merchandiser

fleet mechanic

delivery driver

truck driver

order picker

G&J Pepsi Cola

After 18 years with the company, working above my capacity, always helping those on the team who needed it, I received a Pepsi pen when I left. 17 years my old boss did his own thing. He told me only what I needed to know and I supported the sales team creatively. The owners turned the company over to management and it went down the toilet. I had a GMM bully me and HR trying to fire me because I wouldn't cover my tat. I never left the building to visit customers and had the tats when I was originally hired. Just a bully!
Old boss left the company under strange circumstances and after he left the GM from KY came in, made me sit in front of him when they went through his desk commenting on every little thing he found. After my new "boss" started, I was berated, told I was not allowed to speak to administrative staff upstairs, and he literally went through all my things as soon as I walked away from my desk. I caught him myself and asked if he was looking for anything in particular. Got back from lunch and he had opened a sealed envelope on my desk with my name on it and admitted it when asked. Claimed he was being open and honest with me. Simply more BS. Was treated that way until I chose a much better place to work! Just disappointed in how a great company turned into such a dishonest and sneaky place due to management change from the top! I loved my job and would have stayed until I retired if not for them treating me like a criminal and the constant berating from the new manager who was moved from position to position because it was well known in management that he couldn't manage others. I am happy now though. Would not recommend to anyone no matter how good the benefits are.

What is the best part of working at the company?
This job is a good fit for people who want to build up their strength or are just starting out as truck drivers. It’s very physical — you’ll definitely get a workout. A lot of experienced drivers end up leaving after a year. The pay is on the lower side, and how busy you are depends a lot on the season and how well the drinks are selling. Sometimes it’s super busy, and sometimes there’s not much to do at all. The trainers for new hires are hit or miss — some are really kind and respectful, but others have a bad temper and yell a lot.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part is during the summer. It gets really hot, and the delivery routes are extremely busy and physically demanding.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment is fast-paced and physically demanding. Some team members and trainers are friendly and respectful, but others can be rude and often yell, which adds stress to the job. Overall, it depends on who you’re working with.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical day starts early in the morning. I check the truck, load products, and head out to deliver drinks to different stores. The route can be long and physically tough, especially when unloading heavy products. Sometimes I finish early if it’s not too busy, but during peak season, the day can be very long and exhausting.

Depending on your position there they have certain requirements to do your job like if your day shift there’s so many things that you have to do in just 8hrs and sometimes it’s very hard to get done in the 8hrs when you could get anywhere between 5-16 pallets of product in at a time vs being on mid-shift. All you really have to do is fill displays and the home. 

Sometimes you have to pick up your co-workers slack from the day before. Or work all the stuff they didn’t want to work or fill throughout the week. Your schedule can change at a drop of a hat sometimes to meet the needs of the company. If your full time you have more leeway but if your part time you get no sick pay or personal days unless you don’t want to get paid for it. 

Management is pretty good most of the time but can be a big hassle at times. I’ve requested days off well off in advance and kept giving reminders and when it got a week away and I asked about it I was told no and that I didn’t give enough notice or they couldn’t get me off that day. 

Work life balance is VERY iffy at time because I’ve seen and heard people working till 10-11 at night and having to be at work the next day at 5-6am and from what I’m told it’s very stressful and tiring because of lack of sleep and rest. But great and fun place to work. You’ll meet a lot of great people and who are super nice and friendly. All CSM’s, and merchandisers are awesome and get along very well together. Sometimes if feel like management pushes people against each other though 

Utility Driver: there are 3 different delivery formats and each has different protocol. A utility driver is responsible for learning 3 different jobs which is very stressful. Each delivery format drives different types of trucks: 38ft side loaders, straight trucks and 10 gear semi trucks. Sometimes your weekly schedule will tell you what route you are running in which department, but sometimes your weekly schedule simply says "float". When you float you might end up just riding along with someone and giving them extra help if there are no call offs or open routes that need to be filled. 

You get to know your co-workers well because of all the questions and advise you will seek in order to survive and acclimate. 

The hardest part of the job is finding a way to handle the long days, and fatigue that can easily demoralize an employee or cause them to mishandle their combination vehicle. As a utility driver there is little opportunity to get comfortable with a route. 

The most enjoyable part of the job is the satisfaction that comes with getting your CDL and knowing that you have a skill. Every day that a utility driver comes in to work they face a long day that puts them far outside of their comfort zone. Not everyone can handle that on a daily basis.

