Got the email blast saying that they are bonusing some of the DIY locations, and a link to those bonused locations. There weren't any bonuses, just the $12+$1 listed. I thought maybe they just weren't showing up, so I clicked through the process of assigning a few of them to see if the bonus would show up. Nothing. I got to the select date screen and stopped there. These locations are 50-75 miles away. Not worth the base pay.

Two hours later, I get a call from them saying they will assign them for me. I decline. Girl gets pissy about why I would "request" a shop I didn't want to do. I told her I didn't request, I was just looking for the promised incentive. She said something about it being too early for incentives, and I referred her to the email. She started saying something about I could still do them for the 12+1, and I hung up on her. Decided it just wasn't worth it to get my blood pressure up tonight.

Got a call two hours ago from a scheduler who checked and there are none of these DIYs in the state that I'm in now that haven't been snapped up at $12. And it takes 2 hours to complete these shops. $6/hour? The American economy may be about to plunge again if people are that anxious to make $12 for 2 hours of work.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2014 02:29AM by aggiejim72.

I've never done a shop for Maritz, but the shops must be a different client than the DIY I've heard about. With the old MSC they were a 20 to 30 minute shop including report. Do these require multiple interactions or something?

Aggie is right. 2 hours.

Appease him/her and move on. That is all he/she wants anyway.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2014 04:43PM by diana615.

aggiejim72 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Got a call two hours ago from a scheduler who
> checked and there are none of these DIYs in the
> state that I'm in now that haven't been snapped up
> at $12. And it takes 2 hours to complete these
> shops. $6/hour? The American economy may be about
> to plunge again if people are that anxious to make
> $12 for 2 hours of work.


How could it possibly take TWO HOURS to complete one of these shops? The shops are basically the same as they were with the previous MSC. They take maybe 20-30 minutes and I can knock the report out in 10.

Would either of you who do them in 20-30 minutes care to describe your techniques?

I signed up for one, from the link, bonus was there at the top left hand corner, I think. Anyway the bonus was in my paperwork. I usually find that I am in the DYI for 25-45 minutes, depending if I have to call for help, report 15 to 25 minutes. Not bad if it is nicely bonused.

Aggie is right. 2 hours.

Appease him/her and move on. That is all he/she wants anyway.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2014 04:44PM by diana615.

When these shops were with CRI, I could easily do a report in 10-15 minutes, but with Maritz's strange software, it takes me much longer. I was doing these for CRI for around $25 each, so why on earth would I do them for Maritz for half the cost and twice the time?

I really wish CRI hadn't lost this client.

diana615 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've done many of these shops for Maritz, they
> only take about 20 minutes to do. Pretty much the
> same time as they were with the old MSC. I
> couldn't imagine spending 2 hours on this shop.
> Ever.
> 2 interactions. First one, 5-7 minutes. Second
> one, 10-15 minutes. Checkout.

Well, I am sure you are 100% wrong. Absolutely. I've done many of these shops for the large bonuses. For anyone that wants to know how these shops go down, here is real-world. Don't believe this poster because, as you will see, it is impossible to do what this poster says.

To do one of these DIY shops:
1. You have to go online and find an out-of-stock item at the location that you are going to shop. So you have to use the store locator on their website. Then enter search options in the various departments until you find an out-of-stock item. Guess what? Some stores don't have any out-of-stock items listed, in which case you have to find an item on the shelf that is advertised but isn't stocked on the shelf.
Time to log on to the DIY site, search for out-of-stock item, locate item, record item description, log-off: 5 minutes if you are racing; 10 minutes if lucky; and 15 minutes if things don't go the way you hope.

2. Now you have to drive to the location. Oh, the shopper doesn't think that counts? It does. Both ways. Round trip. Time: anyone's guess with traffic and time of day. A typical round-trip if you are lucky might only be 20 miles driving, so that's about 1 gallon of gas. The shopper just spent $2- $3.50 to get there and back.

3. Now you have to park and walk into the store. Record your time in. Walk into the store, and immediately go to the department where your out-of-stock item is located. First, you have to make sure the item is out of stock (5 minutes) before you ask for help. Oh, and you are required to wait several minutes to let an associate help you. If no one does, find an associate. Guess what? He/she is helping another customer. Now wait till your turn. Then they look for the product, hopefully using their smartphone. When that interaction is done, on to the next.
Total time: 10 minutes minimum; 15 maximum.

4. Now go to the department where your assigned scenario is located. Let's say you have to go to Kitchens, like I have had to do twice. This is a targeted shop. Now, as often happens, there will be customers ahead of you. This happened each time I shopped the Kitchens department. Wait as long as 30 minutes, 45 minutes... it happens and it happened to me. Sometimes you get an associate right away. Now plan on spending 10-15 minutes perfoming your scenario.
Total time: 10-15 minutes.

