Working mostly solo, he said it’s an incentivized job. You get out of it what you put into it. You work harder, deliver faster, build a reputation, get more drives. Everybody wins. What we didn’t expect was when he told us, “You’re betting on yourself in this job”. It didn’t take long to figure out what he meant.
Every single restaurant and recipient was met with the same warm smile. It didn’t matter where we were, or if anyone was looking at him, he just treats the world with kindness. When he was notified about an order from Taco Time, he completely shifted gears from our first pizza delivery. There is a very precise way to handle these orders, and Aaron has it down like a truly seasoned professional. The order was simple, two Chicken Ranchero Burritos. He told us that he has to call the store to let them know when he is on the way for the order, and to ensure maximum freshness, he calls when there is just enough time for them to start cooking the item and be done with it when he gets there. Sometimes, drivers have to wait at the store while the food is cooked, but Aaron knows how much time it takes to cook each item, so he can call at the perfect time. The freshest food, as fast as possible.
Aaron truly loves what he does, and because of this, he commits time and energy to make it better for himself. As our trip was wrapping up, he reflected on a recent moment during our annual company Memorial Day Barbeque. Because the event was held at LCSC, attending employees received complimentary NAIA tickets. After the barbeque ended, Aaron was on his way to enjoy the game but received a message on his phone from Southway. 30 unassigned orders were sitting on the screen with every driver already on the road. With no hesitation, he got in his car and drove that way. His uniform and bags were in his car already, which turned out to be typical, because you never know when the opportunity is going to come up. Aaron simply said, “when you love your job, it doesn’t feel like work.”
After the interview concluded, we walked away with a renewed appreciation for the people who keep our local restaurants connected to the community. We stopped to ask the general manager and the shift supervisor their thoughts on Aaron, and honestly, it was exactly what we expected. He inspires other drivers, and he completely changes the culture of the restaurants he’s in. Just being in the car with him for an hour completely shifted our mood and outlook on life. Aaron is extremely knowledgeable, passionate, and well spoken, so hearing him talk about what he does, how he’s constantly finding ways to improve, down to talking about employees at every single restaurant, by name, was inspiring. He remained humble and grateful for everyone and everything around him while explaining how he became so successful in his career. Aaron showed us the impact that can come from investing in yourself and demonstrated how you can do what you love and love what you do, all at the same time.
