@F and L TeleComm wrote:
Point C, I have issues forcing me to take shops for 30-35 (trying to pay bills) but I will not drive long distances for 20-dollar shops that is not economical at all. The heat is forcing the usage of the a/c in the car which combined with high gas prices you will not make as much money. Businesses like to pay the least they have to for the most work. We are the same way if I need work done on my rent house I either high unskilled labor or take bids and read reviews and decide who made the best bid with the least or least concerning bad reviews. I do local shops for base pay sometimes when I don't have higher-paying work available. For 30-minute drives, I start at 25 dollars minimum but I try to do multiple shops in the area so that I do 3-4 assignments in that area. Then for an hour drive, I try to get at least 35 and tale 3-5 assignments in the area, and so on and so on. Things aren't the way they were for Maritz because now they are making us pin down one exact date and we lose the flexibility to move the route around in the week to maximize our profits. We also run the risk of losing our rebound time (you schedule a big route on Monday you need to Tuesday to regroup after driving back and inpu Another issue that I just found out today from a scheduler that in two weeks they are going to pull all projects not inputted by midnight. Even if the shop was done LATE at night 9-11:30 PM. So this means you can only do half as much work because you have to have time to get the project inputted at the same exact time. I wonder who they think is going to drive way out in the middle of nowhere to do one shop especially if there is no wifi there! Even shops that are over 90% completed! So if you are not the driver and every chance you have a signal you are inputting if that shop is not 100% completed by midnight they will pull it. This means you can not schedule as many shop (or I can't) because I can't just go do the shop take the pictures and then get in the car and drive to the next location. I can't build a route that will pay half as much so that means I will either be doing more shops for other marketers with more flexibility or I will be scheduling shorter, less lucrative routes or not scheduling them at all. I am not happy to hear this.
@Mrcleandpsyahoo.com wrote:
... I did one the other day for $28, and I won’t do another one at this pay. 1.5 hours in 98 degree heat, wear and tear on my vehicle, is just not worth it...
@F and L TeleComm wrote:
.. Another issue that I just found out today from a scheduler that in two weeks they are going to pull all projects not inputted by midnight. Even if the shop was done LATE at night 9-11:30 PM...I am not happy to hear this.
@Notme2021 wrote:
.... So they want us to do one project in darkness “if at all possible” but won’t give us time to input... I don’t see how that’s a good business model.
I live in a small to medium-sized town/city in central Georgia. In other words (shop talk) I can get from one side of town to the other on the freeway (if the location is off of the freeway) in under 15 minutes. Or if you need to drive on the streets most locations are under 30 minutes. My husband and I have done all of the approximately 5 BPs in our town. The one's 30 minutes away no one has done it. I recently traveled approximately 50 minutes to an hour to a small town to do an Exxon. Since I was going anyway I picked up the Circle K, (another marketer) paid 21, and the two dispenser wonder BP there (4 fueling positions, I call two dispersers "two-pump wonders" because they pay the same amount of money as the bigger stations for less work, effort, and time.) 31+21+41 [93 for a couple of hours work]. Other than those none of the outlying areas for BP have been done out here. I understand the philosophy of combining the shops but agree it is for less money they expect you to do double the work. Editing processes getting better doesn't make it better. In the back of your mind, you are stressing right up until the shop gets graded! With prices so low, and gas so high, losing even one shop on a route could mean the difference between showing a profit or not.@Mrcleandpsyahoo.com wrote:
Here’s my take. I literally have done hundreds in the past. I had a route last time with 50 stations and was paid $40 each for the one audit. Never did 2 at one time. I did one the other day for $28, and I won’t do another one at this pay. 1.5 hours in 98-degree heat, wear and tear on my vehicle, is just not worth it. No one is doing them here either. Last time I did them all in a 90-mile radius. It’s just not enough to be worth it. $40, I might do a few local, but that would be all.
@F and L TeleComm wrote:
... gotta know where your "two-pump wonders" are in your area. Quick and easy to pick up and doesn't take so long to do. Entering 6-12 dispensers in my book should be over 50 dollars WITHOUT gas/mileage. just sayin'...
@Curious99 wrote:
@F and L TeleComm wrote:
.. Another issue that I just found out today from a scheduler that in two weeks they are going to pull all projects not inputted by midnight. Even if the shop was done LATE at night 9-11:30 PM...I am not happy to hear this.
@Notme2021 wrote:
.... So they want us to do one project in darkness “if at all possible” but won’t give us time to input... I don’t see how that’s a good business model.
I was thinking the same thing as I read over your posts since I sometimes work on that project. It's possible that project team may try to push back on upper management trying to impose this rule across the board on all projects since they really need to get them done at night. I'm rooting for the underdog on this.
@F and L TeleComm wrote:
I think the system should be set up like patient point... starting pay for that one in Iowa would be 162.50...
@F and L TeleComm wrote:
I think the pay dropped 22% when it changed marketers. I think it dropped again when they combined the shops. The bonuses go up and down so this is a patience game basically. Some quarters they try their best to wait to add bonuses and it backfires on them so the next quarter sometimes they do a better job. But then another marketer that month will be cheap so you better do all the high ones you can. When everything is low you piddle around town to keep from getting zeros. But when those prices go back up then you work your tail off to get ahead and make extra dough while it's there. But if they paid right all the time then they wouldn't have such a hard time every round. It's a vicious cycle, lol. But it's my cup of tea. When I get burnt out I enjoy the off time.
Assuming you are really that fast, a) you have a really good camera on your phone and aren't taking back up pictures, your stores are really clean or your letting stores slide for obvious infractions.@Curtzey wrote:
I've knocked out about 15 of the BP near me. Most are 8-12 pumps and the longest I have taken, doing the report on-site, has been 45 minutes. Most are around the 30 minute mark. This is fast enough that I can keep a good bit over the $30/hr mark. I consider that my "in town" rate, and try to plan for $40 if I am traveling. I have never seen bonuses in the hundreds in this area though, so I'm happy to keep this rate.
