RQA garbage disposal labeling project

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up about this project. I'm concerned about the number of labels that one might need to place, so I called the Project Contact this afternoon and asked him if he had any estimate. He had no idea at all, and seemed to be unaware and enlightened when I explained to him that there is a big difference between placing a dozen labels versus 10 dozen labels. He said that they would have a better idea early next week about the inventory that might be encountered for each individual store.

I then hopped on the "orange" home improvement store website to see what kind of inventory that they had. Several individual items had 200-220 in stock. At $20/store that's less than a dime per label, boy that sounds fun! Some other individual items had 15 in stock, so I guess it's a guessing game until next week, presumably.

I'm gonna wait until they have more solid inventory numbers available, and if someone else takes the job, then so be it.

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And if there a pallet on a storage shelf, you'll have get get them to get it down with a forklift.

Thank for the information, I was just looking at this!

I took these jobs thinking it was something totally different. There were only 3 stores in my area so I guess I will wait for them to give more info and go from there. If I search the store inventory and it has a lot, I would ask to switch to the per hour rate.

Why on earth wouldn't you just select to be paid hourly plus mileage for this project? I picked up 6 locations in my area at that rate.

Edited to add that you can call them and have it changed to hourly if you messed up and selected per location.

@teacherguy wrote:

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up about this project. I'm concerned about the number of labels that one might need to place, so I called the Project Contact this afternoon and asked him if he had any estimate. He had no idea at all, and seemed to be unaware and enlightened when I explained to him that there is a big difference between placing a dozen labels versus 10 dozen labels. He said that they would have a better idea early next week about the inventory that might be encountered for each individual store.

I then hopped on the "orange" home improvement store website to see what kind of inventory that they had. Several individual items had 200-220 in stock. At $20/store that's less than a dime per label, boy that sounds fun! Some other individual items had 15 in stock, so I guess it's a guessing game until next week, presumably.

I'm gonna wait until they have more solid inventory numbers available, and if someone else takes the job, then so be it.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/2025 09:46PM by Jusa.

For a project like this someone should pick hourly rate anyway. By the time you read instructions, print paperwork, drive to the store, find a manager, place the labels, drive to the rest of the stores and complete the visits, drive home and submit expenses, you are going to be several hours in and it's not worth being paid the flat rate per location. You people all do realize that you get paid for administrative and drive time, right?

@Datagirl wrote:

I took these jobs thinking it was something totally different. There were only 3 stores in my area so I guess I will wait for them to give more info and go from there. If I search the store inventory and it has a lot, I would ask to switch to the per hour rate.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/2025 09:50PM by Jusa.

This is the first thing I have signed up for with them and the hourly option with mileage was a key selling point. I hope it isn't too ridiculous.

If you are being paid hourly, don't worry. I've been with them since 2006 and they're a good company to work fior. The guidelines will be clear and concise and the app generally has no hiccups, not to say when they were first developing it didnt have bugs but it's fine now. They are also very hepful and responsive via phone if any issues arise.

Keep in mind you can charge 10 cents per page for everything you print, plus time spent doing anything is billable administrative time.

@Deedeezthoughts wrote:

This is the first thing I have signed up for with them and the hourly option with mileage was a key selling point. I hope it isn't too ridiculous.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/08/2025 02:54AM by Jusa.

Well, I'm late to the party here, and just checked RQA. It says no locations available in my area. Not sure if that's a blessing or not! Maybe some will pop up in time.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/10/2025 01:13AM by guysmom.

@Jusa wrote:

For a project like this someone should pick hourly rate anyway. By the time you read instructions, print paperwork, drive to the store, find a manager, place the labels, drive to the rest of the stores and complete the visits, drive home and submit expenses, you are going to be several hours in and it's not worth being paid the flat rate per location. You people all do realize that you get paid for administrative and drive time, right?

@Datagirl wrote:

I took these jobs thinking it was something totally different. There were only 3 stores in my area so I guess I will wait for them to give more info and go from there. If I search the store inventory and it has a lot, I would ask to switch to the per hour rate.

