Are there fewer Kroger shops in December? I saw only about half as many as usual but may have logged on too late and other shoppers had already claimed them. I was able to self-assign several competitor shops but most of my favorite Kroger stores said to contact the scheduler to be assigned. Seems like we received an e-mail several months ago saying there was a limit of how many we could do in a year. Does anyone know anything about annual limits? I didn't save the e-mail and don't remember the details.

15 in-store per location, 8 pick-up per location, per year; competitor locations don’t have the same restrictions.

at least that’s what i remember.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/01/2023 12:45AM by charleybuddy.

AFAIK, there are no annual limits as to how many of each type of shop you may do in a year. The 15 in-store/location and 8 pick-up/location are SELF-ASSIGN limits. If you have reached one of those limits, you may still do more shops as long as the scheduler assigns them to you. There are other limits, such as 4 competitor (such as Target & Walmart) pick-up shops per round.

I didn't see any competitor pick up shops in my area this time around. I got a couple of in store competitors though.

They went real fast in my area.

It seemed like there were more shops overall in my area. There were no competitor shops last time, but this time, there were Walmart, Target, and HEB pick-ups.

I really wish they'd simplify the rotation rules for these shops. It's so convoluted.

@drdoggie00 wrote:

It seemed like there were more shops overall in my area. There were no competitor shops last time, but this time, there were Walmart, Target, and HEB pick-ups.

I really wish they'd simplify the rotation rules for these shops. It's so convoluted.

The rules are never well documented. All these restrictions are communicated through email. If you happen to be a new member of the MSC, then you would never know.

@Mellifluy wrote:

@drdoggie00 wrote:

It seemed like there were more shops overall in my area. There were no competitor shops last time, but this time, there were Walmart, Target, and HEB pick-ups.

I really wish they'd simplify the rotation rules for these shops. It's so convoluted.

The rules are never well documented. All these restrictions are communicated through email. If you happen to be a new member of the MSC, then you would never know.

I've received the emails from the scheduler for my region multiple times. It doesn't make it any easier to understand. From an email in September of this year:

"Rotation Rules:

1. They allow up to 4 shops per day – this is a rule we can override if necessary

2. They allow up to 2 shops per location per period

3. All shops need to be at least 3 days apart at any specific location – this is between all shoppers at each location, not just an individual shopper’s visits.

4. There is not, however, a limit to the total number of shops that a shopper can complete each period as long as the rules above are followed.

There is a new rule that shoppers can’t perform a pickup, in-store, and fuel shop at the same location on the same day. In some cases this can be overridden, but in most cases this rule is concrete."

Number 2 is especially vague. Is that two of each type (pick-up, in-store self-check, in-store full-check) or two regardless?

Where do the competitor shops fall in all of this? And what about the (apparently unwritten) rules of having to do an equal number of in-store self, in-store full, and pick-up shops, or else you'll be blocked from certain types until you've completed enough of the other types? From the same September email:

"It also won’t let me assign you to the pickup, which after looking at your account, is likely because you have too many pickups without a nearly-equal amount of in-stores. The software scans to look for a 1:1 ratio (or close to it) and eventually blocks the pickups if that isn’t maintained. It can’t be overridden, unfortunately (as in, there isn’t a way to override it). Once your ratio is closer to 1:1, it’ll let me assign you again."

I've seen other people state different rules; whether that's due to misunderstanding on their part or schedulers from other regions providing different rules, I don't know.

I won't go into how much all of this irritates me.

Never was told of the 1 to 1 in store to pick up ratio. I have tried consistently to match the shops one for one. In some months I was unable to do any pick ups so did say 3 in stores with no pick ups. Does not seem fair if n a month I cannot get pick ups and take in stores that does in stores do not credit over to the next month if say I take 3 pick ups. Hitting the 15 in stores all in store does not make sense as the reimbursement for p/u so much higher and so much less work

There are many more in-store shops than the more desirable shops each round that need to be filled. Don't do the in-store shops if you feel they are not worth it as standalones. I leave many in-store shops (Kroger or competitors) alone. I do them only if they are (1) bonused, (2) to satisfy the one-to-one ratio, or (3) if there is a sale and I want to buy something there anyway.

I have seen posts where shoppers talk about taking only the good shops (before the one-to-one ratio rule was enacted and enforced). They weren't acknowledging the unfairness then.

Perhaps the MSC (and the client) need to look at the unfairness of the pay disparity. Shops that require a lot more time, effort, and data collection shouldn't have a pay/reimbursement amount significantly less than a shop that's ten minutes in and out.

Rectifying that would have evened things out without the need for a ratio rule, not to mention it's the right thing to do. (Yeah, I know....no need to even say it....)

This past Nov., I entered my 61st yr. as an IC. I am stating most absolutely, I have neither ever encountered nor heard of a successful self-employed individual who permits the word FAIR to be a part their business attitude.

I have tried to stick to my same shops every month in spite of the new rules. But now they seem to be limiting the shops to two per location, so I guess the fuel shops have to go. I think I only got two fuel shops this round anyway.

@shopperbob wrote:

This past Nov., I entered my 61st yr. as an IC. I am stating most absolutely, I have neither ever encountered nor heard of a successful self-employed individual who permits the word FAIR to be a part their business attitude.

shopperbob, that reminds me of something my dad would say every time the word 'fair' came up in a conversation: "Fair?!? The fair's in October!"

....talking about the county fair being in October....
Yeah, I know. We're hokey.

They udpated their website to be so difficult to use. You can't tab out of the questions anymore, you have to click, click, click...

I'm frustrated with this company.

I don't know what they did but I now have to type my username every time I want to log in. This just started today. My browser used to be able to populate my username and password from saved passwords.

So far, mine is still populating, BusyBee.

They also have a competitor shop (in store) that reimburses more with the same fee but requires less work.

@nabilino, I agree with you about the website.