Long Distance Routes

Considering what James said, I should add that my routes are almost 100 % video shops, mostly with short, or even no, written reports. So, when I can snag a hotel shop on the route, I can concentrate on it during my stay. My preference, on routes, is to negotiate sufficient travel bonuses to cover hotels and cover any "shortfall" with hotel rewards redemptions of more modestly priced Airbnb stays.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

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Man those video shops! I wish I was a part of that club. I don't think I have the opportunity until the end of the summer to be trained. That's when I hear training is going on in NY.

nunya,
Before doing a video shop, be sure you have done several of the traditional shops of the same knid, e.g., aparements, new homes, auto sales, and (the graduate course) assisted living. Becasue these are all longer interactions (up to 3 hours) you will need experience in just doing each type of shop before doing it with video equipment. You don't want to be doing your first long scenario with complex follow-up information required, "on tape." With video/audio, everything that YOU do is on the recording, lol. For that reason, it is not for everyone.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

Thanks for the advice on video shops; as I gain more experience it's something I really want to branch into.
That and hotels. I'm nowhere near the point with any of my MSCs to where I can see the hotels yet. Every once and a while one of my MSCs will have a random one on the board, but again, nowhere near anywhere I want to go.

Somewhere in the Midwest, shopping / auditing full time since 2014. Will use PV-500 for food!

Nunya, and everyone else...Walesmaven has given you a literal gold mine in her last post.

My first video route consisted of car dealers and assisted living shops. I had NEVER done an assisted living shop before the first video shop I had done. They were for Instant Replays in 2012 and I don't know what I would have done without Kathy's help. Literally, she saved my tush.

.
Have PV-500 & willing to travel.
"Answers are easy. It's asking the right questions which is hard." (The Fourth Doctor, The Face of Evil, 1977)

"Somedays you're the pigeon, somedays you're the statue.” J. Andrew Taylor

"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him." Galileo Galilei

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2015 06:27PM by James Bond 007.5.

Wales and James reminded me why "to each his own" is such a huge part of this business. I avoid new home shops and find assisted living shops a piece of cake

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

I have found that I do not like trying to do new home shops in a route of other types of shops, but if the whole route is new home then I love them. But then my dad was a builder and my brother is an architect and buildings are in my blood.

I won't do an assisted living shop. The amount of crying I would do would not be worth the amount of money they would give me.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

Reminds me of an audio only (no video) AL shop I did a few weeks ago. The guidelines actually encouraged a few water works, you know, to really "sell" it. I should have been nominated for an Oscar for that performance.

@tracyvp wrote:

I haven't done any long routes (nothing over 2 days), but I have several days each month where I drive a couple hundred miles in a day, and I've recently discovered that you can borrow and download audiobooks from the library to play on my phone/ipod. I don't even notice the miles flying by when I'm listening to a great book! I'm really wanting to branch out into a route of a week or more and I'm building my "wish list" of books for that occasion!

I used to drive a lot on a route from Tennessee, Florida, Texas and Oklahoma then back to Tennessee. I would get audio books from the Love's truck stops. Turn them in at the next one and get another. This was ten or so years ago don't know if you can still do that.

@2stepps wrote:

@tracyvp wrote:

I haven't done any long routes (nothing over 2 days), but I have several days each month where I drive a couple hundred miles in a day, and I've recently discovered that you can borrow and download audiobooks from the library to play on my phone/ipod. I don't even notice the miles flying by when I'm listening to a great book! I'm really wanting to branch out into a route of a week or more and I'm building my "wish list" of books for that occasion!

I used to drive a lot on a route from Tennessee, Florida, Texas and Oklahoma then back to Tennessee. I would get audio books from the Love's truck stops. Turn them in at the next one and get another. This was ten or so years ago don't know if you can still do that.

I think either Bob Evans or Cracker Barrel still does the same thing.

@bgriffin wrote:

I have found that I do not like trying to do new home shops in a route of other types of shops, but if the whole route is new home then I love them. But then my dad was a builder and my brother is an architect and buildings are in my blood.

That's funny! I come from 7 generations of carpenters and watched my dad and grand dad build the house in which I grew up! (Using hand tools only!) I have to clench my teeth when new home reps want to explain the difference between a 2 x 4 and a 2 x 6 to me! As a four year old, my "blocks" were the remnants of 2 x 4 and 2 x 6 lumber! I have sawdust in my blood.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2015 04:37PM by walesmaven.

Here's a simple trick to get rid of tailgaters. Just tap your brakes a few times, and THEY will find a safer lane.

Also, NC and SC are notorious for shifting speed limits every few miles. Unless you are super alert, you will end up with up to a $225 ticket for being just 6 miles over the limit when off of the Interstate in those areas.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

If this isnt cool, to ask please the me know I have registered with alot of companies and find there is only select work in my part of the world it seems, or you spend a ton of time looking for shops, have been asked to do a road warrior shop, but when you figure road time, and all it is hardly worth it unless you could incorporate more stops, but then the golden question is how not because some of the rediculous windows of time for reports to be completed. Also, I would like to know what companies represent like sonic and 5 guys, I have yet to find them. TIA

@BillBryaninCarthage wrote:

walesmaven, if you write a book about videoshopping and make it available for less than $7 at Amazon as an ebook, I'll buy it! Thanks!

