Its probably my fault.

Have you ever just had a company that you didn't "gel" with? BARE and I can't seem to get on the same page. They have a car wash shop listed. The car wash (with a duck on it) has locations that have sprung up like crab grass around my residence. So I picked one that was bounced at around $20. Nobody else had done the shop..there were like 3 of them..and I drive out there. It is a bit of a trip--about 12 miles or so.

The reason the shop hasn't been done is that the location is not open yet. There is a chain-link fence around the property. The website of the duck company says that it is closed. So I report that it is closed, using a screen cap from the company's own website that says it is closed. Not good enough for them.

Now let me stress...I wasn't expecting to get paid. I drove out a bit further and had a nice BBQ dinner nearby. I turned on my LYFT sign and did some rides out in the hinterland (its sort of a rural area) and came back home. The next day...they want me to drive out there and take a photo of the closed location for payment. It was out of my way so I just said that I didn't expect to get paid or anything. I didn't get a citation for it or anything either.

So I'm looking at the job board and it is again listed...$15 and full reimbursement for a top-notch car wash--the company is really great. So I'm toying with the idea...when it gets back up to $20 or so, I'll take all 3 of them, drive out there, file 3 "closed reports" with 3 different photos of the same "coming soon" sign and see what they say. LOL


I don't know why this is bothering me so much. Thanks for letting me vent.

Great company actually. Not a great client. Email the scheduler and state your price and go for it.

There is rotation. You won't be able to do all three unless you use three different vehicles or go on separate days.

Something similar happened to me once. It was an old location that was closed due to renovations. I took lots of pictures because (1) why not and (2) I considered that to be SOP for a closed location. I got paid the base fee and, of course, there was no reimbursement for a car wash. Totally not worth the trip but it was better than nothing.

I don't know why you are upset with Bare. Websites are often not updated or contain wrong information. A picture is worth a thousand words. If the duck client will pay Bare for a closed location report, then it makes sense for Bare to post the shops even knowing the location is closed. If the fee alone is worth it for the shopper, I see nothing wrong with a shopper doing these shops.

The only issue I see is Bare probably won't let shoppers know in the shop postings that this is a closed location. So, a shopper who applies thinks they will get a fee plus a "free" car wash but won't get a car wash at all.

I learned in my early days of MSing to take photos of closed locations, signs on doors saying a location is closed, etc. I am there anyway and the photo on my phone is free. More often than not, a closed location report requires a photo. It is a habit with me now.

I like your input.

On all closed shops I take several pictures and use GPS location. My pictures also have GPS turned on. I recently did a gas station shop. The station was being built. I took pictures of the chain link fence and the sign saying. "Station name" coming soon. I got paid for the shop.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/2022 06:59PM by johnb974.

Make sure you verify the closed location fee before you take the assignment. I have found that these can vary without any sense of reason (not necessarily with Bare, but with MSCs in general). Some pay the full fee and or any bonus promised, some pay a base fee only, and some pay some paltry closed location fee which can be truly disappointing and much less than expected, even with photos.

Yeah, I know. Shoulda took the picture as far as my shop went.

Its just that there is the shopper, the MSC, and the client. I would figure (this is just me and my common sense reflex I guess) that the staff at BARE would contact the client and verify the location isn't up and running yet and de-list the shop.

Im really not understanding why you would not take a picture of a closed location. Its pretty standard practice that if a location is closed take a few pictures of the location. Some MSC even want a picture of the address which is not hard to find on a building or street sign. I think you should take pictures of everything just in case why take the trip to not get paid even if its partial pay for a closed location.

sil2222 states--Some MSC even want a picture of the address which is not hard to find on a building or street sign.

Bob disagrees--On two separate occasions and for different MSCs, a photo, on the building, of a required street number was not to be found AND both companies refused to accept any other proof. In that my pay would not be forthcoming, I refused to submit my report and terminated each MSC..

@metro25782 I have run into this situation of closed locations or locations no longer there. I take a few pictures with the geolocation stamp on and off. I include a picture of the geolocation stamp pic matching the survey address with the report and explain in the notes that I have a pic without the stamp if they need that too.

@sil2222 wrote:

Im really not understanding why you would not take a picture of a closed location. Its pretty standard practice that if a location is closed take a few pictures of the location. Some MSC even want a picture of the address which is not hard to find on a building or street sign. I think you should take pictures of everything just in case why take the trip to not get paid even if its partial pay for a closed location.

Its good advice. I thought (my fist mistake LOL) that the client's website telling them that the location isn't open would be a vivid enough indicator that they should probably not be sending shoppers there.

@heywave wrote:

@metro25782 I have run into this situation of closed locations or locations no longer there. I take a few pictures with the geolocation stamp on and off. I include a picture of the geolocation stamp pic matching the survey address with the report and explain in the notes that I have a pic without the stamp if they need that too.

Right. I should have done it. Just as a policy if nothing else. Hell..it couldn't hurt.

Many years ago I notified a msc of a closed location on their boards. I was not expecting pay. This same location kept showing up month after month. After about three months I gave up on letting them know. But in my market I usually check any shop online first since the base fee at 1/2 fee for a closed shop is so small it is not worth fighting traffic and spending an hour getting to and from a closed shop. When there is a bonus it is $2 here.

@sandyf wrote:

Many years ago I notified a msc of a closed location on their boards. I was not expecting pay. This same location kept showing up month after month. After about three months I gave up on letting them know. But in my market I usually check any shop online first since the base fee at 1/2 fee for a closed shop is so small it is not worth fighting traffic and spending an hour getting to and from a closed shop. When there is a bonus it is $2 here.

Yeah, right now, they're paying $20 for the closed car wash location. Its so weird!!!