Saw an ad for this recently. Why are they requiring this? We work for ourselves, we are ICs. I can understand testing employees, but ICs for temp auditing jobs? Sounds to controlling to me.

As an employee of this store would you want someone evaluating you under the influence of drugs? And if you allowed that would you question his observation? The Client calls the shots on whether he wants to listen or be judged by someone under the influence. Don't take the Shops if you have something to worry about. It is not controlling, that is what the Client wants.

Doesn't matter if it's what the client wants or not it borders on employee status not contractor. But then the 5 hour requirement already goes way past that for the same audits so I guess if you're gonna break the law ya might as well go all in.

I don't have anything to worry about, but I still find it intrusive and controlling. Any infraction found on an audit must be documented, so if an employee wants to question an auditor's observation there is an easier and more effective way to do that.

Yes, the control factor is the problem. My real job is in an industry rife with misclassifed workers so when I see requirements to drug test ICs they get my attention.

When the audits first started there was an explanation that Best Buy requires drug testing of it employees as well as of those who would be in the non-public areas of the store. I assume this would include employees of an outside cleaning firm, folks who come in to do inventory, of those who provide construction, plumbing, electrical etc. These jobs were done by merchandisers before they went to reveal shop auditing for less money. Apparently the merchandisers needed drug testing as well.

Indeed it is a client requirement

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2015 03:23PM by Flash.

There are a lot of other ways they are blurring the lines between IC and employee. For example, they ask on the retail audit form for you to list the breaks you took while completing the audit.

As a scheduler, they give you a company email and they require you to use a specific signature on your emails.

@bgriffin wrote:

Doesn't matter if it's what the client wants or not it borders on employee status not contractor. But then the 5 hour requirement already goes way past that for the same audits so I guess if you're gonna break the law ya might as well go all in.

One of my other "lives" is as a temporary contract employee on the client's site. Each client has a different requirement, so a different drug screen for every assignment. Combine that with the screens I do as MS, and I can practically go on cue!

As was stated before, if it bothers you, don't do it. Leave all the (bonused) BB audits to me - I'll take'em all and ask for more!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2015 06:18PM by Lisa4984.

It is none of their business how many breaks an IC takes or how long those breaks were. That is one of the biggies about being an IC, working your own schedule at your own pace. I questioned them dictating the audit start at 8 am rather than between specific hours. Out of curiosity I thought of trying one when it worked out another audit was going to be in my neighborhood and right across the street from my local store. That audit could not start until 8:30 and would have been finished by 9:30 to 9:45. No go, they wouldn't work with the start time. Fine by me, instead I made more than they paid just for the other one and was home by 10 am.

Sounds like they really need to be investigated for a lot of their practices.

Interestingly, reporting how many breaks and how long, does not strike me as a violation of IC. They are not telling you when or how long your breaks can be, they are rather collecting actual work time doing the audit and I don't think these are being paid by the hour but by the total job.

Windows to perform the work, when they are a client requirement, I can live with. If the client only wants folks to do audits when the store is not expected to be busy, 8AM start on Tuesday or Thursday does not seem inappropriate. What does jerk my chain as an IC is when I know the client allows a 3 day window and I am only allowed 2 of those days. Or when a job goes from MSC A to MSC B and with A and all predecessor MSCs had a time window of M-W 11AM-1PM to start with no finish time and MSC B says you have to pick a specific day in that range and the time is now 11:15AM and MUST BE FINISHED by 12:45.

Of considerably more concern are the restrictions on editors and I assume schedulers. During my brief stint as an editor (very high on my YUCKmeter) I could say in advance that I would be unavailable certain days but otherwise I had no say in who or what or how many I was editing. They were in my queue and needed to be completed in X amount of time unless they were being kicked back to the shopper. Hmmm. I wonder how many of our kickbacks are due to an editor running out of time?

I've wondered about this. There was a Best Buy audit in my area last month. I took the drug test and background check, both of which I had to pay for. There was only one day that worked for me in their timeline of only a week so I applied for it. Never heard back from that MSC on the project and a couple weeks later, it was gone. Now it's back again, but I still haven't heard back from them on my drug test results.. which I have nothing to worry about, but I thought they would contact me and give me the go ahead. I've read a few things about that MSC going down hill lately though, and I'm new to them so I don't know much about them. But I am not happy about how much I had to pay for my drug test only to never hear from them again!

Edit to add: I also spent close to 2 hours reading and studying the material to take the 'quiz' to even be qualified for the project. Seems to be a huge waste of time! When bonused, the audit would pay just over $30 an hour which would have made it worth it, had I ever heard from them about it...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2015 07:09PM by mkkp.

The point is auditors are being paid by the job not the hour and reporting on our breaks takes time in itself. The start time is not particularly relevant since the audit is designed to last well past the time the store is open anyway and I think could go up to 5 pm. Since large portions of the audit are based on customer experience, it is actually not expected for many things to be ready prior to opening time which is usually 10 am.

