merchandiser

driver merchandiser

truck driver

laborer

sales executive

Coca Cola Bottling

I spent a decent amount of years here as a Class 1 driver and I did learn a lot about customer service and getting the orders to the customers under all conditions. There isn’t really a clear understanding between the drivers, the customer, and sales on what exactly needs to be performed by the drivers. A 9 hour day on paper can really be an 11-12 hour day in the field as the customers and sales want you to fill or merchandise more than you are supposed to. 
There are staff retention issues as only the senior drivers stick around for their pensions. With less staff, you can be expected or forced to work your days off and be expected to pull a longer load. Hours are NOT guaranteed to junior drivers-they typically leave as Coca Cola will not top up their hours and they may be sitting at home in the winter making $0.
There isn’t a lot of room for discussion on improvements or personal requests with management as Coca Coca is a very conservative company that does not like to be flexible.  It’s their way or “find another job”.
The pay can be good if you are willing to work the Overtime. The dental benefits I must say are TOP NOTCH- 100% covered (surgeries included) for just $8 a month.
Coca Cola does own trucks instead of leasing trucks so the equipment breaks down often and they have older trucks in the fleet. 
Like anywhere, your colleagues are good and bad. Most of your colleagues are good there. Some can be toxic. They can be the most clueless and unreliable people and they will NOT be fired. You can only be fired if you commit a mortal sin there.
I would have stayed there but I was told that I am required to work my day off for OT at the company’s discretion, when they dictate, and I do not appreciate a company that believes that they can decide my personal time. 
There is so much room for improvement within the distribution network at Coca Cola but as I mentioned earlier, the management is not open to change and are not open to hearing ideas from the drivers. The management typically consists of SALES people that do not fully understand the realities of trucking.

In summary,  come here for experience or to try something new. Always be looking for a better position elsewhere as Coca Cola is not a Company that wants to move forward and be understanding of the drivers. If you have other job offers that seem like a better opportunity, AVOID Coca Cola. 

Everything about the interview lead me to feeling mislead and under trained.

My first day (orientation) they did not have my credentials ready so I could not train which meant I waited a week to start actually working.

The online training meant nothing on the job, everyone did there own thing with zero consistancy.

You are given a rough schedule daily less that 24 hours before you work, you will work more hours than you are scheduled to almost everyday.

You will be given a phone (maybe) and be shown almost nothing about all the things you have to do and remember until you complain about it.

My first real day I received practically zero in person training and was told to go to stores and meet someone I was working with, without the ability to clock in or out or take breaks.

The 2nd day I was left alone at a store with way more product than I could manage and ended up staying for about 10 hours in total that day as I was expected to tidy up the back stock where there were 9 pallets and only 6 spots.

Reports of any issues outside of massive problems fell on deaf ears and was disregarded (ie telling management about product sitting on top of hot chicken ovens multiple and being cooked was not a problem, i brought this up twice on two seperate unrelatedoccasions)

They will expect you to make magic happen and have product disappear in time frames humanly impossible unless you shove off your work onto the next unfortunate soul who has that store after you.

The general consensus I seemed to notice is that anyone who didn't care didnt do a great job and the ones that did hated the job because of the work to pay ratio and were very vocal about this.

I was told when I decided I'd had enough of the lack of communication and disregard for rules outlined in my online training, that everyone was happy and there were "no complaints"...

Just because whenever anyone said anything they were ignored and told that it was "no problem" doesn't mean there aren't any problems, it just means there's no communication.

This has got to be the worst job ive ever worked in record time. I quit cause I knew it was just going to continue being a massive headache.



If you work hard, show dedication, and strive to continuously improve yourself and those around you, you will be successful and open endless advancement or cross-promotion opportunities. Management is often fast to recognize leaders and offer further development.

Field sales is competitive, and performance is often recognized and rewarded fairly. Along with working for a tier 1 company, there are lots of extra bonuses that you have access to: Events, Brand teams, Head Office exposure, opportunities to develop connections across industries, etc. Don't expect to be given anything, it needs to be earned.

