My fiance has accepted a position as a merchandiser for Pepsi Bottling Group. We have a basic understanding of what he will be doing, but he has not had orientation for the full details. Does anyone have any wise words of wisdom, or insider knowledge that would help him as he begins? He has no experience in the bottling/beverage industry, but he is a dedicated worker, and hopefully he will be albe to move up from this position. We are both supper excited about this position (the economy has had alot of things on hold for us, so this is a step in the right direction) Any input will be greatly appreciated!

Originally Posted by Dizzie1450

My fiance has accepted a position as a merchandiser for Pepsi Bottling Group. We have a basic understanding of what he will be doing, but he has not had orientation for the full details. Does anyone have any wise words of wisdom, or insider knowledge that would help him as he begins? He has no experience in the bottling/beverage industry, but he is a dedicated worker, and hopefully he will be albe to move up from this position. We are both supper excited about this position (the economy has had alot of things on hold for us, so this is a step in the right direction) Any input will be greatly appreciated!

Well expect to see him working every holiday for years to come, thats the nature of the beverage business... mandatory overtime (extra hours a day or days a week) since he'll be on the bottom he won't get a choice to refuse it or pass it to someone lower down the chain... and get ready to hear him complain after his first day back to work after a day off about the idiot who had the stores the day before him and how he didn't do anything he was supposed to and he had to clean it all up and got yelled at by the store manager who was a rude prick when it had nothing to do with him... that seems to be the basics from what I hear when they are all complaining about eachother lol.

and promotions won't come that quickly unless you're looking at a 10 year picture... then you might get lucky and one of the other guys finally retired from another position or an opening people hold onto for long periods of time finally moved on to something else... there aren't a lot of positions to move upward to anymore like "the good ole days"... the positions are grunts and grunts are all they're ever expected to be... it doesn't mean without hard work he can't move up, but its not designed that way by nature... its like a factory floor, lots of people who want to move up but when one position finally does open up there's wanting it and very little seperating them all usually.

wow I make it sound kind of crappy... hey depending which place he works for he'll be in a good union and bring home big paychecks this summer wtih all the overtime... it'll be nice but he'll be sore.

Originally Posted by DrPepperYummy

Well expect to see him working every holiday for years to come, thats the nature of the beverage business... mandatory overtime (extra hours a day or days a week) since he'll be on the bottom he won't get a choice to refuse it or pass it to someone lower down the chain... and get ready to hear him complain after his first day back to work after a day off about the idiot who had the stores the day before him and how he didn't do anything he was supposed to and he had to clean it all up and got yelled at by the store manager who was a rude prick when it had nothing to do with him... that seems to be the basics from what I hear when they are all complaining about eachother lol.

and promotions won't come that quickly unless you're looking at a 10 year picture... then you might get lucky and one of the other guys finally retired from another position or an opening people hold onto for long periods of time finally moved on to something else... there aren't a lot of positions to move upward to anymore like "the good ole days"... the positions are grunts and grunts are all they're ever expected to be... it doesn't mean without hard work he can't move up, but its not designed that way by nature... its like a factory floor, lots of people who want to move up but when one position finally does open up there's wanting it and very little seperating them all usually.

wow I make it sound kind of crappy... hey depending which place he works for he'll be in a good union and bring home big paychecks this summer wtih all the overtime... it'll be nice but he'll be sore.

what he said x 2

except for the overtime part, PBG doesn't like to pay out overtime, good thing about pbg is you will always have at least ONE day off a week because it is national company policy that on your 7th day in a row you WILL get double pay. Most PBG isn't union though, there are some facilities that are but not alot.

There is an old thread about this subject on the board, I'll see if I can find it.

Here it is:

http://www.bevnet.com/bevboard/bevbo...chandiser.html

Bah promotions at PBG(at least in the Hampton Roads market) are VERY common. Its unbelievable our turnover rate because we hire such slackers and train them poorly and wonder why they suck 2 years down the line..heh. All that aside promotions are common in some areas..not in all. I got promoted three times in a six month period when we went through a large format system change..well I got demoted at first then promoted a month later then again in another month then again at 4 months...now I have been a BCR(large format sales rep) for over a year and a half now. Every single person in our plant at management(well the entry level management on the sales side that is) use to be a merchandiser at one point at our same plant but they all of course put in a lot of work..but after BCR its not uncommon at all to get a management position when it becomes available. One of our Small format guys recently got the Merchandise Manager position at the Newport News plant. They like to keep it in the company/area if they can which I kind of like.

All the other stuff dr.pepper said is primarily true for our area.

Hard work good pay and benefits..a lot of frustrations and inconsistencies but for the most part among all the jobs that pay as well as it..it is very good depending on at what age you start..especially since you train from within and there is really no skill level involved initially..you learn all your skills to get promoted through the trade on the way to a sales rep..and then they train you to be managers in classes and sessions too. A lot of responsibility comes with the job but its one to keep if you have the patience and drive for it.

I would encourage your fiance to basically LEARN the business. No assumptions and no cutting corners. Figure out everything PBG sells and learn how to make the the salesman look good. The merchandiser is the key to success at retail. If the ASM orders something new it and it collects dust for a week in a back room, the merchandiser/salesman model has failed. Communication is huge thing. Develop relationships with other PBG employees who are part of that particular supply chain and figure out how to make the best use of time. All in all, figure out how you as an individual can do the job best and do it right everytime. You are only as good as your last store service.

Thanks to everyone that responded. The job starts on Monday, and we are looking forward to learning which route he will be on, benefit info and the rest of the orientation stuff. I know merchandising is going to be hard work, but my fiance is ready to go! I think Pepsi is going to be good company to work for. My research suggests that the benefits package is going to be a good one, and in this market, that is really important. Thanks again, I am going sit back and enjoy an ice cold Mt. Dew, and I encourage all of you to do the same. Cheers!