|
Sounds like they work at a college cafeteria - if it's actually run by the school and not outsourced to Aramark, it's entirely possible that the wages there are top 5% for the industry. Same how hotel jobs are (generally) unglamorous, but very reliable work for very decent wages and a solid work environment.
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2022 01:15
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 29, 2024 18:53 |
|
|
Animal-Mother posted:I'm probably at the best-paying culinary job in the county. I will look around though, now that you mention it. Like yeah i get it if you need the money but like, i strongly cheer you on looking around haha
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2022 23:44
|
|
|
Shooting Blanks posted:Sounds like they work at a college cafeteria Yup. And I'm in fuckin' AFSCME. The Amalgamated Federalization... hey, I don't know what the gently caress it means. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3mw49mk_x0
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2022 01:20
|
|
|
Animal-Mother posted:Yup. And I'm in fuckin' AFSCME. The Amalgamated Federalization... hey, I don't know what the gently caress it means. Don't AFSCME 
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2022 12:08
|
|
|
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2022 01:23
|
|
|
We just had a cook who, presumably due to COVID/staffing, got away with months of being a massive rear end in a top hat while consistently loving up orders. Apparently the lack of consequences for this behavior led him to believe that he could get away with picking up a very petite female coworker in a bear hug and kissing her on the neck. He was walked out within the hour. Good riddance, rear end in a top hat. 
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2022 12:20
|
|
|
When he picked her up, would you describe her as “wanting to get down”? Did he have a dog?
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2022 15:24
|
|
|
Thank you for reminding me of that whole bit. I can't even remember what the poster's name was, but I do remember the face spasms between laughter and cringing every time I read his posts.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2022 17:26
|
|
|
Oh gently caress I remember that guy, he was a server at a seaside tourist trap and kept posting stories about how cool and awesome he was but in all his stories he was a piece of poo poo that sucked
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2022 08:05
|
|
|
Uggg I have to re-up my servesafe certification but they won't just let me take the exam so now I am sitting through the online course at home and it's corny as hell. I have a timer running making sure I'm getting paid for this bullshit.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2022 16:30
|
|
|
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2022 19:57
|
|
|
Vorenus posted:Thank you for reminding me of that whole bit. I can't even remember what the poster's name was, but I do remember the face spasms between laughter and cringing every time I read his posts. A Man and His Dog, also very active on the football forum. https://forums.somethingawful.com/banlist.php?userid=205844
|
|
#
?
Feb 24, 2022 01:15
|
|
|
Yeah, add stuff to my menu right before we open, very cool, thanks. 
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2022 01:37
|
|
|
Hey goons, I need some advice. For those of you who don't know me (I haven't posted much in awhile) I like to describe myself as your stereotypical 40-year-old waitress, but my career has been a lot more than that! I have a culinary degree and have been working in the industry since I was 16 in various capacities from manager to executive chef to pizza delivery drone. I'm planning a move with my partner to the Charlottesville, VA area in the next year. I'll be buying a house. We currently live in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA where I work as a fine dining server in a nice little European bistro. I just got off the phone with my loan officer, and basically what I'm going to need is an unconditional offer letter with sufficient salary from a VA employer within 60 days of closing. My original plan was to go up to VA and live with my mother-in-law for about a month while I close on a house and find a new fine dining serving gig. That might still work, but the bank is really looking for a salary guarantee and the tipped min wage in VA is $2.13 so that's a barrier. What I'm looking for is tips and connections about breaking into working as a beer/wine/liquor rep. I have a lot of wine/cocktail knowledge (less so about beer) and think it might be a good fit. I have to take a job in something foodservice-adjacent to show continuous employment within the industry. I took a couple years off recently to be a full-time student, and that's hurt me a lot on my mortgage app since it looks like I've only worked in foodservice for less than two years, despite literal decades of experience. The loan officer agreed that I have the money for the mortgage that I budgeted, it's just a matter of proving it, and securing proof of future income. Any tips and leads are much appreciated. If you want to know more about me and my experience before hooking me up with your contacts, just hit my DMs or ask here. I'm an open book. I'm open to working BOH again but I'd kind of rather not. I'm just not a stellar line cook. I do best on fine garde manger and there's not a lot of call for that outside large hotels. I would consider FOH management at an established restaurant or hotel, but I'm really more of a product person instead of a people manager. I've worked in FOH management before and it's fine, but it's not my first choice. However, I can't afford to be too picky so any foodservice job with a decent base salary will work. I can always change jobs later. UVA is a big employer in the area so I'll be looking at them. But mostly I'd like to draw on everyone's wisdom on how best to proceed, specifically on how to approach distributors for a job as a rep after a long career in the industry. Thanks in advance!
