I just saw on their job board.

Do you Copy and Paste ****We have found some shoppers are coping and pasting the same descriptive comments/answers for questions from previous shops to a current shop and/or from one question to the next within a current shop. Should we discover content is being coped, the shopper’s shop will automatically be rejected and/or the total fee removed. This practice of copying and pasting the same answer from shop to shop or $$$$$form question to form question is fraud$$$$$$, and the client will question the integrity of every shoppers shop. Please help us keep our reports as a valuable resource to our clients.*****

I think their warning is appropriate. I just have a comment on the words enclosed with $$$$ sign. If they ask same question 3 times what are you supposed to do?

It's standard practice in our industry that each shop be written based on the individual experience and that content from a previous shop is not copied and pasted into a current report. The purpose for the comments are to provide a reminder of this standard guideline.


If anyone has questions, feel free to email me directly.

Dave
dave@sentrymarketing.com




edited to correct type.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2011 12:27PM by Sentry Marketing.

I just put in a new report however I had to do it 2 times as your site would not let me move without losing all I had put in. I just started saving what I just wrote so I would not lose it again. However by using save after each narrative it takes a lot longer to do the report.

Dave@Sentry: Thanks and in my posting I have acknowledged the fact that each report should be individual.

However, when many of the reports ask the same questions THREE times. What are we supposed to do then?

That didn't really answer the question about why all of the $$$$$ signs.

Sentry Marketing Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's standard practice in our industry that each
> shop be written based on the individual experience
> and that content from a previous shop is not be
> copied and pasted into a current report. The
> purpose for the comments are to provide a reminder
> of this standard guideline.
>
>
> If anyone has questions, feel free to email me
> directly.
>
> Dave
> dave@sentrymarketing.com

plbell627 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I just put in a new report however I had to do it
> 2 times as your site would not let me move without
> losing all I had put in. I just started saving
> what I just wrote so I would not lose it again.
> However by using save after each narrative it
> takes a lot longer to do the report.

Please contact me directly and I will try to assist you.

Dave
dave@sentrymarketing.com

anakin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dave@Sentry: Thanks and in my posting I have
> acknowledged the fact that each report should be
> individual.
>
> However, when many of the reports ask the same
> questions THREE times. What are we supposed to do
> then?


Please contact me directly to discuss.

What I do in those instances is reply using different verbiage; this, of course, usually necessitates additional time. If the effect is that the rewards of the shop become unacceptable, I increase my required fee. This IS business and Dave understands that fact.

"This IS business and Dave understands that fact."

Of course this is a business and Dave should understand that fact. Here we have two competing priorities.

1. MSPs trying to extract best work with least money.

2. Shoppers trying to maximize their income with smaller and smaller bread crumbs they receive. What is a shopper going to do when they ask same question three times and expect shoppers submit reports in 8 hours.

I am fairly new. I did about half a dozen shops that paid about $50 each. I must have spent 4+ hours on each of those shops. I WILL NOT spend more than an hour on $8-$10 shop.

You get what you pay for.

I have a suggestion for Dave@sentry though. Perhaps he should do one or two shops himself and learn first hand what we are talking about.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2011 07:42PM by anakin.

Prior to starting Sentry Marketing Group, I was an active mystery shopper and completed about 30 - 40 assignments per month. Currently I complete about 3 - 4 assignments per month.

Our deadlines range from midnight the say the visit is completed to 24 hours after the visit's chosen date and time to midnight the day following the visit. We don't ask the same question three times. Based on feedback from our shoppers, our restaurant reports take between 30 and 75 minutes to complete.

I'd be happy to discuss your concerns and thoughts in more detail. Feel free to contact me at dave@sentrymarketing.com.


Thanks

Dave Agius

Anakin wrote-----MSPs trying to extract best work with least money.

Bob's reply-----If they didn't, they'd be guilty of malfeasance. If I were a shareholder in an MSC and learned they were spending a nickel more than necessary, I'd want the responsible party discharged.

