Shop cramming pros and cons

Of course, the major pro is that moohlah but the con is that I am fried (mentally/emotionally) today. I was/am a casual shopper but the last six months I've taken one or two days out of the week from my regular job to just CRAM in those shops. Today, I performed 13 shops which took me a total of 17 hours to drive to, perform, and report on, plus, I will probably spend 2 more hours on reports tomorrow to wrap up and proof read my frazzled thoughts. Let's just round it up to 20 hours total. Whew. I only spent about 5.5 hours shopping and the rest was navigating the snow/ice storm and accident central and the 5 hours at home on reports! But dang it, when you see BONUS BONUS BONUS and LEFT OVER NOVEMBER you know the $$ is there to snag.

MegglesKat

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I have never gotten 13 shops done in a day. I only do a few more than that in a whole month!

Thank goodness you got home safe. I, for one, do NOT do snow and ice.

I think you qualify as a "Road Warrior"!

(I do have one overnight route I do, with 7, 8, or 9 shops...so I understand "fried".)

Me-- 27 year old grandma in the slow lane doing 45 on the 70mph highway, waving and smiling as everyone gets over to the left lane to go around aggressively

I have no qualms with hitting that far right lane, gearing down to 3rd, and riding out the storm all the way home. It's best to get home late than not at all.

MegglesKat

My usual cram day is between 4-8 shops in a day once or twice in a week. Today was extreme. I woke up extra early, called to see if I had Jury Duty, and out the door I went.

MegglesKat

13 shops? In snow and ice?

I cut shop 9 out yesterday because of heavy rain. Wow.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

I typically book two days a month like that. One day I did 16. All 16 had to be shopped before 5:00 PM and the first shop is an hour from home. By the grace of God Ive always made it with some time to spare. But i would not attempt to do that during winter months. We can never predict what our roads will be ljke. But the main reason is that i worked myself into forced rotation. I will pick them up again in spring. I decided to spend December working soley in my town. Its doable but not ss lucrative as the big cities.

Shopping up and down the Colorado Rocky Mountain front range.

clinen,
When there are dangerous weather conditions, most schedulers will gladly allow you to reschedule, with no loss of bonus. The ones that will not do so are not worth working with!

You do definitely qualify as a Road Warrior! Stay safe!

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.

Definitely! Most shops were within minutes of each other but due to time frames, I had to play around on my tablet in the car or browse other stores. The road crews work diligently here to keep the roads clear. It's quite rural but our highway department keeps those highways clear on the "main roads" where I did most of my driving. The temperature was in the 30's yesterday so I filled up the tank and took it at a comfy, slow pace. I wasn't kidding about being the granny doing 45 on the 70mph interstate. People are nutty flying by doing 80, even if the salt trucks and scrapers are right in front of me, I'm low and slow! It wasn't too bad with minimal accumulation yesterday. The grass is clear today, that's a good start. I have an entire week before I have anything scheduled, and even then, it's just 2 shops. Cram day of 13 is definitely atypical but it was fun. I bluetoothed my grandma and mom to keep me "company".

MegglesKat

My previous job required me to be at work as the acting GM regardless of most weather conditions. I have 17 inch tires and a few days last year the snow was over the tires. Once I was dug out of my yard, I hit the highway and took my time. I am not afraid to do 2mph if that is what it takes to stay safe to get from A to B. I keep tons of things in the SUV. I have blankets, bottled water, it's own phone, oversized haul flags, walking sticks for hiking, flares, a pistol, a chain saw, salt, ashes, kitty litter, and some 2x6's in there along with jumpers, spare, jack and a few random tools. Having a "mommy-mobile" as a non-parent is great because I can haul like a champ, hide it all away with storage, and still get about 32-40 mph highway.

MegglesKat

Pros: Higher total sum of fees and depending on the shop quantity and fees, the fee rates per hour may be high as well. You're also able to cover a multitude of shops and possibly taking advantage of minimizing on driving miles.

Cons: Burn-out and possibly lowering your quality of work due to the long hours you're putting yourself under.

Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!

