Pilot collections
What is a pilot?
A pilot is a period of collections with a new business that has not been involved with the Food Waste Hero programme before. These pilot collections determine if the business wishes to partner with Olio long-term and start collections with all of their sites either around the UK or globally.
How do I know if I am collecting from a pilot business?
It will be clear that you have signed up for a pilot collection as the welcome message in the group chat will suggest that it is in a pilot phase. If you are claiming a collection mid-way through the pilot, your Squad Captain will inform you. Additionally, extra pilot-specific details will become available to you when you receive the confirmation email after claiming the collection slot. Further, when you speak with a member of the Olio team in your induction call, they will inform you of this.
What should I expect from collections with pilot businesses?
The collection process is exactly the same as with any other regular collection. However, as we have never collected from pilot businesses before, and store staff might not be familiar with the food donation process, pilot collections may have teething problems, which could make the collection process slower. For this reason, you can expect a member of the Olio team to be in close contact with your squad to provide instructions and support with any issues. We will also let you know when the pilot terminates and if we will start collections from more of their sites.
Who can complete collections from a pilot business?
Pilot collections are extremely important as they are an opportunity to prove that Olio is the best solution for distributing the businesses' surplus food.
Olio has a vetting process for pilots that is very selective. This means that only FWHs without any warnings in the last 6 months will be eligible to collect from pilot locations. FWHs that miss a collection during a pilot, will be removed from their slot. We appreciate your understanding given the importance of these collections.