business development manager

warehouse associate

chef manager

stocker

service technician

American Food & Vending

You really need to be a specific type of person for this job, otherwise you will probably leave within the first month. Turnover rate is high for a reason. Day starts at 5:00 AM latest, you are not allowed to start later. During the interview, the manager said work week will be between 40-45 hours. This is not true. Your days will average out to 10 hours a day and 50 hours/week. Mind you, this is also 10 hours a day while you’re with another driver being trained. You’d think that 2 people working would cut the day down right? Well yes, It does, but its still a 10 hour day. Wait, what? Let me explain a little more in detail. The first week learning about the job you will probably be finishing the day a little sooner than if the person training was on their own. But two weeks into my training (when I was hustling, learned the process and got into a groove with my partner) the guy i was training with said we were always ahead of schedule... But the days were still going out to 10 hours a day. Maybe 9 and a half hours. Now imagine once the 6 week training period is over And you’re working by yourself. I don’t see it being any less than 12-maybe even 13 hour days. The guy I was working with even said it was quite overwhelming and frustrating at first. I worked a few 11 hour days within my 5 weeks working there as well. 

Weeks averaged out to 50 hour weeks every time, and they pay you salary here. $700 a week flat, and after taxes that’s $603.85/week. In case you’re wondering. This equates out to $12.07 an hour here after taxes (At 50 hours a week) A far cry from the nice $17.50 you see on your paystub. Now, an extra 2 hours a day may not seem like much, but lets put this into perspective a little bit. The average job works you 40 hours a week, that’s 160 hours a month. Here you work 50 hours a week, that’s 200 hours a month ...at salary rate. What’s 200 hours minus 160 hours? 40 Hours. You are working an extra full week of work for these guys... for free. No additional compensation for the work you do, no overtime, no handshake, no thank you, nothing. But here’s a freshleys cupcake? That should make up for it.

Now lets talk about the commission. Cause yes there is a commission, but its nothing to write home about. I didn’t make any commission in the 5 week period I was working there and that’s because it all went to the person training me. Actually, it didn't go to him because he didn’t make any commission the entire period i was working with him. Why? There are slow periods of the year where you make none. Winter/fall time? Little to no commission. Why? People aren’t as thirsty in that period. Summer time? Yes people are thirsty then so naturally you get more sales out of your machines. He said after he learned what the people liked to drink/eat in the places he was assigned to, he slowly started to grow commission... after 1 year. Yes, you read that correctly, he didn’t make any commission for an entire year. Maybe a couple of dollars here and there, but nothing decent. Studying what sold to people and figuring out how the system there works is quite the task as well. It was in this moment I realized, you are getting paid 12 dollars an hour, to essentially run a business as if it were your own, but its not even your business. 

That leads me to my next gripe. You are running their business. You are doing everything. You have to get there before 5:00 AM, punch in, make your stop at your locker, go out on your route, check what Your machines need, take notes, go back to your truck, put all noted drinks/snacks into separate containers, carry sometimes 100+ pounds of soda bottles up stairs with a hand truck (This is the worst part about this job, you need to be a body builder or you need to make multiple trips which can be a pain, especially if the place has security and you need to go through again and again.)  fill and service all machines, record all sales and how many of what you’re putting into the machines, handle any refunds if there are any, collect the cash from them, answer for the 6th time to the same guy why we don’t offer caffeine free products to old people who have nothing better to complain about in retirement homes, replenish quarters/dimes/nickels in machines if their low, record that as well,  clean coffee machines/test them so they’re running good, empty trash from inside coffee machines, empty big buckets of backwash from coffee machines, learn each machine as they are all unique and have their own quirks, wrestle with machines to get them to close properly, get frustrated when you realize you need to repeat this process for the next 10 hours of the day, then fill gas. Now when your done with all that, its time to go back. The day is over right?... Right?... No, it’s not over yet. Next you need to go back to the building, upload all your work to the database, while your waiting for that, you need to load up your own truck with the order you put in the night before to replenish what you took from you truck today, then takes notes on what you need to order today so that tomorrow you’ll recover what you replenished after you did your stops, now you need to empty the vault in your truck, go to the vault in the building, sign papers confirming everything you collected, return the change you collected through the day, wait for counting lady to confirm everything (This process takes like 15 minutes and feels a lot longer than it actually is) Now she has said your clear to leave, now you need to go order all the stuff you need for tomorrow, and after that, you need to lock your truck up and you can finally leave. Wow, what a day. Sounds long? It is.

My last gripe is with the manager. 

I quickly realized working there was not my thing and had begun lining other jobs up. I called off sick on my 4th week on a Friday because i had work lined up with USPS and they needed my fingerprints. I let the manager know the day before I wouldn’t be able to make it in the next day. He shot back with a “Call me immediately text”. Uh oh. I called him. Instead of telling him i had work lined up elsewhere, i told him i had a personal appointment I had to squeeze in on Friday. He told me he needed more details, i said it was personal, he insisted he needed more details. I thought i got a employed, I didn’t know i got married. I then went on to insist that it’s personal and I didn’t feel comfortable sharing the information with him. He insisted again, fine. I ended up telling him it was a doctors appointment. He went on to say this was a probationary period for me and I shouldn’t be missing any days. I could tell at this point he was upset with me taking a sick day. This is not okay behavior from a manager. Not only that, this is a probationary period for me? This was a probationary period for them. Its not a one way street. This is a problem with employers nowadays, they think its such a privilege to work for them because they have some money. My time is valuable too, not just your money. It’s a two way street. I went on to quit the following week and I don’t regret it at all.