5. Now go make a small product purchase. This usually takes 5 minutes or less. Buy a package of Starburst for $1.18. You'll be reimbursed a dollar.

6. Now go to your vehicle. The first half of your shop is done.

7. Get online and "debrief" your shop. Consult your notes so you make no mistake about names or time in/out. Logon on to the MSC site. Click till you find your report, then begin. Answer all of the radio buttons first. Then proceed to the narratives (6 or 7 short narratives embellishing on the selections you made with the radio buttons.)

8. Now upload your receipt. First take a photo of your receipt. Before that select the best image of your receipt--make sure the image is in focus. Then transfer the image to your computer. But first, write the assign id on the receipt before you take the photo--so look up the assign ID again and double check as your handwrite the assign id on the receipt. Then, if you are like me, open GIMP and begin to do a good job editing your receipt image, then export the image to .jpg, and save to file. Then upload the file to your report.

9. Now review what you reported (5-10 minutes). Be sure to check the spelling and grammar. Click submit. You are done with this DIY shop... almost.

10. Now submit an invoice and re-upload your receipt. (5 minutes or less).

11. Make sure you save copies if their is an issue, then log off and turn off your computer.

That is one of these DIY shops. As I said, 2 hours. It might be possible to complete this shop in 90 minutes if you live next door to the DIY.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2014 02:21PM by aggiejim72.

aggiejim72 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well, I am sure you are 100% wrong. Absolutely.


For someone who hasn't been shopping that long you sure seem to have this opinion an awful lot.

bgriffin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> aggiejim72 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Well, I am sure you are 100% wrong. Absolutely.
>
>
> For someone who hasn't been shopping that long you
> sure seem to have this opinion an awful lot.

The poster is 100% wrong. The poster decided to say something that I know is wrong. Would you care to embellish on your confrontational claim that I have this opinion alot, and then show me how I am incorrect. Start with this DIY shop. Have you done one? Did you do it in less than the time I stated.

I've read your posts and know that you love to talk about your 3 big bonused MF shops. You are my competitor. I compete for shops with other shoppers. You advertise your best shops. I already put in my request at the MF helpdesk one week ago for those same shops--at $30. I plan on shopping those (FF shops) 40-55 miles from the Tulsa OK area. I'm a route shopper, and it is a mistake to talk about your best shops. Lesson learned.

Mod note: Forum rules and most ICAs preclude the use of client and MSC nams in a way they can be linked together

Yes. I've done quite a few of those shops. They normally take me about 45 minutes for shop and report. I can't tell you driving time because I tend to do routes of shops and my driving time would therefor be divided among many shops. The poster you quoted was also talking shop time only and it was pretty evident in her post that's what she meant. She is pretty spot on too, 90% of mine have fallen into the 20-25 minute onsite time range.

The problem is that you assume the best way you have figured out how to do something is the best way to do something. I could tell you 3 things off the top of my head that could make the process you described above significantly quicker.

bgriffin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I could tell you 3 things
> off the top of my head that could make the process
> you described above significantly quicker.

Well, please do show me how this shop can be done in less than 2 hours. I am performing this shop today, for $22. Show me where I am wasting time, as you claim.

I'm not really sure what shops in OKC have to do with anything.

It is obvious you are new and that is fine. When you are new most shops will take much longer. If you read more about these shops in particular you will find numerous helpful hints. For one thing you are spending way too much time photographing and manipulating receipts. I never leave a parking lot without taking a picture of my proof of visit and thanks to iCloud it is automatically downloaded to all my devices. From there it gets uploaded, as is.

And before you ask if I ever completed one of these, for the old MSC I easily completed a couple hundred of them. In fact, I was doing the shops before the current scenarios came about just over a year ago. At that time they required twice as many interactions although some were just to see if the employee greeted you. Those I could still finish in 15 to 20 minutes.

LisaSTL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm not really sure what shops in OKC have to do
> with anything.
>
> For one thing
> you are spending way too much time photographing
> and manipulating receipts. I never leave a parking
> lot without taking a picture of my proof of visit
> and thanks to iCloud it is automatically
> downloaded to all my devices. From there it gets
> uploaded, as is.

These DIY shops take 2 hours to complete. 2 hours.

For a veteran shopper and that's okay), you make an error. A shop includes the report. You add the time of the shop to the report. Then add the review of the shop. This will equal your total time spent on the shop. Then divide the fee by the total hours to get your hourly fee.

You did these for the old MSC. But how many have you done for the new MSC? 1? 2? I've done 11. If you've done hundreds for another MSC it is irrelevant to this MSC's shops. 2 hours.

Let's break this down. How long did it take you to write the assign id on the receipt, then photograph the receipt, then upload the receipt? 5 minutes? 2 minutes?

