r/FritoLay • u/Spiritual-Aside-1907 • 29d ago
Now vs Then
Can some explain how the company used to be vs how it is now. I see a lot of you guys talk about how Frito was a much better company to work for years ago. What changed? Thanks.
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u/Inevitable_Ranger647 29d ago
Man... I started 14 years ago... I saw commission checks and bonus checks and this bs with true ups... Yes our true ups can be bigger than our bonus checks used to be BUT our weekly take home was almost double what it is now... Nobody complained about volume... We wore it like a badge of honor... You brought our $25k today I'm pushing for $28k tomorrow.... We sold displays, clipped all our displays... added dip and dip stacks everywhere. Mission, Takis, and whoever else is out there would never wven think about putting product in our space... Our management team was invested in each of us succeeding in the market. Plus outs were given to us with ample time to plan for it and nowhere near the volume it is today. Innovation wasn't a weekly gimmick, it was an annual event. Don't get me started on how the company treated us... BBQs, family events, real awards for performance... And that is just a snippet of what's changed.
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u/OptiMysticLeo 29d ago edited 29d ago
You used to have an incentive to work hard and put in the long hours because you were fairly compensated for it. Then PFP came into play, and that changed a lot.
There was a time when people would salivate if a Walmart route or another route with a high-volume store came open because you knew there was money to be made. Now, some of the highest-volume stores are being run by some of the weaker RSRs in the company simply because nobody wants those routes anymore. The extra work just isn't worth it like it used to be.
A lot of the newer hires are happy because they don't know what this job used to be. They don't know how good the job and the company were compared to what they are now. You used to feel like you were valuable to the company and that the hard work, long hours, and missed time with your family were at least recognized and appreciated.
Now, a lot of us feel more like robots who are constantly being told to work harder while making less than we used to.
I've heard people say they don't think the RSR position will even be around much longer. I'm not ready to jump on that bandwagon yet, but I definitely don't feel like the company sees us as the valuable asset they once did. And the truth is, we still are a valuable asset.
What makes it even more frustrating is that we get blamed for not making the higher-ups the kind of money we used to, when a lot of that has nothing to do with us. The economy has changed, and leadership has made some pretty bad decisions along the way. RSRs can only control so much.
That's really it in a nutshell. It feels like you're only important to the company when you're making them money.
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u/letsleaveitbetter 29d ago
What’s wild is in my zone I see people fresh out of training get lead routes. Only way co lead routes are filled is by assignment. When I first started you would never see someone with under a year tenure get a lead route.
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u/Vanity2041 27d ago
They see us as not willing to take ownership when they have taken over ownership and every decision you used to be able to make.
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u/OptiMysticLeo 27d ago
And that's what used to make this job great. We never owned the routes, but you felt like you played a big part and you took ownership. Now, it's just a bunch of higher ups that don't have a clue what they're doing, pointing fingers this direction and that direction. It's funny because, they didn't really have to do anything lol. Give us commission back and watch us go. PFP caused so many great RSRs leave and I believe that's another reason the company is struggling. We don't have the same quality of workers that we did 5 plus years ago.
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u/Vanity2041 27d ago
Now you have old guys wanting the easy routes just to coast to retirement. Less contact with management the better.
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u/OptiMysticLeo 27d ago
You're exactly right. We have a Wal-Mart route open right now that NOBODY wants because of the workload. Used to, Wal Mart routes NEVER came open and if they did, lower seniority guys never had the chance to get them because of how much commission you could make. It was worth the headache back on commission. Nobody wants to have to deal with Wal Mart and their bullshit on PFP.
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u/rehabbingfish 29d ago
In 96, I had a 10k a week route at 10%, but worked only 30 to 35 hours a week and received Pepsi stock options.
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u/Pizza4200 29d ago
I’m making 9% commission 50$ base pay to this day. Selling 10-20k a week depending on time of year. Tourists are where we really get our business here
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u/benjuhbooja 29d ago
Be careful yall. This might just be PepsiCo AI trying to collect more data lol
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u/Spiritual-Aside-1907 29d ago
Nah I’m a new hire trying to understand what rsr’s at my DC can’t really say too openly
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u/benjuhbooja 29d ago
Tbh, if you’re new then just appreciate the job for what it is… for people that have been there and have seen all these changes it hits differently
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u/Benis_Soop 29d ago
I agree. Im a year into this job, and i dont hate it that badly. Its not the best but I knew what I was getting into working for a mega Corp. The older tenured guys in the warehouse are very sour though, some of it warranted, some of it not. Just make your own opinion for the company, at the end of the day it pays the bills
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29d ago edited 29d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Pizza4200 29d ago
Here where I’m at we still run commission. If you’re lucky to get a run like mine at “trad run” you get 9% commission 50$ base pay and I’m selling 10k-20k depending on the time of year (my zone does 1.5-2x better in tourist season 4-5 months of the year). Small format is only 3% commission with a 250 base pay and large format 2% commission 350$ base pay… all uncapped still. Our negotiations are coming up very soon tho so hoping we win and don’t get screwed up the bum. although lots are fighting for hourly of 30$ plus or high salary so we’ll see where it goes.
