service technician

Van Houtte Coffee Services

A typical day begins with going in, grabbing yourself a coffee and getting started with starting up your vehicles to make sure there’s nothing wrong before you load the day’s deliveries, looking over your day’s route, looking over the manifest, loading everything palleted the previous day into shelves in an organized and easy to pick fashion, doing your checkoff of everything on your manifest, doing your morning vehicle checks, making sure any extra tasks are accounted for, starting your driving time on the company app, and heading out to the first stop.

Deliveries range from 12/day all the way up to 24/day, but the management is always doing their best to make sure drivers aren’t consistently rushing with heavy days, but the load is spread out effectively among drivers.

Some overtime and warehouse work may be required during high seasons, but the only thing to worry about in that situation is getting stuck in rush hour traffic, overtime is optional and has little to no pressure behind it, beyond the individual drive to do a good job and get back to the warehouse earlier than the end of the 8 hour shift.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The atmosphere is excellent, the work is engaging, and this company truly fosters teamwork and mutual support.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
We are currently experiencing delays in our quality of work due to parts and products being on back order.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment at the company is dynamic and supportive. The atmosphere is positive and engaging, with employees often collaborating on projects and supporting each other. For example, team members frequently hold brainstorming sessions to generate new ideas and solutions. Additionally, the company encourages professional growth through regular training programs and mentorship opportunities, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and teamwork.


What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Start the day by driving the company vehicle to work and sitting down with the team to review the service calls scheduled for the day. If any issues arise or there is uncertainty about how to fix a particular machine, we consult with each other to see if anyone has encountered a similar problem. After gathering the necessary parts, we head out to complete our service calls as required.

I have really enjoyed working at Van Houtte over the years. I consider myself lucky to have co-workers that care about me and each other. The best part of my job is that I'm in charge of my days. As long as my customers are happy I can work whatever hours I please. I've learned a great deal about coffee and about selling, and I've enjoyed building relationships with the people I serve. If there's one downside to what I do I suppose it would be my boss. I need a manager I can trust and who will support me and I unfortunately don't have that. There are however many positive aspects to my job that thankfully outweigh that one negative part. I drive, a lot. In fact in an average week I tend to do about 1,000Km. I like having time to think during my long hauls and the peace and quiet is a nice change of pace from the sometimes chaotic nature of my home life. I also love having unlimited access to gourmet coffee 24/7.

- You'll need strong follow-up skills, as processes and procedures are often inconsistent.
- A high level of patience is essential to navigate delays and slow progress.
- Proficiency in managing a large volume of emails is crucial, as many will remain unanswered.
- Be prepared to put in extra hours daily to keep up with the workload and prevent it from piling up.
- There is no training program(s) at all, with a "learn as you go" approach.
- Simple tasks often involve complicated and lengthy procedures.
- No CRM system is available, so you will need to rely on your email to track client information effectively.

A typical work day for me is cold calling each day in the morning, booking meeting with potential clients and managing customers expectations.

What I have learned since being at Van Houtte Coffee Services is always be on the look out for a new potential client. Sometimes you never know who they are or who they will be.

Van Houtte is always on the look out for better training methods. Which is great for a sales person. 

The hardest part of the job is the days go by way too fast. I've never had to look at my watch and say, "its only 9am?" In fact its quite the opposite..."5pm already?"

The most enjoyable part of my job is hearing customers says, "I just love Van Houtte Coffee!"

All days started by answering voice and email messages
Next came sorting, evaluating and organizing customer call outs for the day.

I learned how to use the ERP / Oracle computer system and to create pro-forma reports for existing customers requesting additional equipment.

Over the years there have been different managers with different styles.

Co-workers were amazing.  We worked as a great team.

The hardest part of the job was the work load when someone was on vacation.

The most enjoyable part of the job was connecting with great customers and working with great co-workers

Stay away from this company, managers are friendly at first and then after awhile will throw you under the bus and swear at you a berate you. Pay Is bad for the amount of extra stuff they demand you to do. Drivers arent able to take lunch breaks or you wont be able to finish the day and managers still expect you to kill yourself for bad pay. Hardly any training, was told many times when I asked questions about the job I just got the response "figure it out".

I was hired on the premises that I would be promoted to branch manager.  I worked alone for most of the day and was left to complete my tasks and schedule my own routines with minimal supervision once trained.  I loved being able to do things at my own pace.  

Instead of becoming the branch manager, the company was sold and my job was re-structured (from what I heard after the fact, this was normal).  

Loved my job, the office and everyone I worked with.  I would never have left this company however I had no choice in the matter.  Company was based out of Montreal then sold to a US company and that is when all the changes occurred.

The pay is atrocious. You cannot make a living off of what they consider to be competitive wages. The management is somewhat decent however the service manager is a complete weasel. He lies consistently to save his butt when he makes a mistake (he makes a lot!) and makes you take the blame for his incompetence. The other people I worked with were good hard working people who were just as fed up with the pay. 

Stay away from Van Houtte unless you like taking a trip back to the '90's for comparative wages and a manager who treats you like not like a valued employee but rather as an indentured servant.

I’ve worked here for over 15 years now and I’m not considered to move up because I don’t suck up to management. They’re afraid of people like me who would make them look bad. This is by far the worst company I’ve ever worked for. Management is not respectful and only takes and takes. 

The precious salespeople make mistakes and everyone else gets blamed for it. 

People come in late everyday and call in sick 15 times per year. Zero accountability. 

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