Something not mentioned in this thread, when the MSC had this client before they required auditors sign in and out and report the time on site. Naturally most auditors became much more efficient which drastically reduced the time. After all, isn't that the whole idea of performing any audit or shop over and over, to become more efficient and increase your net hourly income? As a reward for our efficiency, the MSC reworked the pay which resulted in most stores getting reduced. The excuse was the audits were not taking as long as the MSC originally anticipated. Right there they were exercising control over our hourly net. From what I recall, several of my stores were supposed to drop as much as $40 which would have been a $4/hour decrease. Possibly more since they frequently added requirements to the point they were telling us which order we had to complete each component. With every one of those changes, time was added.

There were a whole lot of reasons I never even considered doing those audits. I don't know whether it is the same MSC that has them now is the one that took them over from the merchandising companies and really couldn't care. The reality is that it is the client who wants the drug testing, the shopper pays for it until they have performed some number of audits, at which time it is reimbursed. The poster above having paid for the drug testing and having no follow up unfortunately sounds about par. That they would cut fees is also not unknown in this business.

@Flash wrote:

There were a whole lot of reasons I never even considered doing those audits. I don't know whether it is the same MSC that has them now is the one that took them over from the merchandising companies and really couldn't care. The reality is that it is the client who wants the drug testing, the shopper pays for it until they have performed some number of audits, at which time it is reimbursed. The poster above having paid for the drug testing and having no follow up unfortunately sounds about par. That they would cut fees is also not unknown in this business.

I've done one project with the MSC and they said they will reimburse the cost after two shops. I'm hoping one of them doesn't have to be that audit because I'm not doing it now. There's one more on the board I want to do just to get my money back for the drug testing! I hope I get reimbursed for it as it was around $70. I don't know what I was thinking. I keep reading more and more horror stories about this MSC...

I don't want to rain on your parade, but I think it is two of the Best Buy shops for you to get reimbursed. On the other hand, if you aren't reimbursed it is a tax deductible business expense to your shopping business, so save any receipts/paperwork.

@Flash wrote:

There were a whole lot of reasons I never even considered doing those audits.

Same here. And yes, it's two assignments before you're eligible for reimbursement for the drug screen. I can only assume that the audits suck so badly that you have to be roped into taking two of them before you can get your money back and run away.

On a side note, I'll tell on myself here: it's not uncommon at all for me to have a glass of wine in the evening while filling out my reports. If I wasn't an IC, this would be drinking on the job, now wouldn't it?

Funny thing, when they originally had the audits about six years ago there was no out of pocket for background checks. Shortly after the audits started they changed to shoppers paying and being reimbursed, but I thought it was after only one audit.

Somehow I never got a drug screening for the original round. After setting the appointment, but before going to the testing center, I received an email stating I was approved.

This MSC just started them in Feb. of this year. Yes, you get your testing costs reimbursed after completing 2 audits. With the previous MSC, they took 2 days; now, they take one. After doing a few, they take an average of 6 hrs depending on the size of the store. The fee is $85-95 or more, also based on store size. We were not required to document our time away at first. I have heard unbelievable abuses of this project from multiple store managers - hence the need to prove you were on site long enough to complete the project. One of these cases of abuse got me a store bonused to $400! It was an overnight trip, so I brought leftovers from home and stayed with relatives. My only out of pocket was gas. As an intangible bonus, I've met some awesome people I now consider friends. When I arrive, the staff says, "Yes! We got the cool lady this time!" You can't buy that feeling!

@Lisa4984 wrote:

I have heard unbelievable abuses of this project from multiple store managers - hence the need to prove you were on site long enough to complete the project.

Perhaps that is the case but if so the MSC just simply needs to not let said auditors do the shops any longer. An independent contractor is just that. Independent. By requiring someone to be onsite they are violating what makes us an independent contractor. As ICs our only scorecard is performing the job competently. If it takes me 2 hours to perform a competent audit and you 6 hours that is not the MSCs business.

All some poor sucker needs to do is get hurt while they are working at Best Buy and go see their doctor. You hurt your back? How? Working at Best Buy? Let's get you an MRI right away! Doctors can smell workman's comp cases a mile away.

A signed contract between two parties cannot circumvent labor laws. IE, just because the MSC and Best Buy have you sign a contract saying you are an IC does not make you an IC.

I had to do some demos and merchandising in Best Buy and I was required to watch Best Buy videos, read all the dress code rules, follow the strictest rules regarding customer service (BIG on customer service).
I had to log in and out of the LILO system with a passcode. I had to sign in and out of a vendor log in book, in addition to calling in and out for my employers tracking system. I had to wear BB's standard of dress, which included white polo, black or khaki pants, black shoes and required name tag.

All of this doing merchandising and training the associates for a certain power phone case.

@Flash wrote:

I don't want to rain on your parade, but I think it is two of the Best Buy shops for you to get reimbursed. On the other hand, if you aren't reimbursed it is a tax deductible business expense to your shopping business, so save any receipts/paperwork.

Wow. So I'm basically out of $70 it sounds like. It did not say two Best Buy audits, it just said two shops. I have done one audit through them, but it was not at Best Buy. The Best Buy audit here is listed at $200 and is bonused up to $250 but says 8 hours of work. It sounds like I dont want to work for this MSC but maybe I should pick it up after all... I would need to take a day off of work to do it, though. Hmmm.

