Eric Mueller is, indeed, a rare individual: an owner of a sizeable beer and beverage distributor who still runs a daily sales route. A typical weekday morning will see the owner of Geo. A. Mueller Co. in the office by 6:30 a.m. to go over business details with Denny Harris, sales/operations manager. An hour later, Eric will be on the road, servicing Central Illinois accounts, just like he has for more than 30 years. It sounded like an interesting way to spend the day, so with Eric's blessing, I recently tagged along for a day.
It's 7:40 a.m. and we're on the way to the first of many stops Eric will make this day. As we drive, he encapsulates his philosophy on customer service.
"The one thing you learn in business is: There are no rules," he says. "You negotiate what's best for you and your customers.
"The person you need to please most is the customer."
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A few minutes later we arrive at our first stop: the Huck's station on North Route 48, near the Meadlowlark addition. It becomes apparent immediately that Eric has a great rapport with not only the clerks and managers of Huck's but the customers as well; he knows no stranger.
He does what becomes a pattern for the day: making sure all of his products are up front and prominently displayed; going into the cooler and filling in any holes; and finally, taking inventory and filling out the order form. While the rest of the sales staff enters orders via a handheld electronic device, Eric prefers the old fashioned way of filling out the order form and entering it electronically at the office.
Filling out an order form is quite different today, than it was 30 years ago. Then, Eric only had four products to deal with. Now he has more than 300 SKU's (stock-keeping units - the data management numbers that enables merchants to track products). However, the sheer volume doesn't keep Eric from knowing each customer's needs.
"I could almost call the order in from the office," he quips. "I can visualize what they (the customer) need."
Just up the road, at the intersection of Route 48 and I-72 is our next stop: the Pilot station across from the Bob Brady Auto Mall.
On our way there, I learn that the 56-year-old Springfield native graduated from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., where he majored in business and pre-law. He and his wife, Kathy, have three children: Whitney, who graduated with a degree in psychology from the University of Alabama, where she'll be pursuing a master's degree; Leif, a senior at Elhurst College; and Lance, a senior at Mount Zion High School.
After arriving at the Pilot station, we make our way back to the cooler, where again the process of organizing and restocking takes place.
"In the old days, when everyone was independent, you (the distributor) didn't stock," Eric laments. "They had their own employees."
As we drive to our next destination, the Casey's store in Argenta, he informs me that it was his great, great uncle that started Geo. A. Mueller Beer Co. in 1869. It's also the oldest family-owned malt liquor distributor in the nation.
When we arrive at Casey's in Argenta, Eric is greeted by a group of regulars who congregate for conversation and coffee.
"Every Tuesday morning, a group of farmers get together for coffee and to solve world problems," quips Eric.
As we drive to our next stop, Eric informs me that Mueller used to be a liquor distributor as well. And while there are only two mega distributors left in Illinois, there used to be as many as 65 or 70.
We arrive at Melisty Mart in Oreana, where Eric goes over what's moving well with new store owner, Afrim Imeri. In addition to the regular domestic beers, Melisty stocks a great selection of imports, of which Mueller has 10 of the top-10. There's also talk about a family member's health.
"You get to know your customers so well, you know their ailments," says Eric.
The next stop is the Casey's on West Mound Road, by the Macon County Fairgrounds. After the normal run through of arranging, stocking and order filling, mixed-in with a few phone calls, its back to the office to enter orders.
While entering orders on his handheld device, Eric talks about many of the changes that have occurred over the years.
"If my grandfather were still around, he'd be amazed," Eric says. "Back in his day it was all handwritten.
"The biggest change in this industry is the fuel surcharge. We had been getting a fuel surcharge on everything we received - the brewery's had always passed it on to us.
"Surprising, a lot of our customers said they'd expected it or that it was about time."
One thing that hasn't changed is the customer service, and one-to-one contact Mueller's customers get.
"Most of our accounts are glad that they're dealing with a local distributor," says Eric. "They can pick up the phone on a Friday and get a keg of beer, or call a salesman on the weekend."
At one time, Geo. A. Mueller Beer Co. had five operations: Decatur, Springfield, East Saint Louis, Mattoon and Bloomington. And as the times changed, one-by-one, operations closed down and consolidated. Eric's father, Grant, retired 10 years ago, which is when they shut Springfield's doors.
One thing that's evident is that there is no pretense or arrogance about Eric Mueller. That's evident on his business card, on which his title is listed as "Manager." When prompted as to why, he says, "I thought 'owner/president' sounded rather pompous."
Once the orders are entered, it's back on the road. As we're driving, Eric informs me about the best way to grow new lines, especially in a market that sees new products introduced on what seems to be a daily basis.
"You don't grow beer brands with a huge spike in business," he says. "You grow it one case at a time; one drinker at a time. The best advertising in this business is word of mouth."
As we walk in Huck's on East William Street Road, Eric talks about seeing a lot of the people who are now managers of stores having come up through the ranks of clerks. Several, as well, have gone on to become district managers.
Just down the block is the next stop: Big Oak Liquor. Independent stores, such as Big Oak, Eric informs me, have a tough go of it in this day and age, since the chain stores are paid to display a product. It makes it difficult to grow a brand.
The hours go by in a blaze with stops at numerous places: Timbuktu, Sliderz, Mount Zion Pizza Hut, Mount Zion Casey's, Mount Zion Huck's, Hickory River Smokehouse (where we grab a quick bite to eat), CNT's and Rusty's, before heading back to the office to enter orders again.
At the end of the day, one question remains: Why does the owner of busy and successful beer distributor still run a sales route?
"A lot of it is the way you're brought up - the work ethic," Eric says. "I find it hard going into a sales meeting and criticizing someone if I'm not doing it myself. Nobody is better than anybody else. I'll come in on Friday night or Saturday if a customer calls me and needs a keg of beer.
"As long as I can do it, I will."
