Bill Glanz the Frito-Lay Man has received major recognition from the company.
He recently was presented the Salesman of the Year for the Colorado Zone, which is Frito-Lay’s largest zone in the United States. It occurred during the Winning with Pride Recognition Banquet” in Fort Worth, Texas. It was hosted by Frito-Lay’s Southwest Region, which includes the Colorado Zone.
“It is a real honor; I mean it’s a whole zone,” Glanz told the Pioneer. “It was really exciting to go to the big banquet. They treat you well, talk to you and ask questions to learn how you do it.”
One likely has seen Glanz at one of the local grocery stores and convenience stores as he makes his deliveries five days a week, which he has been doing for nearly 16 years.
He explained that he works 10 to 12 hours each day, Monday through Friday. He delivers the chips and other Frito-Lay products in Yuma and Wray on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and to Yuma, Otis and Akron on Tuesday and Thursday.
Glanz begins his deliveries at 1:30 a.m., and concludes the day at his Yuma-based storage facility loading up his delivery truck for the next day.
His work is appreciated by the stores on his route.
“Bill has been one of the most constant and dependable vendors through our doors for years,” Shop-All’s Butch Berry shared with the Pioneer. “You can always count on him to be at the store first thing every morning and he works his section diligently. When he leaves there is not a bag of chips out place. The rack is full and he has always taken great pride in his service and in his products. If we had more vendors with this sense of work ethic, it would make our job much easier! We always cringe when we know he will be on vacation because we know the level of service will drop greatly, but once he gets back it takes him no time at all to get us back up to his high standards. Congrats Bill on the award, you certainly deserve it!”
Glanz is a lifelong Yuma-area resident. He started working at Shop-All when he was 15 years old, staying there for 18 years. He then delivered the bread for Sara Lee for more than 18 years, covering the same route as he has done for Frito-Lay.
However, days off for the bread job were Wednesday and Sunday. He and his wife Vicky were raising three sons and one foster child, attending school and playing sports in Otis. The Frito-Lay job has weekends off, so he successfully applied for the route.
Glanz said he was the first to get the Frito-Lay route from outside of the company, as before someone within Frito-Lay always filled it when it came open.
He said at least part of the reason he has always started his route so early in the morning is so he could attend his children’s activities, which has continued with their 10 grandchildren.
“Vicky did a lot of driving while I was sleeping,” he laughed.
Plus, Vicky has been the librarian at Yuma High School for nearly two decades.
“I really enjoy doing it,” Bill said of his Frito-Lay job.
Next time you see him, tell him how much you enjoy the fruits of his labor.