@F and L TeleComm wrote:
And what happens if you have to wait for a pump??? That timing isn't realistic for me or my area...
@Curtzey wrote:
I've knocked out about 15 of the BP near me. Most are 8-12 pumps and the longest I have taken, doing the report on-site, has been 45 minutes. Most are around the 30 minute mark. This is fast enough that I can keep a good bit over the $30/hr mark. I consider that my "in town" rate, and try to plan for $40 if I am traveling. I have never seen bonuses in the hundreds in this area though, so I'm happy to keep this rate.
@Curtzey wrote:
Not doing jobs to wait for the rate to go up is a great way to not do any jobs. Maybe they will go high enough to make up for it, but maybe they won't. It's strictly a gamble.
I can do 20 of these at base and make $560. I can wait for them to go up to $40 and make $800 in the possible future. If at that point someone has done 10 of them, or picks up at that point as well so I have to share the work, now I have $400.
Given those options, I'll take the $560. It meets my criteria for hourly, and I have NEVER seen all the shops for any project just sit until the bonus is 50%.
For active trying to get these done in 30, I have found that the easiest thing for me is not to feel forced to follow the order of the report. As soon as I reveal, I start the dispensers. Do any that are free, and collect the missing ones as you go. The last couple are still blocked, get the canopy, or the MID.. be ready as soon as the car pulls away. At extremely busy stations with cars lined up, I've waited with a view of the pump, and snapped my picture with zoom when the first car pulls away. I rarely go over 40 minutes with a 12 pump or less.
@F and L TeleComm wrote:
I rarely take pictures inside the app. IF the picture is blurry etc, plus you can't take two pictures inside the app then eliminate the one that doesn't look as good. We do out-of-town routes so we try to take lots of pictures, number 1. Then since pumps have to be done out of order, we sit in the car and check out pictures to make sure we have not forgotten any (we don't want to go back) and (yes, even after doing this for 5 years we still forget one occasionally. Especially if some idiot is standing around blocking you from taking your picture and you get tired of waiting and say you will come back to it.) We go through our pictures and write down the number of each pump in our picture to make sure we have them all. These additional steps only take a few minutes. My husband is like you guys he walks outside and immediately starts the exterior after revealing. I don't. After the reveal, I immediately take the counter shot. Then I proceed with the paraphernalia, checking the ceiling lights and the coolers. I look down odd aisles and by the office door and game machines for porn. Then I proceed to the restrooms for a quick eval and pictures including my vest shot. For stores that I regularly do or have done before I already know what to look for. I remember past infractions, I remember who has paraphernalia, etc. I also look hard in bad areas that I know are likely to have it. I can usually do the entire interior evaluation in under 5 minutes then I'm on to the exterior. The only exception to this is if it's dusk and I want to take my canopy and curb first without the glare of the lights. My phone acts stupid at night sometimes. Then I go to the pumps first then the MID, Canopy, and curb. But I take canopy pole infractions as I'm doing the pumps (I evaluate the entire pump island at the same time (pump, amenities, poles, etc). I take a picture of any strange pop, and credit card stickers as I go then I compare them to the current ones later. When I first drive In prior to reveal I try to do a "drive around" if there's room to drive (drive around the store, and 'around' the canopy) so I've already spotted perimeter trash and items stored around the station and know where to look. I don't walk across the street unless it's small and not busy. My husband walks. I drive across the street for the curb appeal if it's a big and fast street. This is because I'm fat, slow, and have bad knees. I have good days and bad days. Plus, I'm not what you call surefooted. I've been known to stumble a time or two (my right knee likes to act stupid sometimes). I think it's just safer and faster than for me to try and do it and take my time. Then with traffic what it is I might be forced to jog across the street. The jog isn't the problem-it's those couple of steps after the jog that my feet /knees like to do stupid things. I also like to type (qwerty) at home on the keyboard. I can type the paragraph on my phone but prefer to type sentences on a keyboard. Short answers like John, Jane, black, short I type on the phone. I type 50% faster on a keyboard than on my phone and my computer doesn't autocorrect as much so it changes a misspelling into a wrong word. My computer red lines it and I have Grammarly so it's easier to make sure it says the correct thing.
@Notme2021 wrote:
I did one to test and it took 1 hr on-site and maybe 5 minutes to complete report (the narrative part and any photos I took without inputting at the time). I guess I could possibly get it down to 45 min on a not-busy day with the app working perfectly (the customers and the app slow me down more than infractions unless there’s an infraction at every pump)...
@LindaM wrote:
Some day the pay will go down to $10 and someone somewhere will still justify getting it done.
@Curtzey wrote:
Not doing jobs to wait for the rate to go up is a great way to not do any jobs. Maybe they will go high enough to make up for it, but maybe they won't. It's strictly a gamble. I can do 20 of these at base and make $560. I can wait for them to go up to $40 and make $800 in the possible future. If at that point someone has done 10 of them, or picks up at that point as well so I have to share the work, now I have $400. Given those options, I'll take the $560...
@LindaM wrote:
Some day the pay will go down to $10 and someone somewhere will still justify getting it done.
@patman9760 wrote:
ConocoPhillips starts at $8. People did those shops at that rate as a "Test run" and then proceeded to the forum to inform others of what the shop entailed. My advice is free (sometimes that's what it's worth). My test runs cost more.
Someday might be a lot sooner than we can imagine.
@LindaM wrote:
Some day the pay will go down to $10 and someone somewhere will still justify getting it done.