Large Purveyors

[Jim]

At my unit, we are in the process of bringing on a new provisions purveyor. I have worked with many of the 'big houses'. Anybody have input on the big guys (i.e. Sysco, USFoods, Alliant, MDS, etc)? Just curious as to others experiences.

[Pete]

As with any "big" company your service will usually be contingent with your sales rep. Once you decide on a company ask around to other chefs about the sales rep. If they have a good one try to get him. And don't let the company tell you that it's not his route. If they want your business bad enough they will give you who you want.

[Greg]

Your service will also be contingent upon the size of your account. The exec at my last job (a country club) used USFoods and could almost make them do backflips at his will due to the amount of business he did with them. They gave him a computer with dial-up access and software to place his orders via modem. The rep would also do things such as warn him about price jumps in advance (he did this at the end of last summer when psmo tenderloin started to go up). He would also use Sysco (mostly to put pressure on USFoods to get his way) and never had a problem with them.

So...how much are we talking in order to get one of these companies to set you up w/ a PC to use for ordering? I've heard it's 80% of your purchases.

[Greg]

I don't think there's a set dollar amount. It's probably more like "we've got 20 PCs, let's give them to our top 20 customers". Also, I don't know if this is done in all cities USFoods services. The PCs aren't exactly top of the line, either. The most recent one they sent to the club (the hard drive crashed on it's predecessor) is a compaq 586 that doesn't get along with the printer.

US Foods does not have to provide the pc. I have seen them provide just the software for a hotel I was working at. You do, I believe, have to buy a large amount from them to get this luxury. The key to a good purveyor is to make sure they are reliable, have quality product, and will give you the pricing you need to meet your budget. A name is just a name...its the food that counts.