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2022 16:28
|
|
|
Hey, I got pinged in a goon discord I'm in to offer up my perspective on working distro/b2b alcohol sales, and while I can't give specifics on selling in VA, I'm more than happy to broadly give my thoughts. I've been working in craft beer sales since 2017, at various points interfacing with distributors as a retailer, working sales for a distributor, working in brewery operations and B2B sales for a self-distributed brewery, mostly in the NYC area, and now in the Pacific Northwest. In terms of getting in, from what I read of your background, you could safely cold call most major distributors in your area and expect to get an interview if not an offer for any Sales Rep position that they happen to have open. Moreso if you have had any buying experience/beverage program management or really any level of decision making about how alcohol is sold at any place you've worked. These are entry level positions, with low base pay and high commission, so the burden of risk on the employer is fairly low. However, that kind of buries the lede; who are the major distributors in your area? Maybe you know, maybe you don't. I have no idea what VA is like, but usually there's 2-4 large distributors in a metropolitan area that will carry the lion's share of business (AB In-Bev, Coors, Heineken, Guinness, etc, - and all of those big boys are likely going to be mutually exclusive between distributors). After that, depending on how lively the industry is in your locality, there's probably 5-10 smaller distributors, which have some niche focus, like carrying only locally made brands, only bringing in sexy cool beers at a hyperrotational level, or carrying the bulk of a specialty importer's book. Then, depending on your local laws, you may have a similar number of self-distributed ventures. Caveat on my advice here; I am really specifically talking about beer. Wine, as I understand it, can have a similar structure but is typically its own weird thing, especially if you're near a wine-producing area. Spirits are the wild west to me, but in my experience, it's a much more consolidated distribution environment, with monolithic companies like Southern operating in virtually every state as near monopolies. Sometimes due to local liquor law, there's really very limited distribution rights, as the state may be the primary importer/seller of liquor. You can thank Prohibition for all these byzantine state-by-state laws! How do you find out who are the players in your area? The two easiest routes are googling to figure out who distributes [x] brand that you're already aware of, and talking to people in the industry. Ask any local bartender friends you have. Go to a bottle shop in your area with the largest selection of beer you know of, and ask them for a rundown of distributors. Find out who they "like" working with, and (more likely) who they hate working with, and who they won't work with, and why. Take everything with a grain of salt, especially if it's personal things like "oh the guy who runs the company is a jerk." (spoiler alert; it's the alcohol industry. On a long enough timeline, and with enough booze, most people say and do jerk things when they drink). Sexual harassment, on the other hand, I would pay closer attention to and if you hear that sort of thing getting aired in public, steer clear. The other big red flags to look out for are "their rep is constantly changing" and "they never get orders right/beer is out of code/etc," as those will mean that the distro is overworking their sales reps to the point of burnout and they're a mess logistically (which translates to a mess for you as a sales rep, because guess who handles angry buyers at 7am on a Friday who didn't get the kegs they ordered?). Once you have that knowledge in hand you can make more informed decisions on who to approach. Insomuch as picking someone you want to be selling for, I would recommend that you go for a company with a product you can see yourself selling. 95% of the job is convincing people that they should be buying your product and not someone else's, and most of the time, they already have a competitor brand in-house. If you have a book with products you think you can sell, you'll be making your life easier. At least, that's my personal experience. Other considerations that I would have liked to have had spelled out for me when I started in distro -- off-prem versus on-prem. In my experience, off-prem work is much earlier in the day, involves way more physical labor (manually stocking, merchandising and receiving orders for accounts, often on a time crunch as you may be chasing your delivery truck around), but it can be a hell of a lot more lucrative, depending on commission structure, especially once COVID hit and off-prem sales sky-rocketed. On-prem is way more chill, far less dependent on start time - after all, you're typically making sales calls in person at bars and restaurants, and very few of those are open before noon. That means that late nights are a common occurrence. It's also a lot more relationship building, ego stroking, etc etc. There's pros and cons to both, and it's very much personality suited. Brand-specific rep positions are a separate thing, and are generally not entry-level. Brands ideally want people who already have networks and experience in-market, which they can immediately tap into and translate into sales. At the very least, they want people with experience working on the distributor side, who are broadly ready-to-roll with minimal training. That's my two cents. Hope it's helpful. Happy to answer any other questions and wish you luck in your search! ps my personal advice would be to find someone who has alcohol alternatives/health-focused stuff (non-alc, CBD, kombucha, etc.) in their book, especially if you're only doing this for the short term. There's a lot of room to grow in those segments, and beer/wine/liquor are highly competitive.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2022 17:51
|
|
|
Bayham Badger posted:Amazing info Thanks so much for this! It's a great place to start and gives me some talking points. I'm sure I'll have some follow-up questions once I start applying.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2022 18:03
|
|
|
Re: distributor work. That’s all *excellent* advice. Your major distributors are Republic National Distributing Company and Southern Glazier’s Wine and Spirits. With Fine Dining & Kitchen experience, you may be more well versed on wine than you even know- spirits will vary widely, but it’s the ability to talk to people that matters most in sales. Please feel free to hit me on the DM and I can help you with making your resume distributor friendly.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2022 19:49
|
|
|
Talk about being a liqour rep reminded me of the worst attempt at being a rep I've ever been a part of. Waited on two people at a diner trying to get the restaurant to add a siracha infused ketchup to the normal condiments. Manager obviously didn't want to talk to them right at that moment because they were doing something else. They left a sample and a business card and a 10% tip. As I left I told the manager "don't call them, they left a 10% tip" she shrugged and said I could take the sample if I wanted. Like, I don't think there was any chance in hell of the manager adding a new condiment to the tables, we had ketchup and two different hot sauces on the table already, why would we also have ketchup mixed with hot sauce. But seriously, tipping less than 20% when you're trying to get a restaurant to buy your product?
|
|
#
?
Mar 8, 2022 12:53
|
|
|
Maybe it wasn't actually a rep for that brand 
|
|
#
?
Mar 8, 2022 15:32
|
|
|
bloody ghost titty posted:Re: distributor work. That’s all *excellent* advice. Oh I'll definitely take you up on that. My resume is a bit of a mess after a decade as a military spouse and all the moving around that entails. My wine knowledge is actually pretty good- it's a bit of a hobby of mine and I've been wine tasting with my dad since before I was strictly legal. I don't have the palate to be a sommelier, but I can sus out beyond just the basics.
|
|
#
?
Mar 8, 2022 15:33
|
|
|
Skwirl posted:Talk about being a liqour rep reminded me of the worst attempt at being a rep I've ever been a part of. Waited on two people at a diner trying to get the restaurant to add a siracha infused ketchup to the normal condiments. Manager obviously didn't want to talk to them right at that moment because they were doing something else. They left a sample and a business card and a 10% tip. As I left I told the manager "don't call them, they left a 10% tip" she shrugged and said I could take the sample if I wanted. Paging the r/relationships thread for the real life artisanal ketchup sales pitch: AITA for not participating in my friends "scheme" to convince a restaurant to buy his ketchup? quote:My friend, Zoltar (fake name), has been obsessed with ketchup ever since I met him. He is always trying out different recipes to make his own ketchup and getting me and all our friends to try them. Recently he made "his best ketchup yet". I tried it. It wasn't bad. It was ketchup. Now he has decided he is "finally going to break into the ketchup game."
|
|
#
?
Mar 8, 2022 16:45
|
|
|
Lol people have been coming for the Heinz crown for a century now, ketchup is the hardest condiment to break into. If he had some custom blend of mustard he'd have a better shot.
|
|
#
?
Mar 8, 2022 17:14
|
|
|
Just mix a little sriracha in some heinz and boom, you got the best ketchup in the world.
|
|
#
?
Mar 9, 2022 01:33
|
|
|
Tunicate posted:Lol people have been coming for the Heinz crown for a century now, ketchup is the hardest condiment to break into. Yup. Anyone trying to compete with Heinz is a fool. Beyond just marketing budget, brand name recognition, and habit, there just isn't an audience of people out there thinking "Man, this Heinz ketchup is so bleh, I wish someone would come out with a better version!". Heinz IS ketchup now. Deep down, it IS what people WANT ketchup to taste like. It is literally not possible to come up with a better mass market ketchup because if it doesn't taste like Heinz, it does not taste like great ketchup. Upstarts like Sir Kensington stick around as a niche product for a while because food snobs like me WANT to want something that's not so mass market and corporate like Heinz, but in the end, we do. I made it through two bottles which were not terrible, before admitting to myself Heinz is what I wanted. Hunt's and the other big-ish name brands stick around because they are cheaper and/or have distribution deals with suppliers. Edit: Obviously just talking about tomato ketchup here. There's totally room for other ketchups, and I would love mushroom, or banana ketchup especially to break into the main stream. Doom Rooster fucked around with this message at 02:18 on Mar 9, 2022 |
|
#
?
