merchandiser

warehouse worker

delivery driver

order picker

warehouse associate

Fabiano Brothers

Fabiano Brothers, is an excellent company for an entry level sales job to get your foot in the door for the beverage industry. They have a vast portfolio and prefer to promote from within. This makes a great stepping stone and opportunity to gain industry knowledge and experience. Unfortunately, the downsides are a poor work culture with unprofessional and unstructured management/leadership chain. Management does not reflect proper leadership skills and abilities. Training is often rushed, not properly organized, and not efficient. The work/life balance is also very concerning and does not reflect the salary pay range for their sales employees. They will overwork and pressure you into every last sale while giving you a non-competitive salary and compensation. This is exactly why they suffer a high turnover rate, especially in their sales departments. Detroit branch has very unprofessional sales managers. Vice President of Sales & Marketing often uses vulgar language that is unprofessional in any workplace environment. If Sales Management was restructured and reformed I believe this would greatly improve the satisfaction and performance output of their sales employees. I've enjoyed my experience of learning (mostly on my own), sales coworkers who are very passionate about the industry and profession, and the opportunities I have earned throughout my years for them. If you're looking for a great way to get your foot into the industry this is a good company, but you will be paid in peanuts and overworked with very unrealistic goals and expectations. You will not be mentored or managed in a professional and effective manner with a lack of constructive criticism. It's like filling a bucket with water but there is a hole in the bottom of the bucket. 

A typical day was stocking beer in multiple accounts, rotation of product, identification of outdates, communication with sales representatives and store personnel regarding product placement.  My starting hourly pay was $9 per hour which seemed at the time as a decent pay.  A few months later all merchandisers were given a pay raise to $10, and after 3 years of employment you topped out at $10.50 per hour which given experience seemed low.  You were afforded mileage reimbursement at 30 cents per mile driven in your personal vehicle which again was low, by comparison other beverage distributors reimburse at 57 cents or the federal rate for mileage.

Recently the wine division was sold to a competitor and the company changed their focus to distributing beer exclusively.  With this change the company changed the pay scale for merchandisers to a new program where beginning and lower ranked merchandisers start out at $11 an hour and have the potential to advance to $13 per hour with good performance reviews.  The one drawback with the new pay program is that mileage reimbursement was eliminated - this can be detrimental if you are assigned distant accounts and do considerable driving.  However if you are assigned locally and have good performance reviews you can be competitively compensated.

Merchandising supervisors and most representatives are good communicators and work well with a large group of merchandisers.  As long as you do your job they demonstrate much flexibility with schedules - there were several instances during my time with Fabiano where I had to vary my work schedule around other events in my life and I found great accommodation - of course good communication is the key..

As a delivery driver there’s very little good, a lot of bad, and even more ugly. 

The Good-
-4 day work weeks
-The fellow drivers are a great group of guys.
-Being the ‘Beer Guy’

The Bad& the Ugly-
Management shows little to no respect for drivers, or any employees below them. The routing and efficiency is laughable. Costing the company thousands each year, but they don’t see it that way, because what do the drivers know? Also, a company that doesn’t believe in dedicated routes. You share a “designated area” with other drivers so you’ll never know what to expect. That “designated area” can vary depending on how much the ‘routing specialist’ decides to zoom in/out on his map on the computer. Seniority means nothing here unless you’re in the top 15 drivers(out of 55) It’s also a company that shows no respect for DOT regulations. You’ll often be pressured into breaking the hours of service law (14 hours a day, with the exception of one 16 hour day). They don’t care at all about the driver’s safety, often putting you into positions you won’t be comfortable with, but “that’s just the way it is” & that’s odd because other distributors don’t make their drivers do it. Also, by far the lowest paid drivers in the industry (20.50/hr) at the end of the contract progression. The union contract is nothing but a doormat to management, I’ve never seen more “grey areas/loopholes” in my life. Be ready for back breaking work for 14+ hours a day. There’s a reason it’s a revolving door of drivers/warehouse employees. Until management addresses the very obvious issues, nothing will ever change!

Your time at Fabiano Brothers is what you make of it. It has the opportunity to grow if you take the right avenues and bust your butt to get there. Starting out in merchandising out of high school and without a college degree, I did what was asked of me to become a Sales Rep - go gain sales experience. I did exactly that and then came back to take on a sales position at FB in 2014. Through many long days and nights, building relationships, taking care of my customers, and gaining knowledge of the industry, I was able to move to a Sales Supervisor position. Reading through comments on job sites and listening to conversations for years, the company has a negative image at this time. While every company isn't perfect, Fabiano Brothers provides a place to gain knowledge of the retail business, build relationships, develop a work ethic, and the greatest brands in the world. You will have your rough days - no doubt - but those days make you stronger as a person and a salesperson and will help you in your future endeavors. After a week into a new career, I can honestly say I wouldn't have been anywhere near enough prepared to take on this role without my experience the last five years. And for that, I'm forever grateful for my time at Fabiano Brothers.

