A Flawed Experience with Unpredictable Income and Inefficient Logistics

I was desperate to earn some cash, so I headed to the warehouse to see how it all works and how much I'd be able to put in my pocket. As someone who's physically fit and used to handling loads, I was expecting to earn a decent amount in a single shift - 9k, to be exact. I chose the warehouse on Sofiyskaya in St. Petersburg, which was the best option for delivery via Ozon's pickup service. Yes, the company does offer shift delivery and pickup, with specific routes and times, which is super convenient. All the routes and times are available in the app. Although many people have complained about bus breakdowns, I didn't experience any issues - the buses always arrived on time.

I signed up for the self-employed option, where I'd pay taxes out of my own earnings. I won't go into too much detail about this, as it's all pretty straightforward and intuitive, and there aren't any major complications. After registering for all the necessary apps for side work, I started choosing shifts for training. I signed up for the 'sorting' operation, which I'll explain in more detail below. Initially, I wanted to go at night, but this warehouse only offers daytime training from 8am to 8pm. There are other warehouses that offer night training, like the one in Kolpino.

I arrived early in the morning, feeling a mix of excitement and nerves about what was in store for me. I took the Ozon delivery to the warehouse. The buses stop right in front of the entrance, so you don't have to walk far or look for anything - there are signs everywhere, so it's impossible to get lost. First, I went to the counter to get a temporary pass and waited for the instructor to arrive. The instructor then took the group of newbies to listen to a safety briefing, sign some papers, and go through all the other formalities that take up some time, but you won't really remember anything.

Around 10am, there's a break, and then you might get your uniform, which cost me 1320 rubles. After that, there's an introduction to the operation you've chosen and the placement of blocks within your group and with your instructor, followed by another break.

I have to admit, our lunch break was a bit of a blur. We didn't really get down to business until closer to 2 pm when it comes to making some real money.

My personal account summary screenI'm going to start from the beginning - why I chose 'sorting' and what it entails. After a friend went through the hiring process and described in vivid detail how she almost tripped, I got scared and signed up for the sorting operation. Logically thinking, I figured I wouldn't have to spend 12 hours searching through an unknown amount of space, so even though the pick rate is lower, I thought I'd be able to earn more since I'd be standing in one spot and just spinning around in circles. How wrong I was.

Sorting is basically this: after picking, you have to sort items into cardboard boxes. You've got metal shelving units shaped like the letter 'P', with 12 cardboard boxes on each one. You work in pairs since there are two duplicate stands and one shared one. You grab the items from the area near the conveyor belt, take them to your workstation, and start sorting them into the cardboard boxes. Sounds simple enough, but a lot of time gets wasted on gluing the cardboard boxes together. You take the boxes apart, glue them together at the bottom, put them on the stand, and sort the items into them. Then you take the heavy sorted boxes off the stand, re-glue them with tape, and send them down the conveyor belt. But if the items were smaller, it would be somewhat manageable since the boxes would fill up slower, and it feels like you're spending the whole shift just gluing boxes and lugging heavy ones back and forth. In the end, motivated by the fact that I'd get paid 5200 rubles for my training shift after 36 hours of work on the operation, I diligently worked the required hours. In reality, I managed to pick 1900 rubles on the first training day since a lot of time got wasted, and you're working in a group where everyone gets in each other's way on a small square. Then it was 4130, 5600, and 5400 rubles, and finally the payment for the training shift of 5200. It might seem like a decent amount for quick money, but it's not enough for the workload.

During this time, I also received a notification that the training shift payments have been cancelled, and they'll only pay out under the old system for anyone who managed to clock in before July 19th. To make matters worse, they've introduced some weird new schemes for newbies, like 'complete X number of picks in Y timeframe and get Z amount of money', but these schemes don't seem to work on all warehouses - they didn't show up for me at all.

After thinking it through and balancing my debit and credit, I decided to sign up for the 'picking goods on the shelf' training. This training is also during the day, with lots of water breaks, familiarization with the operation, and a group briefing on one TSD. You start working independently again at 2 PM. For this shift, I managed to pick 1600 items, but the 5200 ruble training fee isn't being paid out to me anymore. It's still too early to draw conclusions about the picks made during training, but one thing is clear - it's a lot easier.