I prefer to edit my receipts using GIMP and that is a personal choice. I can process a receipt in 5-10 minutes, from photograph to edit to upload. Your way works for you. So you say you shaved off a couple of minutes off my way. So now you claim that because I use GIMP to process the receipts that I am "obviously a new shopper." Because I don't take a photo with my smartphone and upload to the cloud? A new shopper might choose to use Adobe Photoshop CSS to process receipts. It's a personal choice.

However, you claimed you could save substantial time on this report, and you are an old-time shopper. So please tell me how I can save time on my DIY shop today?



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2014 03:14PM by aggiejim72.

Aggie is right. 2 hours.

Appease him/her and move on. That is all he/she wants anyway.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2014 04:45PM by diana615.

diana615 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Best of luck to you aggie.

Best of luck to you. And if you are doing all these DIY shops in 20 minutes then you must be doing them for the $12, because they aren't bonused right now. That's a great deal for this MSC, to have shoppers willing to work for $6/hour who fool themselves into thinking they only worked for 20 minutes.

I think you jump to conclusions aggiejim. I don't think Lisa thinks you are a newbie because you edit with GIMP. I think she thinks you're a newbie because you've stated in other places you've only been doing this a few months. I also don't think she thinks that it's taking you too long because you edit your photos or whatever, that's just a component of why it's taking you longer. I prefer not to do them at the new co's rates so don't really consider you competition, so here ya go, 3 ways to shave time off the way you do the shop:

1. Again with the photos. Why edit them? They'll take them the way they are. -10 minutes
2. Find an item that no stores keep in stock. Might take you a few minutes on the first one, but on the second one all you have to do is put the product number in the system to make sure the store you're about to do doesn't have it. No, I will not give you any shortcuts on finding that item. I am giving you hints, I am not holding your hand. -15 minutes
3. Invoice. If it takes you 5 minutes you're doing it the hard way. Takes me less than 30 seconds. -4 minutes
4. Review 10 minutes? Ummm. Yeah. -10 minutes.

There, I gave you 4 instead of 3. And saved you 39 minutes off of your 2 hours.

Aggie is right. 2 hours.

Appease him/her and move on. That is all he/she wants anyway.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2014 04:46PM by diana615.

bgriffin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> 1. Again with the photos. Why edit them?
> They'll take them the way they are. -10 minutes

True. 10 minuts saved if I don't edit the images. Shopper's choice. My receipts present me to MSCs as a professional. They are always sized, clear, in focus, and the color balance and levels are always adjusted. The impression that I make on QC with my receipts will be better than others. Maybe I score some points, maybe not.


> 2. Find an item that no stores keep in stock.
> Might take you a few minutes on the first one, but
> on the second one all you have to do is put the
> product number in the system to make sure the
> store you're about to do doesn't have it.

Sure, I've used the Purdy's 6-inch paint brush several times for my out-of-stock. But you're way will save a few minutes, at best. Then, when you enter the location, the shop requirements state that you must wait to be assisted, and that you must first determine that your out-of-stock item really is out-of-stock. So you are saving time by not checking to see if the item is out-of-stock first. Also, doing it your way does not save 15 minutes. You saved 5 minutes online. That's all. And you are bending the rules of the shop.

> 3. Invoice. If it takes you 5 minutes you're
> doing it the hard way. Takes me less than 30
> seconds. -4 minutes

Yes, I do it the hard way--I make sure all of my inputs are correct. 30 seconds? Well, you did save 4 minutes.

> 4. Review 10 minutes? Ummm. Yeah. -10 minutes

So, if I don't review my report, I save 10 minutes. Sure.


> There, I gave you 4 instead of 3. And saved you
> 39 minutes off of your 2 hours.

The takeaway is that this shop takes 2 hours to do right, and 1.5 hours if you are a veteran shopper who knows how to bend the shop requirements, slam out an invoice, don't review your work closely, and cut some corners here and there, and not get found out. True.

Also, I was gonna let this go but since Lisa kind of let the cat out of the bag....

1. I am not anywhere near Oklahoma.
2. If you think doing the same MF FF shop 3 times a month @ $65 is my best shop you are sadly mistaken. The company I make the most of my income on isn't talked about here and is pretty much invite only. My second best company is rarely talked about on here and I refuse to even acknowledge the discussion when it is. For the month of June MF was about 5% of my total fees.

diana615 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am 100% confident that it does
> not take 2 hours. Proven. Period.

Your serious error is in thinking that a shop just counts as the time in-store. A shop is everything, from performance to reporting to getting paid. All of the time you spend on one shop is the total shop. You just calculate 20 minutes to do this DIY shop and throw it out there that 2 hours is a ridiculous amount of time to spend.

