After assisting with scheduling pt, I'm now official. To make it easier for schedulers to find you, would people be agreeable to creating state forum postings within the introduction forum so you can let us know where you're located and where you're willing to shop? Do you find job boards on various sites to be helpful? Do you have favorites (including this one)!

Generally I find the job boards less than useful as they post for the entire country and most of the work I do is from going directly to the company job board (such as ACL's) to look for what is available in my area.

What I find is that it is a 'devil and the deep blue sea' thing. When company posts go directly to outside boards (such as Jobslinger) the chances are I will not get the work because I am out doing shops, not hanging on the board, when they post. Otherwise, when companies post there is all too often a really good reason why nobody has taken the job--low fee, slow payment, nit-picky or otherwise difficult to work with.

What I appreciate most are those companies that pop me an email WHEN NEW JOBS IN MY AREA POST. We all get jaded with the companies and schedulers who just keep sending email after email after email for the same job we have already decided is not worthwhile performing.

I find this board works fabulously well for identifying companies I have not signed up with or looked at for a while. I am not wild about identifying my location as I don't need to alert every other shopper in my state who is lurking the boards about where work is. Let positive comments about your company by shoppers be your advertising.

So you don't want competition? Understood. In larger markets like Atlanta, New York, etc. it's not hard to find shoppers. I agree that shoppers make the best referrers. In a recent study of our referral sources, most of them said through a friend, relative, classmate, etc. I do find this site helpful as well, as some new shoppers last month listed this site as the referral source.

However, we've started acquiring clients new or smaller locations, so we're trying to make it as easy as possible for shoppers to find us. Thanks for the honest feedback though. As our Valentine's gift to our valued shoppers, we have started posting some shops a day early. Have at it!

PS: To a scheduler, all of our shops are worth it!

Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 02/15/2011 01:40AM by ich@acl.

I'm glad I read this, as I never know when you post. thought it was around the 20th, I'll go on and pick up a nice restaurant. I do say city I live in not afraid of competion as whoever wants to find jobs in this area will.

Irene,

We post the dates on the shopper home page and I also Twitter them.

No jobs listed in my area yet...I don't do Twitter nor want too.

I don't do Twitter either. Facebook is the place to be.

I enjoy working for Imogene. Good Jobs, Excellent Communications and Great Pay!

mrcomputer101 Wrote:
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> I enjoy working for Imogene. Good Jobs, Excellent
> Communications and Great Pay!

I enjoy working with mrcomputer as well! He regularly picks up shops for us and that has helped us immensely. Now, if he could just find about 100 more shoppers like him where he lives...

I brought up this subject of how to find you guys and other shoppers like you because, my fellow schedulers always not how we all have a lot of shoppers in some of our clients' areas and very few in others. We know there have to be shoppers (or people interested in shopping) in our clients' cities and states, but we're always looking for creative ways to find you all.

I do restaurants for the most part, so it is reimbursement only. Excellent Co., and has great clients.

It is not reimbursement only. They have reimbursed me plus paid me to go.

Hi Imogene,
I have not heard of your company but I will be checking it out.
Thanks.
And good luck in the new job.
Steve

I can only speak about L.A., where ACL's restaurants are reimbursenment only, why argue with that, do you live here? Perhaps Imogene can chime in, if you get a fee more power to you, we have many shoppers here, supply in demand, why pay a fee when tons will do it for the meal. Most restaurants here have cut out their fee, a few give you 10.00 or so, the meal is well worth 10.00.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/2011 06:07PM by Irene_L.A..

I just responded to your incorrect statement. You statement would mislead other shoppers.

as would yours, depending on where you live.

semi new scheduler, I have done merchandising for 20 years and I love it. I started doing secret shopping about 3 years ago. I am very good at what I do. I live in Utah, Utah County. Let me know about jobs! Thanks LaRae kalaallridge@yahoo.com. It takes alot of time to do everything, I DO NOT DO ALOT OF facebook.

semi new scheduler, I have done merchandising for 20 years and I love it. I started doing secret shopping about 3 years ago. I am very good at what I do. I live in Utah, Utah County. Let me know about jobs! Thanks LaRae kalaallridge@yahoo.com. It takes alot of time to do everything, I DO NOT DO ALOT OF facebook. Peanut also works for me

Interesting about the no fee for restaurants. We pay the shopper to do the shop and in some cases even send out $50 Gift Cards for their meals.

