My day is a little different than a driver-merchandiser's.
For one, my job is field-based, so I don't report to the plant in the morning. Instead, I begin the day at my first account.
Also, I only deal with Large Format customers - like Jewel and Kroger - so I don't need to collect any money during my stops.
But the biggest difference is I don't actually deliver the product to the account. PepsiAmericas' bulk drivers deliver the shipment to the store on a 53-foot trailer before I arrive.
My job is to merchandise our products in stores.
A typical morning for me begins around 4 a.m.
Once I've arrived at my first stop, I phone my sales support supervisor to "clock in" and let him know my mileage. Then I meet with the store manager, pinpoint where the coolers and displays are in the account, and check out the condition of the shelves. I also stop by the stock room to make sure the new trailer and shipment has been delivered.
Next, I'll phone the sales person responsible for the location to see if there are any special instructions I need to be aware of. Are there any new displays that need to be built or taken down? Is there a list of products that need to be rotated in or changed out?
At that point, I wheel out any current stock from the back room and begin filling holes on the shelves or building displays with that product.
If an elaborate display needs to be built, occasionally another merchandiser will be assigned to the store with me.
Seventy-five percent of the time I'm on my own.
Also, while driver-merchandisers average a dozen stops per day, express merchandisers tend to work at one account for two to three hours at a time. On an average day, I'll probably handle three accounts - four at the most.
It takes a while to merchandise 100 cases of product.
Once I've completed all my work, I locate the store manager, who signs me out. This pattern is repeated at each stop I make during the day.
When I'm finished merchandising for that day. I always tabulate my total mileage and phone my sales support supervisor to officially "clock out." He'll then give me a list of the accounts on my route for the following day, so I know where to begin.
Everyone's got a job to do.
However, because I'm able to spend a little more time merchandising and interacting with the managers and store employees, I feel I'm able to build up a certain level of trust with my accounts.
Most of the people I meet during the day couldn't be nicer.
