IamA 9 year employee of the Coca-Cola Company. I've served many roles, most recently a delivery driver. No one probably cares, but if you do, AMA.

How many people upvoted this because they thought the OP read "IAMA 9 year old employee of Coca Cola"?

I did...

How does Coke help restaurants? My family is in the process of building a restaurant and we can't decide on Coke or Pepsi, or what they provide to the restaurant.

Not an expert on this end of the business, but if you PM me, I can get get you in touch with someone who will be of great help.

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My brother in law is a service tech. If you guys work as many hours as he does, I do not envy you.

I've heard that coca-cola controls how all the soda and such will be displayed. Is that true and if it is, how much does the store get to control and how much does the coca-cola company control?

The Company decides 100% how it's projects will be displayed. We have what is called a "brand set", which is a huge book of how our products are displayed based on the amount of cooler space we are allowed. Basically, the store will say that we have two cooler doors to occupy, and we as a company decide which of our products should go where within those two cooler doors.

Work for target logistics, can confirm. We hate storing vendor shit because we have limited space.

Yeah. We hear "we are not a Coke warehouse" all the time. Which I don't disagree with.

I have done deliveries for Schweppes. I know how hard a job it is. tips hat

Thank you sir/ma'am. We used to carry Schwepp's at my facility. Pepsi has them in my territory now.

What discounts do you get if any on coca cola products? And what happened to vanilla coke? I can hardly find it.

Vanilla coke is alive and well in my market. We even offer a zero calorie version. Vanilla Coke Zero is the shit. I wish fewer people would buy it so I could have the out of dates.

Edit: one letter do->so

So y'all get to keep the expired product then? Are there any restrictions on that then?

Umm. Officially. And if anyone ever finds out about this, we always destroy product that is not consumable. Otherwise, if it is gonna be destroyed anyway, I can surely take a sip or two. Or three.

We are allowed to buy up to 5 cases once per month at a decent discount. Nothing special, but it's way less than you pay retail.

Who came up with the "Share a Coke with______" and did they receive a raise/promotion?

I heard they unveiled this promo in the UK way before the US. Honestly, I haven't seen a huge increase in sales since this promo began.

Have you ever been in a fight with a beer guy?

Here's the deal. As a driver, I work with Pepsi, Budweiser, and Miller guys more than I work with Coke staff. We do everything we can to make each other's job more easy. We are always friendly an courteous to each other. In a weird way, competitor drivers are more of our friends than the guys we drive out with every morning.

I'm trying to work my beer back stock here, do you REALLY need to drop your twelve boards of coke RIGHT HERE!?

I'm sorry. I'll try to be more considerate next time.

Pick up the empty plastic crates!

Always. Everyday. I hate it when my coworkers leave them behind. That's more that I have to pick up.

I'm sorry. I'll try to be more considerate next time.

Do you miss Surge/Vault as much as I do?

I actually liked Vault quite a bit. I was pretty surprised to see it go, because it seem like a lot of people like that brand.

What is the best and worst thing about working for one of the biggest brands in the world?

Best thing: I know I'll never be w/o a job.

Worst thing: People asking for free samples.

Edit: I was drunk when I wrote that. In all seriousness, the worst part off the job is dealing with customers who are difficult for no other reason than that they can be.

My bf used to work for Miller-Coors. How many times have you heard the line, "Yeah, just go ahead and load that up into my truck."?

P.S.: As a bartender: I would like to formally apologize for all the asshole managers who don't have their checks or cash ready. I try to make your wait time as short as humanly possible and offer you N/A beverages free as often as you need it. Driving and hauling that stuff, often times upstair into tiny hallways, all day long is exhausting.

First off, at least once a week.

Second, we appreciate customers like yourself SO much. All too often it seems like customers take pride in making our days harder for no reason. It's super frustrating.

Coke or Pepsi?

Honestly, neither. Drink a Dasani and do yourself a favor.

I was offered a position as a merchandiser, it paid a little less than my current job. Am I an idiot for passing that up? Also what do merchandisers actually do?

Edit: I was half-asleep when I posted this... Apparently I was an idiot last night.

What country? US?

Texas.

Okay, so it varies based on territory. But it means you work the product that I deliver. Break the pallet down and either put it on the floor or bin it in walmart back stock.

What do you think about the fact that your AMA gets more upvotes/attention than the one by someone who wrote a biography on Beethoven?

Well, that was a good movie. I can really relate to a movie about a family with a giant St. Bernard, but how much more do we need to know about it?

(Do I need to say I'm kidding?)

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We are very much discouraged from patronizing restaurants that serve only our competitor's product. But if I ever got "caught", I would never get fired. I think it's more just a card to keep in our pocket.

I'm a Coca-Cola employee myself and we have had employees get fired for eating at competitors establishments or drinking competitor product.

Edit: should clarify I'm talking about in uniform but in their own personal vehicles.

As I always say, my loyalty is to my wallet.

How many deliveries do you usually do per day? Have you seen any crazy situations in the warehouse?

I myself do anywhere from 8 to 16 deliveries per day. Some of the drivers who are more local can do as many as 20-25 deliveries per day. It is basically divided out bases on each routes driving time. The craziest thing I've seen in the warehouse is when we had "transport" drivers, who bring in product in from our production facilities(outside contract drivers), and they open their trailer doors to an entire trailer of product that is laid over. We were not allowed, by union and by principle to help them pick it up. So a 30 min. delivery ended up being a hour and half delivery because we weren't allowed to help them.

What do you do when people ask for free soda when you're unloading the truck? And would the beer delivery guys do the same ??

People ask all the time. You have to put on a face like you have never hear that comment before. Laugh. Say, "Sorry, free sample day was two days ago." And get on with your day. I'm sure it's the same of the beer guys.

What's the grossest soda related thing you've ever seen?

We've had a big push for no and low calorie options lately. The Dasani sparkling water flavors are so fucking gross. On the other hand, the Dasani drops are awesome.

What's the secret recipe? Is it as closely guarded as I've heard?

Obviously. As a low-level employee I would never know this information. And honestly. It's not something that anybody ever thinks about at my level.

Edit: deleted a sentence. stupid.

Have you ever thought about destroying a Pepsi display?

Never never never. Those guys are my coworkers and work as hard as I do.

I'm a home beer brewer. What would be the easiest way to get my hands on old, cheap corny kegs?

Contact your nearest facility and just buy the premix tanks. Empty them and use them. They are really not expensive at all and we only charge for the contents, not the tank.

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I don't drink Coke. I drink a lot of Diet and Coke Zero. Diet Dr. Pepper too when I can. Otherwise my work provides us with water bottles in the hotter months(with coolers)

I can go through 3-4 of those 20 ouncers of zero on a 24 hour shift. Please stop putting crack in it.

I just deliver the stuff. But I will make every effort to avoid putting crack in anything I deliver.

are you salary or hourly? and what is your yearly earnings? do you get bonuses?

I get a daily wage plus a completion bonus.

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Pretty well actually. A few years ago, many of our employees were affected by a pretty significant natural disaster. Coke basically just GAVE us extra paychecks to help us out. Of course, Uncle Sam took his cut.

Is it true they used to wash the engines down with coca cola?

I don't understand your question. What do you mean by engines?

Car engines. The idea being coke eats thru rust.

I think Coca-Cola eats through a lot of stuff. Including battery corrosion. So yes, put coke on your positive terminal, let it set, and take a wire brush to it.

How often do you find yourself merchandising the product? How much do you earn? Where do you live? What type of driver's license do you posses?

I merchandise everyday. I'm pushing 45k a year. Midwest US. Class A CDL.

is it true a former employee of coca-cola went to pepsi and tried to sell them the recipe and pepsi called the fbi?

I can't verify that either way. What I do know is that there may be two or three people within the Coca-Cola company that actually know the recipe, so therefore I doubt that anybody on the low-level would be able to get that information and sell it to Pepsi.

What do you deliver as a driver?

Cans, bottles, bag in box, and premix. As well as the occasional CO2 tank

Ah, I didn't know they delivered the CO2.

Some places have their own, but 2-4 times a week, I have a tank or two on my truck.

Why did you start to work for the company?

I started as a merchandiser in 2006. I got a DWI and started working in the warehouse until 2009. I got my drivers record cleared and have been working as a delivery driver ever since.

How long does cocacola (330ml can version) last (with decent flavour and fizzy-ness) after the expiry date? I do know they are set extremely early for extra "safety", I just wonder how early...

I won't drink anything more than three weeks out of date. Anything that has a milk product, no more than one week.

How much do you hate Swire?

Not at all. Because I don't have a clue what that is.

Do you get free coke?

Ummm...on the record, no.

I read "9 year" as "9 year old." I was expecting you to be some serf/slave worker since birth in Columbia or something. This is the kind of thing that I expect from the company you work for.

How do you respond to the fact that Coca-Cola actively increases world suffering to a reprehensible degree?

Yeesh. Honestly. I don't. Think about it that is. I have absolutely no say in how things go at my own facility, much less on a global level.

no offense, but what did you do at coca cola before becoming a delivery driver? its not like a delivery driver is a prestigious job, so what positions did you left for the position of a delivery driver?

None taken. I worked part time jobs through college. Started working for Coke when I was 21. It is the only "real" job I've ever had.