I've never done one at all - never - but I am signed up with one of the companies.
They sent me an email notice to sign up for various store locations in my area - in advance of a project.
Since I've never done one, not sure what I would be getting myself into, so I signaled my availability
for several nearby stores near home.
But the question that I'm still puzzled by is the one where they ask how I want to be paid
either by the hour or the location.
How do I know in advance without knowing what the work entails?
Any advice on these? for those who do them, which payment method works best for you? location or hour?
Many thanks.

It will depend on the project how you want to get paid, and how far you are from the store. This company pays for driving time, so if I am going to do a route of stores, I would probably select hourly. If I am doing something that is 3 miles from my house, then I will likely select per location.

The retrievals I have done average out to about 20 minutes per visit, with maybe a few more minutes of admin time. If I have a bunch of locations that are relatively close to each other I will choose by location. The fewer locations and the farther they are away and I will go hourly.

joanna81 summed it up nicely.

I have done a number of these now and you can choose per assignment how you want to do it (I am going to guess you are sigining up for the Dollar Store pre-assignment). If the stores you chose are all nearby (I don't think they offer you choices that aren't) then you would choose per location since there is minimal travel between locations - and you still get 30c a mil.
When doing a remote retrieval - like when I know I am going to be driving for 2+ hours - then I choose the per hour rate so I get paid for all the travel time PLUS 30c a mile.
It is a very interesting gig and I enjoy it - AND - the company as they are super responsive and helpful.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/2024 03:39PM by Boutique.

all very helpful responses for someone (me!) new to this gig type....many thanks to all.

Since this is a "pre-staff inquiry," I'm wondering if we'll be allowed to change the payment type (per store/per time) when a job does hit for the dollar stores. Most of mine were local, however there were a couple that were 20-ish miles away, and for those I would want per time.

@drdoggie00 wrote:

Since this is a "pre-staff inquiry," I'm wondering if we'll be allowed to change the payment type (per store/per time) when a job does hit for the dollar stores. Most of mine were local, however there were a couple that were 20-ish miles away, and for those I would want per time.

I believe when you are accepting any new projects, you get that option for payment again.

@drdoggie00 and @BarefootBliss and anyone else...yes, the payment selection you make for these advance jobs does not matter. When there are actual jobs, you will be able to select which payment method you want at the time. I e-mailed them about this when they first started this project earlier this year about this, and I got a prompt response confirming all of this.

If I have to go out-of-town, I am most certainly going to select the hour option. I'll actually drive the speed limit to ensure I come out ahead payment wise, if needed.

If it is in-town, unless I foresee a project that could require shipping or a lengthy destruction process, I'm going to take the per store pay.

I think it said to pick what you can do in 5 days. So I picked 3 stores in each direction, and 5 more that can fit into a route on one of the other days.

I didn't look to see if there were new stores on the list, and I didn't change my list. Hopefully this gets us some income sooner rather than later.

Yes, BUT they are all grouped together aren't they (I seem to recall that last time) and have to you pick one payment method for all. Maybe I am just thinking of the fact that you can't pick more assignments until your first round is finished, reported and expenses done.

@Boutique wrote:

Yes, BUT they are all grouped together aren't they (I seem to recall that last time) and have to you pick one payment method for all.

Correct. If/when there is an actual job, you will be assigned the stores you select as a group. You'll select how you want to be paid and that will apply to the group. You'll want to pay attention to the stores you assign yourself in this pre-selection process, and probably not pick stores that are in-town and stores that are 2 hours away. All of my stores are in-town because those are the ones I know I could get to within the 5-day window on what will likely be very short notice. As long as the job is just checking to make sure the store has removed and destroyed the product, then I'll select the per-location payment option. That will put $200 in my pocket with only a few hours of work involved. After the stores in your group are done, you'll be able to selection additional stores. These jobs seem to be ones where they do not need every store completed, so the more prompt you are about getting your dedicated route done, you'll have a better chance at selecting additional stores with a new payment method if you choose.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/2024 05:26PM by ServiceAward.

I don't mind these at all. So many times I get to a store and they have already removed recalled product. There are exceptions of course but mostly I find them easy and the company is great to work with. They pay on time, they are responsive, etc. I had an issue last time when I was not well and could not complete the jobs, they told me not to worry about it and to feel better and that it would not affect any rating with them. I wish they had more stuff by me but every once in awhile they have a big project and i jump on it.

This is at least the 3rd time they have sent this recruiting email out in the past few months, but never any jobs. What's the deal?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2024 08:04PM by bradkcrew.

Anyone?

Barefoot, when they have a project available, I believe you can view the project documents before you select locations and payment type. Whether I choose hourly or per location depends on the distance and scope of the project.

If a location is further than 20 minutes (give or take) away, I'll generally want to be paid hourly. If I think I'll be at the location for a while (example: superstore where I'm checking soft drinks on the shelf and in the stockroom, involving lots of inventory and time spent getting approval to enter the stockroom), I'll choose hourly.

If the destruction process seems involved, I'll choose hourly. If it involves shipping the merchandise back (purchasing a box, time spent driving to the store, driving to the post office, doing the packing, etc.), I'll choose hourly.

Examples of when I've selected per location: going to my local dollar stores to check for cinnamon products on the shelf. The stores are small, usually not busy, so it's easy to locate an employee/manager to help (if necessary), and a lot of times they've already removed the product. Take a couple of pictures, capture a signature, and I'm in and out in under 15 minutes. Also, checking a local non-superstore for a specific soup mix that I knew they were unlikely to have. And checking local pet stores for a specific refrigerated dog food that I knew they wouldn't have a large amount of.

Examples of when I've selected hourly: any store that's 45 minutes or more away from home. Also, any local supercenter or grocery store that's likely to have a lot of inventory, or where I'll be searching for several specific SKUs/UPCs/date codes because the more you have to check, the longer it takes.

When your first project comes along, feel free to PM me with any questions. I'll be glad to assist.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/01/2024 01:14PM by drdoggie00.

Thank you. At least we know they do have work sometimes.

CI has always been responsive to any inquiries I had. Whether it was the scheduler who I think retired or Dan, the owner who posts here. He directed me to the MSC that took over the mystery shops they used to do before they went to just merchandising. He didn't have to but he did.

He's also responsive if you ever have questions. Top notch company in my opinion.