Sysco is eliminating all specialty customer service roles and shifting that work to another company they used before, Cognizant in April. Customer service reps get to keep jobs but with Cognizant as employer.
On paper, it might look like a cost saving move. But anyone who actually works in specialty meat and freshpoint knows the reality: this isn’t just “customer service.” This is product knowledge built over years. It’s understanding cuts of meat, sourcing, seasonality, substitutions, and how to guide chefs and buyers when something goes wrong. That kind of expertise doesn’t come from a script or a short training cycle.
Now the same people who built that knowledge are being asked to transition into roles where they essentially transfer what they know, only to see those jobs eventually moved to lower-cost call centers or AI. Just to save Sysco a few bucks. Clueless sysco higher ups! Specialty customers aren’t looking for generic support. They rely on relationships and expertise. When that disappears, so does the value that made the service “specialty” in the first place. Our prices high and we justify by saying look at the expertise and experience we have to offer that makes up for it. Our competitors must be jumping for joy at how much business coming their way.