Local foodservice Delivery?

[YoungZ.W.]

Ok foodservice delivery people I have a couple ?'s for ya:
-What is your typical day (or night) like?
-How physically demanding is the job?
-What is the best and worst part of the job?

[Double R]

-What is your typical day (or night) like?

There is no "Typical" day in foodservice. Evryday brings a new adventure, but on average you would most likely have anywhere from 10-15 stops, 500-700 cases(depending on trailer size), drive less then 100 miles, and work 8-12 hours.

-How physically demanding is the job?

VERY! And if you already have a bad back, bad kness, way overweight, you need not apply. You won't last.

-What is the best and worst part of the job?

Best part: THE MONEY AND AND HOMETIME
Worst part: Working in all types of weather, nasty customers, haveing to put a tractor-trailer into a parking lot not made for one, city traffic

But I LOVE THE JOB and see myself doing nothing but Foodservice. The job is not for everyone.

[ajritter04]

Ok foodservice delivery people I have a couple ?'s for ya:
-What is your typical day (or night) like?
-How physically demanding is the job?
-What is the best and worst part of the job?

I didn't do food service, but I did sling Pepsi for almost a year - that's close enough.

-What is your typical day (or night) like?

Get up at 4am, be at work by 4:30am, hit all the big 24-hour convenience stores before they get busy and you can't get the truck into the parking lot.
After that, run the rest of the route that the planner has setup. Typically, I'd start around 4:30 and wouldn't be done until 5pm or later. Several occasions I can remember not being done until 7:30 or 8 at night and still having to be back in at 4:30 the next morning.

-How physically demanding is the job?

Extremely demanding. I ended up with a blown out knee, and minimal arthritis - and I'm only 28. Let's not forget working in 90 - 100 degree heat in the desert here for 12 hours a day, 5 days a week. Last summer I had to go finish a route for another driver who was taken to the hospital - via ambulance - for heat stroke. You WILL kill your back, your legs, your arms, and your hands doing food service or soda/beer.

-What is the best and worst part of the job?

Best part for me: Not having a boss breathing down your neck. Getting free Pepsi products.

Worst part for me: Having to work all day long in a very hot environment for comparatively low pay. Destroying your body in the short and long term.

[YoungZ.W.]

Double R-Are you fimiliar with any of Sygma's operations or know much about them?

Anyways thanks for the reply's everyone I appreciate it.

[Double R]

Double R-Are you fimiliar with any of Sygma's operations or know much about them?

Anyways thanks for the reply's everyone I appreciate it.

You been reading my mind? I was going to tell you try them.

Sygma is part of SYSCO. They have the Wendy's account in your area. They run teams on all the trucks and out and backs. All of Sygma's customers are chain accounts, no little mom and pop stores. Not sure what they pay in OH but the drivers that I run into from Harrisburg,PA are making a killing. 60's-70's first year. They love the company and have told me that the benifits are real good.

Have you also looked into:
I-Supply
Mattingly Foods
MBM FOODSERVICE

[nrpick]

I tottally agree with Double R. Im in the foodservice biz here in Texas and love it. Once you learn the ropes you can make really good money and be off on the weekends. Ive been doing it for about 5 yrs now and i honestly cant see myself doing anything else either. GL!

[Double R]

I tottally agree with Double R. Im in the foodservice biz here in Texas and love it. Once you learn the ropes you can make really good money and be off on the weekends. Ive been doing it for about 5 yrs now and i honestly cant see myself doing anything else either. GL!

I got you by one year. Six years now and no regrets .

[exfiveo]

I worked for Dawn Foods a bakery supplier. I got paid well, but worked for it...and hard. The distro center here has switched to short trailers w/liftgates since I worked for then. A typical day would be load trailer at 4:30am, drive for 1-2 hours and make 8-12 stops and return. Usually a 10-14 hour day. Each stop varied, but bakeries get lots of 50lb bags of flour, sugar, cake and donut mixes. 50lb blocks of shortening and margarine. Bundles of cake and donut boxes that are very heavy. 30-60 lb pails of fillings and frostings. Each stop might require hand unloading 1000-3000 lbs of stuff. Pull the pallet to the back of the trailer, stack it up, climb down, load a cart, shove the cart into the costomers shop and unload the cart...rinse, lather repeat.

It got old very quickly.

The driving very stressfull. Bakeries are often in strip malls, "qaint" downtown shops, On my routes, Other than the grociery stores, none where designed or located for delivery by a semi truck.

[Red Clay Rambler]

I also have driven for a bakery supply company, Dawn's largest competitor. exfiveo has it correct. I will add that I have to collect money COD from some customers and even attempt to collect for past-due invoices. If the customer can't follow my collection instructions, I have to call our credit dept. to ask for delivery authorization. All this payment negotiation can happen many times each day and can add alot of time and frustration to your day. You will handle alot of checks and cash also at times. Many of my customers are some of the most disorganized, irresponsible people that I have ever met.