Unfortunately, most of these niceties are outweighed by the companies need to eliminate work-life balance. As you progress, the expectation (although not written) is that you will be constantly available. This is not a great place to work if you are looking for a 9-5 with Sat/Sun for refreshing and recuperating. This mindset is especially prominent on the sales side. You cannot "coast" in this environment and last long. Hanging up your work phone for a day is not an option, regardless if it's a long weekend or holiday.

The salary for mid-level sales/sales management positions is well below the industry average. Benefits and bonuses have also been scaled back over the the years. In an industry that is relatively flat, don't bank on receiving maximum quarterly bonuses consistently. At the very least, good performance will net you a yearly cost of living increase based on a semi-annual and annual performance review.

I work as a Merchandiser out of London Ontario and have been employed since The end of 2021. A couple things you should know before applying...

The ONLY reason I stay and do what I do is because of my manager. Great guy.

The pay is so/so Work life balance is not really there, and it is difficult to give an answer to wether or not it exists. As a merchandiser, it is 100% Physical labour, and not easy labour. You never have a set schedule, and only go home when the job is complete, depending on how fast you work, it could be 6 hours, 8 hours, some days even 12 hours. You move hundreds of cases of pop per day along with heavy 2L's consecutively, and a bunch of other coca-cola branded products off pre-delivered pallets at different stores around SWO, starting as early as 7am.

Money:

the pay is not horrible but dont expect to make a killing. At roughly $18.50 per hour, you do an incredible amount of expected work (even worse during the holidays and early summer) that makes this not worth it, even with rising gas prices and nearly $0.55/Km reimbursement.

Work/Culture/Time:

If you're looking for long term, this company has growth but don't expect to grow too quickly. Unfortunately, a company like this will hire you PT with Full time hours so enjoy no benefits for a while. For example, you can easily work for a company like Cintas, get paid in the mid $20/hour's and have a 4 day work week with weekend off and the culture will be much better, along with work/life balance. Since your schedule will be set along a specific route and you'll know where and when it ends.

Overall, Its great for students, or people without much aspiration for right now. If you want to have a manageable personal life, I don't recommend a merchandiser position.

If you work hard, show dedication, and strive to continuously improve yourself and those around you, you will be successful and open endless advancement or cross-promotion opportunities. Management is often fast to recognize leaders and offer further development.

Field sales is competitive, and performance is often recognized and rewarded fairly. Along with working for a tier 1 company, there are lots of extra bonuses that you have access to: Events, Brand teams, Head Office exposure, opportunities to develop connections across industries, etc. Don't expect to be given anything, it needs to be earned.

Unfortunately, most of these niceties are outweighed by the companies need to eliminate work-life balance. As you progress, the expectation (although not written) is that you will be constantly available. This is not a great place to work if you are looking for a 9-5 with Sat/Sun for refreshing and recuperating. This mindset is especially prominent on the sales side. You cannot "coast" in this environment and last long. Hanging up your work phone for a day is not an option, regardless if it's a long weekend or holiday.

The salary for mid-level sales/sales management positions is well below the industry average. Benefits and bonuses have also been scaled back over the the years. In an industry that is relatively flat, don't bank on receiving maximum quarterly bonuses consistently. At the very least, good performance will net you a yearly cost of living increase based on a semi-annual and annual performance review.

Are you wondering where the best place to work would be? At a rank of 209 for Canada’s best employers, Coca-Cola is your answer. 

**This below review is given for the Calgary branch only. I recognize that opinions shared and company culture vary from city, to province, or country. 

A place where the products and positions carry a short shelf life. 
In past jobs have you been over-recognized for your efforts, or just plain bored? Look no further. Here you will for sure be over worked and under appreciated. A place where the blind lead the blind, and your hard work will continuously go unnoticed. Entry level positions such as drivers, merchandisers, or sales make a good wage. Although most are disgruntled because they continuously voice opinions or give suggestions to be shut down by their busy bosses, but change is always promised. In a management role you will work a minimum of 10 hours then another 4 when you get home. You will very rarely be recognized for your efforts and get eaten alive from your boss and their boss. Your plate will be so full you will work in your spare time to catch up. You can never work hard enough. If you are unqualified and incompetent, you will go far. Don’t expect to work hard, go above and beyond, and be given an honest chance in career development.

Seriously, that is the best way to sum it up.
- Little to no raises for years.
- Wage is below living wage. 
- Wage is FAR below competitor's wage/salary and you have far more responsibilities.
- Your salary/wage is capped at a low rate (ex: large format capped under 20$, small format capped under 50k$)
- No car allowance for those who actually drive the most.
- Little advancement in the company because there is always internal politics at play.
- The people that are in positions do not plan to move out for a while so there is no ladder to climb.
- Management is clueless, completely out of touch with the responsibilities they ask of you, with little communication, and high to impossible demands.
- You are expected to complete a 14hr day within 8hrs.
- Little to no reward/recognition for your hard work.
- Extremely grueling on the body and there isn't much kick back for the toll your body takes.
- "Push this, push that" mentality and your customers will be tired of it. If try to work with your customers, the company becomes upset. If you work with the company, your customers become upset. There is absolutely no winning.
- "You're the foundation of the company" but you will never feel or be rewarded for it.
- They basically want obeying robots that don't pipe up. If you do say anything, you will swiftly be reprimanded for it... even though they ask you to say something.

firstly I noticed pay was short after doing all the math, Even without factoring in the fact that I made less than the basic personal amount taxes would not cut pay to that point, They ignored important emails about upping hours during the summer after consistently promising more hours at that time since it was very important for me. After quitting and putting in a detailed and heartfelt resignation after a week of no response I just had my account deactivated with not a single word. 

With that aside, some days could be great and very chill, and some would be incredibly difficult labor, and to have a nagging store manager on top of that keeping you past your shift time because of mistakes that a previous merchandiser made was infuriating. Instructions could vary as well, What works for some stores would be insufficient in others.  

This job could work, but I have gone through 3 managers during Coke and every time was a different experience. I have had good and bad experiences, I just wished it ended on a better hand because I imagined spending time at this company. 

The team members are friendly, cooperative, and supportive, which makes the workplace environment pleasant on a day-to-day basis. Colleagues are generally willing to help each other, share knowledge, and work together to complete tasks efficiently. This creates a positive team dynamic and makes collaboration easier. However, one noticeable challenge is the perception of favoritism within management. Certain employees appear to receive preferential treatment when it comes to opportunities, recognition, or decision-making. This can sometimes affect morale and create a sense of unfairness among team members who are putting in equal effort. A more transparent and consistent approach from management could significantly improve the overall workplace culture. If leadership focused on equal treatment, clear communication, and merit-based decisions, the organization could build an even stronger and more motivated team. With such a great group of employees already in place, improving fairness in management practices would make the work environment far more balanced and rewarding for everyone.

this is a job where you set your own hours, you can build your own paycheque, and you work by yourself 95 % of the time. If you show that you are reliable, your dispatcher will assign you to work more stores, which essentially means more money on your paycheque. Lots of back and forth texting and calling people who you don't always know (insanely annoying). Money is decent considering all of the heavy lifting you are required to do. Some store managers are a pain to deal with, they will complain to you about just about everything (this is something that Coke neglects to mention to you during the orientation). I thought I may have a career/future with Coke but there are a lot of people running the show that don't have a clue what they are doing, plus other merchandisers who don't have a clue what they are doing. I wound up having to leave this job after 1 full year b/c I didn't see it being worth it much after that. It was awesome at first, but it wears off after awhile. I was hired with 3 other guys, I was the last one working, the other 3 quit the company before I did. Everybody that worked as a merchandiser when I was hired were all long gone by the time I called it quits.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Merchandiser 1219 salaries reported	$20.08 per hour
Driver merchandiser 206 salaries reported	$31.03 per hour
Truck driver 74 salaries reported	$29.68 per hour
Laborer 128 salaries reported	$19.75 per hour
Sales executive 76 salaries reported	$21.66 per hour

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