warehouse associate

merchandiser

warehouse associate ii

truck driver

stocking associate

Virginia Eagle Distributing Company

Typical day consisted of going to different stores and merchandising what was mostly alcoholic beverages.  I learned how to work independently and to self motivate.  Not having management standing over your shoulder was a major plus.  As long as I did my job correctly, I would hardly hear from them.  The workplace culture in my particular area wasn't one I enjoyed so much, because it seemed as if the actual delivery drivers would pawn as much of their work onto me as possible.  For example, if I had 280 cases of beer dropped on me at a Walmart to put up by myself, and they were responsible for maybe 150 cases total over their next two stops, by the time they got to their third stop I would be getting phonecalls from them asking why I wasn't there to help them.  And usually, when I would show up to help one of those drivers, they would almost always have their phone stuck to their ear talking to their lady friends.  What's that tell you?  The other driver maintained a weight of 300 pounds over the course of my employment and I lost about 20 pounds, so who was doing all the work?  One experience that irritates me the most is one day I'm running behind and I keep getting phone calls from the driver asking where I'm at because he is on the last stop and needs the money from where I delivered kegs of beer for him.  When I finally get there, he is standing over the pallet of beer he delivered, with his elbow propped on top of it holding his head up, talking to one of the grocery stores employees.  He hadn't lifted a finger to put up any of that beer the whole hour he had been calling me asking where I was at.

As for support, it was non-existent.  For example, the manager of one of the Food Lions I worked had been testing me for weeks.  He even got as dirty as taking my pallets that our beer was delivered on and setting them up on edge, which is a big no-no, and making it seem as if I was the one doing it.  I busted him one day doing it and he admitted to it in a room full of his employees. I reported this to my manager and all the other troubles this guy was giving me, but nothing was ever done about it.  It  was all allowed to continue.  

Even though we sold three times as much beer as any other distributor in a particular walmart, I was given less space to put our back stock than the other distributors.  I was given only one pallet in cold storage to have to stack way too much back stock on.  There were times when this back stock was almost literally stacked to the ceiling.  Managers did nothing to alleviate this problem for me and it eventually led to an injury.

I ended up tearing a hamstring eventually, but I felt so bad for the managers being short handed that I think I only missed like two days and continued to work through the pain. I was supposed to have received pain meds for the issue, but I never received assistance from the insurance company for at least a month to pick up the prescription.  I called the HR and she basically refused to even help me with the situation.   As a result of being off balance from this hamstring issue, I ended up separating cartilage from my ribs on the opposite side of my chest while working the unnecessarily huge pile of back stock in the aforementioned walmart.  I got a phone call just after walking out the doctors office from a manager that claims not to be my manager when I need him, demanding when I was going to be back at work because he needs to know this stuff.  Well, there are things I need to know like when am I going to be able to get my steroids and pain killers prescribed to me and who is going to pay for them.  But I'm just a low-tier employee so nobody really feels the need to give me answers to that or even try to help me.

Two weeks later, after working most of those two weeks, I get the card that allows me to pick up the pain meds, but insurance is telling me that they aren't covering the steroids I need to heal because apparently my job of lifting sometimes 600 cases of beer a day and eight kegs can't cause a rib separation according to them.  They will ensure I receive a never ending flow of pain killers though to ensure no one is inconvenienced in covering my job for me though.  Imagine that.  

It wasn't long after that, I get a call from my salesman wanting to know why I hadn't mixed Bud and Bud Light on a floor display, and he is pretty much acting like he is my boss as well, being rather hostile about it.  From what I understood, from way up on top of the ladder, it was instructed to not be mixing Bud and Bud Light on displays within these particular stores.  He was obviously expecting me to disobey those instructions and probably blame me if he was caught doing it since I wasn't told to be present at this particular meeting in which these directions were given.  Manager did not address the issue.

It was at this point I got fed up with this company and gave my two weeks notice.  Mostly for  lack of support and partly because I didn't want to become one of these pain pill addicts that seem so prevalent around here.  Also, I was constantly being hounded about my hours or hurrying up so I could do my delivery driver's work for them so they would get less hours.  Of course HR recorded a statement from me, before I could receive my paycheck, about the reasons I quit.  Her and my managers sure twisted my arm into saying I basically quit because I didn't like my co-workers. Regardless of what I was having to deal with because of management and HR's refusal to address any of my needs or issues.

Typical day at work is making deliveries to grocery stores, convenient stores, bars and restaurants. 

Management does not care about their drivers. They have a problem when you start too late, than have a problem when you start too early. They send you to accounts when they are not scheduled to get a delivery which is always out of your way and always dont have a check. It's all about how many cases they can sell and then hold drivers accountable for out of date products when things don't sell. 

They claim to be a family operated business but when you put your family first and the business second you get treated differently. 

They also claim that they promote within, but when you prove that you are a asset as a driver, you will never be promoted to anything else because you are too valuable as a cdl holder who does their job well. 

So if you do decide to take a driver position I would recommend not doing a good job, and not being competent. You will be given special treatment, and promoted so you will be someone else's problem. 

Its a straight forward job, even a 12 year old could manage this job. As far as physical work, this job is a physical demand operation. You're constantly on your feet stacking pallets of beer, juices, and sodas from when you clock in to when you clock out. The management is lenient when they wanna be. They have no AC or heating systems. The only water supplies they have is a big water container; even that is sometimes filled. Someone would have to get the fork-lift and get it from the top section, and you could only imagine how long that process will take. The hours start from 11 pm to whenever the freight gets finished normally 10 pm-12 pm. After all that stacking and wrapping all day they make you clean up the whole warehouse. Good benefits, but not enough pay for what you are working.

They are losing drivers almost daily. When i was hired there were 2 other drivers hired. At the same time 3 current drivers put in their notice. This is a fixed salary position. Meaning no matter how many hours you work, you make the same amount. They will start you at 42,800. Which doesn't sound bad for your first CDL job. The problem is, you will work up to 15 hours a day. I worked several days that were over 15 hours and rarely ever worked less than 12. The routes are inconsistent.  Some guys work less than 8 hours . If they paid hourly it would change a lot but they don't.  This is a newly acquired company and everyone is lost, and stressed out. There is a reason they can't keep drivers. There are other companies that do the same job and pay much more.

4am to whenever your done unloading TT

Customer Service is a lose/lose

Good Ol Boy Network 

Drivers/merchandisers typical work relationship

You have 10 different stores = 10 different rules

Best part was clocking out around noon. And having whole day to enjoy home life. VED is not a career unless you’re lucky enough for MGMT.  Pay/Benefits/PTO is laughable. Employees should unionize. Upper MGMT at HQ always finding ways to take your money (safety/camera). Sometimes you’ll have to load your own truck as well. Not allowed to even wear headset in truck. You’ll meet cool people, but be criticized quite often. 

It’s 80% labor and 20% driving. Great management and down to earth co workers. Assigned routes but the work is spread out evenly between drivers (10 hr days typically). If you do your job no one bothers you. Just a bunch of grown men coming to work, doing their job, and heading home. No frills no drama. The pay is on the lower end of the spectrum compared to other class a local jobs (55-62k) but it’s a 4 day work week so it makes sense to a degree. Great overall company. Labor jobs in general scare some people off but for what it’s worth the culture and work life balance are excellent. A typical day is 4:30am - 2pm

Overall it was an okay job. The pay was at the bottom of the list compared to other beverage companies with no intent to change that. Getting to drive around and head to different stores was nice until you spoke with other companies and found out how much you have to do with little pay. For example, other companies give compensation for how much comes in the store, unlike VAE who just pays you by the hour no matter how much they bring in. This means that sales overloads you with extra items daily because they get money for it instead of ordering what the store needs and this adds more work for the merchandiser who gets nothing. 

Typical day at work is putting up orders at grocery and convenience stores.

Sales team make commission, so they’re going to load up every store, you’re looking at 5+ pallets, by yourself.

Sales hounds you constantly, expecting you to know beforehand, what they want.

The pay is trash. 10 years of experience but they wouldn’t go past 16. 

The work culture is exactly what you think it is. Good old boys and dude bros and if you’re not in the club, kick rocks. 

Health insurance is a joke. It will literally eat your whole paycheck.

But hey, they give you discounts on dented beer and other drinks 

I worked here as a warehouse employee and a merchandiser. I enjoyed both jobs and I would still be there if my wife hadn't accepted a job out of the area. Friendly people and easy to get along with. Managers aren't afraid to do the things that you do and help you out every day.

The thought of being in the same place every day would drive me crazy. I get to travel, meet new people, talk to people, enjoy the great weather days, but also get to hate the bad weather days. This job is physical, but it keeps you in shape. All the people that we work with are great and get along.  

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Warehouse associate 2 salaries reported	$17.00 per hour
Merchandiser 1 salary reported	$20.00 per hour
Warehouse associate ii 1 salary reported	$21.00 per hour
Truck driver 1 salary reported	$62,000 per year
Stocking associate 1 salary reported	$16.00 per hour

Working at Virginia Eagle Distributing Company: Company Overview and Reviews

Virginia Eagle Distributing Company

Virginia Eagle Distributing Company Ratings

Popular jobs at Virginia Eagle Distributing Company

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected