[Sentinel]

I have been asked some good questions about Pepsi Bay Drivers (also called "Customer Delivery" drivers) and was hoping we had a Pepsi driver on the board? If so, can you PM me?

[Folsom Flash]

I got a conditional hire by them and blew it on the physical. They make you do a step aerobic test with a heart monitor on you and if your heart rate goes too high you're out. Guess I like jelly donuts a little too much. Glad I didn't get the job as I have a great one now. Drive around a little until you see a Pepsi truck parked at a 7-11 and go ask the guy how he likes it- they work their tails off, I'll tell you that.

On a downside, you're driving a 10ton single axle with a short trailer and they have a lot of automatics- Makes it kind of hard to become an experienced driver that way. Starting pay is $16.50 in Sacramento and you have to join the Union.

[Sheepdancer]

Originally Posted by Folsom Flash

On a downside, you're driving a 10ton single axle with a short trailer and they have a lot of automatics- Makes it kind of hard to become an experienced driver that way. Starting pay is $16.50 in Sacramento and you have to join the Union.

You are right....most trucking companies dont count those pepsi and coke side bay trailers as experience. Ive talked to many drivers who didnt want to work for them any more but couldnt find another job because that was the only exp they had.

[Sentinel]

Thanks for the heads up!

I have a young man (oops did I just give away my age :lol: ) asking me questions as he is mulling over a job offer. He is under 21 so can not get a CDL for interstate transport yet. From what I am told the position is base salary and commission. The base salary is small and the commission is pennies for each case unloaded from the truck. There is a minimum number of cases unloaded each day as a performance requirement. The stops are all at Mom & Pops, 7/11's, bodega's, etc. As you can see these are all low volume customers as compared to the Wal-Marts, etc. In addition the position would also require setting up promo displays, etc.

I ran through some scenarios with him to get an idea of what the expected take home would be. It appears that the pay would be fairly low depending on many variables. Some of the unknowns were either not explained well or not covered.

1. How large of a service area does one driver generally cover or do they do it by customer count instead of a square mile basis?

2. They do use those short trailers so how many cases generally fit on each trailer? This would provide an indication of how many times the driver has to return to the plant for newly loaded trailer.

3. On average (rough estimate) how many cases do these small stores generally order at a time and how many stops each week at the same store? This adds to the number of stops and cuts down on the number of cases unloaded each day.

For a young person under 21 trying to get their foot in the door it could lead to a position with Pepsi's (or Frito Lays as Pepsi owns them) larger distribution operation with full tractors and trailers. Either way he can play on a Tonka Toy and get the feel for the basic driving requirements. Unfortunately Pepsi has gone to automatics in their fleet.

[PackRatTDI]

I worked for a pepsi distributor here in southern NM. We worked 12-14 hour days easy and drove shitpile trucks that wouldn't pass a DOT inspection to save it's life.

[thebobguy]

Sounds like you better look at Mr. Pibb or Squirt!

[Ridge Runner]

I work with a guy that drove for coke. He said the money was fair but he said he went at a dead run all day and from lifting all those cases he didn't have a weight problem.

[Sentinel]

Originally Posted by thebobguy

Sounds like you better look at Mr. Pibb or Squirt!

You funny!! Hah Hah!! I got your number and know where you live!! :wink: :wink:

[feederfred]

All I know is the Pepsi drivers here in Southern California are in the same local I'm in and make very good money. There is a difference between "Local" drivers and "Transport" drivers. The local guys do the liquor store/7-11 thing. The Transport drivers do bulk truckloads of Pepsi products. It's all hourly here and none of them are quitting.....

[Sentinel]

Originally Posted by feederfred

All I know is the Pepsi drivers here in Southern California are in the same local I'm in and make very good money. There is a difference between "Local" drivers and "Transport" drivers. The local guys do the liquor store/7-11 thing. The Transport drivers do bulk truckloads of Pepsi products. It's all hourly here and none of them are quitting.....

This is a bit unrelated to this topic but I have read quite a bit from various California posters ans have read some of California's employment laws. There are many things I've heard of that makes California appear to be an "Employee Friendly" state as opposed to an "Employer Friendly" state. As a small example California requires all companies that perform any type of background check to provide to the applicant a copy of these checks if they so request, regardless if the company used them to make an employment decision or not. Viewing California's Unemployment laws it appears that they slant toward the benefit of the released employee when there is no definite proof from a company of just cause to fire them.

The Unions also have a strong foothold in many California companies which is not necessarily good for some but for many others it is. In their beginning the Unions served a very good purpose but slowly became lethargic and, in many cases, useless. However it appears that the current employment conditions across the country would support a resurgence of Unions if they started a concerted drive to revive them.

Any comments out there from those in California and those who may have experienced the different states employment conditions with regards to this question?