US Foods(Formerly US Foodservice)

Started working for these guys about 6 months ago out of a depot of their Clifton Park, NY warehouse. Great job if anyone is looking for labor intensive trucking job, allowing you to be home every night.

There are some pros and cons to these guys like anywhere you go. Equipment is pretty old(6-9 year old trucks and trailers) but not a huge deal considering you arent living in the truck. Equipment is maintained decently.

The work is very labor intensive. Unloading a truck by hand, picking a load from the trailer, a lot of heavy products(up to 85 or 90lbs), delivering to schools, hospitals, restaurants, etc. Most deliveries are run with a handcart down a ramp.

The time off is great. I work a 4 day work week. I have every Sat, Sun, and Wed off. I am low man, the more veteran guys have Sat, Sun, Mon, or Fri, Sat, Sun. Some also work 5 days. I have only been called in once on a day I was scheduled off. A guy got hurt, and I had to finish his last 4 stops. They pay you for the full run no matter what he has left, plus $100 call-in pay. Not bad at all.

Being low man, i have the longer driving runs, so i typically work 12-14 hours every day, drive 250-350 miles a day, and deliver about 15 stops a day, usually a full pup trailer.

The pay is great, especially considering the amount of time off you have. We have an hourly rate starting at $19.50 an hour. This is the least you can make. There is incentive pay based on your mileage, stops, cases delivered, backhauls, etc. Im not sure how that is exactly calculated but I typically gross between $1050-$1200 a week for a 4 day work week. The veteran guys make about $1150-$1350. 5 day workers make a killing and usually make $1450-$1650 a week with every weekend off. Working a 5 day work week can ensure you will make 75-85k per year. 4 day work weeks you can make 60-70k. You just cant beat the money.

You use Xata electronic logs, and they are 100% by the book with logs, so working over hours is not really an issue. But you have to move your butt at times to get done under hours. Just a heads up if anyone is considering working for these guys.

 

I must add however, if you are thinking of joining US Foods from another warehouse the pay may be COMPLETELY different. The Clifton Park branch is not unionized. There are some branches that are union and some are not. Some pay a straight hourly rate(much lower than the $19 an hr we are given), so I definitely dont want to speak for other warehouses, but if you are in the Albany or upstate NY area, and are used to the work, this company is great.

Also, they are very understanding about things like family. My wife was pregnant when I was hired, which i told my boss at my interview. She went into labor the morning before I had to work, i called the boss, he was completely understanding of the situation and said to take as much time as I wanted/needed(unpaid of course) just let him know how much i wanted and it was fine. After 6 months I am completely happy with this company.

 

As a depot driver, i didnt have a choice. We only have 8 drivers coming out of Syracuse, so I was forced to take what they had available. But from what I understand, out of the main warehouse(Clifton Park) there are way more routes, and it is much easier to get on whatever schedule you want.

 

The job is VERY labor intensive. I used to deliver milk and this is much more difficult than that ever was. I was overweight when i started as well. Im 30(was 29 when I was hired). When i started I was 6'2 260lbs. Im down to about 240 after 6 months. The work isnt really the hard part. The hardest part is the speed you need to work at. I often feel like I need to run in and out of stops to be able to get the job done in the time I am routed. If you have done labor delivery jobs in the past, i dont think it would be a problem, even for a guy who is overweight. If you have only driven OTR this job could be a bit of a shock. But if anyone sticks through it and has the will to work hard and fast, anyone can do it. But there arent too many jobs that you have the ability to make over 80k a year, home every night with every weekend off. The trade off has to be somewhere. Im sorry you werent able to get in. I will say they have been fair to me since I started. They expect you to work, but you are compensated nicely for it.

 

Yeah, over the last few weeks i have started getting some lack of work days. Usually Monday, Thursday, or Friday. But everyone i work with said that's caused by the really mild winter we have had. All the ski resorts and winter stuff up north is dead because we havent gotten any snow. And even if we are slow, the lack of work days are ending by spring. And once spring hits, it gets crazy. I feel a bit like we are on our own, especially being at a depot, but that's the way i like it. Just give me my truck and my route, and ill get it done. But whenever i need management, they seem to always be willing to listen and try to remedy any problem I have. They expect you to do whatever route they give you, no questions asked, but they are very fair about everything, pay great and you cant beat the time off anywhere. As long as people can handle the work, US Foods is a great company to work for.

Also, i hear the benefits are really good. I use my wife's insurance(NYS teacher), so I didnt really look into it specifically.

 

An update on US Foods. Things are still going really well with this company. My paychecks have actually been increasing. My "lack of work" days have drastically decreased, since i have only had one in the last 6 weeks or so(last monday).

My gross pay the last 4 weeks have been
$1278.76
$1225.53
$1321.93
$1396.44

I use my wife's insurance and we are NON UNION out of the Albany, NY plant, so my only deduction other than taxes is 8% of my gross pay every week for my 401k.

This week, i had to take Monday off, so next week's check will probably be a little under $1000. Typically, my 3 day work checks have been anywhere from 850-950 a week.

Im home every night and have every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday off. Start times are a bit early. Usually I start at 4am. Sometimes my start time is 3, sometimes 5, or even 6 on more local runs. But those later runs are a lot more rare than the 3-4am start times. I find myself working anywhere between 12-14 hours every day. Still a great job as far as Im concerned, even with the really really hard work that is involved.