Maritz incentives

Maritz is no longer accepting requests for incentives from shoppers. Any incentives will be posted on the job board by Maritz and they are non-negotiable. You know - the jobs that are gold highlighted.

I used to keep several days open at the end of the month and was able to put together some, I thought, mutually advantages mini-routes. No more. But I will look at this in a positive light. I have been promising myself that I will broaden my horizons and find new MSC's with types of shops that I enjoy doing. This is my opportunity.

I know most of you represent 50, 100, 200 MSC's but I choose not to. I am around 12 or 15 and I am not of the philosophy that if you throw enough stuff on the wall some will stick. My email inbox is already jammed with shops from the companies I represent.

I will continue to do what I do for Maritz at normal pay rates because I enjoy the shops I do and fill my month with new stuff.

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

More Discussions About MaritzCX (All Companies)

I got a call today and turned down $10 for about 60 miles round trip. Total pay. How they think it is profitable I will never know.
Gas must be free as well as my time.

LIJake Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Maritz is no longer accepting requests for
> incentives from shoppers. Any incentives will be
> posted on the job board by Maritz and they are
> non-negotiable.

Really? I just was asked by phone to make incentive requests today, and have jobs on my board that I've scheduled with incentive requests, some of which had been highlighted with an incentive amount but for which I am receiving more.

At least when they call they take no for answer. I get a lot of calls for help with shops and have turned them down because I am working. Another MS calls and does not take no for answer, they even increased the bonus. If I am working until 9:30 how can I do a shop before 9:15?

Maritz has a bunch of different projects and that may be why we're getting mixed signals. The clients I work here in Texas are not the same as the clients in other parts of the country. Today I was shopping out west and realized I wasn't too far from another available shop but didn't want to make the drive for base rate. I called and asked for a bonus to cover the extra mileage and they agreed, so that worked out for all of us. It wasn't an exciting bonus but it made the shop possible so win win. They suggested two more out in that area but the one extra shop was all I could manage.

It could very well be that some of the projects are locked in to being bonused only on the website. It makes sense they would move in that direction if it's working well for them. In most cases I would prefer for the bonus to be offered on the website rather than shop by shop on the phone. Not that I mind getting a phone call with an offer. I'll take them either way.

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

You all could very well be right. Different areas and projects could have different rules. Unfortunately, for me I was told the mini routes I used to do for bonuses are no longer available by request. Nor are any other shops for this category. And this month in my area the only shops that are gold highlighted with bonuses are shops that I do not do.

The new bonus system doesn't work for me as last month the shops were sporatic with low incentives. Shop A could be bonused $12.00 while shop B in the same town could be $7.50 and shop C no bonus at all.

Not a problem - I will find other shops to fill the end of the month.

I just got a call yesterday and told her what I "would" do it for....if I don't hear back, I don't hear back! I didn't ask anymore then I have gotten in the past.

Bonuses from Maritz are difficult to receive from some reps because they are not empowered to allocate the bonus. I got a call for a shop that was an hour a way but not anywhere I was going so I told the rep I would need a bonus. She told me she needed to get permission and call me back. I was offered $2.50 which didn't even cover all my time on the multiple phone calls. Now I just tell them no if it is not in a scheduled area I am visiting.

It is my experience that the schedulers have never been empowered to approve bonus requests. They have to run them past a supervisor. And supervisors avoid shoppers like the plague. The requests go up the Maritz ladder and back down again. The supervisor waits to see if anyone will take the shops at regular pay before approving a bonus. I can't really blame them for that.

I have only done bonused shops in mini-routes and they were quite profitable. It also got rid of a group of shops for Maritz that were sitting on the board. It seems that the decision has been made to have tighter control over bonused shops with smaller bonuses and higher profit (for Maritz). If the shops are not picked up and remain on the board the clients will not be happy but apparently Maritz is willing to take that gamble.

It is what it is and I will work around it.

I think the bonus situation goes both ways and from what I have read may swing back and forth like a pendulum. If all the shoppers in an area refuse to take shops at base price it may force bonuses to get the shops done. If however MSCs refuse to pay bonuses or limit the bonuses in time shoppers will have to either take shops at lower prices or not work. The situation will probably eventually even itself out with most shops going unbonused but bonuses being available for the most hard to fill locations.

Vicky,

I agree that the pendulum may swing back and bonuses return to where they were and that this appears to be a simple matter of supply and demand - Economics 101. But there is a third option and that is to find shops with other MSC's that see bonuses as good for both the shopper and the MSC. As I've said - expand my base.

I love Maritz. If you are not being offered incentives, it might mean that your reports are not up to standard. Or that you live in an area with plenty of shoppers to choose from. Speak with the scheduler and find out where the problem lies.

Kyninja, I too like Maritz. In fact I have done close to 1000 shops for them in a little over a year. So I don't think sub-standard reports are the problem. I've never had a serious complaint. I do live in a very densely populated area with plenty of shops and no doubt plenty of shoppers so it is possible that supply/demand is on the side of the MSC. However I have done some very profitable mini-routes in the past, some of which I arranged through the scheduler with whom I was speaking. It may be that only my area is affected, but perhaps not. In any case, if I am limited to only the bonused shops that are gold highlighted on the job board then Maritz has become less important to me. Time will tell.

Actually, I asked for bonuses on two shops yesterday, both of which were approved at an amount for more than what I asked. The scheduler did have to check with his boss first. I've just recently added this company to my growing list of registered companies, and so far they are excellent!