I frequently cram 20 plus shops into a day's route. The pros are maximum fees with minimum travel expenses, and no need to spend money on a hotel. It also allows me to expand my geographical range. The cons are being totally frazzled at the end of the day, still high on caffeine and adrenaline. I might spend around 16 hours straight driving and shopping. I usually do all my reporting the next day, except maybe a few shops with shorter deadlines. I'm still tired after spending the next day submitting reports. I really don't fully recover unless I take the third day off (but sometimes the bonuses are too hard to resist.)

Edited to add: I would not even attempt that many shops in bad weather as you describe, but fortunately the worst I have to contend with is 100 degree heat and occasional rainstorms.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2016 07:25PM by mystery2me.

Clinen, what do you drive that gets that great mileage?

I once did 13 in one day, all similar, different locations. Only messed up switching photos on one location. But it was a very long day, and hot. I wouldn't do that again. Last week I did 8 in one day, and it was easy peasy. I did the 12-hour reports first, then the "next business day" reports, then the 24-hour one. That seemed to help. I really wish I had a tablet or notebook so I could be more efficient with reporting, and therefore do more routes.

I have crammed shops. If desperate, I would do it again.

One of the changes for next year is to allot ample time for personal photography. Parts of my region are magnificent in their snow and ice. I love to gaze upon these views and with good planning, I can personally enjoy and capture images of gorgeous winter at various regional sites.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

@ceasesmith wrote:

Clinen, what do you drive that gets that great mileage?

I have an Equinox-- the 4 cylinder model. It estimates 32, but I often see much higher, especially when I use high grade fuel but be careful to stick with the same octane, or so I'm told. It has an eco mode button inside that helps to save fuel, too at lower speeds. It has the ability to drive in automated manual, similar to how some ATV's have gears but no actual clutch. This is great in winter. I can shift down to lower gears and the AWD definitely is a bonus. I have studs on too right now. Plus the thing is a space BEAST for when you're a lone driver. My honey occasionally rides along, but it's mostly just me and I can haul in that bad boy. We stacked something crazy like 60 cases of water in there with me for an emergency event a few months back during the floods. It also has the option to turn off traction control but I can't imagine needing that often.

"Thanks in part to that button (eco mode), GM says the four-cylinder Equinox achieves an impressive EPA-rated 32 mpg on the highway. ... Specifically, Eco mode locks up the Equinox's torque converter at lower speeds — most automatics do this at highway speeds — and changes shift patterns in the four-cylinder's six-speed auto."

MegglesKat

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/2016 01:24AM by clinen11.

I have no Idea how many that I have done in one day. I think the most was 7 or 8 in one day. I have done 5 or 6 hedge-hog shops in one day.

Me: working full time...18 apartments in nine days....
Con: Exhaustion - and I have four more reports to finish by morning.
Pro: Over $1,000 beyond my full time salary, most of which will hit just before Christmas.

Hard work builds character and homework is good for your soul.

Last Saturday I scheduled 10 shops in one day. That was a first for me. Four shops were for "new to me" MSCs. I couldn't start the first shop until 10:30 a.m. and was still shopping at 8 p.m. Then it was time to write the reports. Seven reports were due by midnight. Most were simple reports, but one required me to "write the story" of the shop. That one was returned to me because my "story" consisted of about 50 words of fluff! I was actually glad that it was returned so that I had a second chance to get it done.

I like the idea of devoting a day to MSing. I almost met my monthly goal in just one day. Today I scheduled 7 shops, which puts me well over my goal. The money won't be paid until Jan/Feb, but it's welcome any time of the year!

It depends on what I can add to my bread and butter shops. But normally I max out at 12 because I know keeping everything straight will become difficult when it comes to writing reports.

If I lived closer to civilization in regards to driving time I would have no problem taking on 20 shops that are yes/no and require minimum narratives. I live an hour north of San Antonio during the right time of day, but it normally takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours either way if it's during rush hour traffic. That traffic wears me out because of other drivers cutting in and out of lanes and in general being idiots.

Normally, I pick up rural locations and add a city in the mix. It's longer in mileage and a couple of extra hours in driving. It's heaven sent in the sanity situation.

I make my goal every month and normally only work 4 days a month, so I don't mind the long stuff...if things work the right way.

This month and last month, my game plan hasn't been all that and a box of cracker jacks. I thank the heavens for my schedulers who understand...STUFF HAPPENS!

Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning; the devil shudders...And yells OH #%*+! SHE'S AWAKE!

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