So, I signed up for the night shift to get a better understanding of the maximum earnings.

The 'picking' operation involves taking two plastic crates on a cart, filling them with goods from the shelves according to the TSD, and then dumping them onto the conveyor belt. You do this countless times. At least here, you can see the cash register spinning, and you don't have to physically strain yourself too much because you can regulate your own speed and the weight of the crates. The only downside is that there aren't always enough carts and crates available - it's every man for himself, like in the jungle.

The take-home pay for July and August after four full shifts, two days of training, and a training stipend (screenshot from the dashboard) But, again, a huge NO, which I didn't expect. After showing up for the selection and realizing that at my pace, I'd make around 6,000-7,000 rubles, which undoubtedly thrilled me, at 11:30 PM, I was disconnected from the selection, and I, not understanding what was happening, stretched out to the senior supervisor to find out what was going on. It turned out that, due to the fact that there aren't many people willing to attend the 'sorting' (whatever that is), and there aren't enough people there, they simply disconnect those who have training for it and send them to the sorting. My outrage had no limits, but since it was late, and I couldn't leave except by taxi, understanding that I'd already earned 2,000 rubles, and 1,000 rubles for the taxi seemed too much to give up, I, as a 'worker', went on to work some more on the sorting. In the end, roughly after 3.5 hours of selection, I made 2,000 rubles, and my balance in the morning was 4,600 rubles. And that's the difference, while I was physically exhausted, and there was no desire to continue.

But, my determination didn't let me rest, and I again fell for the same trap. Again, signing up for the selection, with money spinning in my head, maybe this time it would be different. Unfortunately, no miracle happened. At 9:12 PM, I was disconnected from the selection again, with 600 rubles on my balance, a transfer to the sorting, but this time I decided it wasn't for me, especially considering the 10:15 PM delivery. I left the shift, got my penalty points deducted, which had no impact on my future work, and I went home safely. There are many such unsuccessful workers.

The Good and the BadI've gotta say, the app's not bad at all. There's definitely a chance to make some decent money - if it wasn't for all the little hiccups that get in the way, like:

Expected Earnings from the Dashboard- unwanted translations for operations I didn't choose;

- searching for packaging;

- spending hours gluing cardboard boxes on the sorting line;

- searching for missing items on the sorting line, plus finding all the senior staff and managers;

- waiting for the quality controller on the 'selection' operation, just in case I'm missing an item, and they'll write it off for 20 rubles - even if it's not my fault.

This is probably the most important part for me – the time it takes to process my orders. All the other details aren't as crucial or I just didn't care about them. I also want to mention that the product you get on the job plays a significant role in your overall experience. For me, it's better to sort and pick more smaller items than, say, shoe boxes.

Money gets transferred to my Ozone card quickly, and I didn't consider linking other cards because I didn't want to wait a week for my money. The Ozone card is also set up quickly, and you can choose to get a physical one if you want, but I'm happy with the virtual one. I can change my shifts in the app whenever I want, which is super convenient. The presented rating doesn't bother me because I don't plan to schedule shifts 365 days in advance, so it's essentially useless. From this rating, points are also deducted for early exits.

The warehouses have a prison-like system, with guards and metal detectors, but without the phrase 'you're a citizen, sir.' It didn't faze me. You leave your phone in a locker under a key, and the lockers are under cameras – everything's fine. Although they say there are three breaks (15, 30, and 15 minutes), in reality, there might be more. Some people just pick until they reach their desired amount, then smoke, drink, or eat until the end of their shift. For this lack of productivity, points are either deducted or added to the rating.

In general, every person is unique, and to understand this way of making money, you need to try it out for yourself. I wouldn't consider it as a main job, but as a side hustle, this method impresses me, especially on 'pick' operations. So, with my determination, I'll head to a short shift, maybe I'll even make a fortune picking items.