LIJake -
I've been pondering this for a few days... It could well be that the scheduler was simply mistaken. Have you spoken to a different one on the same Team for the same client? Further, each supervisor has their own inclinations. Have you spoken to someone on both the morning and evening shift?

elcarev68,

Thanks for your input. I had the same thoughts and did speak with another scheduler yesterday and asked for a bonus on shops I have previously done for a bonus. The scheduler can't approve it on her own so she is running it past a supervisor (a different one). The usual routine is that the supervisor waits to see if anyone will take the shops without a bonus and authorize it only if she gets desperate. If I don't hear back today I can no longer do the 9 shops this month. And if some are taken by another shopper and some left I can not take the leftovers and make a profit.

I will update when I get any info.

Thanks again.

89lulalula89 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Actually, I asked for bonuses on two shops
> yesterday, both of which were approved at an
> amount for more than what I asked. The scheduler
> did have to check with his boss first. I've just
> recently added this company to my growing list of
> registered companies, and so far they are
> excellent!

WOW I can honestly say I've never been given a bonus higher then I asked for......

My bonus requests are always counter offered.

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

OK, here is what I learned. The scheduler I just spoke with said if there is a bonus listed on the job board they will not increase it if requested. That was my experience last month when I accepted some bonused shops all in the same area for the same type of shop. Some were at one amount and others were less and they would not budge.

However, I was able to request and get approved a mini route at the bonus I requested (through a different scheduler and supervisor). These were shops not gold highlighted with fixes bonuses. So my earlier information about not being able to request bonuses was incorrect.

elcarev68 - you were correct.

89lula - good for you. Like MDavis, I was never offered a larger bonus than requested.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2014 08:45PM by LIJake.

MDavisnowell Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My bonus requests are always counter offered.

Same here. I have learned to request more than I actually need, since the counter offer will almost always be lower than my initial request.

"OK, here is what I learned. The scheduler I just spoke with said if there is a bonus listed on the job board they will not increase it if requested. That was my experience last month when I accepted some bonused shops all in the same area for the same type of shop. Some were at one amount and others were less and they would not budge. "

then WHY do they bother calling and asking if you will do it and "how much do you need"?? I have received numerous calls, they ask, I tell, then never hear again....next call I'm going to just tell them to stop calling if they are not really interested in what you want.....UGh

Ok, a question for those who always receive a counter offer. What type of bonuses are you typically asking for? Have you ever had to ask for an extremely high bonus? They called me a few days ago wanting me to do one shop. It was about 160 miles round trip for me. It was in a VERY rural location where I could find no other shops to complete on the route. I informed the scheduler of all of this and said that I doubted they could pay me what I would need. She still wanted the incentive that I would need so I told her...$150. I always try and make $1 per mile. She said she would check and call back...never got a return call. So, do you make offers in this range and still receive counter offers?

No, I haven't made an offer in that range for one shop at a similar distance. Except on bundle bids, I always hear back one way or the other.

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

This was at the end if a quarter so the shop needed to be completed. The location was 100 miles round trip. There were no other shops to bundle with it. I ask for $100. The scheduler took the request to the supervisor and they counter offered. I replied because of the distance I needed that amount. They were very nice but said that they could not do it. A couple of days later they called back and said if I could complete the shop they would agree to the request. I think it depends on the urgency of the shop and if they cannot find anyone else to complete the shop for a cheaper request.

I think it can depend on your area. For one of the shops in my area the bonus on the board was only 5.00. I called in a told them I would be doing other shops for them in the area and would like to complete the shop on the board but I would need a 20 incentive because of the distance They called back the next day with a counter offer. I accepted the counter offer it was not my original offer but it was higher than the offer on the boards.

I hear you on that one. I have gotten numerous calls this week from different people about the same shops. I have had to learn to say no due to a lack of a bonus to make it worth my time. I am not about to drive 200 miles round trip for $18 that doesn't even cover gas. I am starting to reign in the distance that I will travel to do a shop. I feel insulted when I am offered such a small bonus for such a large amount of my time and effort especially when I am not going in that area to shop.

I've had similar experiences recently with their bonus system.

I found some shops close enough together to make a route. They each had a bonus of $5.

However, it is a long drive to get to the area of those shops. So I made a very modest request for a larger bonus to cover the extra gas and extra time. They told me that once a bonus is set on the website, they don't negotiate it.

Instead, I filled that day with another route with more shops. It is 10 miles closer, at higher base pay for less work at another MSC.

They will negotiate what is set on the website if it needs done quickly. I saw one on the site last week with a decent bonus. However, it is out in the middle of nowhere and there wasn't a possibility of getting any other shops remotely close to it. I called and explained why I needed a bigger bonus. The shop needed done by 10/31. I told them I could do it on 10/30. They accepted my offer.

Got a call from a Maritz scheduler middle of last week. He tells me they're desperate for a shopper on one of the outer islands and asks what it would take to complete the shop. He tells me that they know this will require reimbursement of travel and they are serious about needing a travel bid from me to perform the shop. So I do a quick search and tell them exactly how much airfare and car rental will cost to perform the job and ask that in addition to the listed job fee, and $8 bonus be applied to bring the shop to a round $20. I mention that this is really bending over backwards for them as the $20 fee in no way compensates adequately for the required travel time, etc. They tell me they just need to get it approved and get right back to me.

5 days later and still no word from them and the job (now with exactly an $8 bonus as I requested) is still sitting on the job board in gold. Apparently when they say they're serious, they're not as serious as I thought!

No big loss as I wasn't going to make any money on the shop... just happened to have a few hours to kill this weekend and thought I might pick some bonused airport shops while at it.

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

Maritz incentives

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine