Has anyone done these. What is time to complete 4 panel wire rack

I was at 1 location where MSC advertised for a regular merchandising call for winter. The winter display had already been taken down and placed outside. The new mdse was a shrink wrapped pallet up on the 2nd level of the warehouse which means someone getting the pallet down and needing help bringing tbe fixture in and wiping down. A lot of mdse fits on the 4 way but probably not all from the pallet. I would say at least 4 hours to do it right.

I just completed one spring reset. The empty rack was in the stockroom, and the four gigantic, heavy merchandise boxes were about 20 feet away on a pallet. First, I had to track down the drug manager to decide where the rack would be placed. The spot on the salesfloor where the rack originally was positioned was no longer available. Then I had to verify with the receiving clerk that the merchandise had been checked in and was ready to be put on the sales floor. I had to adjust the bars on the rack since they were not uniformly spaced, and track down and place the hanger pegs on the bars. It took me 3 hours and 25 minutes to fully complete the job from the time I entered the store until I exited. That was working non-stop at a steady pace by myself. At one point, I did have to go to my vehicle to retrieve some long pegs from my trunk stock. There were 192 pairs of sandals in the boxes. Each pair was individually packaged in a plastic bag. After removing the packaging and the paper wad from each individual shoe (384 of them), the sandals were set to the planogram provided by the MS company. Then I had to separate the plastic from the paper and cardboard and make three trips to the baler. This job had a lot of packaging materials. All that effort for (hopefully) $35. I had a difficult time getting a firm answer from the company about how much a full reset paid. Finally, I got a response saying it would be $20 above a regular $15 merchandising visit. How dare they advertise that it would only take one hour to do the job because there were fewer SKUs! -- FYI: the job had 23 SKUs that had to be organized in a specific way on the 4-sided metal rack.-- Anyhow, I was royally pissed by the end of the job. I called the company and no one was at their desk. I left a message that all future cart builds (16 remaining on my schedule) were on hold unless the company paid me considerably more money.

One thing I would like to add: I was fortunate that the store had sufficient room in the stock room for me to spread out to do the cart build. If I had to do the same job on the salesfloor it would have been a complete nightmare. In addition to the big rack, each heavy shipping box was big enough for two dead people seriously, and the amount of trash/debris each box generated required a large shopping cart. Hence, the multiple trips to the baler. The effort would have blocked aisles and caused headaches each and every time a customer walked past.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2023 11:12PM by Dandydew.

Precisely why I am not taking the full resets.

I have five total they were a nightmare all ranging from two and one half hours to three and one half.All the time and effort is not worth the pay.I completely agree with you and Iam so glad my five are finished never again for that amount of pay .

I did a few of the slippers during winter so I had an idea of the effort and time commitment. They offered $60. I countered at $100 and explained that the merchandising company in my area got paid an hourly rate and mileage (I met another merchandiser in my area and she told me the pay). They never responded to my $100 offer and they greatly underestimate the time and effort involved in a lot of their projects. So I am holding off on their projects until they are paid appropriately and I won't undercut the other merchandisers in my area and be the lowest paid for the same work. No thank you.

Kudos to you for sticking with it. They don't seem to realize the time and physical ability necessary for some of these when you have to check in, get stock from the usually disorganized backroom, etc. One of the stores I've done really needed a cleaning of the rack and had several damaged/bent pegs and the store is remodeling so it's a clusterf*ck front and back of house. I refuse to do that for $20..... Can you update us with how they respond on the increased pay for other locations?

@Dandydew wrote:

I just completed one spring reset. The empty rack was in the stockroom, and the four gigantic, heavy merchandise boxes were about 20 feet away on a pallet. First, I had to track down the drug manager to decide where the rack would be placed. The spot on the salesfloor where the rack originally was positioned was no longer available. Then I had to verify with the receiving clerk that the merchandise had been checked in and was ready to be put on the sales floor. I had to adjust the bars on the rack since they were not uniformly spaced, and track down and place the hanger pegs on the bars. It took me 3 hours and 25 minutes to fully complete the job from the time I entered the store until I exited. That was working non-stop at a steady pace by myself. At one point, I did have to go to my vehicle to retrieve some long pegs from my trunk stock. There were 192 pairs of sandals in the boxes. Each pair was individually packaged in a plastic bag. After removing the packaging and the paper wad from each individual shoe (384 of them), the sandals were set to the planogram provided by the MS company. Then I had to separate the plastic from the paper and cardboard and make three trips to the baler. This job had a lot of packaging materials. All that effort for (hopefully) $35. I had a difficult time getting a firm answer from the company about how much a full reset paid. Finally, I got a response saying it would be $20 above a regular $15 merchandising visit. How dare they advertise that it would only take one hour to do the job because there were fewer SKUs! -- FYI: the job had 23 SKUs that had to be organized in a specific way on the 4-sided metal rack.-- Anyhow, I was royally pissed by the end of the job. I called the company and no one was at their desk. I left a message that all future cart builds (16 remaining on my schedule) were on hold unless the company paid me considerably more money.

