International phone hotel reservation shop with $1,000 hold on your CC shop for $10!

I almost fell out of my chair when I saw that they expected the shopper to call an international number and make a reservation that will place up to a $1,000 hold on the shopper's credit card for an international hotel and casino.

This looks more like a $60-$80 shop just for the possible charges not being reversed quickly. Don't forget that some cards will charge currency conversion fees and even if the funds are reversed, the service charges and fees are not.

Not to mention that most people don't have free international calling. I would assume there will be plenty of narrative if your reserving a $1,000 stay as well.

I'm not going to name the MSC, but it's one that will keep sending out the emails. If your signed up with them, you'll see it.

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Assuming it is a recorded call, the international calling rates wouldn't apply. My bigger concern, in addition to the crap fee, would be the hold. While in a perfect world one should be released in a matter of a few days, personal experience has shown that is occasionally not the case. I had one non-MS hotel hold take almost 30 days to be removed. It was not for $1,000.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

@LisaSTL wrote:

Assuming it is a recorded call, the international calling rates wouldn't apply.

The email stated that the shopper needed to be capable of making international calls. It's not a callback or dial through recorded call.

I have seen this too and wondered what kind of idiot would tie up that kind of cash for $10?

It never ceases to amaze me how "minor details" like tying up large sums of money for an indeterminate length of time aren't factored into fees.

I saw the email and hit "delete."

I saw this one too - They have a Spanish-speaking requirement one, no way I'm doing it for that fee. But even more laughable is the one where you're supposed to buy a timeshare (different MSC). I think it pays almost $200, but you have to be able to put $5000 in your credit card - An actual charge, and then it gets credited back. I don't want to be on the hook for a timeshare and get screwed if the client screws up.

If you add Mexico to your cell phone its only $25 a month to make a extra $9!

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2016 07:35AM by JasonHunter79.

@SoCalMama wrote:

I have seen this too and wondered what kind of idiot would tie up that kind of cash for $10?

The same kind of risk taker that goes in to a Mini Mart owned by a former Gang Banger offering to Bribe their employee to send money to Mexico too. So far this company is offering two wonderful jobs but nobody has touched them because it requires you speak Spanish too. If you looked at the job closer, I got some asking for Spanish speakers to to take advantage of these great high paying quick calls! Again what could go wrong?

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2016 07:40AM by JasonHunter79.

Jnoyola, I have seen that timeshare shop you are referring to. It reimburses an $80 meal and pays a whopping $20. Not $200.

Anybody who can put $1,000 or $5,000 on a credit card and not be concerned about how long it takes to be credited back (or wants to risk having to fight to have it credited back) surely doesn't need or want the $10 or $20 shop fee. If these get taken, I would have to wonder who on earth is taking them....

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

The ones I have seen haven't been taken. I got a "last chance" email a few days ago, LOL. I did see that the person has to live within a certain radius of the locations (Arizona, California, and Florida I think), but even if I lived 5 miles away I wouldn't do one!

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Jnoyola, I have seen that timeshare shop you are referring to. It reimburses an $80 meal and pays a whopping $20. Not $200.

JAS, what's an extra $0 among friend? $20 or $200, there's no difference to all the good people trying to make some extra cash?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/2016 06:49AM by JasonHunter79.

I haven't seen an email for this shop, but if I did you can bet I'd never do it.
Does anyone here ever email the scheduler when encountering shops this ridiculous to give them a bit of a reality check?
Not sure it'd help anything but maybe if enough shoppers were sending "you gotta be crazy" emails over the same shop, the scheduler might give the client a heads up to change guidelines or fee.

The sound of crickets will do the same without offending the scheduler. A better client will come along and nobody wants to be the one remembered as the one who called them out before. Then again, I have never taken a job for this company, as I have never seen one worth the effort for the pay offered in my area.

I tried to ask a few questions because I too have never taken one of the shops. If someone finds value in performing it for $9, I suppose they must have their reasons, right?

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/2016 06:57AM by JasonHunter79.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Jnoyola, I have seen that timeshare shop you are referring to. It reimburses an $80 meal and pays a whopping $20. Not $200.

Thanks for the correction, you're right. Mixed it up with another one. Who wouldn't want to go for these shops?

@N-TownShopper wrote:

I haven't seen an email for this shop, but if I did you can bet I'd never do it.
Does anyone here ever email the scheduler when encountering shops this ridiculous to give them a bit of a reality check?
Not sure it'd help anything but maybe if enough shoppers were sending "you gotta be crazy" emails over the same shop, the scheduler might give the client a heads up to change guidelines or fee.