Flash Wrote:
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> Generally I find the job boards less than useful
> as they post for the entire country and most of
> the work I do is from going directly to the
> company job board (such as ACL's) to look for what
> is available in my area.
>
> What I find is that it is a 'devil and the deep
> blue sea' thing. When company posts go directly
> to outside boards (such as Jobslinger) the chances
> are I will not get the work because I am out doing
> shops, not hanging on the board, when they post.
> Otherwise, when companies post there is all too
> often a really good reason why nobody has taken
> the job--low fee, slow payment, nit-picky or
> otherwise difficult to work with.
>
> What I appreciate most are those companies that
> pop me an email WHEN NEW JOBS IN MY AREA POST. We
> all get jaded with the companies and schedulers
> who just keep sending email after email after
> email for the same job we have already decided is
> not worthwhile performing.
>
> I find this board works fabulously well for
> identifying companies I have not signed up with or
> looked at for a while. I am not wild about
> identifying my location as I don't need to alert
> every other shopper in my state who is lurking the
> boards about where work is. Let positive comments
> about your company by shoppers be your
> advertising.


You menton Jobslinger as a source. I find the posts there have been assigned at least a few weeks ago or they are "charity" shops. I have to take money out of my pocket because the people that offer the shops throw nickles around like manhole covers. Does anyone else have that experiencwe with Jobslinger?

They should take the shops down when they get older than George Washington's underwear hanging on a line.

The point is to check Jobslinger first to find out who has shops in your area. Yes the reasonable stuff goes fast, and yes the SASSIE companies that participate have their shops show up there immediately when they post. But for companies that are not SASSIE you can find some nice places to work with and if you hover over their job board you can even catch the decent SASSIE stuff as it posts. So frankly I am mostly suggesting it as an historical reference.

Irene_L.A. Wrote:
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> No jobs listed in my area yet...I don't do Twitter
> nor want too.

I thought Twitter is something you get like Cooties or bed bugs. I don't twitter either.

To clarify the fee point; Some of the dining shops with ACL are reimbursement only while others pay a fee.

Irene; you may not be seeing the fee based shops because there's a required training and/or level of shops completed to move up in their system and see those. They are plentiful in LA.

I would say that it's worth putting in the work on the no fee shops to move up, since I really enjoy the client that they offer the experienced shoppers. I'm sure it's a nightmare for Imogene, but I like that they are in need of shoppers in my area, since I can almost always log-in and grab a great last-minute dining assignment!

Sorry I've taken a hiatus from the board, but we have some HUGE clients we just landed thanks to shoppers like you. Let me address some points:

1. Irene- we have some really lucrative senior living shops that pay anywhere from $50-$100 a shop. As everyone has stated, it all depends on your area. Also, you're missing out with Twitter! I've set it to automatically send updates on my LinkedIn page as well.
2. Piled Hip Deep, PHD- We try to take down old postings from various websites but the more places we post shops and the more shops we have, the more it takes to manage. That's why I limit the sites I post on to ones where we do get more responses.
3. Piled Hip Deep, PHDAh- Charity shops! Charity to some, great for others who already love that client or wants to at least try it. What I find helps as a scheduler is to know WHY you don't like a certain shop.
4. Emma- The economy and supply and demand drive that. To all, do trust that all MSP's understand the fee situation and, when we can, we try to address it.
5. laraelarae- I definitely will be contacting you! Lately, we've been getting some merchandisers who want to do our hotel shops when they're on the road doing merchandising/demonstration jobs.
6. Irene- thanks for inviting me to "chime in" and for everyone's feedback. Whatever questions my post doesn't answer, feel free to PM or email me.

-I am a fairly new mystery shopper. I have been doing it for almost five months now. I am registered with a closer look, but I have not done any shops for them yet. I am trying to pursue mystery shopping full time. I am in Detrit, Michigan. I do shops in the surrounding cities as well. This is my first forum that I have joined.
----------------------------------------------------
> After assisting with scheduling pt, I'm now
> official. To make it easier for schedulers to find
> you, would people be agreeable to creating state
> forum postings within the introduction forum so
> you can let us know where you're located and where
> you're willing to shop? Do you find job boards on
> various sites to be helpful? Do you have favorites
> (including this one)!