For gift cards how long does these take? Can 2 stores be done in a day?

Yes, two can be done in one day even if one has to take all of the cards down and start fresh. I did seven yesterday. I went in and ask for the shipment of cards and did not have a lot to move. Plus, they had only two sides. Mine were convenience stores.

CVS reset? 3-4 hours, a good amount of that tearing the @#$% edges off the new tags.You can do 2 in one day, but be aware that there's the pharmacy display as well as the wireless. Annoying problem I found is that the tags are not in perfect order, and there are random spots were you get 6 say, when 2 are needed-it can throw you off. Set first, then hang tags. But after you set them, grab the stores from here on out because you know they are correctly set, and your future visits will be super quick.

Are these the ones that pay $11, $13 or $18 depending on how many displays?

I have 20 of these gift card resets coming up at Holiday and Kwik Trip convenience stores. What are your best tips that you can pass on? I have done a few of these and know there must be a better way. I end up having cards and pegs scattered all over, and end up spending too much time on my knees.

Worry about one peg at a time, worry about tagging last; bring a one step step-stool (for yerarse) for the lower pegs. As soon as you enter the store, ask for two bags; one for trash and one for "I know these cards and pegs will go somewhere on the POG, sometime" "get them out of your sight. Rubber bands are your BEST friend!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/17/2015 08:03AM by spicy1.

No, the full resets go 37.50, but it's really only worth it if you do several at least, to get fast at it. The 11-18 jobs are checking the POG. They should be right, and just need stray cards removed. Pick up a bunch of them, you can really crank them out and most are 18.

What is POG?

Plan-O-Gram

Unless the person before you did NOT set it to pog; then you better bring kleenex!

Thanks for the great advice. I brought lots of rubber bands and have a rolling toolbox that is big enough to sit on. I have kept the skinny boxes the cards came in and this helps me keep the cards controlled. I have become faster at each store, but the time it takes is still about what the estimate is. The worse part is having to inventory each and every card, not just the out of stock ones.

The >$20 assignments are for routine maintenance and restocking.

As it was explained to me by my previous Contacts Administrator, if the reset has not been performed, the Store Manager has to put in a request for a reset to their District Manager. If they do so, and it is authorized, it is then submitted to Castforce for assignment.

Therefore, when I service a store for routine maintenance that is not up to date, I clean up and stock the display according to the existing layout, not the provided POG. There is usually a checkbox for "set according to store's planogram" on the invoice. I inform the Manager the POG is out of date, and suggest they put in a request for a reset. I also send an email to my Contacts Administrator and Support explaining why the display is not correctly set. I have never been denied payment for doing so.

I also offer to go back and do the reset myself for the right amount. I have yet to be taken up on my offer.

Of course, you should speak with your Contact Administrator to clarify their individual expectations.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/2015 10:22AM by Jess T.

What are the $11.00 assignments for then?
I think I've been getting ripped!

Usually, for the $11 assignments, the visit is for a servicing a specific set of cards, like AMEX or Green Dot, not the entire display. I get a box in the mail with new cards, go to the store, put them up, check the backstock FOR THE TARGETED CARDS ONLY, make note of any that are low or out of stock, take a picture, and get a signature. Depending on the location, it takes me 5-20 minutes.

I routinely work the same locations, so I know the POG by memory, and can tell at a glance what is out of place, so I usually often spend an extra five minutes to straighten up the entire display. I keep a small notebook in the car with notes about the store. It really helps to know when I walk in where that specific store keeps it's backstock, or that the store does not have a lot of backstock, There is no point spending 20 minutes to look for and through it all only to find it was a waste of time.

Another tip: I picked up an 8x10 dry erase board at the dollar store and attached it to the back of my clipboard. I write down what cards are low or out before going to the backroom, it so I don't have to lug the backstock all the way out to the floor and back. Then I use it to write the store number and pic code for the photos.

As I said in my previous post, speak with your Contacts Administrator about their specific expectations. If it is still taking much longer than projected, explain why. I've always received additional compensation when their projections were significantly off.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/2015 08:17PM by Jess T.

