Are the pizza shops worth the time?

I have not shopped with this MSC For sometime now, But I get these emails constantly that there are so many of the Pizza shops available. Are they difficult or something, because nobody's taking them.

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Well since you didn't name which particular pizza restaurant, it's okay to name the MSC. There are only 3 in my area that I know of that shop pizza chains: NSS, ACL, and Intelli-shop. I don't find any of them difficult, but many people don't want to take shops that are reimbursement only, which most of the time is all that these MSCs want to pay. I do them but only when bonused. You can call or email and ask for a bonus. If they won't give a bonus now, they might after the middle of the month.

There are many threads on this board that address this very issue. A "search" should give you a lot of great info on this.

Alta306 has pizza shops that are fee + reimbursement. I haven't done any pizza shops for them because the available ones are too far away, but the other shops I've done for Alta360 have been straightforward and easy. Schedulers are responsive.

I am referring to ACL, I love eating out, so the reimbursement is perfect for me. I was asking because there are always so many emails and text about this shop. The scheduler has a hard time filling this one.

Sinclair does them also with reimbursement and fee. I could do one everyday if I wanted to.

The only pizza job I'll do is not from any mentioned above. My town has opened a sleuth of healthy pizza shops and a few not so healthy. I don't and won't do NSS pizza's, (although NSS is one of my favorites),
their pizza, not for me, so, you have to decide what you enjoy, thin crust, thick and so on. Pizza is so individual. I am loving my new find which doesn't cover a drink, but for a couple dollars I get a pizza I enjoy, making it worth while, plus only one picture required taken at the restaurant and easy report. Sorry I can't give name, have enough competition if you know what I mean!!

Live consciously....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/09/2016 03:38PM by Irene_L.A..

ACL....is it the fire pizza place? The shop is easy. Only pays a reimbursement, but its worth the free meal to me.

Red Lobster and Olive Garden are NOT fine dining!

@GrnEyedBandita wrote:

ACL....is it the fire pizza place? The shop is easy. Only pays a reimbursement, but its worth the free meal to me.

Not ACL...they haven't had jobs in my area lately.

Live consciously....

Irene, I don't do NSS pizza shops for the pizza, only for money. I don't eat it, I give it to the college kids next door who are very appreciative of it. There is nothing in the guidelines or report about the taste of the pizza.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Irene, I don't do NSS pizza shops for the pizza, only for money. I don't eat it, I give it to the college kids next door who are very appreciative of it. There is nothing in the guidelines or report about the taste of the pizza.

You mentioned that before, but I can't see myself in the street giving out free pizza, The college up here (2 year) students usually live at home. I'd probably eat it or dump it. Here they don't give a big bonus, they just sit on the board. For you making a nice bit of $$ works, not so much in L.A.

Live consciously....

They don't offer the bonus on the website. I call and negotiate. Have you ever tried calling them? I get $20 bonuses for delivery shops and higher if I actually have to drive somewhere to pick the pizza up. At the end of the month they have a harder time filling shops. If you see them sitting on the board, it's because they are having a hard time filling them, and after the middle of the month the schedulers start to get desperate and will up the fees.

There have been a few times when the kids next door have not been home. I have sectioned off the pizza in ziplocks and handed them out the window to where the panhandlers stand at the intersection, I don't stand in the street giving out pizza, LOL. But if you are getting paid $20 to $30 per shop and don't like the pizza and there's no one to give it to, throw it away!

It is all about personal preferences and annoyance/frustration levels. Some people might think the time and effort put into a shop is worth the free food and payment(or non payment) amount. But, you have to try it out at least once to know how YOU feel about it.
I, personally, would rather do the crappy pizza place and insane sticks, with a 15 minute report, and pays 5-12 dollars once a week than do the ACL place that has a 40 minute report(this is the fastest I have ever been able to finish it) and MIGHT have a 5 dollar payment if it is last minute once a month. But, that's just me. There are other people who love love looooooooooooove the ACL pizza and do not mind the time, effort, and reimbursement only and go every chance they can get. The ACL pizza is good, much better than the "Roman" one I'll do. But, I care more about the money and low stress reports than the actual food. But, again, I tried many many shops before I was able to whittle down to the ones that I was willing to do on a regular basis versus ones I'll do rarely, if I am super itching for that particular food item(when the food was more important than the payment)

@MScat wrote:

I am referring to ACL, I love eating out, so the reimbursement is perfect for me. I was asking because there are always so many emails and text about this shop. The scheduler has a hard time filling this one.

