I had a scheduled email me about a shop 60 miles away. It has a $5 bonus. I can pick up a few other shops on the way. I want to respond back and ask for more of a bonus due to distance. How should I work my request?

I would just state matter of fact what your offer is to cover your travel and fuel. Sometimes I will say I understand this may not be possible but wanted to let you know my offer.

Not all companies offer bonuses so dont be discouraged if they shoot it down. You never know without trying and you know what your time and gas is worth.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2018 08:39PM by jgoodwin.

I always go with the I can do your shop for $x let me know if this works. Put what you would need and is fair and worth it for you. Also when building routes don't schedule too many shops for one day as you need to leave extra time for @#$%& happens. Any route and road warrior shopper knows this well.

Routes: Yes - leave extra time. Something almost always happens.

Bonus: ask for an amount for which you would be happy to do the shop - not the minimum it would take you to do it. Some MSC’s need to negotiate you down a little, whatever you offer. Also, be willing to walk away. If the MSC is not able to offer enough, don’t feel pressured to take too little. It’s their job to get the shop assigned - not yours. On a similar note, know your absolute minimum before you make an initial offer.

Also, and I mean this in the most positive way, you may want to turn off "auto-correct" before you send email to a scheduler.

I need $000 to do this shop due to the distance. All the above advise is very good as well. I usually use my first sentence because I like to keep it short and simple. If they can't give you a fair price for you to have a profit, it's not worth doing. Good luck.

When requesting a bonus, I never tell the scheduler that I can get other shops in the area. I always ask for what I would need to drive to and complete that one shop as a stand alone. In other words, don’t lower your offer based on other jobs you might get. Then you get in a situation where you’ve committed to a shop for less than what you really need, and find those other shops no longer available.

When I request a bonus I usually put it like this, "That location is X miles away and will take me X time to get there. I am happy to get it done for you by X (usually today or tomorrow) for $X." If they decline or counter with an offer that is too low, I stand firm and say something like, "I understand. If you can't find anyone else or get the approval to accept my offer, let me know. I am happy to help you out." Most times, if I give them a reasonable bonus rate, they agree to my offer. (and a few times, when I don't know if I want to do it, they accept a ridiculous rate that I just threw out there on a whim).

The only time I give them info like distance and travel time is if they are questing why I need so much. I don't care if it is next store to my house I am still not doing a sleep number shop for $10 or even $20. So distance is not the only factor at times. I don't throw a ridiculous to me number unless I don't want to do the shop but would for a nice pay day. I also have had my ridiculous number at times accepted. So i wasn't planing on going 100 plus miles one way but for $300 for one shop sure I am leaving now.

Also as Troy alluded to never mention other shops you could get or even already have. If you have 3 shops at say $20 assigned and need that one shop for $50 to make it doable and there is another in that area for $20 you see I ask for $75 on the $50 one and $50 on the other $20 one. Now if you get either your profitable one more so and if you get both well hell yeah and if you get the $75 ask one you can come down on the other one to $40 or $30 and still getting a bonus or take at base rate as a favor or cause it is easy enough at base and now you found another shop out that way.

Sorry if that was confusing.

Key

3 shops already booked at $20 each
1 shop call it X at at $50 not booked asking for $75
1 shop call it Y at $20 not booked asking for $50
Total needed to make it worth doing $110 already at $60
If you get X or Y at your ask then can negotiate or even take the other at base rate.

@BuffaloNY101 wrote:

Now if you get either your profitable one more so and if you get both well hell yeah and if you get the $75 ask one you can come down on the other one to $40 or $30 and still getting a bonus or take at base rate as a favor or cause it is easy enough at base and now you found another shop out that way.

Me, too. I'll take base rate if it's a good scheduler I want to help out and someone else is already paying my travel fee. I tell them, though, that the reason I can do it is because someone else is already paying me. Otherwise, some of them pull the, "But you did it last month for [x]" stuff. Do the favor, yes. Let them know it's a favor, yes. Collect on the favor by reminding them of it (for most of them; some remember) when you apply for their next plum shop, yes.

Thanks everyone! I responded with what I would need. She said she would see what she could do. She got it approved. It was worth the effort of negotiating that extra bonus. Thanks for all the advice.