Management is garbage. They hire in people who have no clue what they're doing, but will breathe down your neck every second telling you that you're never doing enough. Empty promises about growth and promotions. Empty promises on fair raises. Will make you do the job of 3 to 5 people with no appreciation, but instead STILL tell you that you're not doing enough while peter piper over here sits on his phone all day doing nothing getting paid more than you and nothing is said. They're slave drivers with no compassion or appreciation for their employees. Dont buy into the great things they feed you because it's all garbage. I would have more respect for a paperclip being my boss than the people they hire in as managers...at least things would be fair and quite honestly probably ran better. They're only concern is profit but not the employee happiness. They'll drive you into the ground with no incentives if it made them an extra dollar. The more valuable you are, the harder they make your life.

In this company EVERYONE makes more than you do, and you do 80% more work than everyone.You start your day by waking up at 4 AM and you have to be to your stores no later than 5 AM. If your truck is late to your store that day, you can kiss any plans you had good bye. If your truck is on 2nd stop you'll usually get your truck around 1 or 2 pm and you have to merchandise EVERYTHING even i you have 10 pallets of pop/new age items and if you don't then the account managers WILL complain and you'll get written up. The managers do NOT care about you, they will not help or they will say that they're sending help and it never shows up. The shift is supposed to be from 5 am to 1 pm, an 8 hour shift. If you're joining this company expecting to get off by 1 then you're sadly mistaken. You're lucky if you get off by 5 PM. and if you some how manage to get done before 12, they're going to send you miles away to help someone else. And if you're expecting to get weekends off then you're going to have to wait 10-15 years for the old guys to retire that aren't going anywhere.

Meeting with maintenance manager to discuss needs and expectations of the day, month and long term. Review what parts (OEM and MRO} were used. Speak with maintenance personnel on what immediate needs might be. I've learned more than ever what internal customers mean. Developing management skills are essential in building a community of people that can work well together. Workplace culture is important with all employees to build functionality and loyalty to the brand and those we work with. Dealing with the stress of break-downs due to the cost of downtime costs in the event there is an item that is not normally stocked at the facility. It's my responsibility to procure, and get it into the hands of maintenance as quickly as possible. The most enjoyable part of the job is making sure inventory is available when needed, in turn lowers stress on everyone.

A typical day begins at 6:00 am and can end any where from 2:30 to 4:30. There are usually 2 to 4 large grocery stores assigned to you to stock. Displays get built and filled and backrooms are condensed and organized. As a Lead Merchandiser I am also responsible for writing a majority of my own orders. 

I have acquired good communication skills, and how to work with a sense of urgency. I have learned how to prioritize responsibilities, and how to deal with stressful situations. 

The management team is passionate about meeting company standards. 

I have worked with many great people. 

The physical demands of the job would have to be the greatest challenge. 

The most enjoyable part of the job is the instant gratification you receive once a store is completed. The compliments from store Management and company personnel is very gratifying as well.

Management will stress importance of teamwork and speed of trust yet none exist. If you go to your Managers with issues they turn it around and dismiss you and make you feel ashamed for coming to them with the issue instead of fixing the issues.The company is compartmentalized in such a way that communication suffers as well as teamwork. Some Market Directors bully and are very disrespectful mainly to women and those who are not on the front line selling. There appears to be a racist undertone, lots of cussing and unprofessional Sales Managers. They gossip and cause derision.Admin sales support is undervalued and underpaid. The turnover rate is extremely high. The owners of the company take a back seat and say nothing while this company continues to lose profits and good employees.

When I started most people cared about their jobs and working hard was all that was needed to succeed but that is no longer the case. Between paying less than the competitors, expecting 120% all the time, only caring about looking good and failing to hire competent people has led to them burning out all their talent and skilled workers. Senior management constantly try to micromanage and chase every percentage point they can get every quarter to get their promotion while not caring about reality. Turnover even among workers and managers is huge and while everyone is short staffed and overworked the corporate office seems to be expanding so they can micromanage even more. They seemingly need a few years to either burn every bridge they can or sell the franchise to Pepsi-Cola. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Merchandiser 3 salaries reported	$22.90 per hour
Fleet mechanic 3 salaries reported	$26.96 per hour
Delivery driver 5 salaries reported	$22.08 per hour
Truck driver 6 salaries reported	$25.88 per hour
Order picker 2 salaries reported	$27.00 per hour

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