I would say try it out and see if you like it. There is alot of timing involved, but if you can get it with a bonus, it's worth trying out. The report was lengthy the first time I did the shop, but like anything else, the more times you do it the easier it becomes. They have really good pizza too!

I like the NSS shops because I like the pizza (but can't order it the way I like with extra red sauce and well done because the shop does not allow that.) I have only done the shops for bonuses- anywhere from $8 to $20. For some reason- they have a hard time getting people to do them. Once you get the pictures down- it is pretty easy. What I like is the report is mostly yes and no answers. There are 3 narrative blocks but they are SHORT and they are about 200-450 characters so you don't have to say much. I do not know why they have such a hard time getting shoppers-- they are always begging me to do more shops. Be careful- the client LOVES to out shoppers and I was restricted from any shops for 1.5 years!! (I picked a business as a delivery point- BAD move.) Even though I had great reports and good pictures- I could not do any shops for 1.5 years. I never had to do any rework or bad pictures. Go figure. The client is shooting themselves in the foot and you can be outted pretty easily. This client has a repuration for outting shoppers and if the local general manager does not like your feedback- I think they look for you and try to out you. I mix it up and don't do too many shops to avoid being spotted as a shopper. I had so much pizza I gave a number away to the homeless in my area.

To date I have not done a pizza shop. I am considering it and one of these days, I might, after reading some positive comments.

The NSS pizza shops are so easy I don't even have to think. They don't want much narrative; in fact, there is a limited amount of characters allowed. The ACL pizza shops I do because they shop a local chain that has really, really good food and I can get $32 worth. The pizza is $15 and then I get salads and stromboli with the remainder--meals for 3 days. The report isn't all that long, though it does require a recorded phone call. No biggie.

I have never done the "little roman guy" pizza place. How is that one? Did you like the pizza? Did they pay fairly? I have not had that pizza in 20 years because I never liked it. Too boring and doughy. Of course, things could have changed over the years.

Did you like the shop and was it easy?

@JASFLALMT wrote:

They don't offer the bonus on the website. I call and negotiate. Have you ever tried calling them? I get $20 bonuses for delivery shops and higher if I actually have to drive somewhere to pick the pizza up. At the end of the month they have a harder time filling shops. If you see them sitting on the board, it's because they are having a hard time filling them, and after the middle of the month the schedulers start to get desperate and will up the fees.
Sandy's message below:

Jasflamit I am on the side of Irene as I live in her vast area of Southern Ca. I only do the NSS shops when they offer a bonus. They cannot fill my local pizza shop and beg me to do it. Once in a while they offer $3 as a bonus. That does not even cover the cost as the pizza here is $23+ with delivery and the job reimburses $20.After the end of the month they will sometimes offer me $7. I still will not do it for that. I eat the pizza myself as I am definitely not working for $4 or $-3 or free so no point even doing the job if I am giving it away. They even beg me to do "for no fee" the delivery shops not in my area!! Every now and then if I say I would do it for $15 they will allow that but not always. The scheduler who would agree to a $15 bonus has not worked there for years. And this is for a shop due in a day or so. Every time I do it I am totally frustrated. I have to take pic after pic to be able to read the numbers on the receipt photos they require. I never have an issue with the ACL pizza photos and get a much higher quality product and a drink for a report which takes me about the same time. Occasionally there is a bonus for that one.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/10/2016 09:37PM by sandyf.

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

I have never done the "little roman guy" pizza place. How is that one? Did you like the pizza? Did they pay fairly? I have not had that pizza in 20 years because I never liked it. Too boring and doughy. Of course, things could have changed over the years.

Did you like the shop and was it easy?

I haven't done the shop, but I can say that I doubt their pizza has changed much in 20 years considering that your description would still definitely be accurate. Boring and doughy, no doubt.

Mystery shopping around Georgia.

