Hi folks, I think most folks on this forum who do groceries are shopping at Kroger's. Where I live (North Carolina), Harris Teeter shops are available.

Up until now, payment has generally been this:

- in-store, produce/meat scenario (1 dept interaction) $9 fee + $11 reimb = $20

- in-store, bakery/deli/seafood (2 dept interactions) $9 fee + $11 reimb = $20

- fuel, $7 fee, $0 reimb, required purchase (1 attendant interaction) = approx $5

- pharmacy, $7 fee, $2 reimb (1 dept interaction) = $9


It was permitted to do combine store, pharmacy, and fuel as follows:

- in-store + pharmacy (2 or 3 dept interactions) $29

- in-store + fuel (1 or 2 dept interactions + 1 attendant interaction) $25

- in-store + fuel + pharmacy (2 or 3 dept interactions + attendant interaction) $34

********************************************************************************************************

The new shops being road-tested combine the elements where possible and pay as follows:

- store only, covering produce / meat & seafood / bakery & deli (2 dept interactions) $9 fee +$11 reimb = $20. Only real change = all assignments will have at least 2 dept interactions required, instead of some assignments having 1.

- store + pharm (3 dept interactions) $23, or $6 less than previously

- store + fuel (2 dept interactions + attendant) $23, or $2 less than previously

- store + fuel + pharm (3 dept interactions + attendant) $25, or $9 less than previously

*******************************************************************************************************

I think my math is right? If so, I'm discouraged. This is not what we need when prices have been rising steeply.

Amy, your math is correct. It appears, predicated upon your post, the client and/or MSC is employing an Arab & camel business model. If so, and they are successful, additional reductions will be forthcoming in the future. They will only cease if/when a significant percentage of jobs become either unfillable or the flake rate is untenable. Assuming the info I have been given is accurate, grocery shops have an inordinately low flake rate.

I used to take a lot of these but will not do them with the new format. There are a lot of little things that were added, but the pharmacy part immediately outs you as a shopper. Sure, someone might get deli counter service 4 times in 3 weeks (usually with a different associate), but who visits the pharmacy at that frequency and asks where the Tylenol is? I almost always see the same pharmacist working at each location. They recognize me even going every few months. This used to be a relatively easy assignment, but it now requires 5 interactions, plus you have to avoid the pharmacy lunch hour for all shops. Even with increased pay, this would have been a bad deal. These jobs usually disappear quickly, but I don't expect to see that going forward.

I can barely get these anymore as they cut back on the program so much and these combined shops will only mean less opportunities to pick them up. I remember the good days when I could get several bonused.

I used to do these a lot (HT grocery shops) when the initial pay was $2.00 HIGHER than it is now! They keep reducing the pay rate!! So even with the reimbursement, I don't do them. I haven't seen the new guidelines, but unless I can ever grab a bonused one, I'm done with these.

The HT shops here in Virginia used to sit on the board until they were bonused quite nicely. Then they changed the format and made it much easier, as in no cooking advice questions or produce questions. After they simplified the shops, they would disappear off the board almost as fast as the Kroger shops, and never with a bonus. Funny thing was, when they did simplify the shop, the pay was $10 pay and $11 reimbursement. That lasted about one or two months and when they saw them fly off the board, magically the pay was reduced to $9, and of course that not not deter anyone (even me.) It will be interesting to see how this new format will change how fast they will be taken, but they know that folks LOVE grocery shops, so I will bet they will be taken just as quickly.

As FeelinSassie noted, the ones that have a pharmacy element have the 2-3 pm blackout window, which means if I want to drive to the city where I've been doing these (usually 3-4 locations in a day), chances are I'll have to sit around an hour to avoid that window, so I can get another shop or two in to make the drive worthwhile.

And I *hate* the deli interactions. I don't mind meat/seafood because I can always come up with a question, but who needs to ask questions at the deli without buying anything? I could buy something, but even a 1/4 pound of something that I don't normally buy takes up a chunk of the small reimbursement.