Castforce called me the other day for drug store resets. I said I worked for several companies and wasn't sure I had time. She tried to entice me with an $11 fee. I just laughed and told her most of mine paid $15 per hour plus mileage. She promptly said OH then hung up.

They couldn't get a bunch of late CVS stores covered at the stated fee and refused to offer any bonuses. They actually blew it off and said that "someone will pick them up." When that didn't happen they suddenly found themselves desperate to get them covered at the last possible moment. They decided to cough up the higher rate and asked if I could go out on Thursday (being Christmas Eve). I was incredulous. Picture me walking in and ripping apart a gift card display as customers were frantically grabbing at anything they could stuff in an envelope. How livid would the managers be?

After doing two of the CVS resets, I flat out refuse to ever, EVER do them again. The pain and hassle was NOT worth it for me. I have some physical disabilities, so I only take light merchandising gigs.

I saw a woman sitting on the floor crying doing one of those CVS sets! I think she didn't organize, just took everything down at once, not realizing what a unholy mess that would cause her. I was in the store for 3 hours, she was already there when I got there, and, was not even close to being done when I left. About 30 minutes before I left, someone came in to help her, I'm guessing it was her boss. I was going to try to help her for a little while when I was done as it was my last stop of the day. I felt so sorry for her as she was obviously overwhelmed by it all. I know I've been in that overwhelmed place- A huge Christmas tree display in Kmart and NO ONE else showed up. I was in the store 14 hours. I have never set up a Christmas tree since. My boss came from 80 miles away and worked with me. I should have just walked away, but I just wasn't that smart then.

That's because (the crying) they give you a certain amount of $ to do them, flat rate, no matter HOW long it actually takes. And it can take double or more time than they say! It's downright theft if you're not as fast (when you're angry) like I am. This does not apply just to Cast, but to Advantage, Crossmark and nearly every company that handles Gift Card Resets.

Hi. I do resets at my regular job and they are a pain in the neck. When I am asked to do a reset or one of those price list evaluations at a grocery store by a MSC, I politely declined them. The best way to do a reset, is to pre-mark the product that will be in the new spot before you removed the products for the reset. Use the chart/layout for the reset, then place a post-it in the new spot or put one of the card/gift card in the new spot. That way, you don't have to keep looking at the layout/chart sheet. You can also organized the products in a consecutive order on the floor (if you can) so that it will be easier to stock.

The best advice I ever received was from this thread, and that was to bring lots of rubber bands! I would wrap up all the existing cards, and store them upright in the skinny boxes the new cards came in. I would strip everything off that side, even if I thought some cards would stay in the same place. I would use blank cards to act as place holders to get the spacing set. I kept all my supplies in a rolling toolbox that doubled as a place to sit.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/2016 12:55PM by tjmonty.

i used to do quite a number of them before i started doing them to late and such.. they are really easy and like everything you get faster as you go...the first thing i did was read the planogram as there isnt all that much change usually (major rookie mistake was emptying out the entire rack first)... dump what is just not in the planogram at all first and this will free up space to shift all the visa and mc and others that are still in the planogram around, most of your time is spent placing new store gift cards or redesigned old gift cards, biggest time saver is that out of stock/low cards will appear as you set up the new planogram ... its a major time waste if you try to find if your store has them at first...after restocking and setting you will find that what wasnt listed as low or out of stock means they are in stock and dont need to be checked ... last i would take a picture and be sure to double check that the codes for the store and my own code was correct

Advantage is an hourly pay rate and you are an employee not a contractor.

Cast is now employee/employer and not a contractor.
And Advantage never completes their sets on time.

Thinking about doing this. Got a call from kalan and i might join up. Help the newbie!

Do it! It's pretty casual. I mean, you have to do the work but, nothing difficult.

I did some Kalan work today for Cast-took longer than expected, but being an employee means you can afford to do t right. Most of the bugs in the app are taken care of now. You have complete control over which stores you work, so give it a try!

Do they pay with the card instead of Direct Deposit or PayPal?

Direct deposit or check only is what I read

I get direct deposit. They pay every other Friday.