For those who shop with The Source, can PAD only be requested for distance reasons? I know it is labeled as distance pay but is possible to use it as a way to request a bonus for another reason?

Distance pay for me, I never get pad for shops within my town.

I got PAD for some phone shops and they weren't very far from home (15 miles). I wrote that I don't do phone shops for less than $20 and they gave it to me. It depends on how desperate they are and whether or not they can find someone else to do it for less.

Edited to add that I meant cell phone shops.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2019 07:32PM by JASFLALMT.

Only distance. It even has the pad $ amount for the various miles.

In this very congested area I get distance pay for just about any shop that is more than 10 miles away, and a few that are closer than that. It never hurts to say that you are willing to do Shop X but need more because of the time involved and no other shops near it to help make it economical to do.

I ALWAYS asked for PAD for driving, even if it is my own town. I would even if it was just across the street.

I've gotten PAD for in-home medical shops. I did not get PAD for shops 60 miles away.

In the field where Trendsource requests why one desires the PAD, I type "irrelevant" because, as a self-employed contractor, it does not matter why I want the money. They either ante-up or pass. Last week, and for the first occasion I recall, the scheduler attempted to negotiate. I responded that I was quite willing to not complete the work unless my request was granted; it was, but with the explanation it was only due to the holiday.

When I request PAD, I tell them the number of road miles (emphasis on road, not the "bird" miles that they show me and quote to me) and the time it will take me to drive each way. I decide on the required PAD based upon distance and time, excluding "local" distance and time that applies to shops I accept without PAD. I also add tolls for roads and bridges. I include time because when I am driving, I am not doing other shops. For me, it is lost opportunity time.

Just tell them "Driving" Don't make it an issue. That's what I put in.

They call it distance pay, but really it's just the bonus they are either willing to or more often, not willing to pay. It really depends on their difficulty filling the shop, and the schedulers don't really care about how far it is from you. They just want the least expensive way to get the shop done.

In my experience, PAD means we know no one in their right mind would take this shop at our base fee, it is now the day before it must be done, we aren't honest enough to raise the base so wecwiill peetend to pay you more for the distance to do this shop, 2 miles from your home and in the same store you are already shopping, in other departments, for other MScs anyway.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2019 04:52AM by Rousseau.

It is for whatever you want but when you do ask and get it, make sure that you check your 1099 at the end of the year if you make enough to see if it is listed as mileage pay.
They want me to go to the capital of Oklahoma and then drive to Arkansas then to Kansas. Sure if I can get $1.00 one way and $0.50 on the way back, So a $1.50 one way almost $400 for driving.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2019 11:20PM by 2stepps.

Can I get this a lot they don't want to pay me much for shop that's over the other side of the mountain it's only like 15 to 20 miles of driving it is over a hundred miles to actually drive it

I've got PAD in my home town on local shops. It can be a bonus like any other bonus.

@ShoppingDad wrote:

I've got PAD in my home town on local shops. It can be a bonus like any other bonus.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This. I've gotten PAD for shops in my town as well, when they were desperate to get it done.

When I request PAD, I tell them the following:
Amount of PAD requested: $xx.xx
Reason for PAD: 37 road miles and 55 minutes each way, plus $5 bridge toll and $1.15 toll road

I have an idea of how far (distance and time) I will drive as part of the base fee, so I mentally subtract that and then ask for what I need to cover "excess" mileage and "excess" time. Since I have to schedule the visits (usuallY quickly with the contact, I have to assume that this is the only assignment that I will be able to do in that area. Sometimes I find a bank of a lunch shop to add in, but not always.

The request seems to linger as they become convinced that no one will do it for less and they reach some sort of time limit. I ask for enough PAD so that if I get it, I ill not be upset. Yesterday, they called and asked me to request PAD for an assignment "further than you usually travel". I said that I would look online. I requested hundreds of dollars, and I hope that someone else gets it, but if I get it, I will be alright with it, if not happy. It will fill an entire day even if I avoid Monday and Friday beach traffic. Unless they ask me to "bid" on such a distant job, I don't even bother. I suspect that occasionally they need a second bid so that they can "justify" a high but lower bid from someone else. I "bid" to help the pleasant schedulers, but always enough for me to reach my hourly target.

@Hydra777 wrote:

Can I get this a lot they don't want to pay me much for shop that's over the other side of the mountain it's only like 15 to 20 miles of driving it is over a hundred miles to actually drive it