Mar 9, 2022 02:13
|
|
|
Whataburger ketchup has squeezed onto shelves at grocery stores
|
|
#
?
Mar 9, 2022 02:35
|
|
|
Democratic Pirate posted:Whataburger ketchup has squeezed onto shelves at grocery stores True. "Spicy" ketchup is the draw, and it's different enough that as a native Texan I keep a bottle around.
|
|
#
?
Mar 9, 2022 02:54
|
|
|
Today a new place in town sent an email to their staff saying that, effective immediately, servers will have their pay docked for mistakes that caused food to be sent back. It was posted to social media and this place is getting ripped to shreds. As it turns out, aside from being a dick move it's also illegal in our province since the labor code explicitly states that wages cannot be withheld or docked due to mistakes or poor workmanship. They just posted an apology on their Facebook page, and that too is getting ripped to shreds. They're blaming it on being a new place, but the owners are experienced owners with several other places in the same town.
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2022 22:52
|
|
|
I like Hunt's better than Heinz, i think it has better tomato flavor and less acidity
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2022 23:15
|
|
|
number 1 snake fan posted:I like Hunt's better than Heinz, i think it has better tomato flavor and less acidity I don't think anyone was claiming Heinz is objectively the best ketchup, just that the only way companies like Hunt's can exist in a space so dominated by Heinz is because it's cheaper. The bulk orders companies like Hunt's needs would dry the gently caress up if they were the same price or more than Heinz.
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2022 23:25
|
|
|
Heinz's managed to piss off a lot of Canadians and French's (they also make ketchup) has taken a firm grip on the wallets of the ketchup-minded savvy Canadian consumer.
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2022 03:16
|
|
|
angerbeet posted:Heinz's managed to piss off a lot of Canadians and French's (they also make ketchup) has taken a firm grip on the wallets of the ketchup-minded savvy Canadian consumer. How did Heinz piss off a bunch of Canadians? Did they have an advertising campaign making fun of poutine or something?
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2022 03:18
|
|
|
was it the 'mayochup' debacle
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2022 03:46
|
|
|
Skwirl posted:How did Heinz piss off a bunch of Canadians? Did they have an advertising campaign making fun of poutine or something? They closed their ketchup making plant in Leamington Ontario and told all the farmers to screw off and ship to their plant in the States leaving a lot of farms in trouble. They proceeded to sell the plant to French's as they didn't need it any more, and French's then just bought all the same tomatoes from the farmers and made everything the same. Social media/advertising took over with a 'buy local' type of thing, as it's the same tomatoes, same plant, etc.
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2022 04:10
|
|
|
angerbeet posted:Heinz's managed to piss off a lot of Canadians and French's (they also make ketchup) has taken a firm grip on the wallets of the ketchup-minded savvy Canadian consumer. well yeah in Ontario half the ketchup has to be French's
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2022 04:21
|
|
|
Thats's weird because I consider ketchup British for no reason.
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2022 04:24
|
|
|
Submarine Sandpaper posted:Thats's weird because I consider ketchup British for no reason. Maybe some reason: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29u_FejNuks
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2022 04:37
|
|
|
Leamington has a long, LONG history with regards to tomatoes and Heinz production, to the point that there's a Stompin' Tom song that was basically an ode to Heinz ketchup from Leamington - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiGb31e5ydo So a real kick in the teeth for them to say 'gently caress off, we're gonna do it cheaper - in the STATES!'
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2022 04:42
|
|
|
I remember when I first read that ketchup chef post a while ago and I still think about it sometimes and laugh.
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2022 05:14
|
|
|
I guarantee that his ketchup isn't shelf stable, which makes the fact that he has multiple samples on his person even funnier. Imagine getting arrested and them just pulling pouches of warm, rancid ketchup out of your pockets.
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2022 12:34
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 29, 2024 18:53 |
|
|
Sandwich Anarchist posted:I guarantee that his ketchup isn't shelf stable, which makes the fact that he has multiple samples on his person even funnier. Imagine getting arrested and them just pulling pouches of warm, rancid ketchup out of your pockets. "BUT OFFICER, THIS KETCHUP IS MY BEST BATCH YET! YOU HAVE TO RESPECT THE HUSTLE!"
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2022 13:46
|
|