The first time I did them, it took me 12-14 hrs over 2 days. Now I can finish them in 6. If you finish in less than 5, your audit will be placed in review. It simply isn't physically possible to do it any faster. Most who do, only do it once - that's where I come in. A store I've never been in before might take 8 hrs., and they make it worth my while.

If you have to take time off from a FT day job, this may not be the project for you. It was my understanding the drug screen/background check are specific to BB - check with your scheduler to verify.

I know auditors who could finish this in 2 1/2 hours. The reason they won't allow it to be done in under 5 hours is because this is the MSC's "golden goose" and if the audits took less than 5 hours, the massive fee they are getting for each shop would be reduced, because the client would think the audits are easier than they really are.

@Lisa4984 wrote:

The first time I did them, it took me 12-14 hrs over 2 days. Now I can finish them in 6. If you finish in less than 5, your audit will be placed in review. It simply isn't physically possible to do it any faster. Most who do, only do it once - that's where I come in. A store I've never been in before might take 8 hrs., and they make it worth my while.

If you have to take time off from a FT day job, this may not be the project for you. It was my understanding the drug screen/background check are specific to BB - check with your scheduler to verify.

@mkkp wrote:

Wow. So I'm basically out of $70 it sounds like. It did not say two Best Buy audits, it just said two shops. I have done one audit through them, but it was not at Best Buy. The Best Buy audit here is listed at $200 and is bonused up to $250 but says 8 hours of work. It sounds like I dont want to work for this MSC but maybe I should pick it up after all... I would need to take a day off of work to do it, though. Hmmm.

mkkp,

The rules changed recently and now you get reimbursed for the drug screen after completing just one Best Buy audit. Also, you used to be able to complete at least one audit while waiting on the results of the drug screen, so I would go ahead and apply for the audit if you are still interested. Some people may have said negative things about the audit on this forum, but I encourage you to make up your own mind. This type of work is different than the typical mystery shop, and it suits some and doesn't suit others. I personally don't mind them when they are bonused and have never had issues with the MSC.

@mystery2me wrote:

mkkp,

The rules changed recently and now you get reimbursed for the drug screen after completing just one Best Buy audit. Also, you used to be able to complete at least one audit while waiting on the results of the drug screen, so I would go ahead and apply for the audit if you are still interested. Some people may have said negative things about the audit on this forum, but I encourage you to make up your own mind. This type of work is different than the typical mystery shop, and it suits some and doesn't suit others. I personally don't mind them when they are bonused and have never had issues with the MSC.

Thanks for the advice! This was about a month ago, so they should definitely have the drug screen results back now. I could not get a hold of the scheduler for several days leading up to the project which is why I couldn't get it completed while waiting for the results of the drug screen. It was very frustrating! Turns out he was out for a few days but I was not aware so I didn't know to contact another scheduler.

I personally prefer revealed audits over mystery shops so it seems like I would enjoy this audit, although it does seem a bit overwhelming. Perhaps I will contact the new scheduler on it and see if I can schedule it. Thanks again.

They demand a drug screen and YOU had to pay for it????? They're crazy and can keep their assignment! As for telling you when to arrive - let the IRS know. The main thing that distinguishes an IC from an employee, is their ability to set their (IC) own schedule.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/2015 12:54PM by Kr.

I can pass the screenings. I have better uses of money and time. And, I am more than an hour away from the client's nearest location.

Maybe someday......

I always watch for the bonuses, sitting back to see how high they get. That being said, I am always afraid of my shop/audit/evaluation being thrown in the trash, so I make sure to dot my I's and cross my T's and they end up taking me a lot longer than they should. I have been watching BB audits and even paid for the drug screen/background check once, only to have problems overall. Have not completed the audits as of yet. Not sure if I should start the process all over again. If you have completed any of these and have tips or clues on how to complete or if they are even worth doing, please advise. Totally love watching the bonuses get higher and higher, that's when I know they value my time. :-)

@bgriffin wrote:

An independent contractor is just that. Independent. By requiring someone to be onsite they are violating what makes us an independent contractor. As ICs our only scorecard is performing the job competently. If it takes me 2 hours to perform a competent audit and you 6 hours that is not the MSCs business.

I agree! Also, this is exactly why I stopped doing these audits- and I did quite a few when they first came out. I stopped when they started requiring me to be onsite for at least 5 hours. I had completed all of my previous audits without issue and with high marks. I think for one of them, an editor had to contact me for clarification on one question- that's it. The only audit that took at least 5 hours was my first one. All of my others were done in 3-4 hours (one might have even been less than 3 if I'm remembering correctly). I was not rushing; they were just easy. It's just like if you shop a certain client (that doesn't require you to be in the store x amount of minutes) really often and know the shop and report like the back of your hand- after a while, they go very, very quickly because you know what to do and what you're looking for. As I said to the scheduler when explaining why I would not be participating in the auditing program anymore, if I was her, I would be more likely to question the shoppers taking 8 hours to complete the audits than the ones taking less than 5. Just my two cents! But anyway, I agree that the hour requirement goes the concept of being an IC.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/08/2015 07:06AM by RedRose22.