The shops for December don't appear on the blob's job board; they are on the "Homer Simpson Burn" job board. This likely means it'll now follow the "Homer Simpson Burn" pay schedule, which is one of the slowest around. The pay and reimbursement for my location here in Podunk have stayed the same: $5/$70. They called it "weekday lunch" in the email, but mine was weekday dinner from 4 p.m. to one hour before closing. It was supposed to be self-assigned, but I received a qualification error when I tried to sign up. I applied and was eventually assigned by a scheduler.
This is the exact same shop as before. Same photos, same questions, same 250-character limit for the narratives. The only differences are a couple of picture examples added to the form (showing where to find the store number and transaction number) and some slight wording changes on the narrative questions. For example:
Previous: "Dining Experience comments: Max character = 250"
Now: "Please describe your dining experience today. What aspects did you find enjoyable or unsatisfactory, and why? Please provide specific examples which will be used to improve the future dining service. Max character = 250"
I find that last part funny because in all the months I've been doing this shop, NOTHING has improved at my location. You either get bad food or bad service (sometimes it's a BOGO, and both are bad). I've yet to have a visit that I would rate any better than merely average, and that's probably being generous. And before someone replies "stop doing them then"....I do them because my mother thinks the food is great, and if it makes her happy, I'll suffer through it. (Also, I think if Outback were truly interested in improving, they'd allow for more than a paltry 250-character answer.)
The guidelines are the same ones dated 9/27/2024. As before, we aren't allowed to redeem rewards or use discounts of any kind, and a 20% tip is required. I did notice when I took the test that it specifically said the tip mandate was pre-tax.
Ordering requirements are the same: shopper plus one guest minimum (shopper plus three guests maximum); one alcoholic beverage OR one appetizer OR one dessert (this is per table, not per person); one steak entree AND one additional entree (can be steak as well) for shopper and one guest (additional guests can order whatever they want).
Payment can be via credit card or gift card; no cash, not even for tips. (If you use more than one gift card, make sure you get a receipt for each gift card showing the balance is $0. A lot of times, the server will not bring receipts for gift cards that are used entirely, but the editors want them included. I use the excuse that I run the receipts through a receipt-scanning app because I get credit for them.)
Now, sit back and wait four months to receive your money.
If your path dictates you walk through hell, do it as though you own the place. -unknown