I did a search and I could not find anything about this.

Has any one did this shop? Is this a easy shop to do and how long did it take you to complete it? If you have done it, will you do it again?

Besides the picture of the ticket, are their any other pictures that need to be taken?

How long do you wait before you return the item?

You need to make a purchase and return it after a 10 minute wait. i normally buy the item, put it in the car and then do the two department visits.

The department visits can take a short or long time depending on if there is someone in the department you can talk to. If not I believe you are supposed to wait around and see if anyone comes by that can help you. After a certain time, if no one has come by, you are supposed to walk to the main aisle and wait for someone to help you. I've actually had to go to the service desk and ask if someone could help me. That's after standing in the garden section next to the door with two employees standing about 15 yards away talking to each other.

After asking them some questions about the two items listed in the shop you can leave. I then return to my car, get the item I purchased and return it.

Make sure you get all the employees names, including the cashier and return cashier, and or descriptions and how long you had to wait to be helped.

I believe these are two different shops, but I try to pick them both up since I have to go to the Lowes for each of them. Classic double dipping with the same MSC.

I know at HD they have the little orange button and you press it if you need help..


I only saw one shop posted.. I remember during COVID, they had like a curb side shop.. You would pull up to the parking spot and call them and tell them that you were outside. I liked doing that shop.


Hopefully they will return

I did a order online and curbside pick-up at Lowe's last weekend. I may have been lucky but the associate brought my order out in 3 mins. Agree, of all the choices its the best one.

@Isaiah4031a wrote:

I kn

I remember during COVID, they had like a curb side shop.. You would pull up to the parking spot and call them and tell them that you were outside. I liked doing that shop.

Hopefully they will return

Did hundreds of these with bonuses pre-COVID. The return time restrictions were removed at that time. Return was immediately.

@Zek wrote:

I did a order online and curbside pick-up at Lowe's last weekend. I may have been lucky but the associate brought my order out in 3 mins. Agree, of all the choices its the best one.

@Isaiah4031a wrote:

I kn

I remember during COVID, they had like a curb side shop.. You would pull up to the parking spot and call them and tell them that you were outside. I liked doing that shop.

Hopefully they will return

Hum.. I have not seen any pick up shops for Lowes or HD (in my area) in several months.. Unless I am missing them.


I did a Best Buy shop during the height of COVID where there were signs on the floor about social distance and all.. I asked the scheduler if theses shops will return and she said that they will not.. I believe the last one I did was in March or May.

There OK. But, can take some time as it is often difficult to find an employee. Crazy to accept them anywhere near base.

I didn't think it was acceptable value at the base pay. You can wait a long time for someone to offer assistance. And depending on what departments are assigned, it can feel silly. Try to come up with questions about cardboard boxes that would require expert assistance. And then after a long wait you have to take in a lot of details about the person you're talking to in a pretty short period of time.

I think $35-40 for it would be fair.

When I look at the job board yesterday, I believe it was $ 30.

I think there is some confusion here about the Lowe's shops that are being offered. From what I've seen, there are 4 different Lowe's shops that I've seen.
The one you refer to has nothing to do with any type of pickup situation. Those, btw, are quite simple and easy to do - there is no return and you simply purchase something and are reimbursed for a maximum of $5.
The Lowe's shop that you are referring have a set fee of $18. There is no reimbursement since whatever you purchase, you shall return.
The shop asks you to purchase something and then wait at least a minimum of 20 minutes before returning it. But, you must also perform their 2 scenarios, in the order they ask. Upon entering the store, you must take note of how you were greeted or initially assisted. Then, you can either go to the department of the first scenario or, make your purchase and then start your shop scenario. Making the purchase shortens your time for return since you are doing the scenarios during the required 20 minute interval between the purchase and the return. You must remember the checkout person's name and how they assisted you and the amount of time it took.
When you do the first scenario, take note of employee's name as it is required. Also note your wait time before being assisted and then what the employee said. Also, note if they suggested other Lowe's items, etc. I usually note all this on my phone.
Next you proceed to the 2nd scenario and do the same thing.
After the 20 minute time period between your purchase passes, you may return the item. Same as the purchase, note the name and amount of time it took.
In the report, it will ask for a narrative of the scenarios. It shall also want a photo of the purchase slip and return slip - so do not toss them!
For me, these shops are acceptable if I have a route that allows me to pass by the Lowe's shop. Sometimes I make my purchase after the scenarios and then return a few hours later when I've finished my route of other shops.

If it goes smoothly the interactions take no time at all. Then it’s worth it at any price.

If it goes horribly and you have to go through all the steps then it’s not worth it for any price they offer and can take an hour.

I’ve had many employees try to dodge me, and have to fudge a bit to get them to interact.

I have decided these shops are too time intensive at any price. I once waited the minimum requirement before requesting help and got an employee who said he was from a different department but would "try" to help me. At that point I was unsure of if the scenario would playout correctly. I went ahead with it .Unfortunately, this was a chatty employee and went on and on about his experience with the patio sets. Then went to scenario 2 finally had to ask AGAIN for an employee and that person decided to walk me around to all the appliances in question. It was not worth the bonus as my time at the store was an hour then to fill in the report.

I'm not sure if it is a regular shop in my area as I don't do many of the HD or Lowe's shops.

On this one, I was in need of an item, the location was where I was going to be, the shop had a nice bonus + reimbursed what I purchased, so it worked. It was listed with the sos MSC.

@Isaiah4031a wrote:

@Zek wrote:

@Isaiah4031a
[/quote wrote:

Hum.. I have not seen any pick up shops for Lowes or HD (in my area) in several months.. Unless I am missing them.

I think it’s 20 mins between purchase and return. Take a photo of the purchase receipt before you do the return just in case you have a clerk who trashes it.

The timings are a little tricky.

If you have more than one Lowes shop you can just duplicate your spiel on the subsequent shops.

I recommend you do the purchase, leave for 20 mins—do another shop perhaps— then go back and do the return and your 2 departments

I've done a few of these. I don't mind them, for the most part. But it's a lot to remember if you get assigned a department that has lots of choices and complexities, because you have to ask certain questions and sometimes the associates go on and on and on to answer them. But then again, sometimes you get a department that is really very simple and quick. There's not a lot for them to explain about things like moving boxes or paint rollers, hahaha. So far, the ones I've done consisted of one really easy department paired with a more complex one. And yeah, I have had to wait the full 15 or 20 minutes to finally get an associate to help me, but that's how it goes sometimes.

As for the purchase and return, you have to wait at least 20 minutes to return the thing, so I sit in my car and use the time to talk into my phone's recorder about whatever I remember about each associate/department. It seems I've lucked out because I have snagged these at a higher rate, plus my Lowe's is less than a 10-minute drive from me.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/2022 09:15PM by shopnyc.

Hopefully by 'spiel' you mean repeat your process, not your comments from one shop to another. That is never okay.

You can buy the item first and then leave it in your car. The two interactions take at least 20 minutes, right? So then you can return the item immediately following. Yes, it's obviously odd to enter and leave and enter and leave. But your time is precious.

That's too much going back-and-forth.. I'm going to the store and talk to the people I'm supposed to talk to, of course are am invisible, so I have to wait for all that time before I go searching to find somebody. Then I make my purchase, I sit in my vehicle and start filling out the survey. Sometimes if it's around a meal time I'll go and get lunch or dinner and then come back to do the returns. And I'm not going in-and-out of the store 3 or 4 times.

@Morledzep wrote:

That's too much going back-and-forth.. I'm going to the store and talk to the people I'm supposed to talk to, of course are am invisible, so I have to wait for all that time before I go searching to find somebody. Then I make my purchase, I sit in my vehicle and start filling out the survey. Sometimes if it's around a meal time I'll go and get lunch or dinner and then come back to do the returns. And I'm not going in-and-out of the store 3 or 4 times.

I prefer to go in and buy the item for return first, drop the item in the car, go back in and talk to the two departments, then back in to return the item, and fill out the survey. I think total time was 35-40 minutes. I did it a couple of weeks ago and it was only base plus a $5 bonus, but it was part of a route.

If by some miracle I was able to see both departments inside the 20 minute minimum stay, I would finish as much of the survey as I could and then return the item. @Morledzep I understand grabbing a meal, but it seems like driving back adds to the time committed to the shop.

Waiting a certain amount of time before you can approach associates in each department is the time killer since they are not prone to approach you.

I wouldn't mind doing it again, but I am gonna hold out for a larger bonus this time around. If I miss out, then no problem.

A few years ago, I did a Ross P/R shop.. If I am not mistaken, you had to wait at least 2 hours to return the item. (It might have been more or less. I don't remember)


I had other things to do in the area. So I made my purchase, went out to my car and fill out what I could, went to do my other things around town, then went back made my return, and filled out the rest of my report in my car.


I enjoyed doing the Ross P/R shops... I wish they will bring those back

I have done several of these and they generally easy, but time intensive. If the store is understaffed it can take 15-20 minutes for each department to get help and get your questions answered. Add in the purchase and return times and you can easily hit 40 minutes. The report can be done in 15 minutes, but this is potentially an hour total, and the best I've ever done is 25 minutes in the store, so total time about 45 minutes. The $18 base is just too low for 45-60 minutes.

The current home Depot baseline audits dont take much longer than Lowe's, and the starting pay is 3 times more. I would never imagine doing Lowes for base pay.

Are these still in the same wheelhouse as Arbys? I haven't seen any in my area in a long time.

@MountainCacher88 wrote:

Are these still in the same wheelhouse as Arbys?

What do you mean by "in the same wheelhouse?"

If you mean the same MSC, no. If you mean rotation, they are pretty reliably re-posted every month, they just change which departments you have to visit each round.

@MountainCacher88 wrote:

Are these still in the same wheelhouse as Arbys? I haven't seen any in my area in a long time.

I’ve never not regretted doing these for the bonuses offered at the time: I keep hoping that if I choose a better hour it will be faster and figure the bonus was higher than last time. Never enough. Like others have said, you buy the item and take it to your car. Next you go to the first section. You have to wait 20 min then press a button wait another 20 min then go to customer service then wait again, I think up to 20 minutes again? I’ve almost always had to wait the first 40 min plus some time. Then the person is finally helping you and talks forever. So that’s 10 minutes at least to buy a cheap item and take to car. Then around 50 min or more section 1. Then same 50 min section 2. Then back to car and return item. 10 minutes. Two hours minimum plus report. And it’s an excruciating 2 hours. In that time you’re going to customer service desk three times, asking silly questions about everyday items that could be answered by looking at the signs, standing next to an employee examining everyday items for 20 minutes trying to will them to offer you help, going to customer service when there’s someone right there in the department (you’re not allowed to ask for help), etc.