Hello All.
I was hoping some of you could help me out. I am planning a trip from Asheville NC to Denver CO in April. I want to pick up shops along the way. Hotels, restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores. Anyone know of MSCs that have shops in Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Colorado? I will of course look with the MSCs I am signed up with but thought there may be some of you that are very familiar with these areas.

If you cannot find enough shops along that route you are simply signed up with too few companies. Successful route shoppers are signed up with 100-150 MS companies.

I live close by to Asheville--sorta About 3.5 hours away however my honey's family is just down the road in Swain County... but I'm not outside the realm of being signed up with some companies you may find handy. You might want to check out some car companies too for maintenance because tire rotations, oil changes, air filters, etc may come in handy A lot of the shops will pop up in the new year and right now may not be the best time to find far out dates for simple things, but then again... hotels are out there a while.

I would check with the boards that offer multiple companies on one map to get you started.

The Presto Map will show you areas along your way and shops within a radius and let you apply through the companies for their shops, Jobslinger will also do this. Also, sign up with Gigspot but use a spare email so it doesn't change your passwords with current companies. Another idea would be to check out A-Closer-Look. I've heard they do some of the types you mentioned but it's often reimbursement only... which if you need a free/cheap hotel? Also consider looking up Market Force and The Source but their shops are lower paying usually. Of course, enough lower paying, easy peasy shops can get you some $$$ over time and if they sit long enough, you can sweet talk yourself into $25-$75 buckaroos and paid tolls!

I hope all this info is allowed. I often get conflicting views on what we can and cannot say for certain.

Another idea is Post office Shops. If you can find a bunch of these along the way, we can do 5 a day and many hit $22-$25 for simple work. Get yourself some plain boxes handy, and fill em up with items to mail. Sometimes you can mail canned food to food banks! I often mail things to churches seeking supplies that I find online. One church was looking for canned chili donations for their hotdog sale in a month. I bought up some $0.50 sale cans of Armor chili and mailed away-- two or three cans will stay within reimbursement and you can throw in a note "Sorry I couldn't do more, hope this small donation helps from afar!"

clinen,
As long as you don't reveal which MSC shops what client, you are fine on the forum.

Thank you for all your information.

Also, if you want some pizza along the way, try NSS. They do have a lot of delivery shops but later in the month those can be changed to carryouts. If you pick up shops for them, make sure you print out your receipt form and site ID card before you hit the road in case you can't find a place to print paperwork. In fact, it's a great idea to print paperwork at home for guidelines and such just in case you have internet issues along the way and can't view your forms on your phone, tablet, or laptop.

Bare Associates, Regal Hospitality, and Coyle also do hotel shops and often there is food and beverage involved, but those can be rather lengthy and detailed, and they need to be submitted within a certain timeframe so after you check out you'd have to find someplace to sit and work. Also, Bare generally wants you to do the hotel shops alone.

Thanks!

CCC, shops in the Midwest are not necessarily provided by Midwest MSCs. Every newbie shopper knows that, much less those who have been in the forum for six months like yourself. The ones I suggested are not based in the Midwest, nor are others suggested in this thread. Did you read the OPs post? They asked for shops in the Midwest, not MSCs in the Midwest. It would be prudent to read and properly comprehend what people write before posting.

Have you ever read the posting guidelines? "Add a positive contribution to the community." How do you supposed your post was even close to a positive contribution?

Some peoples' thumbs will be getting a workout.

There are groups out there for route shoppers filled with helpful information. Search for them on Facebook. Even if it's your first time (and maybe only time), they can help you. Schedulers will talk to shoppers and vice versa and help put trips together.

Hi, bverba05! We (shoppersview.com) don't have any hotels, restaurants, gas stations, or convenience stores in those areas, but we have a few bank audit shops in Tennessee and Missouri. They pay $14. You would receive some pictures of advertising beforehand and be checking to see if any of the bank's advertising is out of date.

I have a scheduler's group that I'm a part of. If you want me to put your information out there, I can email it to the group. If you're interested, you can email me at christinew@shoppersview.com.

Good luck on your route!

I might also suggest you check out Maritz too, and KSS scheduling. Some folks do not like the two, but I'm a fan. Many shops are bonused and some are quite simple to perform.

Thank you all for the information!

@clinen11 wrote:

I might also suggest you check out Maritz too, and KSS scheduling. Some folks do not like the two, but I'm a fan. Many shops are bonused and some are quite simple to perform.

Martiz often bundles their shops (at least for gas stations), so you could get a whole lot of shops at the same time. If you're already going that way, it might make sense to pick up the bundle.

Ann Michaels has a lot of shops in Illinois and in Missouri.....Bestmark also has a good number of shops and depending on when you are going, their big non-auto client is the big box electronic shop.

Ace Mystery Shopping has lunch and dinner shops around the MO/KS/WI/IA area