One thing I would like to add: I was fortunate that the store had sufficient room in the stock room for me to spread out to do the cart build. If I had to do the same job on the salesfloor it would have been a complete nightmare. In addition to the big rack, each heavy shipping box was big enough for two dead people seriously, and the amount of trash/debris each box generated required a large shopping cart. Hence, the multiple trips to the baler. The effort would have blocked aisles and caused headaches each and every time a customer walked past.

I took one at $100. The manager and I spent 40 minutes looking for the spring stock as the display was still set to winter. Never found it. Took lots of pictures and submitted with the info I had. Says on my shop log I will be paid $100 but I will be surprised if that is actually what I get paid. Probably won’t do another one.

I live in a warm weather state. Did the Spring Resets back in February. I have a regular route of stores I service weekly or bi-weekly. I'm now told, my route is "on suspension" until the Spring Resets are all done Nationwide.
I only get $15 per store, and $35 per reset. If you are getting $100, you must be visiting a nearly off the grid store.

Mine was right in the middle of a large western US city. There were at least 20 in my area listed for $100. I think they just needed to get them done since nobody here was taking them.

They should still honor the agreed upon pay, imo. That's not your fault that the items weren't there. I had similar happen a few weeks ago - I was paid the agreed upon fee.

@turfman wrote:

I took one at $100. The manager and I spent 40 minutes looking for the spring stock as the display was still set to winter. Never found it. Took lots of pictures and submitted with the info I had. Says on my shop log I will be paid $100 but I will be surprised if that is actually what I get paid. Probably won’t do another one.

@joanna81 wrote:

They should still honor the agreed upon pay, imo. That's not your fault that the items weren't there. I had similar happen a few weeks ago - I was paid the agreed upon fee.

@turfman wrote:

I took one at $100. The manager and I spent 40 minutes looking for the spring stock as the display was still set to winter. Never found it. Took lots of pictures and submitted with the info I had. Says on my shop log I will be paid $100 but I will be surprised if that is actually what I get paid. Probably won’t do another one.

I agree with Joanna. I've run into that too. I was paid for going. I had write it up well and photo everything but was paid.
A lot of these shops get completed, or not at the pleasure of the store GM. I've had some tell me not to take the winter items off until they sell. They mark the winter items down to like 80% off. Others have told me to clear all the winter, and put it in a cart.

@tstewart3 wrote:

I would say at least 4 hours to do it right.

I accepted 3 for today, at $100 each, because the offer indicated the assignments required between 60-90 minutes of work.

When I arrived at my 1st location, they were thrilled to see me, but I was not thrilled to find their new display still completely palletized and shrink-wrapped (shrunk-wrap?).

After confirming with the vendor that I would be responsible for setting up the new display with no extra pay for the additional time, I promptly requested they cancel all my stops and remove me from their database.

They've had some assignments in the past that have come in handy for filling in on big routes, but more times than not, their fees do not represent adequate compensation for the amount of work involved.

Took me 2 hours including finding the rack in back and opening the pallet of shoe boxes. I dumped one box at a time in a shopping cart and filled the rack. Was able to get all 4 boxes on the rack.

I think the worst part of the resets are taking each pair of shoes out of their individual packaging and removing the papers stuffed into to toes of the shoes. That alone can taketwo hours.

I think the last email I received on these stated that if you went and did the reset, it was $100. If you go and the merchandise is not there, then it adjusts to $15 (might vary by area). And it said you are supposed to call to find out if the merch is there now.
When I did get an offer on these, I asked if they had a contact at the store but did not get a response. It would make it a lot easier and be a more professional approach if we had the name of at least a mgr or assistant manager to call at the store. Having to call and find "random correct person" is another unpaid time suck, especially if you have to go through an automated menu or have to speak to 5 people to find the right person.

@turfman wrote:

I took one at $100. The manager and I spent 40 minutes looking for the spring stock as the display was still set to winter. Never found it. Took lots of pictures and submitted with the info I had. Says on my shop log I will be paid $100 but I will be surprised if that is actually what I get paid. Probably won’t do another one.

@turfman. You probably will get paid for that. All the ones I've done when no merchandise was in or couldn't be found. I got paid for.
The only problems with pay I've had is when I've gotten emails from the scheduler who ask me to go back because the inventory just arrived and I'm offered extra $$. That extra visit shows up on my app, but not my shopper log. Unless its on the log, then you wont get paid. I've saved all those emails and send them to payroll and get paid the following month.

