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Cvs - crazy!!!

13K views 57 replies 27 participants last post by  Ramairfreak98ss 
#1 ·
Did you hear that CVS is requiring every local vendor to carry a smart phone and check in via an app on the phone? Failure to do so means no payment. No exceptions. It uses a geo locator so they can pull your coordinates. Serious Big Brother s%%$! They are getting rid of the hard copy work orders. I only have 3 sites but my guys carry blackberries and they say you need an apple or android phone only.
 
#2 ·
Outside the fact its CVS or any other company.

Its hard for them to say you did not plow or salted. Its prove you provide service add such and such time. It also could to used in court when someone slips and falls and blames you.

My point is, as many negative things their are, their are some positive ones to.

I love my BB, I'll never give it up. I also carry a driod.
 
#4 ·
I use Mpengo Snow for all my drivers, it sends an email to the client when they are on site. Logs LOTS of information.

Personally, I use it for covering my ass more than anything. Works great.

Look at it from the company side, it is eliminating the cost of dozens of workers handling that paperwork and puts it all in a computer, making it easy to track.
 
#6 ·
hatefulmechanic;1648753 said:
I use Mpengo Snow for all my drivers, it sends an email to the client when they are on site. Logs LOTS of information.

Personally, I use it for covering my ass more than anything. Works great.

Look at it from the company side, it is eliminating the cost of dozens of workers handling that paperwork and puts it all in a computer, making it easy to track.
Interesting app, simple to use or not??? Not bad for $10.
 
#7 ·
hatefulmechanic;1648753 said:
I use Mpengo Snow for all my drivers, it sends an email to the client when they are on site. Logs LOTS of information.

Personally, I use it for covering my ass more than anything. Works great.

Look at it from the company side, it is eliminating the cost of dozens of workers handling that paperwork and puts it all in a computer, making it easy to track.
Is that APP worthwhile???
 
#10 ·
snowbrothers101;1648726 said:
Did you hear that CVS is requiring every local vendor to carry a smart phone and check in via an app on the phone? Failure to do so means no payment. No exceptions. It uses a geo locator so they can pull your coordinates. Serious Big Brother s%%$! They are getting rid of the hard copy work orders. I only have 3 sites but my guys carry blackberries and they say you need an apple or android phone only.
I saw it too... is it an app then? I can only imagine the logistical nightmares in billing/invoicing and office work in the end of the season :/

We have blackberries too, not only that, but even a gps report for the trucks won't suffice... We just had NexTraq install ones on all of our trucks and some of the equipment that is left on site. Mainly due to billing issues and disputes, now that will be nipped in the bud quickly.

Last year, we had Walgreens and Public Storages through SMS Assist... a bunch of them. With multiple trucks and drivers out there, the only real manageable way to keep track of all services without pointing the finger to every employee for "forgetting" or who knows what when it comes down to the end of the season, was to have all drivers text in the store number and time completed, when they're done. One person would then call them all in. In any more major storm, 4-6" max last year, with many trucks out, it was a full time job just to call these in on the fly and manage the spredsheet and quickbooks for accounting. By the time we got to the end of the season, they claimed they paid 100%, and we were 25% off what we billed versus what they paid still.

We had almost 800 services we then later had to go over, THREE times, multiple methods, line item by line item cross referencing checks they paid.

End of season they told us we had 80~ services needing manually signed work orders, we got about ~50 signed of the 80, and then we're still unpaid for 120+ services. Others we had manual signoffs for, they said we never logged into their system... well duh, we have the manual signoff which overrides everything!

Its terrible, although i 100% agree that this day and age, contractors have to be accountable for their crews and trucks for services, its nothing more than extra avenues to allow the mangement companies to not pay, AFTER all the work is completed.

We had one walgreens in WEstampton, NJ, suddenly refuse to email sign off on 15 services end of season. No one at SMS really cared, we spent hours on end proving times of service for the Walgreens to check their video camera footage. Eventually the manager did find our truck on all times stated, and signed off, but then was transfered to another store, and the main manager "released" or fired. We were left with nothing, almost $3k in services performed in Feb/March 2013 that were never paid for one store alone.

Here it is from one vendor.

CVS- As we had communicated earlier, CVS corporate is planning on implementing a GPS based service verification system to report completed snow services. This system will require the driver to be on site with either an iPhone or Android phone to verify the service completion.
Unfortunately, we do not have any additional detailed information at this time. We will be providing you with any updates on this new process as we get the information from CVS.

BTW, we bid a CVS distribution plant last summer, facility on both sides of the street is over 800k sq ft. In the end, they gave it to the ONE bidder lower than us, a local company that has ONE pickup truck and one personal pickup truck like a 2005 F250 Ford. Even the office said we're next on the list to call if anything happens and they can't handle the area. There was a run 1300ft long behind where the trucks park that you'd flat out need a 15 ton Front end loader and a 14-16' box for in any major storm. This year, they renewed contract with the same guy, so they don't really care about who they hire or how the work is, as long as someones insurance covers their lot when its winter time !
 
#15 ·
Ramairfreak98ss;1649252 said:
I saw it too... is it an app then? I can only imagine the logistical nightmares in billing/invoicing and office work in the end of the season :/

We have blackberries too, not only that, but even a gps report for the trucks won't suffice... We just had NexTraq install ones on all of our trucks and some of the equipment that is left on site. Mainly due to billing issues and disputes, now that will be nipped in the bud quickly.

Last year, we had Walgreens and Public Storages through SMS Assist... a bunch of them. With multiple trucks and drivers out there, the only real manageable way to keep track of all services without pointing the finger to every employee for "forgetting" or who knows what when it comes down to the end of the season, was to have all drivers text in the store number and time completed, when they're done. One person would then call them all in. In any more major storm, 4-6" max last year, with many trucks out, it was a full time job just to call these in on the fly and manage the spredsheet and quickbooks for accounting. By the time we got to the end of the season, they claimed they paid 100%, and we were 25% off what we billed versus what they paid still.

We had almost 800 services we then later had to go over, THREE times, multiple methods, line item by line item cross referencing checks they paid.

End of season they told us we had 80~ services needing manually signed work orders, we got about ~50 signed of the 80, and then we're still unpaid for 120+ services. Others we had manual signoffs for, they said we never logged into their system... well duh, we have the manual signoff which overrides everything!

Its terrible, although i 100% agree that this day and age, contractors have to be accountable for their crews and trucks for services, its nothing more than extra avenues to allow the mangement companies to not pay, AFTER all the work is completed.

We had one walgreens in WEstampton, NJ, suddenly refuse to email sign off on 15 services end of season. No one at SMS really cared, we spent hours on end proving times of service for the Walgreens to check their video camera footage. Eventually the manager did find our truck on all times stated, and signed off, but then was transfered to another store, and the main manager "released" or fired. We were left with nothing, almost $3k in services performed in Feb/March 2013 that were never paid for one store alone.

Here it is from one vendor.

CVS- As we had communicated earlier, CVS corporate is planning on implementing a GPS based service verification system to report completed snow services. This system will require the driver to be on site with either an iPhone or Android phone to verify the service completion.
Unfortunately, we do not have any additional detailed information at this time. We will be providing you with any updates on this new process as we get the information from CVS.

BTW, we bid a CVS distribution plant last summer, facility on both sides of the street is over 800k sq ft. In the end, they gave it to the ONE bidder lower than us, a local company that has ONE pickup truck and one personal pickup truck like a 2005 F250 Ford. Even the office said we're next on the list to call if anything happens and they can't handle the area. There was a run 1300ft long behind where the trucks park that you'd flat out need a 15 ton Front end loader and a 14-16' box for in any major storm. This year, they renewed contract with the same guy, so they don't really care about who they hire or how the work is, as long as someones insurance covers their lot when its winter time !
your last sentence probably sums up every national's business plan and the demise of quality work and fair pay
 
#16 ·
The Walgreen here require that as well but you have to call in and listen to a machine recorded person and say what service you did via keypad.
 
#19 ·
SMS assist does the same crap every year. They send you an email and you have to go and prove you did the service and if you cant your out the money. Should go right to Walgreens and ask if they paid out for those services and show them that your not paid and how can they bill out for them. God i hate these companies.
 
#23 ·
I find a lot of this really sad. What has happened in our society where no one can be trusted anymore?

-The contractor can't trust the customer to pay unless they go through ridiculous means to prove they did the work.
-The customer can't trust the contractor to actually do the work, to the extent that they actually create their own flipping mobile app to satisfy their paranoia.
-Neither the contractor nor the customer can trust the general public to actually take responsibility for themselves and their own actions. Everyone feels like this is something that must be done to CYA in court when someone falls and breaks a bone walking in to get their $10 triple mocha espresso cappuccino with a cherry on top in the middle of a blizzard.

Have we really degraded this far? Apparently we have, and it makes me a little sick to my stomach.

A buddy of mine does foreclosures for Safeguard. For each place he does, he takes an average of 15 pictures to show the work was done. Really?!?! A mere 10 places would yield 150 pictures! He spends more time taking pictures, uploading them, and invoicing than he does actually doing the work. Anyone see anything wrong here?
 
#25 ·
OC&D;1701711 said:
I find a lot of this really sad. What has happened in our society where no one can be trusted anymore?

-The contractor can't trust the customer to pay unless they go through ridiculous means to prove they did the work.
-The customer can't trust the contractor to actually do the work, to the extent that they actually create their own flipping mobile app to satisfy their paranoia.
-Neither the contractor nor the customer can trust the general public to actually take responsibility for themselves and their own actions. Everyone feels like this is something that must be done to CYA in court when someone falls and breaks a bone walking in to get their $10 triple mocha espresso cappuccino with a cherry on top in the middle of a blizzard.

Have we really degraded this far? Apparently we have, and it makes me a little sick to my stomach.

A buddy of mine does foreclosures for Safeguard. For each place he does, he takes an average of 15 pictures to show the work was done. Really?!?! A mere 10 places would yield 150 pictures! He spends more time taking pictures, uploading them, and invoicing than he does actually doing the work. Anyone see anything wrong here?
Its the world we live in now. Everyone is looking to save a buck/ make a buck..

In some cases to do that its easiest to screw someone over, I see it everyday!
 
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