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.

 

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.

 

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!

 

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.

 

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.

 

 

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

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.

 

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 :lol:

 

No takers huh? LOL :roll: