Hi, I am new to all this, But I did an apartment assignment recently and was told that the phone call would be recorded, but that I was to speak only to the Target,, OK 1st call I get a recording, 2nd call a different person, so I followed what I was told to do, if the person wanted to make an apt, with me go ahead but don't show up. so that is what I did. The next day I was able to reach the Target so I make the appt. and go . All's well. so I think. A few days later I am told I won't get paid for the job because I spoke to a different person, This really p me off They had told me not to go through the recorded # more than once because I would erase the original message. I guess I should of in hind site Is this what you all go through "recorded" calls Thanks BK

No. If you had a usable recording, meaning you spoke to the target, you would not want to go through the recorded system again. Since your call was with someone else, it did not matter if the recording was lost.

I was not able to reach my target agent before I left Seattle last week. So, I ask them to remove the assignment.

I then had another assignment here at home. BOOM! First try and I was able to reach the target agent. Set an appointment and did the visit 1.5 hours later.

Completed my survey and submit. Hope I did everything correctly

I have shopped for EPMS since I started, in 2006, and it is now 2014. They paid $25.00 for an apartment shop back then, and guess what, they are STILL paying $25.00!!! Really??? Can't a raise in shopper pay come about? Those shops take a long time to do, and even longer to do the long, repetitive report. Basically, I am making much less than minimum wage doing a shop for them! They are a good company, but good, loyal shoppers should be rewarded!!!!!

CJ,

A favorite ditty of my grandmother, who was known to me as Mama, was the following:

If you don't like Mama's peaches, you don't have to shake my tree
If you feel my fruit's inedible, just quickly move away from me.

As this business is one of supply & demand, it's obvious that, in your area, the shops need only pay $25, or, as the U.S. Bureau of Statistics shows, it's now $20.84 in 2006 dollars. If that's unacceptable to you, merely pass on the assignment. Rewards are for employees, you're an independent contractor reverse bidding on work.

I once worked for EPMS but their reports are just to long for me, I made the mistake
when I first started with them of doing 3 shops in one day. I thought I would never
get through the reports. I agree loyal shoppers should have a increase in pay.
One of the MSC that I work for has increased my bonus to twice of what it used
to be, I have worked for this MSC for almost 6 years and I guess that they
finally figured out that I would do some of their jobs if they increased the bonus
(and they were right). I just will not leave my home unless it's a certain fee.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2014 04:36PM by txguitar.

Ellis is one of my favorites

I completed another shop for Ellis this week. Pay is good here...wish they have more

Well, around here, apparently all shoppers are cancelling their shops at the last minute. There are plenty of Urgent shops that need filling due to this.

Well I just flaked my first shop ever and it was for this company. Absolutely horrible to work with and will not be signing up with anymore shops for them.

Whoa, what happened?

(heart)

It was a non-targeted video shop about an hour away from me. I thought it should be easy, non-targeted, no big deal. Plus it was bonused. So got it, then lined up a few other shops along the way that were all self assigned. Luckily I didn't grab any of them, just made a list, because when I wake up this morning and start calling, no answer. Wait awhile, no answer. Pass the shop window for the first two shops I had lined up. Wait awhile, no answer. Passed the others. No answer. Finally about 2:30 I get an answer. Hop in the car and leave a little before 3. Get there and realize the address they gave is no where near the complex. Odd, then I see a big sign on a store in a shopping center with their name. Hrm. Ok, what to do? I have to do all of the questions about the premises. I'm nowhere near them and it's gated. Do they have another office there I should be at? I have no clue. So I call and get a moron on the phone. What's the shop ID? Give it to her. Hrm, it's not here, what's the location name? Give it to her. Hrm, it's not here. What's your name? GIve it to her. Hrm, it's not here. How do you spell the location? Spell it out. Where is it? Give the city and state. She replies with something about Florida State. Ummm. I said nothing about Florida, what are you talking about, it's in XXXXX. You should just submit a question through the email icon on the shop on our website. Ummm, I don't have my laptop and I'm kind of in front of the place. Well what's your question, maybe I can help. Explain the situation to her. Oh, yeah, I don't know what you should do, you should submit a question through the email icon. Well, I don't have my laptop and if I did I don't want to sit here for hours waiting on a reply. Is there someone else there that can help me? No, you need to submit a question through the email icon.

Uggggg. No. I'm not. Your STUPID requirements already made me miss all of the shops on the route that would have made it profitable, now you expect me to make a return trip tomorrow? Not happening.

Wasn't that supposed to be a video shop? If so you needed to deal with the video department. I believe it is Robert Asher in charge of all their video. When I had the opportunity to deal with him several years ago he was wonderful and walesmaven sings his praises. Why don't you send her a PM and get his contact info. You already have some time invested. It may be worthwhile to do it again and you can always ask for a bump in fee because of the inept way the office handled your call.

While their written shops don't pay anywhere near enough, the video shops can certainly be worthwhile. As far as running out the same day as the call. Yes they seem to like that and assume we don't do anything else. That late in the day I would have been setting an appointment for tomorrow or Thursday.

Yes it was a video shop. That's the first time I've heard that name though. I did email the two scheduler type people I had dealt with and got no answer. If I don't have the ability to schedule these shops in advance, I really can't work them into my routes though.

And my next available free day is next Tuesday, doubt they want to wait that long and they would have to at least double the current rate to get me to consider it. I REALLY don't have a lot of patience with MSC's who treat shoppers unprofessionally. I've had a rash of that lately and it's starting to get on my last nerve.

My issue with EPMS is the lengthy reports (I still can't get them done in under 3 hours using proper grammar). And the not being able to ask for the target after MANY calls. I had a situation where I called and called and the same person always answered. I told EPMS that the person answering was going to start getting suspicious because I was calling every hour, had run out of excuses and was simply saying "sorry, wrong number." I'm sure she recognized me voice after so many times calling. After repeatedly asking EPMS what to do next I was told I could ask for the target. I called spoke to the target and implied I would be by. Then I was told the target changed to the person that had been answering the phone. I asked what was I supposed to tell the original target and that the replacement target was going to "make" me as a shopper. I said I didn't think it was in my best interest to proceed with this shop. EPMS came back and said if I had called a couple more times that day I would have reached the original target as she had returned from vacation!!! What a waste of my time! I saw a previous post where they were paying for the phone call even if you didn't reach the target. I'll have to ask them about that one. $5 is better than nothing. Also, i wish their reports would let you save without every section being completed. Then you could fill out what you know as you go especially your own info, then the call info. This would help a LOT!

bgriffin,
Just call and ask for Robert Asher. He is the only person who can actually sort out issues with video assignments. He was the one who told me to call him instead of emailing anyone. And, any random call will just get you schedulers who, at that company, have no power to change a video shop. It's like two different worlds there.

Thanks wales, I doubt I'll ever do work for them again though. The shop got taken away (at my request) the next day with an email reply that sounded as if being unclear how to proceed was my fault and no mention of the fact they were unhelpful when I tried to get an answer. I didn't like the requirements, I didn't like the person I dealt with, and I especially didn't appreciate the last email. I don't burn a lot of bridges but this is one I'll do gladly.

EPMS has a habit of grinding shoppers into the dust. I try not to be revengeful but when I see their shops bonus at $5 increments from $5 to $25 I have to say I don' feel bad about it.

I have shopped for Ellis for many years and always enjoyed it until recently. Their Director of Scheduling Vanessa was wonderful to work with. Lately I have been receiving rude and insulting emails asking for progress reports on shops that are not even due yet. The tone of the emails implies that I am not working hard enough or - in the case of shops with phone calls that are not recorded - perhaps not even calling! Then I discovered that Vanessa was no longer with the company.
When I asked for the email address of her replacement this request was ignored. As a shopper I no longer feel respected as a professional.

I have recommended this company in the past but based on recent experience am changing my opinion.

The status will change to "shop accepted" when you are past the editing stage.

What ideas have they given you for reaching the target?

Something that helps me is doing the report sections out of sequence. I do the Additional Questions first since they are the most detailed and require the most memorization. Then I do the Experience section because my comments at the end can be repeated almost verbatim in other sections to describe property condition, floor plans and amenities. I do the Executive Summary last - since it's so redundant it's easy to regurgitate what you have just written in the other sections. Hope this helps!

You can use the recorded number as many times as you need to - nothing is erased. When you look at the "listen to recording" section you will see all of the calls listed. I'm sorry you were not paid, the instructions can be confusing!

You can save as you go along, section by section, even if they are not complete.

I take off my hat to you in the accounting aspect. There is also the deductions per mile! The IRS is very generous in this.

Don

I actually like Ellis and they pay on time. In the area I am have relocated to it seems to be a drought and there are no shops available. I don't mind the specific person shops...as long as they answer the phone. The recorded shops on the recorder aren't bad, but it would be nice if the sent the cord to upload the recording. There is an art to getting more assignments, get it done and find more. The reports are repetitious and long, if you do them as you go, it gets easier and faster.