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IWS For Truck and Travel Stops

October 30, 2023 04:23AM
Hello and good morning....

I am loving the gift card replenishments/take downs and merchandising evaluations. Everything on the phone, no note taking, when you’re done...you’re done!

I noticed the same company that offers the gift card stocking/removal shops at Family Dollar/Dollar General etc... has similar type jobs for truck and travel stops called IWS. I googled IWS and apparently this is like gift trinkets, apparel, small retail items etc... that you find at these travel stores.

Has anyone done these? They look to be pretty high paying but I wonder how long they take.
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October 30, 2023 07:27AM
The IWS stuff honestly is not worth it unless you get a big bonus. Even the regular stock check is a 30 minute visit as you have to put everything back where it belongs and check some other stuff, plus make sure nothing new has arrived.

And don't get me started on the seasonal reset ones they do. Those you need a super massive bonus to be worth it as that's easily 2 hours.
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October 30, 2023 08:12AM
@weatherman2111 wrote:

The IWS stuff honestly is not worth it unless you get a big bonus. Even the regular stock check is a 30 minute visit as you have to put everything back where it belongs and check some other stuff, plus make sure nothing new has arrived.

And don't get me started on the seasonal reset ones they do. Those you need a super massive bonus to be worth it as that's easily 2 hours.

Thanks. I was weary of the location to start with--a truck stop. Trying to do re-stocks while there are these swarms of folks walking around you from every side. No thanks.
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October 30, 2023 04:03PM
I've done some. I've never felt unsafe at the truck stops or had issues with crowds. The amount of work varies greatly per store. Some stores only have t shirts and a few other things, some stores are like redoing a small retail store with safety gear, jeans, shirts, other items etc. They usually start the pay at something really low like $12 but I won't do them unless they are bonused. $12 is way too low. I've done the majority of stores in my area at least once, so I have an idea of what each store has in terms of a display but I can go do a gas station shop for similar pay and a fraction of the work.
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October 30, 2023 09:05PM
I've done a lot of these and never had an issue doing them. I feel the truck stops don't sell as many as Walmart, so it doesn't take me long to get in and out. And as for safety, I feel completely safe in them. I'd suggest doing a couple and see how they work for you. If you like them, pick up more.

Shopping Arkansas, Louisiana, & Mississippi.
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October 31, 2023 10:20AM
I didn't mean to say it was a matter of safety. I was trying to convey that there are a lot of potential interruptions with folks walking right by you time and again. I think I may try it...I'm at a point where I'm branching out a little but I think I may try to schedule it where I am doing it at 0700 or so before the crowds get too oppressive.
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November 01, 2023 03:35PM
0600 - 1000 is one of the busiest times at truck stops.
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November 03, 2023 04:02PM
@metro25782 wrote:

Hello and good morning....

I am loving the gift card replenishments/take downs and merchandising evaluations. Everything on the phone, no note taking, when you’re done...you’re done!

I noticed the same company that offers the gift card stocking/removal shops at Family Dollar/Dollar General etc... has similar type jobs for truck and travel stops called IWS. I googled IWS and apparently this is like gift trinkets, apparel, small retail items etc... that you find at these travel stores.

Has anyone done these? They look to be pretty high paying but I wonder how long they take.

They are not particularly difficult. I've done one location when it was highly bonused. Once did three shops at that location in a day. A mystery shop/gas station audit, IWS and replenishment of debit cards. Did the MS/Audit first of course.

They can be time consuming. It is very helpful if you can talk to the person in charge of the areas. Usually it was photos before, straighten merchandise in displays, then after photos. The back stock photos took some time. You have to learn the stock from what is out on display then look for it in the back rooms. And returns were difficult. Not sure if the rules have changed. The location I did seems to have some one(s) doing it without bonus.

Do not read so much, look about you and think of what you see there.
Richard Feynman-- letter to Ashok Arora, 4 January 1967, published in Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005) p. 230
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