Trying to learn unfamiliar areas, part 2

I was a cover driver for the first five years; that is, I covered other drivers' routes when they were not on that day or week due to illness or vacation. I went to work every day not knowing exactly whether I'd be working in or out of town, often another county away. I covered much of the rural area of Northeast Texas and some of southwest Arkansas, numbering around 16-20 different routes.

I was lost for the first couple of months, but once I got an accurate county map of the two Texas counties I covered regularly and started plugging in route addresses on different county roads, everything become clear. Some drivers memorized the customers' names but a name is secondary to the address information. Memorizing names would be a waste of time, since the address would remain the same, but the name changes regularly among rental properties, for example. Still, some drivers prided themselves on being able to remember customers' names, but thirty seconds after the package left my hand, I had already forgot your name, but never your address!