I have done many of these, most are close to home. I will have to look at what product needs labels and see how many are in stock. Most of the time they have only a handful of items. If I see there is alot of inventory, I will have them switch me to hourly but in the past, I have done several stores in a short span of time and the flat rate has worked out just fine. Once I see the instructions and what is involved, I can make a better decision. Unfortunately there was not much to go on and in my area, I have to grab the jobs quick or they will be gone.

For me, there will be travel time from one store to the next that makes hourly work best. Mine are all with the same home improvement chain and each location is at least 25 minutes from the next.

I initially went with per-store because there were only 2 locations that were pretty close to each other and that's how I usually roll. After reading over the various comments here I contacted RQA and asked to be switched to the hourly scheme. They responded positively to my request within an hour.

Have synthesizers, will travel...

@Jusa wrote:

Why on earth wouldn't you just select to be paid hourly plus mileage for this project? I picked up 6 locations in my area at that rate.

I don’t do projects that pay $20-$30 an hour. That’s why.

I generally only take projects where I can make $60 an hour and up, or there has to be some sort of reimbursement benefit.

Well I see what you are saying, but typically I will pick up a few mystery shops right next to my RQA locations (no I don't charge RQA hourly for the time I spend conducting mystery shops), but RQA is paying my mileage and drive time to and from the RQA store locations, so I look at that as an extra perk. But I am definitely not going to take a flat rate of $20 for a store I have to drive 20-30 minutes to and from as I wouldn't be making my hourly.

I make a higher hourly rate than most reps do anyway because I have been with them since 2006.

@BayShopper22 wrote:

@Jusa wrote:

Why on earth wouldn't you just select to be paid hourly plus mileage for this project? I picked up 6 locations in my area at that rate.

I don’t do projects that pay $20-$30 an hour. That’s why.

I generally only take projects where I can make $60 an hour and up, or there has to be some sort of reimbursement benefit.

I officially changed to an hourly rate after seeing the instructions and looking up to see how much inventory each store has. RQA changed it immediately for me so that was not an issue.

The first store I looked at has 111 units in stock. Oh boy. The other two have about the same amount. Not sure how long this is going to take but glad they gave us 5 days to complete. Would love to knock them all out in one day but I guess I will see how it goes.

oh...... project put on hold!!

@Datagirl wrote:

oh...... project put on hold!!

Yes, just got the email notifications. But that's fine because I haven't received my project packet anyway. I hate working weekends so I really wanted to start it Monday anyway.

I got my package today, so I decided to go to the store and do a little scouting mission. They had 3 of one SKU and 30-something of the other, and all were out on the shelves, so nothing overhead or in the back, however a good portion of them were on the bottom of the bay and went pretty far back, so this is going to mean getting on my hands and knees to reach them. Too bad I can't bill RQA for a set of kneepads. I can't say I'm looking forward to this. I did call and ask them to change me from per store to per hour.

Word to the wise: wear clothes you're okay getting dirty. The boxes in my store were absolutely FILTHY.

If your path dictates you walk through hell, do it as though you own the place. -unknown

Oh my. I assigned one and was planning to complete on a Thursday. I'm glad the project is currently on hold.

Just curious, has anyone ever canceled an assignment with RQA after committing to a location? I would feel awful since I have already received the materials. But with the project currently on hold, if I have second thoughts now, I'm guessing now might be the best time? Just wondering if anyone ever has, and how it went.

@Okie wrote:

Just curious, has anyone ever canceled an assignment with RQA after committing to a location?

I have not. They have pulled assignments on their end, however...

Have synthesizers, will travel...

@Okie wrote:

Just curious, has anyone ever canceled an assignment with RQA after committing to a location? I would feel awful since I have already received the materials. But with the project currently on hold, if I have second thoughts now, I'm guessing now might be the best time? Just wondering if anyone ever has, and how it went.

I have had to cancel once due to an illness. They were fine, there were no repercussions. In fact, they sent me a nice email telling me not to worry about it. But in my area, their jobs go fast so getting someone else to do it was probably a non issue.

I may be in the same boat with this project though. When I accepted, I had the time to do it. It really depends on when (IF) they take it off of hold. Some weekends are really busy for me and seeing the scope of the project, I am going to need time to do 3 stores. Not only time, but energy. With each store having at least 100 pieces in inventory, it is going to take time and energy. I guess we wait and see.

The packet they sent is about to go in the garbage disposal.

I have worked for them for about a year and have been very happy with the work / pay ratio.
That seemed to have changed recently as the last job I saw open the rate had dropped by $4 and there was no longer a mileage allotment. This location was 22 miles away - so 44 round trip and no mileage for $16 pay.
What is up with them?

I started with them in 2005, before Service Manager. I can’t believe the crazy jobs I accepted lol. They are still my favorite company to work for.

@Datagirl wrote:

@Okie wrote:

Just curious, has anyone ever canceled an assignment with RQA after committing to a location? I would feel awful since I have already received the materials. But with the project currently on hold, if I have second thoughts now, I'm guessing now might be the best time? Just wondering if anyone ever has, and how it went.
I have had to cancel once due to an illness. They were fine, there were no repercussions. In fact, they sent me a nice email telling me not to worry about it. But in my area, their jobs go fast so getting someone else to do it was probably a non issue.

I may be in the same boat with this project though. When I accepted, I had the time to do it. It really depends on when (IF) they take it off of hold. Some weekends are really busy for me and seeing the scope of the project, I am going to need time to do 3 stores. Not only time, but energy. With each store having at least 100 pieces in inventory, it is going to take time and energy. I guess we wait and see.

Thanks! I requested to be removed from the orange store project.

In the process, I saw a similar project appear for supercenter locations. To the best of my knowledge, it appears to be barely any inventory, and one location is conveniently located near me. I expect most of the time spent will be tracking down employees. Had to call an audible on this one!

I am curious about the new one they posted but hate the store they are in. Apparently not the same brand garbage disposal as the orange store, or at least I don't think so. They don't seem to carry the glacier disposals. Probably don't have nearly as much inventory but checking the back area would probably be a nightmare.

I picked these up pay by location because I emailed and asked how many were in stock per store. None of my stores have more than 6 in stock and the locations are relatively close together. I'll knock those out and pick up distant locations for hourly afterwards.

@Datagirl wrote:

I am curious about the new one they posted but hate the store they are in. Apparently not the same brand garbage disposal as the orange store, or at least I don't think so. They don't seem to carry the glacier disposals. Probably don't have nearly as much inventory but checking the back area would probably be a nightmare.

If it's one of the big box retailers I would suggest you go online and check inventory.

The highschool employee might only see a pallet on the floor but not check inventory for the other 3 pallets you will have to track down someone to retrieve for you. THAT'S the stickler! Or hell, they might not have even checked at all, just guessed.

But again you could be right because you emailed and didn't call. Good score if you're right. Then again AI might have answered your email/text inquiry as more companies are doing.

Just be meticulous and take a lot of pictures from different angles showing what they want/need.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2025 09:05PM by wrosie.

@Datagirl wrote:

I am curious about the new one they posted but hate the store they are in. Apparently not the same brand garbage disposal as the orange store, or at least I don't think so. They don't seem to carry the glacier disposals. Probably don't have nearly as much inventory but checking the back area would probably be a nightmare.

This store should not have a large amount in inventory, just in time is their philosophy. However, I took hourly because of my drive time. AND, having had a simple propane tank exchange take more than 30 minutes before because nobody knows anything and there is only one key that isn't kept in the garden center register (even though it is near the propane cage and the obvious place to go buy your exchange). Instead, someone carries it around all day and it varies who that individual is! Nope, if I am going to be standing around waiting, I am a lot happier doing so with the meter rolling.

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