Thanks, Bill. I am tempted, but the last person to charge for a book on MS has been villified for profiting from information that could be had for free by reading the MS forums. Also, you can come to an IMSC conference and meet me in the bar at the end of the day. At the NOLA IMSC conference, video shoppers renamed me, "will talk video for wine."

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

Well you've talked me into it. I've been avoiding the apartment shops but I'm gonna go for it.

@walesmaven wrote:

Also, NC and SC are notorious for shifting speed limits every few miles. Unless you are super alert, you will end up with up to a $225 ticket for being just 6 miles over the limit when off of the Interstate in those areas.

*cough*Albemarle*cough*

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

I have more fun when they don't think it's intentional and have had less issues with pissed off drivers by looking around like a sightseer and just taking my foot off the gas. If the first time doesn't work, the second is a sure thing.

@Watching the Wheels wrote:

Here's a simple trick to get rid of tailgaters. Just tap your brakes a few times, and THEY will find a safer lane.

Screw tapping on the brakes. I stand up on mine.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

I was a bad girl tonight. For over thirty miles a driver kept his lights in my rear view while I was driving 65 (the speed limit) at night on a two lane, no pass farm to market road. He was running way too close. Finally we got some shoulder on the right and I slowed down and pulled over to let him pass. Nice? No, bad girl. I pulled right back in behind him and gave him the lights until we hit the next town. He tried to pull away but no such luck. Who sez old ladies can't drive when they want to?

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

Just curious if the OP did the route and how it went?

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

I start the route tomorrow. I'll keep y'all posted on how it goes!

Coincidentally, a couple of MSCs I got in touch with gave me a few bonused jobs to where this if it works is going to be my most profitable week of MSing since I started a few months ago!

Somewhere in the Midwest, shopping / auditing full time since 2014. Will use PV-500 for food!

@MDavisnowell wrote:

I was a bad girl tonight. For over thirty miles a driver kept his lights in my rear view while I was driving 65 (the speed limit) at night on a two lane, no pass farm to market road. He was running way too close. Finally we got some shoulder on the right and I slowed down and pulled over to let him pass. Nice? No, bad girl. I pulled right back in behind him and gave him the lights until we hit the next town. He tried to pull away but no such luck. Who sez old ladies can't drive when they want to?

Naughty, naughty.

I love it.

Hit an ice storm and running a bit behind; but tomorrow is day 1! Will make a post at the end of the night with how it goes

Note to self -- if I'm doing a lot of long distance drives, BUY A CB RADIO

Somewhere in the Midwest, shopping / auditing full time since 2014. Will use PV-500 for food!

I put this in a previous post however I will repeat here. When you are doing routes/ long distance trips it pays to know where the WIFI is. Also it helps to have your laptop 'pre-tabed'. Open your shop reports before starting your days shops and keep them open but hibernate the computer. When you finish the shop, go to the tab and jot in some notes. When you are done with the day, look over the tabs and finish the reports. You then sign into the MSC AND THEN push the submit button. The prophet site does not allow the back button but the Sassie sites do.

Basicly what I do is preplan the route --> open shop reports according to map route --> hibernate computer --> do shop --> open computer --> type in report notes --> hibernate computer --> complete next shop --> type in report notes -->repeat until all of the days shops are complete --> when day is done I go to WIFI spot and sign into MSC -->I then check the shop report --> press submit button --> move onto the next tab and check report --> sign into that MSC --> hit send button on that report --> repeat until all reports are complete.

Just lost trying to find a fire pit in a concrete jungle wishing it was a wooded glen...

if it wasn't for bad luck, I would have no luck at all

Saturday I was at a Target and had finished three other Targets and need to upload photos of the work that I had done. So on a whim I fired up the browser on the Motorola Bionic cell phones browser and went to testmy.net to check the
broadband speed. It came up to 3 Megabits per second. So I said why not upload 8 photos of a size close to 1.5 megs. That is the first time I have ever uploaded pictures that fast (less than 5 minutes).

On another note, I use Wi-Fi Analyzer to check the signal strength of the Wi-Fi hotspots.

Alex, as a native Wisconsinite who also has lived in the UP, I carry a down quilt with me on winter routes! Also, water, snacks trash bags (multiple possible uses).

Stay safe and warm!

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

stay safe out there. have a safe trip

Day one -- doing great.

When I get back, switching cell phone carriers -- my Sprint phone lost data coverage for 80 miles of the drive (!), which was really frustrating when trying to get directions.

I like the advice about using SASSIE to take notes. I carry a small notebook and jot crucial details down so I remember for later entry.

Time for submitting lots of reports, a movie, and starting again at 7am tomorrow for an Audit. Woohoo.

Somewhere in the Midwest, shopping / auditing full time since 2014. Will use PV-500 for food!

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Long Distance Routes

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