@sandyf wrote:

@JASFLALMT wrote:

They don't offer the bonus on the website. I call and negotiate. Have you ever tried calling them? I get $20 bonuses for delivery shops and higher if I actually have to drive somewhere to pick the pizza up. At the end of the month they have a harder time filling shops. If you see them sitting on the board, it's because they are having a hard time filling them, and after the middle of the month the schedulers start to get desperate and will up the fees.
Sandy's message below:

Jasflamit I am on the side of Irene as I live in her vast area of Southern Ca. I only do the NSS shops when they offer a bonus. They cannot fill my local pizza shop and beg me to do it. Once in a while they offer $3 as a bonus. That does not even cover the cost as the pizza here is $23+ with delivery and the job reimburses $20.After the end of the month they will sometimes offer me $7. I still will not do it for that. I eat the pizza myself as I am definitely not working for $4 or $-3 or free so no point even doing the job if I am giving it away. They even beg me to do "for no fee" the delivery shops not in my area!! Every now and then if I say I would do it for $15 they will allow that but not always. The scheduler who would agree to a $15 bonus has not worked there for years. And this is for a shop due in a day or so. Every time I do it I am totally frustrated. I have to take pic after pic to be able to read the numbers on the receipt photos they require. I never have an issue with the ACL pizza photos and get a much higher quality product and a drink for a report which takes me about the same time. Occasionally there is a bonus for that one.

YES Sandy, they just don't bonus well here,7.00 would be a big thing for them.....glad you explained it so thoughtfully...., those pictures would send me to a looney bin, + I hate those pizza's, so why? I now do a great pizza with thin crust that I love...how much pizza can one eat?

Live consciously....

I don't understand the problem with the pics...2 pizza photos and scan some receipts. Not difficult at all and I've done 100s of them. I do understand it if you can't get them to pay you properly.

I actually really liked that place, myself. The shop was easy and my pizza was pretty darn good!

@JASFLALMT wrote:

I don't understand the problem with the pics...2 pizza photos and scan some receipts. Not difficult at all and I've done 100s of them. I do understand it if you can't get them to pay you properly.

]

Duh, why didn't I think of that? I certainly could scan the big receipt...and the little ones they say they want with the box as a background they don't seem to mind if the box is not there. I must be too literal. They say to photo it so I do, again and again and again and then blow the pic up and see it is fuzzy and then have to start all over again. SCAN, yes. Thanks Jasflalmt!

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

I have never done the "little roman guy" pizza place. How is that one? Did you like the pizza? Did they pay fairly? I have not had that pizza in 20 years because I never liked it. Too boring and doughy. Of course, things could have changed over the years.

Did you like the shop and was it easy?

It's a very simple shop, but the pizza has not changed at all. it's still boring and doughy, and all you're allowed to buy is the pre-made crappy ones. I did a bunch of those, I liked doing them actually, but I don't eat pizza. My son thought it was great though.. lol

How about the Second to None pizza shops? They have a fairly good client list, but it's always just a flat fee that is just about the cost of the food, so basically a reimbursement only shop. I have not done any of their shops but I hear their pizza chain client is very good!

Sandy, I put the ID card next to the pizza on the side of the open box lid. I put two kitchen chairs next to each other to support the box and lid. It's the perfect height to capture the pizza and ID card. I do think they want the box in the photo as you are not supposed to disturb the garlic sauce cup or pepperoncini. I'd say leave the pizza in the box. I'm glad I could be helpful concerning scanning the receipt. I know many people photograph receipts successfully but mine don't usually turn out as well so I always scan. I also use a digital camera for the pics. I know it's ok to use your phone but I've been doing these shops for over 20 years (before I had a. Smartphone). My $80 pocket digital camera is great.

I've seen shops with 2 companies and apparently picked the wrong one to try out... one required much higher resolution pics than the other. They wanted 5mpx or better campera with 1080X820 or something nutty like that. I don't remember the requirements but I used a 12mp camera and they said it wasn't good enough. Submitted about 3 dozen attempts, all large files, all large images, all looked great to me but was told repeatedly they were grainy, stretched, not quality, wasn't the right size and so forth. Was my first shop with them too. Moved on. Intellishop seems a bit better on those shops tho. And they seem to pay bonuses on them! The one I picked up just reimbursed pizza. I lost $17 and guess I've learned to submit sample photos? I've never had an issue with my cameras before with any of the 70 or so companies I work with? Perhaps I had a crap scheduler or someone goofed and didnt want to pay. I just dunno.

MegglesKat

What is NSS?

The pizza shop has too many moving pieces and is not worth the reimbursement to me. You have to document the servers names, descriptions while timing each transaction. It was too much. I would do the online ordering shop only because it requires less interactions and observations.

I would suggest bringing a second person to record the timing as you are standing on line if you agree to complete a lunch or dinner shop.

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