I think the ones who need the reality check are not the schedulers, since at the end of the day they're not the ones who negotiate the rates with the customer. The customer and the MSC's sales people are the ones who should realize how crazy an offer like this is. But of course, like with any other business, I wouldn't be surprised the client went for the MSC who offered to provide results at such a low price because of some made up advantage in their methodology or a "skilled and established shopper base" who are willing to work for peanuts.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/2016 06:22PM by jnoyolapicazzo.

And then there is the likelihood the client has no clue what the "skilled and established shopper base" even makes on an assignment. Why should they?

Well, they should if they are concerned about issues such as fair wages. I know many clients are happy to get what they can for the least amount of pay. Others, though, seem to be concerned about their image enough to claim to pay fair wages. These clients *might* care.

I meant they are probably not provided that detailed a bid. Just last week I was provided bids for two different projects on my house. In each case the bid broke down labor and materials. Even if I took the number of workers and divided it by the hours worked, it still won't mean they are being paid that amount.

I agree that the client likely doesn't know. I think that most don't even care so long as the report is done. A few, though, seem like they would want to know.

I agree. There are probably a number of clients who would be shocked and appalled while others couldn't care less. As a firm believer in you get what you pay for, as a client it would make me wonder the caliber of shoppers or auditors evaluating my business. How do you think a MSC sells that to a client who bothers to ask? Do they tell him the shopper base is made up of altruistic individuals who gain more satisfaction out of "helping" businesses than trying to earn a living?

I know the schedulers don't make these decisions, but the schedulers are our liaison to the MSC and/or client.
I agree that most clients wouldn't care about paying a fair price. Just that if the scheduler got enough negative feedback to pass on to the MSC, it might goad them into quoting clients a more realistic price. Or maybe not.

I really wonder about this, too. I can't imagine that clients are aware of the low pay or of how easy it is to qualify for their mystery shops. I read the sales sections of some companies websites and they brag about their highly trained shopper/auditor pool. This is ridiculous given that many applications don't have so much as a writing sample requirement. Do the clients not mind that MSC's only require a shopper to be breathing?

Of course, other MSC's are more discerning and actually build a relationship with shoppers.

If half the end customers knew what shoppers were paid, they would likely be very shocked as to why they are paying as much as they are to the MSC. A good editor can polish a very poorly written report into what appears to be a professional shop if they squeeze enough information out of the shopper.
This might be why some companies ask the same question three different ways to try and get the shopper to give more details.

@TeriW wrote:

I agree that the client likely doesn't know. I think that most don't even care so long as the report is done. A few, though, seem like they would want to know.

Teri, this particular hotel has rates all over the place, the weekend runs $350-$500 depending on the your room. During off peak season they charge $50-$150 which is quite fair. They are a highly reputable hotel if that helps you make a decision to perform the job for $9. I think polyglots deserve extra pay if the assignment demands you speak Spanish or another language, is this something job creators feel is not worth extra pay?

Hmm. I speak fluent Spanish and can put the money on a card. I would do this for $100, no less. I don't like phone shops at all.

I got a $150 fee, round trip airfare, hotel, per diem and a $200 gift for putting $25,000 on a card, which was wired back to me in 24 hours. I got the money, miles for my credit card, a nice trip and an easy report.
It was so nice, I did this job 10 times. Funny though, the company mentioned here has a similar job, which pays $40, except you don't have to buy anything. I don't know what kind of people are doing them, but I highly doubt that they all can pull off the scenario as being believable.

@SoCalMama wrote:

Hmm. I speak fluent Spanish and can put the money on a card. I would do this for $100, no less. I don't like phone shops at all.

I got a $150 fee, round trip airfare, hotel, per diem and a $200 gift for putting $25,000 on a card, which was wired back to me in 24 hours. I got the money, miles for my credit card, a nice trip and an easy report.
It was so nice, I did this job 10 times. Funny though, the company mentioned here has a similar job, which pays $40, except you don't have to buy anything. I don't know what kind of people are doing them, but I highly doubt that they all can pull off the scenario as being believable.

Now, that is a proper shop with the right level of pay. I just need to find me one of those

@jnoyolapicazzo wrote:

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Jnoyola, I have seen that timeshare shop you are referring to. It reimburses an $80 meal and pays a whopping $20. Not $200.

Thanks for the correction, you're right. Mixed it up with another one. Who wouldn't want to go for these shops?

Woohoo they raised the pay to $50 because now it's urgent. I wonder why it has become urgent. Maybe no takers? BTW they don't cover airfare but you must live at least 2 hours away.

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International phone hotel reservation shop with $1,000 hold on your CC shop for $10!

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