Lateef Saleem has spent more than four and a half years with Booster Fuels, and in that time he has worked nearly every corner of the fuel delivery operation. Today he is a master service professional and Booster advocate based in the Pacific Northwest, but he started the way many drivers do: at the terminal, learning the equipment one tanker at a time.
Saleem came to Booster already certified, carrying tanker, triples, doubles, and HazMat endorsements along with a background in customer service and road delivery. For him, the match was obvious. “I already had my endorsements, and I have a background in service, delivering on the road. And I said [to myself, Booster,] is a perfect fit.”
Learning the Whole Operation
When Saleem joined, his first role was loading tankers and nothing else. He made the trip to the terminal eight to ten times each day, filling first the smaller truck set-ups before graduating to maintaining fuel levels in Booster’s Smart Tankers that would then go out and service customers before he ever picked up a fuel nozzle himself.
That sequence turned out to matter: “I learned a lot about the tankers in general before even knowing about pumping fuel at all,” he told us.
From there, the work opened up. He moved to pop-up mobile gas stations, where he began working directly with customers – both new accounts and familiar ones – while continuing his daily runs to the terminal. He learned the full range of Booster’s equipment along the way, from small tankers to pickups to Peterbilts and, eventually, freightliners. “I learned on all different types of equipment,” he told us. As he grew with Booster, so did the company. Now, in his work as a Booster advocate, he can train fueling partners on Smart Tankers, the Booster platform, and best-in-class customer service.
Each step added to what he could do, and each step moved him closer to the master service professional and advocate role he holds today.
Why Work With Booster?
Ask Lateef why he chose Booster over another fueling company, and the first answer is simple: he wanted to be on the road. “It’s a tanker, and I like being out on the road,” he said. But the reasons that made the job stick went deeper. When he read up on the company, its focus on renewable fuel and sustainability stood out. “I saw it was about renewable fuel, sustainability, and basically doing things in a way that was safe for the environment,” he says. “I really liked those values of the company.”
What he could not have known from the outside was the culture. “I didn’t know the culture until I got here,” he said. “But now that I am, it’s a surprise, and it’s a gift.”
A Fleet Fueling Team That Shows Up
For Saleem, the best parts of the job are the ones that are hard to put on a schedule. One is the simple pride of rolling out at the start of a shift. After a pre-trip inspection, nine or ten sleek and compact purple Booster trucks pull out of the yard together, on their way to fuel the community, and he can feel the reaction from the road. “You can just see people’s faces [noticing the tankers],” he says. “I feel like a superhero or something.”
Another comes in the middle of the night. On a long shift with dozens of vehicles still to fuel, the appearance of a teammate arriving is its own kind of relief. “It’s 3 a.m., you have about 50 vehicles left, and you see another one of our Booster tankers show up…They ask, where do you want me to start?” he says.
“We have a team. I enjoy that.”
The same feeling carries back to the yard at the end of a shift, where a tired crew has pulled together to finish the work.
Add to this the quiet satisfaction of seeing his work out in the world. On his drive home, Lateef spots vehicles he has serviced by the Booster sticker they carry. “[I] did that,” he says. “I remember fueling that vehicle.” Across multiple companies and countless trucks, it adds up to the part of the job he values most. “My favorite part is supplying value to our community.”
Taking Booster on the Road
That combination of skill and pride is exactly what Booster has been able to send into new communities. As the company has expanded, Lateef helped develop the Portland market, getting tankers certified and helping to train the local partner team. More recently, he traveled farther than he ever had for the job, heading to Philadelphia to support Booster’s growth on the East Coast.
“I was helping train our [fueling] partners out there and set them up for success,” he said, “show them exactly how it’s done the right way, the safe and efficient way.” That work means teaching Booster’s fueling partners the protocol and the technology behind every delivery, down to how to perform a Perfect Boost and how to use the platform. For Saleem, who had never been to the East Coast, it was also a chance to see a new part of the country. “It was amazing,” he says. “I enjoyed it.”
None of that would have happened without Booster’s dedication to helping its team grow. He points to the meetings, learning sessions, and resources the company makes available to anyone who wants to advance. “If you want to grow in the business, it’s there for you,” he said. “You can read up and take different tests.” He has taken Booster up on that offer at every turn, and the company has kept handing him bigger opportunities in return.
Saleem’s story is the kind Booster is proud to tell. A driver who came in certified and curious has grown into a company leader who trains others and carries Booster’s standards into new regions, all while taking real pride in the communities he fuels. It is a reminder that mobile fuel delivery is, at its core, about people – the ones behind the wheel and the ones counting on a full tank at the start of the day.
Booster is always looking for people who want to grow their careers the way Lateef has. And if your fleet is ready to experience the service that teammates like Lateef deliver every day, reach out to a member of our team to see how you can become a Booster partner.