Also, I wouldn't be suprised if you got $112 in the last round for this shop. Even new shoppers got the big bonuses, and that's why this MSC was on my list for new shoppers. This MSC didn't care a wit if you had been a long-time shopper. And they paid better than Coyle.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2014 03:43PM by aggiejim72.

diana615 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ishmael Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Would either of you who do them in 20-30
> minutes
> > care to describe your techniques?
>
> 2 interactions. First one, 5-7 minutes. Second
> one, 10-15 minutes. Checkout.

Thank you. I have trouble with the first interaction. I think I'm doing it all wrong. May I ask how you're managing it?

The only way I can visualize doing the first interaction so quickly is if you say, "I'm looking for a Shark vacuum, model number X50S78," and then the associate actually leads you to the shelf and says, "Oops, looks like we're out of stock on that."

With me, the associate just points and says, "they're over there", which means that I have to find another associate, in order to answer the rest of the 'out of stock' questions.

I have work to do so I'm not going to argue with you about this all day. I'll leave you with a few points and you can believe what you want to, or not, it doesn't make any difference to me.

1. QC doesn't give a rat's ass if your receipt paper looks perfectly white and your receipt is lined up perfectly. They care that they can read the time, date, purchase price, and store information. That is all they care about.
2. You said it takes 10 minutes to research an out of stock item online. I gave you a way to save that 10 minutes. Because you cannot figure out at all what I'm suggesting doesn't mean that I am incorrect. And yes, I can tell you can't figure it out because of the item you posted that you have used before. My way also saves you the 5 minutes you say it takes you to verify that the item is out of stock when you get to the store. That's 15 minutes. Which is what I quoted. Also it does not bend the guidelines at all.
3. My invoices are always correct. I am not going to give you shortcuts to a whole system.
4. Some of us take longer to proofread than others. This shop has little narrative. It doesn't take 10 minutes to proofread, it takes maybe 1.

Your insinuation that my shops are not professional is pretty offensive btw.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2014 04:10PM by bgriffin.

Aggie is right. 2 hours.

Appease him/her and move on. That is all he/she wants anyway.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2014 04:47PM by diana615.

bgriffin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Your insinuation that my shops are not profession
> is pretty offensive btw.

I stand by it. I'm reading the shop requirements right now. OC does care, maybe they just don't tell you that they care. Perhaps they get exhausted with looking at all the crap reports they have to read. When they get my reports and receipts, I think that they do appreciate that they look professional. Or maybe its like you say, they don't care. Doubt it.

You assume that I can't figure out your way to save 10 minutes on the out-of-stock? Your way is simple. It is the short-cut, but you are bending the shop requirement rules. I could quote from the shop requirements to prove it to you, but that might violate the IC agreement. So what if you get paid, right?

As for invoices, there are no shortcuts at this MSCs site. I spend time reviewing everything I report. You don't spend as much time. Shopper's choice.

And you say it only takes 1 minute to proofread. That's true of your reports, not mine. I'm sure that my reports are far better than your reports, and the quality of my reciepts are better. Sure, the MSC doesn't care and pays us both. But I do the better job if, as you say, the 7 narratives that are required for this report take you a only one minute to proofread.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2014 04:11PM by aggiejim72.

> When they just point, try saying "I looked there
> and didn't see it. Can you please show me?"

What the poster was asking was what if the associate doesn't want to walk over there with you and look? Report it. Find an associate who does want to help you with your out-of-stock scenario. It happened to me. Not all of the associates want to help you. Some are busy. When that happens you'll be spending more than 20 minutes at the location for sure.

Also, it works better if you tell the associate that you looked but couldn't find the item, and could they help. Do this if after wandering around for 3 minutes looking lost like the scenario calls for nobody comes over to help you--which usually is the case.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2014 04:23PM by aggiejim72.

If you want to continue with the unnecessary, time consuming steps you take, please feel free. Just don't hold yourself up as somehow better or make the mistake of thinking your carefully manipulated receipts will somehow make you a super star in the eyes of the MSC. And don't make the mistake of thinking veteran shoppers who are smart enough to streamline processes are somehow slipshod.

Like bgriffin, the lion's share of my work is from companies who work by invitation only and my referrals came from other shoppers and schedulers. Not one of my 14 assignments this week was pulled from a job board. One shop was probably on the MSCs board although I cannot be sure since they called me directly. I think three may have been put on the board, but not until they had already been assigned to me and were listed as back ups.

And if your goal is to travel the country and take all the shops because of some misguided notion we all rely on job boards, please visit St. Louis. There is a bunch of crap out there and if you will take all those shops it will reduce the clutter of my email inbox.

LisaSTL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And if your goal is to travel the country and take
> all the shops because of some misguided notion we
> all rely on job boards, please visit St. Louis.
> There is a bunch of crap out there and if you will
> take all those shops it will reduce the clutter of
> my email inbox.


Perhaps he will be bring his team of shoppers on his mystery shopping tour bus to STL!