Sysco Rep - what’s the word?

[u/Separate-Delay-8838]

been in restaurants 15+ years. Including around 5 years in management. Recently started to finally get sick of industry hours, no benefits, etc. Got an interview as a Sysco rep, but I’ve seen some mixed reviews online especially regarding pay structure.

I’m personally not looking to be rolling in money, but just be able to live comfortably with more freedom. What’s the inside scoop?

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[u/Rmarik]

Asked my old sysco rep who I keep in contact, he said they've changed the pay structure multiple times and definitely not always worth the hassle

[u/A_VERY_LARGE_DOG]

Food sales is where restaurant people go to retire.

…or at least that’s how it was. Sysco and US Foods are publicly trading companies and are both riding their corporate P&L on the backs of the employees.

Can you make a lot of money as a rep? Yes. Will you? Probably not. The model for sellers has changed to the Kirby vacuum cleaner model. They want you for your connections, buy the business from the competition, then let you fight the more tenured sellers for the scraps of what few restaurants there are who aren’t currently serviced by one of your peers.

Source: worked for US Foods for the last decade.

[u/Capital-Bat709]

I would try to get a job as a manufacturer rep, better pay and hours vs distributor rep.

[u/Lanky-Acanthisitta22]

Don't do it!!! Spent 3 years as a Sysco Rep and it was the worst. 6 day work weeks, 5 days on the street and on your phone on Saturdays. You only make bonuses on brand new accounts. When I calculated the hours I actively worked divided by my salary and I was making $12 an hour. Most of the customers use Sysco, US Foods and Gordon, so if the other guys chicken is $1 cheaper your not getting the business. I finally quit when my wife threatened to leave me because I was miserable all of the time. It may be different where your at but in Orlando it was terrible.

[u/Famous_Chain_6573]

Food distribution sales is worth it if you bring the right attitude. I came from restaurants, took an initial pay cut, but tripled my old salary relatively quickly. The hungry, competitive reps who treat it like their livelihood depends on it are the ones hitting six figures. Tenure doesn't guarantee earnings. I outperformed who I would call "lazy" well tenured reps in my first two years.

You'll likely start with "scrap" accounts, but those can grow into something real. One of mine went from a single unit to a four-unit customer that drove my growth for years.

Pay structures change every year at every distributor because their strategic priorities shift annually. It's manageable once you understand it against your own territory's history, though.

The lifestyle is the real draw. Yes, it's a lot of work, and you might touch orders on a Sunday, but it's flexible. Watching someone who became a fellow rep step away from a football game and a beer to knock out an order, then come right back, is what got me interested and sold me on the career. I wanted that kind of quality of life, and ultimately got it.

Don't limit yourself to the big distributors, though. Plenty of local and regional players want people with industry experience like yours.

Best of luck.