Phil Johnson

Territory Sales Manager

Phil Johnson has worked at Morton Food Service for nearly 25 years. He’s called Brantford home his entire life and is grateful to be a part of such a great community. Phil is an avid sports fan who loves spending time with his friends and family, and is a proud grandpa to three-year-old Ben. Here’s what Phil has to say about working with Morton Food Service.

How would you describe the Morton difference to existing and potential customers?

I like to use the ‘big fish in a small pond’ analogy. We sell primarily to independents, and they are much more important to us at Morton’s than they are to the larger distributors who see independent restaurants as a way to make back margin dollars they lose dealing with chain accounts.

Independent restaurants don’t have all of the support a chain restaurant does. They don’t have a head office or anything. When they partner with us, we provide a lot of personalized support. Our business model supports the fact that we look at independent restaurants as our most important partner.

How does Morton work as a team to help independent restaurants thrive?

We work as a partner to the restaurant. A Morton territory manager spends time with each restaurant, brainstorming and bringing in outside influences to help keep our customers keep up with the most current trends. A Morton rep will source help from vendors, chef friends—we have many on staff who are always willing to share their knowledge!—and other customers to ensure we are always bringing value. Our website has helpful blogs and resources that are also great for customers.

In your experience, what value does this collaborative approach to client service provide to foodservice operators?

I feel that this approach lets an independent operator know they have a partner, not just someone who is interested in selling them food for a profit. The operator should know that we are able to connect them with a team of experts who are at our fingertips and can provide guidance on current trends and innovative, cost-saving options for their business. Some of my personal strengths are my communication skills and my ability to problem solve. When a customer has an issue to work through, I approach it as a challenge and work with them to find a solution. My role allows me to take ownership of a problem on behalf of the client and see it through to the end, implementing the solutions I’ve found and making sure they’re effective once put into action. I’m an action-oriented person, so I love this part of the job.

What previous experience do you have in food service, and how do your knowledge and skills help support independent operators?

My previous experience was in warehousing and logistics. This experience gave me a great knowledge of what needs to happen behind the scenes to get a complete and correct order to the customer in a timely manner.

Tell us about a time you went above and beyond to help a customer.

A few years ago, I worked with one of my best customers to provide and deliver meals to less fortunate families in our community. I was able to get some product donated and then helped prepare, package and deliver the meals. It was very rewarding and from a business perspective, the response this customer received on social media was overwhelmingly positive and helped solidify them as leaders in the community.

What is the best part of your job?

The best part of my job is when I see a customer have success because of an action or initiative on my part. I realize that their success is also my success!