Drivers who've worked for Pepsi/Coca Cola in Socal; Did you have to stock shelves with pepsi/cola product or did the store do it themselves?
Posted by _Throwaway_007_@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 26 comments
Some people say you don't have to stock shelves and that you just unload product outside stores. Others say you do have to stock the shelves.
Which is it? Is it account dependent?
tgpsrad@reddit
I work for Reyes holdings. The main bottler/coca cola distributer. I'm in Michigan though. Yes you will be stocking shelves as a driver. Dollar general, family dollar, cvs , Walgreens. Some of them are drop. But the job is very physically demanding.
_Throwaway_007_@reddit (OP)
Would you say it's doable for 6 months just to get experience?
tgpsrad@reddit
Yes if you're willing to do hard work. It's not easy.
bigpierider@reddit
Yep...its definitely the vendors that stock shelves...you'll spend hours at ur bigger stops.
BouncingSphinx@reddit
When I worked at a grocery store, the drivers didn’t normally stock. They would deliver the pallets once or twice a week and then a different rep would be the one to come into the store and stock the shelves.
Routes with smaller stops, like dollar stores and especially gas stations, would have the driver and maybe a helper to deliver and stock, but outside of deliveries the customer (store) would keep their own shelves stocked with what’s left.
GiantEnemaCrab@reddit
For Pepsi it depends on the store. Big stops like Target / Walmart you just drop it. Small gas stations are sometimes stocked or sometimes you drop. Dollar stores like Dollar General / Tree are always stocked.
It's pretty easy tbh. Worth it to be home every day, hourly pay with overtime, and 4 days per week.
Financial-Prize9691@reddit
When I was grocery for Target, all outside vendors stocked their own product and built/maintained their own displays. Including Coke/Pepsi.
_Throwaway_007_@reddit (OP)
Did they do this early in the morning or at all hours of the business day?
Financial-Prize9691@reddit
Usually done by 1 and they had a schedule. I had to come in at 4:00 am to receive them.
jmzstl@reddit
I also worked at Target, and can say for certain that the truck driver who delivered the load was not the same person who stocked it. They had a merchandiser come later in the day to make sure the shelves were stocked.
But at some smaller places like gas stations, the driver might have to do both, which is what the OP is trying to figure out for their location.
Financial-Prize9691@reddit
Well, this was a while ago for me and not a super target, but my drivers did it for me.
_Throwaway_007_@reddit (OP)
Very interesting, where was this?
jmzstl@reddit
In the midwest, about 8-9 years ago. I was the receiver for my last year there, and Coke and Pepsi always just dropped their stuff, then had me scan in each pallet before they took off.
Sufficient_Tooth_949@reddit
Small store route.....which is what youll likely start on yes....bottle by bottle, they also expect you to rotate
Huge fucking time killer
Bulk large store account you just drop pallets super nice and easy, but the senior guys usually get it
_Throwaway_007_@reddit (OP)
The senior guy bs really fudges it up for people who actually need those jobs like say someone who isn't as strong... I been noticing that being the case smh
Sufficient_Tooth_949@reddit
My area only paid what comes out to $20 an hour, to hand unload 14,000 lbs daily, to dolly a 200lbs stack up inclines and stairs, to accurately collect payments and ensure there is no shortages or overages put in any of the orders, just way too fucking much
We had electric pallet jacks but 80% of them had batteries that would die 40% into your work day
I'll drive a truck for $20 an hour but thats it, I wasnt cut out for the strenuous labor of the job, I dont know how some of those 50 year old guys threw down daily like they did, but its not the type of life I wanted to live
Slater_8868@reddit
Not Socal, but Midwest.
I was a "bulk" delivery driver for Pepsi for a short time. I delivered shrink-wrapped pallets of drink products via dry van to Targets, Krogers, Meijers, Amazon warehouses, and Walmarts in a dedicated service area. I offloaded the pallets from my trailer, and placed them in the receiving stockroom.
There were Pepsi merchandisers at the stores whose job it was to then take the pallets to the specific isles, break them down, and actually stock the shelves.
The other type of drivers Pepsi had were "side load" delivery drivers. They delivered product to smaller stores, convenience stores, gas stations, etc. They acted as both a delivery driver and a merchandiser. I'm sure you've seen those people before at gas stations, unloading stuff from the side doors of their trailers and wheeling them into the store on a 2-wheel dolly.
I'm not sure if that helps you or not.
_Throwaway_007_@reddit (OP)
Where was the receiving stock room? Inside or where at?
Slater_8868@reddit
The receiving docks were usually in the back of the grocery stores (ie behind the store). Most stores I went to had 1-6 receiving dock doors, depending on the age and location of the store.
Most grocery stores do all of their receiving overnight or in the early morning. That way, by 6ish am when customers start showing up, all of the semi trucks are long gone, and the shelves have all been restocked by the overnight grocery store employees and all of the various vendor merchandisers.
Anyways, what I'm calling the "stock room" was more of a receiving staging room. It was a big open room on the inside of the building. When the trailers were unloaded, the pallets were all stacked up in that room using an electric straddle stacker. Each vendor had a single little "row" where they stacked all of their pallets up 2-3 pallets high and however many deep - Coke, Pepsi, 7up/A&W, bottled water, canned vegetables, whatever. In the same room was usually a cardboard compactor, trash chute, and miscellaneous stuff.
The whole time you're there doing your delivery, it's a constant stream of other vendors coming and going in step vans and semis. Beer truck, bread truck, Lays chip truck, Boar's Head truck, Red Bull truck, Coffee truck, Coca Cola truck, etc etc.
midniteblazeit@reddit
You stock dollar stores because they pay for that, everyone else’s contracted to have their outs filled but most places just have you drop in the cooler but corporate gas stations like Casey’s will likely tell you to stock what’s out.
midniteblazeit@reddit
Forgot to add, Walgreens are CVS are also workstops so you stock them as well.
gooba1@reddit
Not in socal but here in Iowa convenience stores and smaller places like dollar general you stock the shelves and build displays and whatnot. Larger stores like Walmart have merchandisers.
clairered27@reddit
So it depends they mostly stock up convenience stores the drivers that do the grocery stores most of them have merchandisers that will stock it up and stuff but the ones that don't they stock it.
mike-2129@reddit
Im in central valley. And my first job was delivering beer. We had to unload move into the cooler and rotate the product in the cooler. Not place into the shelves. But im sure its different other places.
wh0andwhy@reddit
Not sure how it is now, but technically all stores you had too. Some places you can act dumb and the cashier let you drop it. Major big stores like CVS, Walgreens you have to. This was like 10 years ago tho
BigDSimmons1@reddit
I'm in utah so idk if it helps. also not diving yet, but I know that both companies hire merchandisers here that just ride along in the truck and help set up things in the store. could just be box truck guys though, I'm not 100% certain. but yes drivers help stock shelves and set up displays here.