FOOD SERVICE SALES REP

Part 3 of the 6 part series. Let's take a dive into a food service sales reps day. Let's see what role they play in the industry issues.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Good morning. It's June the 1st, 2026. And straight from the High Lake Caffeineta studio, this is the Mad Food Critic Podcast. And today, as you remember, we've talked about who's responsible for all the issues in the food service industry. First podcast, we talked about the food service manufacturers. The second one, we talked about food service distributors and what roles they all played in the issues facing the industry. And tonight we're going to talk about the food service sales rep. Now, I did that job for a little over 11 years. And I will tell you that it's a tough job. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It is not an easy job. They have changed the comp plan more times than I can ever write down on the calendar. They have made it so that it is a really financially tough decision to do that job. You don't get reimbursed for fuel. You don't get reimbursed for basically a lot of the things that you have to contend with on a daily basis. And mileage on a vehicle? Wow. I have worn out more vehicles over 11 years than you can even count. And while all that is the ugly side of being a food service sales rep, there are other sides of it as well. And I already know that what I'm about to say is going to go over like a fart in a diving helmet. Now, why is that? So let's talk about a day in the life of a food service sales rep. What is their role? What is their job? What are they supposed to do in a day versus what they're being trained to do? Well, their first job is to take care of their customers, the restaurant owners, to make sure that anytime that restaurant owner needs something, that they are resourceful in finding ways to help with solutions to the problems that a restaurant owner faces. And it doesn't matter if it's food cost or food waste or whatever the case may be. We're trained to deal with all of these aspects of the restaurant industry. What can make a difference in a food service sales rep is they've they have actually owned a restaurant, not managed, not worked in, owned. There is a huge difference in owning a restaurant than managing one or working in one. You have a little more empathy for the food service uh restaurant owner, so to speak. So one of the major problems that faces food service sales reps is the margins that they're asked to cut on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly basis. What I saw in my time as a food service sales rep that I never really suffered with the sales side of things or even new customers. I was always very uh, I would say done done, let's just say done very well. I'm gonna change my thought process here for a second. I've done very well for myself in picking up new customers. That was one of my strong points, and rarely ever lost a customer because I connected with my customer. So I a strong point for me in food service sales was that I could pick up new business, I could get the sales, I won a lot of contests and awards throughout the years. But the one part that I struggled with was the margins that I was expected to cut. And these are handed down to us as to give you an idea if you've never been in food service or sales, this is basically our KPI, right? This is our, hey, how are you on new business? How are you on your sales? Have you shown growth in sales? Um, you're not just selling that uh restaurant 10 cases of lettuce every week for the last five years. Um, they want to see you sell across the board. They want to see you uh talking about the food service distributor, they want to see you sell all categories, everything from you know your produce to your meats to your frozen foods to the chemicals, which by the way is one of the most lucrative profit uh monsters of food service distributorship. Where I had a problem, and I still do to this day, is that I don't mind any company making money. I that's what the whole objective is, is to make money. They can't be in business if they're not making money. They have hundreds of trucks and hundreds of thousands of square foot of uh cooler and freezer and dry space and offices, and the list just goes on for the overhead that they have. So I don't have a problem with them making money at all. What I have a problem with is the margins that we were expected to cut while the food service industry is struggling, but yet the food service distributor is showing record profits year after year after year after year. There's something wrong with that scenario. It doesn't feel like we're helping the restaurant owner when the only value that we're giving to them is increased pricing, and at the same time giving them decreased service, decreased quality, and this is where I know that I am going to get a lot of flack, and you know what? I'm I'm ready for it. You can say what you want to. I've lived it, I've been there, and as a restaurant owner, these are not opinions, these are facts. While some people may construe it as this is my opinion, this is also a fact. I talked to a restaurant owner the other day that I'm very good friends with, and I told him we were talking about food service distributors and sales reps, and he asked me what my opinion was of different manufacturers and different food service distributors, etc. And I said, honestly, if I was in a restaurant business again today, I would treat my food service sales rep and especially the food service distributor like we were in COVID, because I would keep that six-foot rule, keep them at a distance. It's all about building relationships, and the closer they get, the more they can charge. Let me satisfy this whole comment with something on the side. I get that when they keep changing