I was able to pick up eight of the 17 Totes locations I regularly service at $100 each. I'm glad the MS company finally woke up and realized the size of the job. I took a helper with me and between the two of us, the time was narrowed down to 1.5-2 hours at each location. I had to repair a broken wheel on one cart at no extra pay. I visit the 17 stores monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly. Several times per week I communicate with the scheduler or project manager regarding the stores. I made a point of getting to know each store's receivng clerks, and they recognize me when I visit. It was just by chance I saw where the jobs had incresed in pay on the job board. No one from the MS company contacted me about a fee increase. The locations I have visited for months were assigned to just random people who got there first. Someone visited one of my regular locations and did not bother to look up to see the pallet was on an overhead shelf. The person reported to the MS company that the merchandise was not at the store, and the store had thrown out the rack. What that person did not know is that most stores just put them outside because they don't have room inside. The weekend store manager told me the boxes had been there a long time and she was anxious to get the product out of the stockroom. The "merchandiser" did a crappy, half-ass job and lied to the MS company. I truely hope he/she does NOT get paid $100 for that low level of effort. I called the MS company and reported what I discovered. I was told it is now up to Totes to decide what to do - send a new rack or perhaps let someone get it from out back. Anyhow, I was not assigned to do the reset. It is pending.

My helper went to another store I regularly service but did not get to do the spring reset. (She lives nearby.) She told me the sandals were placed haphazardly on the pegs and did not even come close to matching the panogram. She said the cart looked awful. Great. Will that person get paid $100 for the job? Am I supposed to "fix" the cart (essentially do another reset) for $15 on my next merchadising visit?

I was kinda getting used to this being a regular gig for me, but the MS company clearly does not want care if they hire dependable contractors who take pride in their work and can communicate with people at the stores. It is depressing to me.

Ironically while we are talking about this, one just popped in my area for $100. I've serviced this store numerous times. I had to apply, they didnt just assign.

I fully agree and understand your frustration, this is what happens when you try to give assignments to the lowest bidder, rather than placing value on someone who is consistent, knows the store, the project, and/or staff at a particular location. I have had this happen with some of my old "regular" locations - stuff is disorganized, expired things are still present, etc.
And I feel bad for some of those taking the assignments at base pay, or with small increases. I wouldn't assume that the previous merchandiser just did a half ass job. I have gone to some of these stores and if it is busy, or you have a staff member who doesn't know where things are in the stock area, you're kind of on your own. Even if they found the pallet on the 2nd floor, they might not know how, or be able to get assistance in getting it down.
I went to one location that was an "urgent" location right before a winter storm was coming. The store had a ton of employees call off and also had a ton of shoppers in grabbing pre-storm supplies like milk, bread, etc. Long lines, busy store. It was really hard to find an employee that knew enough to be able to assist me and if I have spent 30 mins looking for something in the back room and can't find it with assistance, I'm going to report that, take the required pics and leave. I can't spend all day hunting through a back room, especially when the guidelines say the merchandise may not be there, and if not, just reset the winter stuff.

@Dandydew wrote:

I was able to pick up eight of the 17 Totes locations I regularly service at $100 each. I'm glad the MS company finally woke up and realized the size of the job. I took a helper with me and between the two of us, the time was narrowed down to 1.5-2 hours at each location. I had to repair a broken wheel on one cart at no extra pay. I visit the 17 stores monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly. Several times per week I communicate with the scheduler or project manager regarding the stores. I made a point of getting to know each store's receivng clerks, and they recognize me when I visit. It was just by chance I saw where the jobs had incresed in pay on the job board. No one from the MS company contacted me about a fee increase. The locations I have visited for months were assigned to just random people who got there first. Someone visited one of my regular locations and did not bother to look up to see the pallet was on an overhead shelf. The person reported to the MS company that the merchandise was not at the store, and the store had thrown out the rack. What that person did not know is that most stores just put them outside because they don't have room inside. The weekend store manager told me the boxes had been there a long time and she was anxious to get the product out of the stockroom. The "merchandiser" did a crappy, half-ass job and lied to the MS company. I truely hope he/she does NOT get paid $100 for that low level of effort. I called the MS company and reported what I discovered. I was told it is now up to Totes to decide what to do - send a new rack or perhaps let someone get it from out back. Anyhow, I was not assigned to do the reset. It is pending.

My helper went to another store I regularly service but did not get to do the spring reset. (She lives nearby.) She told me the sandals were placed haphazardly on the pegs and did not even come close to matching the panogram. She said the cart looked awful. Great. Will that person get paid $100 for the job? Am I supposed to "fix" the cart (essentially do another reset) for $15 on my next merchadising visit?

I was kinda getting used to this being a regular gig for me, but the MS company clearly does not want care if they hire dependable contractors who take pride in their work and can communicate with people at the stores. It is depressing to me.

I am seeing one in another town I am in for 100 dollars. After reading experiences, no thank you. Love this forum.