Also, there are no breaks here. You need to eat and drive.

A typical day starts around 2 to 3am. They will tell you during the interview that “you’re free to start any time before 6am”, that’s not true. The head manager will lose his mind if you’re caught starting past 5am. Depending on your position, you’ll be going anywhere from 30 minutes to 60 minutes out for your first stop in the morning, you will not be treated any differently then the people with shorter routes then you, you will not be accommodated for your longer route nor will they have any sympathy for longer days or distances, they will expect you to show up earlier and earlier in order to get more done, your home life will be non existent and your sleep will likely suffer, anyone there will tell you that they are operating on microwave meals and caffeine.  First thing in the morning your either loading up or heading out, typically, if you have a shorter route, your heading out to your first stop. The days take around 12 to 14 hours depending on the route, it’s less about you and more about the number of stops they cram onto your day, and if they notice you finishing early a lot they will start micromanaging everything you do in order to make sure your being perfect. If you do an amazing job 24/7 and then make one mistake, they will focus on the mistakes, taking pictures and going behind your back to the big boss is common, the managers don’t like to work. They like to make you work, and from my experience they would rather criticize and go out of there way to get you in trouble, rather then act like adults and fix the problem while being constructive and respectful. The drama here and lack of general communication and respect is absurd. The only person with his head on straight is the main boss, who unfortunately suffers from terrible managers and schedulers. I have never met a more understanding person, is what ide say if he wasn’t addicted to your attendance. Most jobs are, I get that, but when your working 12 or 13 hours daily you get tired fast and your real life problems start to pile up. In a nutshell, they want you to be a drone all week until the weekend. And expect you to do everything you have to to be absolutely perfect with no problems outside or inside work ever, and if your not, they will annoy you to no end about it until you are. If you are a 35+ year old workaholic with a home life that you hate so much that you would rather be at work 90% of your time rather then home, then this is the job for you. 

The only thing good about this job was the weekly pay. As far as the benefits go they give you a set period of time to file for the insurance. I was told if you missed the date you could never get the plan. Paid time off hours starts to accumulate after one year and you don't have any sick days. The employee meal plan is pretty decent you get to eat during breaks. Management is a complete joke and incapable of completing daily tasks to put the team in a great place. Instead, they point the finger and pass the blame on the employees that give their all. Employees are left to deal with situations by themselves and are reprimanded with no clear fault. Never have I worked in an establishment that a manager would turn their heads away from issues. The corporate side of the company will be any means to cover up any wrongdoings for a manager they are not at fault. You are expected to be of replacement value and nothing more or less. If you have knowledge of the industry and some sort of education they take you as a threat. Not everyone here is for your best interest and they are wolves in sheep's clothing. I've gone through enough here to realize it's not worth being a part of a team that has no clear goal on what we're here to do. One day something is acceptable and the next day it is not, and that is not how I am comfortable with doing business. This is the first location in NJ and there is no solid ground on what they actually want to do. If you want to work here you will find out soon the odd ways of this new establishment. I appreciate a stocked up and clean station to start my shift, and I'm sure the next cook does as well. Food quality was inconsistent on the entree and the overall products were not of the best quality to make a profit on. This job is for someone who can accept mediocrity as a chef. I do not recommend this position they have no idea what they are doing at this company.

Have worked for many vending/coffee/food service oriented companies over the years and AFV was probably the worst of the bunch. There is almost no chance for advancement with this company and raises are simply not given. I personally felt as though the supervisors were unreasonable, mean, extremely unfair and acted like they were being given orders to push people to the breaking point in order to get them to react. Don't let them fool you during the interview into thinking that you are ever going to go anywhere with this company or make any more money than you will the first day you start. You won't. They will, however, pile on the workload and try to get the absolute most they can out of you until you either quit or get fired. The entire workplace was full of "snakes" that seemed to want to go around pointing the finger at people and looking for scapegoats to make up for their own glaring inadequacies. Unpleasant work enviornment as a result. Certain employees seemed to be "favored" by management that are basically allowed to get away with anything they want while other employees that are putting in 60+ hour work weeks are treated like cattle. This is not the way to run a business in any case. Unless this company drastically changes their way of doing business and gets out of the stone age pretty quickly, I wouldn't recommend them to anyone at all. Not that there weren't some good people working for them here and there, but most of them realized eventually that this wasn't a very good company to work for either and left.