Where do I begin. The routes are quite a distance, which drains gas and energy. The store environment is chaotic and inconsistent. I pretty much spent money to work for them. I received two or three days of training and then was on my own. At first it seemed to be a supportive culture, but the true colors quickly shown through. Sales reps talked down to me, HR got every week of pay wrong. I even had to drive in rush hour 70+ miles to the Detroit distribution center to pick up my missing pay and then had a horrible time cashing it because it was handwritten. The topper was when I noticed that my pay stubs stated I was part time when I was hired under the promise of full time. Lastly, I finally received company logo polos after 3 weeks of working. When I quit less than two weeks later, my last two checks were withheld. I just got my 2nd to last in the mail the other day and the last paycheck is STILL being held from me because of the stupid polo shirts. I've asked where that fact was in what I signed. I mailed the shirts back weeks ago and now HR and management just refuse to reply to me. The level of unprofessionalism is absolutely astounding. If the shirts were the issue, show me where it states that in my paperwork and if necessary, charge me for the stupid shirts and give me my earnings. I've had to file complaints and am currently still awaiting a resolution. Proceed at your own risk!

At first, I thought that this was a great place to work (3 day weekends, pay a little above minimum wage, work around beer), but I quickly changed my opinion. The worst thing about the job is management. They never allow you to have an opinion, if you do give your opinion, they retaliate against you. They always believe that they are right and will blatantly disrespect you to your face. They seem to believe that this is the only thing in life that you should care about, so they work you 13+ hours a day. I understand that people may say that this is "part of any job," but this is totally different. Management walks around with their chest poked out like they own the world. This starts all the way at the top of the company. They call themselves a "family" company, but the only thing that they care about is their own family and how to make them more rich (they do not care what is going on in your personal life). If you call in sick, you get ridiculed for it. They work you long hours, but you are still considered part-time. Therefore, you cannot receive benefits. So in a nutshell, do not apply.

Fabiano Brothers is an AB/InBev warehouse first and foremost. AB is demanding and often times it's easy to disagree with AB expectations. Fabiano is one of the strongest warehouses for AB and that awards the company great opportunity with other breweries.

With that being said. It is a demanding job because the expectations are so high from AB and management. You will be expected to sell at all levels, from the tiny hole in the wall bar to the Walmart two towns over. Sales are not based on what you want to sell, sales are based on what Fabiano and AB want you to sell. That can be difficult and seem unobtainable, but it's not impossible. You will learn how to get a customer to say yes. 

The territory managers are great and will support you. It's a 24/7 job at times and can be rewarding. It is not a job for everyone. Expect to go above and beyond. At times you can feel like your walking on thin ice, but that's sales.

This is a job that is an excellent opportunity for college students. The hours that you work are pretty much set. Your start time remains the same, except for holiday weeks. What the work is like is a little more demanding than other jobs You are responsible for unloading the trucks and recycling everything that comes off of said trucks. With that being said the work in itself is not hard and should come easily. It is just monotonous. The co workers make this job excellent, because you are a close knit bunch, as there are only 14 in this department. Management is good, but as is the case in any situation can be improved upon. Communication between coaches in the recent past has been sketchy, but they are attempting to work on this problem. The pay is a little above minimum wage, but there are no chances at raises (outside of after 1 year you get a fifty cent raise). You are unionized so your job is protected, but again there are no chances as performance raises.

I mainly work alone in wine and beer departments in retail and grocery stores.  I also work with receivers and drivers, as well as management to coordinate product placement and deliveries.
I have learned a quite a lot about distribution, store/vendor relations, as well as beer/wine products and their industries.  
I contact my supervisor about once a week to touch base and go over anything that needs to be done.
For the most part the workplace culture is spread out. Merchandisers and sales associates work together, in their own territories.
The hardest part of the job is communication. Sales associates are paid on commission and have certain numbers they must hit each month. Unfortunately merchandisers are the ones who get the backlash and extra inventory to work with in the stores.
The people I interact with on a daily basis are the most enjoyable part of my job.

A typical day at work was getting in your personal vehicle and traveling to all of your accounts. Stocking beer is easy, facing, rotating, and managing backstock were all very easy things to grasp and master within the first week. I learned more about the science of product placement from this job then working at a liquor store for several years. The management was awesome , I had a merchandising manager that would reward and give constructive critiscism at every turn, this person also had no fear of using the whip when needed. Co-workers were nearly non-existent, once in a blue moon you would be paired up with another merchandiser for really really large accounts/orders. The hardest part of the job was managing your own time, in a manner that met up to the machine like expectations of this corporation. The most enjoyable part of the job was definitely getting to change your location every couple hours.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Merchandiser 13 salaries reported	$16.69 per hour
Warehouse worker 9 salaries reported	$14.25 per hour
Delivery driver 4 salaries reported	$27.75 per hour
Order picker 4 salaries reported	$18.63 per hour
Warehouse associate 4 salaries reported	$14.75 per hour

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