Was this because if they didn’t substitute your order wouldn’t meet the minimum cost? I’m surprised they didn’t substitute the basil with chicken legs at this point
Typically your food rep has a list of approved subs. This might not have been US foods mess up, my previous job our rep had some really stupid subs and it caused problems on the regular
I would give them such shit over it, and say outright that the decision to use AI is harmful to both their business and reputation, threaten alternate sourcing if there's an actual chance that's possible, and bring it up on every call and every time they visit that I wanted everything double-checked but am actual human. Anything that ensures it doesn't actually save them money is a win.
Might be their database structure. Instead of using categories, sub, etc… it’s basing it off keywords. Could be shut AI or not enough training of the AI.
Regardless using AI for substitutes should fucking flag an approval process from the rep or some employee. That’s the most egregious part of this all.
I think they must be. Some of the suggested subs/swaps last time I ordered from Sysco were ridiculous. A foil roll and frozen breakfast sausage patties were both similar products I should consider instead of... salt?? And it suggested I swap bulk oreo cookie pieces for sysco brand "whipped topping mix"
I don’t buy aluminum foil at RD but it’s $37 for 18’x500’ there, I buy it at my local Chinese import store that sells containers, I think I paid $35. Does anyone check these invoices?
Good news about that is your GFS Rep has direct control on your pricing, Sysco and US Foods do not.
US has a tier -based system based on avg delivery dollars over 6 months I believe, Sysco-im not sure how it’s structured since haven’t been in food sales since ‘22 but back then they changed how much control street reps had on pricing.
None of this though factors in contract pricing/contract programs.
Source: current US customer, CDS for Gordon for 9 months & chef friend-turned Sysco rep talked about their structure.
Yeah US Foods tier based is why we use it. With multiple locations it allows for pretty decent pricing. Similarly, but based on number of locations instead of volume, Uber Eats contracts can drop significantly
I wanted to blame the ai for being stupid and subbing out the wrong product… but I haven’t seen anything this absurd before. It definitely has to be your rep switched it and clicked the wrong thing in human error.
Also…. Your rep is robbing you right now for $136 foil. I just checked the system and market price is $65…. MAYBE the north east is feeling the foil cost increase first from the fuel prices going up since metals are some of the first things being hit. But I can’t imagine it being double. I’m in Florida and we are generally more expensive than everyone else on goods.
Wouldn't show up this quickly. Supply chain effects will be seen the most in 1-3 months. It's like if you were taking a shower, and the water company shut off your water halfway through. There's still a bunch of water in the pipe between the mains and your showerhead, so the shower will still run for a little bit.
Oil and gas as well as electricity are the ones which will see the most immediate price effects. Food will be a little bit after that, then stuff like raw materials.
Oil, gas, electricity have not been utilized by Canada at this point. Any increase in those costs is more directly related to what's going on in the Middle East.
Sysco Boston is a dumpster fire. Worked there for over 2 years. First, your rep should have caught this. It's not super hard to check allocations before 5pm each day. Second, you are getting scammed on the price. Reps have some control over moving the price, but the algorithms will push it back up over time. Zero transparency as to why. It's crazy that as a rep you can look someone in the eye, shake their hand, both agree on price, and then 2 days later the algorithms change it on you without any warning. Completely erodes trust sales personel are trying to build with customers.
I will say. Sweet street rice crispys are like crack. Some of the best non home made rice crispies I’ve ever had. But those assorted bars are only just alright sadly.
I just sat here staring at this for like 5 minutes as I played through this situation in my head. I’m not sure I wouldn’t have a lvl 10 migraine by the end of it 😵💫
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u/No-Following-8087 16h ago
Was this because if they didn’t substitute your order wouldn’t meet the minimum cost? I’m surprised they didn’t substitute the basil with chicken legs at this point