Double R says that each day is a new adventure for him. From my perspective, each day is very similar, sometimes unfortunately. Money, hometime and benefits have been very good. I have known some drivers who were overweight but still able to handle it. Wearing a back brace helps a TON, has gotten me through some bad days I otherwise might not have made it through.

[Double R]

Double R says that each day is a new adventure for him. From my perspective, each day is very similar, sometimes unfortunately. Money, hometime and benefits have been very good. I have known some drivers who were overweight but still able to handle it. Wearing a back brace helps a TON, has gotten me through some bad days I otherwise might not have made it through

After five years of it, yes, each day is a new adventure because if it wasn't then the job would be old hat and get boring :wink:

[felix5oh]

I was a vendor for years and its not quite food service delivery but guys i talked to say its the same. Store managers with a powertrip and a bad attitude can ruin your day by refusing the delivery. They take their time in checking you in and hold up your day.

No mom and pop stores is a plus. Those Indian store owners are just plan rude and nasty people and they treat vendors like crap They made us do unnessesary work or they woulnt take the extra backstock so you could make a crappy little monthly bonus. And they like to call your supervisor for no aparent reason.

But the moneys good.

[fordwheeler]

Well, I didn't read all the replies so my apologies if this may be repetitive.

This is my story. I drove for Swift for about a year then got referred to a local delivery company and gave them a try. I have been working for them for 2+ years now. (HFS North America, Fremont, Ca) We have only 1 customer and that is Starbucks. I drive a combination of tractor-trailer and bobtails. It is very physically demanding work. Just imagine going down a ramp with 250+lbs of product. That will give you an idea of the demand. Now with this company you are also on a time-frame. Meaning you have to be completed by a certain time. Regardless, of the volume on the truck.

Let's just say I am extremely frustrated with this company because of their lack of DOT knowledge and their continuous misinformation to the drivers.

The hours can vary depending on route and volume. For me, I am typically done in 10-11 hours. Sometimes without breaks.

Obviously, the overtime is probably the best part of the job. You can make a killing during the busy season. Also, getting to sleep in my own bed is a great part of the job.

Worst part of the job? It will make you grow old quick if you do not go out there and pace yourself. You can't work like a youngbuck everyday. Which is something I had to learn the hard way. Blew my hip out last Nov. and will always have problems with it. So if you do get into food service, again pace yourself and be as safe as possible. Look out for number one. Most of these companies could care less about you, the driver.

[ds451]

Been runnin' the food service thing now for 7 years. I'm lucky to be on 2 major accounts here in WI. One a fast food and the other a big sit-down buffet chain. I'm up at 0230 or 0330 for a 0400 or 0500 start depending on the day. Unload and ramp down 75k-90k lbs. of freight a week. Amount depends on time of year. Summer is big for the fast foods, winter for the sit downs. I'll gross around 55k this year on a 4 day work week. Physically demanding? You bet. On the other hand, I'm a 54 yr old geez in probably better shape than I was in my 20's or 30's. I also work out at home on off days. Speaking of home, I'm here to enjoy it when I'm not working rather than spending it huddled in a glorified double-wide refridgerater carton in some truck stop in parts unknown. Spend the bucks for high quality work boots, protect your knees (you'll need'em wheelin' that hand-truck down the ramp) and above all SAFETY FIRST. That may seem obvious, but in this gig your body is the most important tool. After that, go home, sleep in your own bed and live like a normal person again. Enjoy!

[Bumper]

I delivered to a McClane (sp) D.C. once and there was a group of their drivers out in the lot getting ready to roll. It was way early in the morning and the woke me up.

But they were having a grand old time, they really seem to be friends both on and off duty. Talking about going out after work and all. They were teams and were driving cab overs. I guess that made it a bit easier to drive around town and shopping centers in.

[Aviator]

Ok foodservice delivery people I have a couple ?'s for ya:
-What is your typical day (or night) like?
-How physically demanding is the job?
-What is the best and worst part of the job?

I work for Sysco. My typical day is starting at 5:30 am. Trailers are shuttled from main terminal to my location. Hook up to trailer, do pre trip. Load my ramp and hand cart, (this can be hard because sometimes there's no room for it since the trailer is stuffed to the back). Drive to customers location and offload freight. The trick here is that all stops are numbered, and they have a certain amount of pieces via cooler, dry, and frozen counts. One all pieces are in the customers building. The customer should be checking them in as you deliver, and you should be ok to get signed invoice and get out.

Now the reasons that this typical delivery would be challenging.

#1. The cases you need, are always on the bottom, or somewhere "else" in the trailer. In other words, this is no smooth process. At least ten times a day, I'm completely tearing down a pallet to get to that one case of beef that weighs 80 pounds at the bottom of the pallet in the back.

