Recently, at another cooking site, the subject was food demonstrators. I always assumed that they came to work and everything was set up for them, they worked the shift and went home. This posting, that I have copied and pasted, tells another story. Is this really the way it is?
"First, they don't care what age you are. The person I know is 90 years old, a young 90. That said...everything you do with the company you have to do on the computer!
Once she leaves her store, within 20 minutes she has to be on the computer punching in all the information and answering all the questions....used to, she had to do that on the phone, punching all the numbers, for a good long while.
They don't care what age you are, any disability - just conform.
They send you big boxes of materials, maybe....if you don't get them you have to call the store mgr. and work it out with him. It could be you're scheduled to work that day but he may cancel the whole deal. Sometimes you go to the store with the intention of working and he changes everything then; you've made the trip for nothing. When you're in the store, he doesn't often care if you're situated close to where the product is sold. He may stick you near the cold freezers, or within view of the office. If the store is nice, they might help you unload everything out of your and re-load, or they might not.
The company that sent you to the store is specific about what you display, they tell you how many bottles or containers of this or that. They have to control what you pick up to try. That's why maybe you want to try this but the demonstrators, have to have you try something else; it's a numbers game.
So you see, now you have a big box of stuff, you may not have a job for that day or weekend, now you have to start storing all this stuff.
If you get the big box, you have to sort it out; napkins, cup, plastic utensils, maybe the product you have to display. Sometimes the grocer has the product, sometimes he doesn't.
Until very recently you had to contact a group manager to try to sway him to give you work at a certain store(s) closer to your home, if you wish. If he likes someone more than you he has the option to give more work to someone else.
You have to provide your own cook top, your microwave, electric skillets, table, covering, pitcher(s) etc.
As I said, until recently everything has been done by phone, more and more now on computers. Starting very soon, there will be no more group leaders; you have to go on the computer, find where a job is and then submit a request for it; you have no idea how many people are requesting that same work and you have no idea if you're going to have work or not.
If you need the $, all this is important.
Then we come to year end. The IRS treats you as having your own business...even though this company sends you a check...So big taxes comes off and in the end you haven't made a lot of $ working. The hours they show working may not match the hours you've kept track of.
Also in the past you joined a company be cause they had a good reputation...Well, company has bought out company, has bought out company and it's about down to 1 of very few companies now. Sometimes you wait longer for your check than other times, it could be 5 or 6 wks. or never.
To top it off, all the extra work you do, on the phone, on the computer, maybe shopping for a little cook top or electric stove, etc., all this adds up to extra hours you work that you don't get paid for....you only get paid for the time you hand out coupons or cook or pour or whatever. And you might be critiqued by a secret shopper".