@SoCalMama wrote:
@SunnyDays2 wrote:
@SoCalMama wrote:
I have worked for Market Force (Shop N Check) since 1999. They have partially deactivated me three times. I haven't seen a real bonus on their job board in years. Even shops in airports are rarely bonused with a few exceptions. I can only see as far back as five or eight years on my account, but I do only $200- $1500 a year for them. My theory has been that if you can keep your fees under $600 and not get a 1099, they will keep you on. In the past once you got close to $600, you couldn't see any jobs until the next year.
That theory is not totally true, in my case.... I have earned over $600++ yearly for almost 5 years now. I have not been kicked to the roadside... (yet). And, as far as diminished shops, there were as many shops, as there ever were.... Now, if you move to a smaller area, it seems there are less shops than the big city...(this is true)...
Do you mean over $600 in fees or $600 total? I can see I year where I made $1500, but $590 in fees (because I recall some inside secret about $600, and I took no more shops that year).
I still see a ton of shops for them still, just no bonuses. I had to reduce my search area to 20 miles because there were too many shops at 30 & 50 miles.
BTW, I shopped the wrong restaurant for them the other day and even entered the entire report. I was pretty impressed with myself (not). They apologized over and over for not being able to accept it. I guess it wasn't a big deal to them, since I assigned a half dozen airport shops after that? Basically, I think that I proved to them that I am not professional. LOL
In my defense, there are some brands that have 3 names (example: Safeway, Vons, Pavilions), so that was what I had told myself, it was just their other brand. The food was great, so no loss. $7 and a half hour of my day. Sigh.
@SunnyDays2 wrote:
I think Mystery Shopping "is" a skill.
You have to be a "skilled writer" to do the large amount of narratives, that are required for most shops. You have to be skilled in playing a part, such as wanting to buy a new car, or purchasing an expensive purse, in real life that you can't afford, but on your shop, you convince the salesperson you DO want to buy it! That takes skill!
@SunnyDays2 wrote:
You have to have "skill" with balancing all your shops, not arriving too early and not arriving too late, getting to the right location, for a place you have never been before, spelling correctly is a major plus, so poor-spellers could not do this line of work, not blowing your cover by being calm and not acting nervous, being punctual, being keen and anticipating your target might be on to you, so you make sure to throw her off (many times)
@SunnyDays2 wrote:
Now, take the average Joe. Give him all the above. Expect him to perform flawlessly, every day, without fail and be patient enough to be paid 40-60 days after that person "performs" his assignment correctly
@SunnyDays2 wrote:
Now, take the average Joe. Give him all the above. Expect him to perform flawlessly, every day, without fail and be patient enough to be paid 40-60 days after that person "performs" his assignment correctly
@robinv wrote:
I just got a congratulatory email from MF for 250 completed shops. That made me feel great. No other company does stuff like that, at least not yet in my tenture with them.
Robinv
@Yohan wrote:
Then I saw one of my favorite MSCs lose one of their regular clients to MF and the first thing MF did was cut the shopper fee 66% or from $12 to $4. What a nice MSC!...(NOT!) And MF has since followed a practice of gobbling up clients by offering lower shopper fees, thus trading off shoppers backs with no benefit to shoppers. And when they capture more big clients, they corner a larger share of the market of available MS jobs in the area, thus cramming down lower fees on shoppers who truly never made much money on this business to begin with. MF works AGAINST shoppers' economic interests when they do this, and in my area has gotten so bad I hardly ever accept an assignment from them because they pay dirt wages in the vast majority of cases and only occasionally pay something equitable / reasonable given the time/expense/travel required to complete the job.
@BillBryaninCarthage wrote:
nice is defined as kind, polite, and friendly. ...
@Bloogers wrote:
Sorry about your dad, flexy. But could you PLEASE keep personal stuff in private messages and not in public?