#2. Customers location is f#%ing horrible to get to/deliver. I have about two customers every day that are a nightmare to deliver to. One that comes to mind is a Burger King on a very busy street that has a very small parking lot. Then the kitchen is a mess with grease on the floor, and boxes/trash everywhere.

#3. Customers are a$#holes. Some customers are very hard to deal with. That's life in general I suppose.

#4. Reefer breaks down. Yeah that really sucks, especially in the summer. Happens more that you would think. It's funny how Sysco is a multi billion dollar company recording gargantuan profits every year, and they have some units that are older than me it seems.

#5. 15 stops, 25,000 pounds. Yep, that's all you. And they want it all off fast! My favorite are Chinese restaurants with nothing but tons of flour, sugar, lard, rice, and chicken! And those kitchens are usually the most disgusting.

#6. Advil addiction. I eat Advil like it's candy. I need something stronger. My back, hips, feet, knees, elbows, and fingers feel like they're on fire.

#7 Kiss all your fun weekend activities goodbye. You like being home right? Well you'll love NOT being able to play with your kids, going fishing, camping. hiking, hunting, horseshoes, working on the house, getting it on with the ol lady, etc. Because you'll be living on the couch drinking large quantities of alcohol, (I call it liquid pain killers), to deal with the pain.

[Double R]

Ok foodservice delivery people I have a couple ?'s for ya:
-What is your typical day (or night) like?
-How physically demanding is the job?
-What is the best and worst part of the job?

I work for Sysco. My typical day is starting a 530 am. Trailers are shuttled from main terminal to my location. Hook up to trailer, do pre trip. Load my ramp and hand cart, (this can be hard because sometimes there's no room for it since the trailer is stuffed to the back). Drive to customers location and offload freight. The trick here is that all stops are numbered, and they have a certain amount of pieces via cooler, dry, and frozen counts. One all pieces are in the customers building. The customer should be checking them in as you deliver, and you should be ok to get signed invoice and get out.
You start late. I'm gone by 3:30AM
Now the reasons that this typical delivery would be challenging.

#1. The cases you need, are always on the bottom, or somewhere "else" in the trailer. In other words, this is no smooth process. At least ten times a day, I'm completely tearing down a pallet to get to that one case of beef that weighs 80 pounds at the bottom of the pallet in the back.
Typical warehouse mentality. They have NO clue what we do out there

#2. Customers location is f#%ing horrible to get to/deliver. I have about two customers every day that is a nightmare to deliver to. One that comes to mind is a Burger King on a very busy street that has a very small parking lot. Then the kitchen is a mess with grease on the floor, and boxes/trash everywhere.
WELCOME TO MY WORLD. 5 years I have dealt with that.

#3. Customers are a$#holes. Some customers are very hard to deal with. That's life in general I suppose.
Kill them with kindness. That seems to really pi$$ them off

#4. Reefer breaks down. Yeah that really sucks, especially in the summer. Happens more that you would think. It's funny how Sysco is a multi billion dollar company recording gargantuan profits every year, and they have some units that are older than me it seems.
That's why they make millions in profit. Skimp on the nessicties(we have the same problem)

#5. 15 stops, 25,000 pounds. Yep, that's all you. And they want it all off fast! My favorite are Chinese restaurants with nothing but tons of flour, sugar, lard, rice, and chicken! And those kitchens are usually the most disgusting.
Try doing some bakeries. 10 times worse

#6. Advil addiction. I eat Advil like it's candy. I need something stronger. My back, hips feet, knees, elbows, and fingers feel like they're on fire.
Give it time. You won't feel the pain after awhile

#7 Kiss all your fun weekend activities goodbye. You like being home right? Well you'll love NOT being able to play with your kids, going fishing, camping. hiking, hunting, horseshoes, working on the house, getting it on with the ol lady, etc. Because you'll be living on the couch drinking large quantities of alcohol (I call it liquid pain killers), to deal with the pain.
Again, give it time.

[Aviator]

How much time do I need? I 've been here almost two years, and I worked for Pepsi for three years before that?

In the middle of Pepsi and Sysco I hauled cars, kinda miss that.

How much time do I need? I 've been here almost two years, and I worked for Pepsi for three years before that?

In the middle of Pepsi and Sysco I hauled cars, kinda miss that.

Those food-service/beverage gigs are real ball busters, man. They'll make an old man of you real quick. You can make the same money doing LTL and your back, knees, and joints won't be screaming at you.

[coachman]

Ya'll think food and pop is bad then you should try produce in the mountains of eastern Ky. You get thru that and the coal buckets on Pine mountain and Hardy mountain then give the coach a call lol

[coachman]

No takers huh? LOL