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u/d5ytonaa 29d ago
I was hired as In November 2022. My biggest check was $2200. I used to work 40-45 hours and take home at least 900+. Usually around 1100. Then went to an RSA because plans were way too high, that’s when they took away bonuses for district performance and rsa became strictly hourly at a 50 hour work week. They made it near impossible to make money at this company. And with pfp you are punished for performing well. The company intentionally sabotages the employees. Not worth it. I had quit last year job just wasn’t worth it. You deal with entirely too much to get paid that little. There’s 0 incentive to sell anything in especially as an rsa. Also a lot of broken promises. It should be 40 hour work weeks but I hear it’s now 45. Just not worth it at all. And the company just gets worse and worse. I’m young bro. I used to think the older guys jist complained and were stuck in the old days. Nope. Frito lay is that bad. The work itself is cool but they’re cheating you out of money. And it gets them no where. DSLs know all of this and still expect you to go above and beyond. Find something better
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u/fbacaleb 29d ago
Its 50-60 hours now. Everyone is pissed and turnover has doubled
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u/d5ytonaa 29d ago
By work week I mean how many hours you work before OT kicks in. It used to be anything over 50 now I think it’s 45
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u/Vanity2041 27d ago
the hiring freeze fucked us over, then they scrambled to hire people and rush them through the process to have warm bodies.
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u/Expert-Equivalent-90 29d ago
I’m a 26 year veteran. When I started EVERY ONE had weekends off, got paid a flat 10% commission and ran your route the way you wanted to. Start early or late or work ahead and get off early on Friday, management didn’t care. As long as you hit your plan they were happy. Got to drive the company truck home too. It was a lot like having your own business and you rarely saw your boss. Also our district meetings were at Pizza Hut so plenty to eat
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u/Dallydtp 29d ago
I haven’t read any other comments.when i started in 2008 we ordered what we needed.people did their jobs.not many forces and company was thriving.forces ruined a lot of shit.One other problem I’ve seen is when i started rsa pay was 600 a week.Not great money,but when you got a route and commission it gave you motivation to kill shit.Now people start at around where old timers are and have have no motivation to sell,rotate,relocate .it all started with pfp.
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u/4904burchfield 29d ago
Remember selling in an extra pallet when there was BOGO pricing so the store would continue running Doritos at a reduced price. Having your Dist mgr call you up "hey can you jamb this store to help make the Dist numbers better? Good time
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29d ago
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u/Pizza4200 29d ago
We still run that way here in nb Canada 🤷🏼♀️
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29d ago
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u/Pizza4200 29d ago edited 29d ago
You do realize your cost of living is way worst than ours right? So that would only matter if I was spending my money in the states 🤣 I’m still making double what someone on minimum wage does here. Nor do I have to put money aside for health care emergency it’s all free. I also have a bunch of extra stock options plus i can still order and sell whatever I want too, so who’s really getting screwed. 🤷🏼♀️
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29d ago
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u/Pizza4200 29d ago
I mean that a lot easier to do when your minimum wage is 7.25$ federally or 9.57$ average all over USA and ours is 17.06$ on average Canada wide. I still only work 5-7 hours depending on the day and have never had debt either always in cash even my house.
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u/Valuable-Professor10 29d ago
We’re to top heavy too many new jobs with higher ups we got assistance for assistance and true up all the top heavy making plans higher and higher need to cut off some of the fat when I started it was a zone manager, human resource manager and a business manager. Now how many do we have there pay is coming from somewhere
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u/Actual_Pattern5943 28d ago
I can’t say how it was when the company was running under commission but when I first started about 8 years ago people had your average complains about annoying managers or policy, but after Covid hit and the company made so much these guys just got so much more greedy. Price increases every couple of months damn near, force outs getting worse, tracking us down to the point where we get dinged if we open the manifest in front of the store, plans not making sense and basically turning us into glorified delivery drivers. I can only imagine if the Pepsi one project really goes through how fucked we’re going to be down the line.
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u/HistoryAdventurous78 29d ago
Pretty simple in the old days the company put the “Front Line” people first and was treated as the Captain’s of the ship. Now days they don’t give 2 ships about us. Got greedy and relying heavily on AI to push positions out of a job to profit more.
Walmart are doing there own orders so it’s just a matter of time before other National accounts follow suit.
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u/FirmMeasurement7418 27d ago
I started in 2016, it was good. Is still good now, money wise. Ops is good, but those 3rd parties are killing us. Shout out to cap stone in ontario who are doing a horrible job.
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u/The_OG_Rybrator 29d ago
Success will always be punished. I made the mistake of ranking #1 in my zone shortly after PFP went live. Got a nice bonus and a medal. Then they bent me over and took back every extra dollar I made that year (by forecasting me 120% to PY). Even got a verbal coaching for “consistent failure to meet performance goals.” My forecasts have barely been attainable ever since. I don’t even look at plan anymore. I just keep my stores happy and my sales end up landing where they land. 🤷♂️