Anakin wrote----- What is a shopper going to do when they ask same question three times and expect shoppers submit reports in 8 hours.

Bob's reply-----Don't accept the assignments you deem unprofitable. I've completed a single job for Sentry in Mar. of 2010. The food was great, but the pay was far too substandard for me and I was dinged $2. In addition, the report was longer than some fine dining assignments I'd completed in past years. When Jen Barrick sends an E-letter, I respond with a quote of approx. $30 + reimbursement and that ends the communication.

Last year, Dave called me and we had a business conversation that was delightful.
It was a time for 2 hustlers, one old and the other younger to share philosophies. I THINK the problem here stems from a majority of the shoppers having been employees, where my last job ended in 1963 and I've been self-employed for almost 1/2 century. In my business opinion, ABSOLUTELY no MSC has the slightest obligation to treat a contractor in a manner he/she feels is fair. I fired an MSC last month due to the company increasing their pay period from 45 to 90 days, ordering me to now use cash and expanding the report. The new conditions were unacceptable, so I requested and was given de-activation. I'm positive Dave is willing to accommodate any shopper who wishes to no longer be associated with him, because, he understands that this IS business.

@shopperbob: You are taking the things out of context and are articulating binary views (either this or that). Such a stance does not lend to a meaningful discussion.

You are taking the things out of context

Bob----I disagree

are articulating binary views (either this or that). Bob-----I couldn't agree more that you're completely correct. This IS business, not a philosophical discussion.


Such a stance does not lend to a meaningful discussion

Bob-----You submitted a post concerning business, not soliciting chat.

When I initially entered the business world in Nov. of 1963, I was taught the 10 commandments of success, of which the first was the acronym KISS; the second being never mix business with pleasure/personal interests. Business, by its nature, need be black and white as much as possible to avoid ambiguity. Philosophy, though, both can and should exhibit a veritable plethora of grayish hues. I, at times, enjoy a stimulating conversation, BUT, it's business that keeps me financially solvent.

As a shopper, if the job won't reward me sufficiently I don't accept the work. That's what I call Keeping It Sweet and Simple.

well shopperbob, let me me enlighten you by KISS. Do you think shoppers are going to change their behavior just because a low paying MSC had put in the warning.

Shoppers are going to maximize their earnings. So if an MSC pays $3 bucks they will get the stuff worth $3. If they pay $20 bucks they will get stuff worth $20.

Did you get it? Did I keep It Sweet and Simple enough for you?

Anakin,

Please define "stuff."

Anakin asks---Do you think shoppers are going to change their behavior just because a low paying MSC had put in the warning.

Bob responds---I've not the slightest idea what you're referencing in this question.

Anakin asks---Did you get it? Did I keep It Sweet and Simple enough for you?

Bob-responds---No on both points.

In that it seems we're on an entirely different wavelength, let's agree that you'll carry-on as you see fit and I'll do likewise. We do both agree though, Sentry requires too much work for the reward concerning the shops completed.

"We do both agree though, Sentry requires too much work for the reward concerning the shops completed."

Exactly.

When doing a 3.00 job (which I don't do), for the sake of another opinion, I do my best, as I do for a 30.00 job...if your a serious shopper, you don't compromise your work. This is a non issue and saying shoppers that take a 3.00 job won't hand in a good report, doesn't make sense. Your feelings are Sentry involves too much work for the money, I can name 1/2 dozen off the top of my head that do the same. MSing just doesn't pay much, need I list the companies?

"This is a non issue and saying shoppers that take a 3.00 job won't hand in a good report, doesn't make sense."

If that was true then Sentry wouldn't post warning under each of their jobs. Would they?

I don't know what they do, as they don't have 3.00 jobs in my area....but, maybe some shoppers that do long runs and mix up lower and higher paying jobs can answer this....do you do lousey work on your lower paying jobs, and do great work on higher paying ones?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/15/2011 10:48PM by Irene_L.A..

First of all I don't take lower paying job, but if even if I did take such a job, the answer is a resounding yes. I do minimum to squeak by.

anakin if you only do enough then you probably never get shops that pay well. MSC's get contractors give them low ball assignments for lowball money to see if they can do the job. If they can then will get higher paying jobs a time cpomes along.

As far as shopperbob is concerned he makes alot more sense than you do. He is an independent businees man who sees things from both sides.

I for example retired 3 years ago from a job no one wants I worked for the Ohio Department of Rehabilation and Corrections as a Corrections Officer for 19 years.

So I may have a little better understanding when Dave with Sentry is coming from do your job the way you accepted it or DON" TAKE THE JOB.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2011 01:06AM by plbell627.

so tell me what kind of payments you get from sentry, marketforce, iccds?

Anakin - Can you recommend some higher paying companies? I don't plan to give up the companies I work for now, but I'd like to add some more. I must be missing the higher paying ones. Any help would be appreciated. thanks / mary

anakin,

You are reading more into the statement than was intended on our part. This is simply a reminder to our shopper to make sure that each shop is written based on the specific visit and that copy and pasting content from one shop to another can compromise the integrity of the assignment.

I get the fact that you don't think we pay well. I am sure that some shoppers agree with you while other disagree. I believe that the assignments in question offer a fee and reimbursement that is consistent with the industry average. If you disagree, I would not expect you to accept any of these shops.

I'd be happy to answer any questions directly and can be contacted at dave@sentrymarketing.com.

Dave Agius, President
The Sentry Marketing Group


anakin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "This is a non issue and saying shoppers that take
> a 3.00 job won't hand in a good report, doesn't
> make sense."
>
> If that was true then Sentry wouldn't post warning
> under each of their jobs. Would they?

I have no idea.....I keep hearing from many posters that you work for almost free and then you start getting higher paying jobs. They never tell what is their definition of higher paying job is or what they get paid by those companies.

I just started this. The only high paying company I have worked for is P2P. Don't get me wrong. My definition of high paying is also proportional to the effort I have to put. I have done many Bestmark phone jobs for $4. The conversation takes about 5 mins. Report about 20 mins. and I don't have to leave house.

Mary, perhaps plbell627 can tell us more.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2011 04:26AM by anakin.

dave@sentry:

I had written a lengthy response to your posting. Somehow my browser window quit. Anyway, what I wanted to say is that perhaps me using the notice on your site is making things personal for you. My intentions were to use that as an example of MSC expectations regardless of pay. I am sure many shoppers do that and I don't blame them either. Many would accept the assignments to fill their route for the day to reach their 'target' income for the day. Many times all they have are low paying jobs (some have boasted doing up to 20 jobs) in a day. Copying and pasting becomes their best friend.

I have not worked for you (not interested in burgers, tacos or massages). But rest assured, if I do pick up a job from you, it will not be copy paste. I do like the report preview feature - I know before hand what I am getting in to and whether it is worth to me. I believe all prophet sites have that. It is better than SaSSie.

Anakin - I have been shopping since December 2009, so less than two years. At first I was doing really low fee shops and I was glad to get them. I knew I had to get some experience. I was a real disaster when I started so I needed a lot of shaping up. I don't know for sure what people are talking about when they talk about high fees. Everything is colored by my own experience.

I know that Corporate Research starts out posting a shop at a modest fee, but they have an escalating program that increases the shop steadily during the month until someone picks it up. This works out great for me. I do a lot of shops for them that add up to some very good days. When you're getting good shops, it doesn't take a lot of them to make up a good day. Lots of the stations and ice cream shops will get up to $20 to $40, sometimes $50. I've discovered that watching their website on a regular basis pays off for me.

I also shop a lot for Market Force and I've done three shops for Sentry. I don't take a shop unless I feel like I'm getting a fair deal. It doesn't have to be spectacular, but it has to be reasonable and fit into my day. I know everybody is in this to make money. (Me too, me too.) There are a lot of companies and a lot of shops out there. I can find jobs I want to do that I think are reasonable and paid fairly, and those are the ones I take.

I concentrate on doing what I can to run a better business for myself. I can't change how others run their businesses. When I find one of their businesses that fits in with my business, BINGO, I win. I'm always looking for someone with honest work, clear guidelines, reasonable expectations, and fair pay. I have not been disappointed.

I've been shopping for two years this coming December. As time goes by, I've become more efficient at planning and execution. At the same, the work seems easier and I'm getting shops that pay more. I'm making more money for less hours expended. I'm working some hard, long days on the road because I work the boonies, but I'm also getting a lot of lazy days hanging around the house.

I do a lot of things wrong. I haven't signed up with enough companies. I'm not technically proficient. I haven't attended conferences and established networks with others who might be helpful, or at least friendly and supportive. I could do a lot better if I worked harder and applied myself more consistently. I thought about video shopping, which I understand pays better. I spent some time investigating that, and many shoppers were willing to share helpful information. The upshot of that was I decided I didn't want to be a video shopper. I didn't think I'd like it. That might have been a mistake. But actually, this is working out pretty well for me anyway.

From some of your posts, I'm sensing that you may be frustrated at the large number of low paying shops, and how hard it is to get real information about the nickels and dimes of this business. I don't think there are large numbers of high paying shops, whatever "high" means. I believe there are a few high paying shops here and there, but I could be wallowing around in ignorance. Maybe there are tons of them and I just haven't found them, or I haven't met the criteria to learn about them.

This business is just like any other business. We'll all trying to make a nickel, and it's hard to come by. Those who work the hardest, the smartest, and the longest are probably going to get the most rewards. That won't be me. I'm 73 and I'm only going to work hard, smart, and long every now and then. I do sincerely believe, though, that mystery shopping can be a pretty good job for someone who goes at it seriously and full time.

in my experience... mystery shopping period is low ball... especially restaurants...most dont offer anything extra... the ones i do are pure reimbursement but i love food... free food even more... i have found the places that shop the restaurants that i like and offer a fair survey for the return of a free meal...

with other mystery shops i wait at least until they are bonused... and then it takes a very long time for the shops to be bonused to a point where they are worth taking... its like any auction everyone likes a good deal and companies even more so especially in a down economy..

in the last 6 months i have not taken a single shop that has not been bonused by at least $10... the starting bid is just to low... i dont live in a huge area and nor is mystery shopping my sole income so i pick and choose...

the last 5 bonuses that i have gotten are as follows
$10
$10
$45
$30
$40

as to copy and paste i do it freely... the sassie shops dont seem to notice at all... if it is a redundant question then it deserves a redundant answer... if thats a problem then the parties concerned can part ways... its as simple as that... no one is forcing anyone to work... the money lost simply is the price of finding out if the relationship is a good fit... if you cant absorb a loss for a meal (which isnt really a loss since you eat the food) then you should be doing something other than msing restaurants

anakin I said what I said and don't appoligize for anything that I said. As far as who I work \for that is my business not youirs. I don't tell whom i work for and I certainly would not tell you anythind because you already KNOW IT ALL DON'T YOU?

I think that a lot of the OP's frustration stems from being a newbie in this business.

"I do minimum to squeak by." This attitude may be what's stopping you from seeing higher paying jobs. I've been doing this full-time for a long time now and was part-time before that. In all, I've been MSing for over 10 years. It took a long time before schedulers started contacting me for work as opposed to getting jobs off a board. I don't work with Sentry or ICCDS but do work with MF. I won't do their FF jobs but am always happy when the phone rings and they offer a bank. To use a recent example, I'm scheduled for a bank job on Monday where they are paying me $50 bonus to complete the assignment and it's in my city. Not long ago, I was paid $250 for a business evaluation for a different company - granted, it was a 4-hour round trip but only about 15 minutes of actual work. Yesterday, I did 4 grocery stores (combined MS and audit) for $53 each.

I rarely look at job boards anymore as most of my assignments are reserved for me, offered by phone or I'm sent an email with the offer.

The point I'm trying to make is that the high-paying jobs are out there. But, like any other job, you have to make your way up the ladder before you see them.