the comp plan, it's kind of hard to charge that customer the same price I charged last month because now if I charge those same prices, guess what? I made less money. I have to make more gross profit dollars on every order just to make the same money that I made last year, the same money that I made last month. So are food service sales reps to blame? No, they're not. Are the food service distributors to blame? No, they're not. Same with the manufacturers. What we're boiling this down to is that it's not one group, it's not one thing, is the whodunit. What we're breaking this down to, and we're and we're going to find out if you haven't jumped ahead already and see where I'm heading with this whole series, is that it's the system. The system is broken. The patron says, Hey, I'm don't want to pay $15 for a hamburger. The restaurant owner hears that and tells their salespeople, hey, I I, you know, I I gotta have I gotta have some reprieve on my pricing because you know, everything's going up, and my utilities are going up, my rent's gone up, everything's gone up, and I but I still gotta make profit. I still gotta make enough profit to cover my lease. I still gotta make enough profit to cover my my employees, uh salaries, uh, everything. So they have to increase their profit. So how do they do that? It's where I'm leaning to is that it's getting lost in translation. Or is it that we're trying to find a quick fix? Okay, Mr. Customer, we heard you, and here is a hamburger patty that is 30% soy. Here is a chicken fried steak that is 30% soy. Here is, and the list goes on. And then now the quality is not the same that the restaurant had before when they were making it in-house. But they're struggling with labor, so they had to have something. So my question to you is what's the answer? Well, like I told you the other day, one of the answers, like I said, is you know, pre-cut produce. One of the smartest things that the food service distributors have done. I mean, I again I bring it up this podcast because I applaud them. That is one of the most money-saving opportunities in a restaurant. But what a restaurant owner needs to do on a daily basis, hear me when I say this. During your lunch service, during your dinner service, during your breakfast service, is your dining room full? Did it used to be? And now it's not. Well, now there, Mr. Customer, there's these trends out there that show that more people are just going through the drive through. No, bull crap. You go back to serving quality, you go back to taking care of the business inside your restaurant walls, and you do it in the way that you know how to do it because you live it every single day. And I promise you, you'll fill that dining room right back up. I see restaurant owners doing it on a daily basis. So don't tell me that you have to do a pre-made hamburger pay. Don't tell me that you have to do a pre-breaded shrimp. Don't tell me that you have. No, I will not buy that because I know restaurant owners on a personal friendship basis that are doing it day in every single day. Whether they have half the labor, a third of the labor, or all the labor, it doesn't matter. They still turn out the same quality every single day. And that is what brings in people to come in and eat in your restaurant. That is what makes a line outside your door. That is what fills up your dining room. And then you're not having to beg your food service distributor for 5% off a case of tomatoes. I see restaurant owners doing it. I know it works. I've done it. I did it for 20 years. I know that it works. It's the same recipe for success that has always been in the restaurant industry, and it's the same exact recipe that will be good until the end of time. Prove me wrong. If you serve quality, people are coming to eat it. You want to serve crap? Let me know how it goes paying that lease with a half-empty dining room. I'll tell you something else, restaurant owner, since this is your. I've got your ears here for a minute. Training. Ask your food service sales rep. Hey, what help is out there available to me through Food Service Distributor X that could help me train my staff front of the house and back of the house. Everybody always wants to just focus on server training. Servers aren't the only one in the restaurant. You got front of the house, you got back of the house. You have to have training for every single one of them. During the 20 years I was in the restaurant industry, guess what I did for my training programs? I wrote my own training programs. Because, and I said, Well, okay, so you you had that knowledge. No. You know what? You know what I had? I had experience. I go out to eat, and I have experience going out to eat, and I know what I want and what I don't want. And that's how I wrote my training programs. So there's that. So to answer tonight's question, no, it's not the food service sales rep that is the whodunit. It's leaning more and more towards the whole system, and everybody is working the system. And the system is stacked. And next week, when we talk about the restaurant owner, we're going to start to see this come together. And then the final episode, when we talk about the patrons, we're going to see where it all comes from. We're going to see how the system is stacked, how the system is broken, but stacked. Like I said, I've got 40 years experience in food service on every single end you can imagine, all the way from the growing end, broker in, restaurant owner, restaurant designer, food service sales, you name it, I've done it. Doesn't make me an expert, but I'll tell you what it does do. It gives me a damn fine opinion on how things work and how it should work. So until next week, don't forget to caffeinate and conquer. I'll see you right here again behind this big old mic. Y'all have a great day and thanks for listening.