What are your biggest pet peeves with this line of work? I have two:

1) Chasing payment: This month I was underpaid or not paid at all by two companies. Not big amounts but still annoying. Why can't I charge them a late fee since they will happily dock my fee if I'm late?

2) Being made to feel guilty for asking a bonus. I understand that companies like to get the job done for as little as possible. Why pay a shopper $10 when she'll do it for $5? That said, don't make it seem like you're doing me a huge favor by adding a bonus to a shop that was insultingly low in the first place. Your "bonus" is actually just the reasonable amount for the work you are asking. It's not my fault you started so low in the first place.

I share your pet peeves.

Pet Peeve #1 is only an issue to me twice. If I work for a company that makes me chase payment, I give them one more chance. If I work for them a second time and they make me chase payment, that's all for them. I work hard for my money and chasing payment adds a lot more time and effort and makes it not worth it to work for them. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. By the second time, I should know better.

Pet Peeve #2 is valid. I figure most of the time the MSC will decline to offer the bonus and that's okay. Up to them. They don't need to be rude or to try to make the shopper feel guilty. However, I don't take the attitude that their assignment "was insultingly low in the first place. Your "bonus" is actually just the reasonable amount for the work you are asking. It's not my fault you started so low in the first place." That's pretty rude. That attitude is probably the schedulers' pet peeve. I take shops I want if I think the money is good enough for me. If it's not, I don't. I don't want them to try to make me feel guilty and I don't try to make them feel guilty.

Pet Peeve #3 is forum members who make posts about having to chase payment and getting shorted when they are paid but they do not identify the company. The biggest value this forum offers is early warning on companies with issues. Because many generous forum members shared their knowledge, I was not caught in working for some big Non-Payers who later went out of business owing money to shoppers, like Freeman, JW and Associates, and that Compliance company in Utah that did carpet cleaning shops. A lot of unsuspecting shoppers continued to work for those companies with money problems and some were out hundreds of dollars. I wasn't because of friends here who posted about their problems and sounded the alarm.

@roflwofl wrote:

However, I don't take the attitude that their assignment "was insultingly low in the first place. Your "bonus" is actually just the reasonable amount for the work you are asking. It's not my fault you started so low in the first place." That's pretty rude. That attitude is probably the schedulers' pet peeve. I take shops I want if I think the money is good enough for me. If it's not, I don't. I don't want them to try to make me feel guilty and I don't try to make them feel guilty.

I consider myself very professional and would never voice that directly to a scheduler. I realize that more often than not, they don't set prices or bonses so me directing snide remarks at them would be pointless.

In regards to not naming companies, I have seen companies deactivate shoppers based on remarks from this forum. This can be a very lonely business and sometimes shoppers just need to vent. Whether or not a shopper wants to reveal the company's names is their own business. I have always (eventually) been paid for every shop I have completed. My intent is not to burn bridges with companies over their disorganization. My intent was to vent.

@Liz36 wrote:

My intent was to vent.

So was mine.

I don't share either peeve. The MSC's I work with pay semi-monthly, monthly and 60 days. Once the cash started flowing it didn't matter which. And I never feel guilty about asking (and receiving) a bonus. There are legitimate reasons why I request a bonus - distance, tolls, time involved, location, etc. If denied, I don't feel slighted but don't accept the shop. I don't have any hesitation asking for the same bonus again a month or two later. And I do not routinely request bonuses for every shop.

I really can't think of any pet peeves. If there is a MSC I find difficult to work with there are plenty more to replace them. And, of course, the reverse is true.

@Liz36 wrote:

In regards to not naming companies, I have seen companies deactivate shoppers based on remarks from this forum.

This is why I am not "NameFromCity."

I share your frustration with Pet Peeve #1 and have stopped working for companies who "forget" to pay me until I remind them. I've posted before about them, and realize that not everyone has had the same difficulty with those companies, but that doesn't make my difficulty any less valid.

Pet Peeve #2 is taking forever to assign shops. If I apply for something and a company takes two weeks or more to assign it (especially when they assign it with a short window), it can be nearly impossible to make a route.

with Sentry, having to apply for a half dozen shops, hoping to get just 1, but listing different days just in case they assigned more than 1....and then sometimes waiting weeks to be assigned while trying to keep a time slot open because you really like that particular shop....

Lately I've been sticking to working for just GFK & Marketforce. But Marketforce can be particularly annoying with bonuses. I love GFK cause they put their shops in easy app form and I personally like announced audits which they have more of....but must of all they pay very quickly....I was once paid in 5 days with a shop that was right at the end of the year, but usually they average about 10 days for payment which is huge to me. I really don't like waiting more then a month for payment so a lot of these MSC's with 3 month payment schedules just are not my cup of tea....money loses value over time and I consider that part of doing a shop...you want me to do a shop for $8 and pay me 3 months from now.....that's worth like a dollar for the work when all is said and done IMO. But to each is own

My pet peeve is when I apply for a shop and the scheduler sends out a blast email for the same shop two days later.

One of my pet peeves is when I receive "Urgent" emails with pleads like, "Please help me get these scheduled!" or even "Please help me make my goal so my child can eat." You open up the email and there is absolutely no bonus mentioned. Don't try to guilt me into taking one of your crappy, low-paying jobs.

Or the emails advertising "Super Fun Car Dealership" shops. Sorry there is nothing fun about a car dealership. Nothing. Stop trying to make it sound appealing. The only thing that would make it "super fun" is if there was a HUGE bonus.

@DareWright wrote:

The only thing that would make it "super fun" is if there was a HUGE bonus.

Gotta agree there. A huge bonus would make many things more fun.

The "Urgent, Please HELP!!!" emails are particularly annoying because it doesn't seem like a sound business practice to rely on the kindness of your subcontractors. Do they do that with the clients? "We're sorry we didn't get all the shops completed last time for our last contract, but PLEASE HELP by signing another contract. We could really use your help with this!!!!" Do the clients do that with their customers? "Please HELP by buying more Coca Cola!!! We are on track to miss our sales quota for the quarter. PLEASE buy lots of Coke!!!!"

Of course not.

^^ That's a really funny thought! What drives me bananas with the PLEASE HELP IT'S THE LAST WEEKEND emails is when they still have them the following weekend. I actually recently did a shop because it was "the last weekend" to do it and it's still showing up with even higher bonuses (in different areas). This was weeks ago.

My biggest pet peeve is schedulers that don't return emails. Especially when it might be an attempt to help them. For example "we really really need this done. Shop dates are the 21st-23rd." You've known the shop was on the board forever, but can only do it on the 24th. You email scheduler saying that, and get no response, all. Then, the 23rd comes around.... "we really really really need this done. Shop dates are the 23th-25th." At that point, I've planned my 24th, and without the shop. A little courtesy would have got the shop filled. I understand schedulers are busy, so I always make a catchy subject line. If they still don't answer, its not problem.

Secondly, would be applying for a shop and not getting a response within 72 hours.

Thirdly, is having to take the same test over and over again every shopping period for one MSC. I understand when the guidelines changed and subsequently the test questions are adjustment. My peeve is when the test is exactly the same, over and over again.

I've never had to chase payment. For that, I thank the forum because I simply didn't sign up with the biggest problem childs.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2016 01:24AM by tcurione.

and then the irrelevent responses...ask about a grocery store and get a response about a movie theater....

I agree with tcurione on schedulers not responding to emails, especially in the examples given. It seems a little short sighted to only respond to people when it is convenient for you.

Scenarios that make me wonder if the people developing them have ever actually been a customer. Anywhere.

@tcurione wrote:

Thirdly, is having to take the same test over and over again every shopping period for one MSC. I understand when the guidelines changed and subsequently the test questions are adjustment. My peeve is when the test is exactly the same, over and over again.

Yes! Two msc that come to mind are Maritz and GFK.

Getting a call from a scheduler to do a shop. It pays lousy and is the opposite way from where I drive daily. I asked for a bonus and was denied. Then why call me?!

Having a shop application remain in "pending" status until halfway through the last possible day it can be done despite applying days before the deadline.

Pet peeve; is my scheduler and I want to get some things done. Sadly, we can't because of rotation schedules. So we have to wait until the end of the month and she gives me bonuses.

@DareWright wrote:

@tcurione wrote:

Thirdly, is having to take the same test over and over again every shopping period for one MSC. I understand when the guidelines changed and subsequently the test questions are adjustment. My peeve is when the test is exactly the same, over and over again.

Yes! Two msc that come to mind are Maritz and GFK.

The very simple solution to this is I save a PDF copy of the completed test with correct answers so I can copy them the next time. Some of those tests have never changed in years.

@Cettie wrote:

Having a shop application remain in "pending" status until halfway through the last possible day it can be done despite applying days before the deadline.

I always cancel my application long before this happens.

@DareWright wrote:

... the emails advertising "Super Fun Car Dealership" shops. .

Super Fun Car Dealership shop is an Oxymoron.

How about those calls that sound like they are from the Phillippines that don't even mention what the shop IS when they leave a message. (DSG)

Compliance wasn't paying? WOW, I got my carpets cleaned doing that shop. I was So happy! Free carpet cleaning ? Over $200, and I only had to send pictures. I got paid fast, too.

Mystery shopping companies that think you have nothing better to do than to check their site each day to see if they have a question about your report, as if they were the only mystery shopping company I worked for. I only have a couple that expect this, since I am in NV, but how do you shoppers who do work for scores of companies manage this? I figure it must take you a couple hours a day and be nearly impossible to not miss any.

Crashing websites!

One day I opened an email from an MSC I had not used in a long long time. In the email she shared the shop needed to be done ASAP as in ASAP. According to the the email the shop was paying $30.00 and there was a bonus attached to the shop in the amount of $45.00 for a total of $75.00. Since her phone number was in the email and the email was only 3 hours old I gave her a call. She said she would assign the shop to me. I went to the portal and I shared nothing was showing up. She said "Refresh your browser.''. Yep the shop was there along with the usual payment and the bonus. It took 30 min to do the shop.

Another time I got an email from another MSC. Same problem, no one to do the shop and they were under the gun. This time the shop paid $15.00 with a 40.00 bonus, for a total of $55.00 for 25 minutes work.

If you show a history of on time reports and those reports need very little rewrites and you document every dot you check in the comments you will do well.

I have 5 mystery shops scheduled for this Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday all five are different MSC's. I have all those schedulers on my email hot list and on my google contacts fast dial. The shop time involved will average 20 to 35 minutes and then I'm back home, the reports filed the same day and then I go out to the Jacuzzi and relax.