I busted my butt and wasn't given a lot of time to make sure things were up to my standards and so I could get things ready for the customers before we opened.I was a great worker and the compensation for that was giving me more things to do because they knew I would get them done, instead of making others, who were lazy do their job. Management is terrible!! All the management is concerned about is saving money for the company, so they can get their bonuses. How many companies do you know when you call off sick, you have to call in your replacement? Isn't that management's job? They also promised me things that they didn't deliver. They asked if I could help them when they needed a night shift supervisor and so I did for over a month. I didn't get supervisor pay or any type of compensation when I was done doing it for them, all I got was a thank you. I loved my customers and some of my coworkers, that's what made the job bearable and that is why I stayed as long as I did. You had to take your lunch break around when they were closed to the public, so, you might have just gotten there and you would have to take your lunch or you could have been there for 6 hours of more and then you got to take your 30 minutes break. You also didn't get any 15 minute breaks, even if you should have gotten them, unless you were a smoker than then they let those people go have a cigarette. I would NEVER recommend working for this company.

I worked there form 2013 to 2015, at the time the job itself was amazing, great pay, even better benefits, paid sick time and vacation times that increased with each year. the downfall however was the management, which I've been informed has changed since my days there. It was beyond poor. I often found myself exceeding my responsibilities to cover things like payroll or closing procedures for the old manager. When management from other locations heard this I was scolded and scrutinized. The more I would listen to my manager the more trouble I would end up in; the less I listened to him and took advice from other management, the worse he would make me sound when he visited those other locations. Due to poor management my job got stricter by the month and lead to poor structure. I eventually gave my notice and left after 2 years.

Like any warehouse job, I was required to move and inventory product, do basic shipping and receiving, load trucks, and maintain the warehouse. Everything had correlating paperwork to be sent to the main branch

The best part of the job was that under proper circumstances there is a lot of room to grow a real career, unbelievable benefits, incredible pay. Truly a remarkable company. If i had a different manager, I would've happily continued to work there.

I just started with this Co. so I have yet to receive benefits. The management is excellent. Training and understanding is important to me and I was able to have both. They never leave you second guessing. I work morning shift and could not ask for a better crew. Even the higher ups that help set up this new account was pleasant. They never made me feel anything less than a valued employee. The work seems to have its busy moments and they tend to help with time as it can be busy, however I have to say that I have never been placed in a situation that I needed help without someone being close by. The food is excellent quality the chefs put their hearts into it. No day is the same as last. The people we serve are wonderful. I can not wait to learn more. Over all I have no complaints other then the chef coats we wear. They tend to be hot and heavy when you are busy cooking or washing dishes. At times I feel they do hold me back a little. They are white and tend to show any and all that touches them, so washing often. I am sure as I continue to grow in the company I will continue to get use to the coat. I would say to anyone that is seeking work in this field to consider. My hardest part of my job would be standing on a hard surface for long periods of time. But I have to add this is due to me personally not use to it. I am very happy I applied and even more so that they hired me. Great folks!!!

What is the best part of working at the company?
Nothing, it was terrible. The worst job I’ve had since I started working at age 15. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Everything! I wasn’t trained properly, I was just thrown into a route after the only a few days of experiencing what the job entailed. Unorganized and hectic work environment. They pay salary, so regardless of how long your route takes (if you end up working over 40 hours) you only get payed your salary. Not worth it!

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It’s not all that great. Some co workers were friendly, some were not. It’s a very hectic environment, very unorganized, management is not all that great either unfortunately. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Come into work at 3:00am, load your truck, leave the warehouse and stop to get fuel. Start your route, and at each stop (location) you’ll have to restock each vending machine and refresh market, with various particular items required for each location.

A typical day at work is a 5am start then prepare breakfast and lunch foods for our food court setting.  I have to put together any caterings that might be happening during the day.  I also have to place all of the orders and do all of the paperwork.  I am usually done by 2:30 but then I have to get change at the bank and head to local stores to pick up some items needed to run the cafeteria that I cannot get on my regular delivery.
The job itself is wonderful.  I get to be creative with the menus.  I am a lone ship since there aren't many accounts for the company in my area so unless I have an issue there is not much contact but e-mail.
The people that work in the building are wonderful and understanding and the most enjoyable part of the job.
My staff of one other person is very supportive and we work very well together.  
The hardest part of my job is getting time off for vacation and time off when I'm sick, which is rare anyway.

Please think twice before applying for this position, from the application standpoint and going from the hiring managers words it seems like a decent job until you find out yourself. management is an absolute joke when it comes to expressing a concern & they also go behind your back and tell white lies to the GM. this is not your typical 9-5 job where its laid back and relaxed. this job entails early start times no later than 5:00AM and return time would average about 3:30 4PM then on top of that you have to load your own truck with your own order you put in the previous night then do an order and hand all your paperwork in which turned out to be longer than 12 hours a day. never once did i get a raise or compensated for doing extra work that was put on me without notice. monday-friday your looking at no more than $530.00 per week for 45-55 hours at salary rate. what an absolute joke!!! i can sit here all day and list all the cons about this horrible company but i'd rather not waste my time. moral of the story please don't waste your time working for these bunch of degenerate jerk offs!

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Business development manager 9 salaries reported	$73,333 per year
Warehouse associate 7 salaries reported	$18.86 per hour
Chef manager 2 salaries reported	$72,500 per year
Stocker 5 salaries reported	$20.80 per hour
Service technician 4 salaries reported	$24.88 per hour

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