Trader Joe's MSC has sunk to this level !!!

I just received this from the MSC who does Trader Joe's. Because I'm mentioning Trader Joe's I'm not mentioning the MSC....

Shop Dates: Tuesday 9/1- Thursday 9/3
Shop Times: Any open store hours
Estimated Length of Shop: 1 hours -2 hours
Payment: $7.00 total (25 item list) = 4.00 towards groceries of your choice + 3.00 contractor payment

NOTICE...1-2 hour shop (plus reporting time I assume) = $7.00 ($4.00 reimbursement for groceries + $3.00 FEE). Are they friggin' kidding? This, dear folks, is what MSC companies are expecting (and probably getting) from shoppers who will readily snap up this truly insulting offer. I welcome comments from those who feel justified in taking an assignment like this. I'm insulted and somewhat enraged that a MSC (well-known and a big one) would stoop to this level.

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crazy offer.

That's not including any lines to get in or check out of the store ....

I would say, if I'm going grocery shopping there any way (I do not), then it is not a terrible offer. However, I spend 1-2 hours shopping at my local Target store because I coupon and the price matching takes forever. There's only a list of 25 things? No other inspections, photos, interactions, etc.? Then I'm okay with that. Otherwise, I think it would be ridiculous.

#burntoutinthebigapple

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2015 03:38AM by eodermatt.

@eodermatt wrote:

That's not including any lines to get in or check out of the store ....

I would say, if I'm not going grocery shopping there any way (I do not), then it is not a terrible offer. However, I spend 1-2 hours shopping at my local Target store because I coupon and the price matching takes forever. There's only a list of 25 things? No other inspections, photos, interactions, etc.? Then I'm okay with that. Otherwise, I think it would be ridiculous.

so, you would spend up to 2 hours in a grocery store, then do a report to receive a fee of $3.00 & $4.00 product reimbursement? Amazing!

Unless TJ's is dramatically different in other parts of the country one hour would be quite difficult, two would be nutso. There are only 6 or 7 aisles total in my local stores. Add to that a friendly staff who is required to escort you to any product you ask about. Even with their low prices, $4 is not going to buy you much.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

If you spent 2 hours in my local Trader Joe's they'd wonder if you thought you worked there. With a list of 25 items I couldn't stray from, I could get in and out in 1/2 hour easily on a weekday morning.

I'd want to see the list of required items before I decided whether it'd be worth it to me. It's 5 minutes from my house and I'm a fan of their products. I'd probably do it once for kicks and then see if it got bonused in the future.

We are all here on earth to help others....What on earth the others are here for I don't know.

--W. H. Auden

I'm in NYC, where the line into the store would eat up half the hour. So, if I was already shopping there - which I'm not - half an hour to do my usual shopping, waiting in the checkout line, and actually doing the assignment and my own shopping could eat up half an hour. Lines probably take up an hour by themselves.

#burntoutinthebigapple

@Alisonj3 wrote:

If you spent 2 hours in my local Trader Joe's they'd wonder if you thought you worked there. With a list of 25 items I couldn't stray from, I could get in and out in 1/2 hour easily on a weekday morning.

I'd want to see the list of required items before I decided whether it'd be worth it to me. It's 5 minutes from my house and I'm a fan of their products. I'd probably do it once for kicks and then see if it got bonused in the future.

so...let's say (best case scenario) you spend 1/2 hour doing the shop and you are in and out of the store quickly (1/2 hour total) and then lets say (for the sake of argument) that it takes you 1/2 hour to do the report. Time spent = 1 hour. You have been compensated $7.00 total ($3.00 fee + $4.00 reimbursement). You value your time at $7.00 per hour. That is exactly why these MSC's can put these insulting fees on their "job boards" cuz people are willing to work for $7.00 an hour. Truly a pity what this has turned in to.

Let's wait until it pays whatever we think is fair. If it never reaches our expectations, we know someone else needed the shop more than we did. If that happens, let's wish them well. Let's be grateful if we are among those who can pick and choose. Let's understand not everyone is so fortunate.

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

I shop at TJ's a minimum of 3x a week which means I know the layout as well as the employees. A list of 25 items would maybe take me 15 minutes. I still wouldn't take the shop on principle. Just the idea the MSC thinks the shop could take as long as two hours and can't come up with a reasonable fee is a little galling. Add to that TJ's employees are paid a reasonable wage with decent benefits and it's unlikely the client is the cheapskate here.

It's truly sad. A billionaire businessman once warned people to not jump at every opportunity because it will eat up all your time and creativity. This would be the perfect to time to hit the delete button.

I am constantly amazed at the number of shops offered for $3-$7 plus a reimbursement that does NOT cover the cost of the required purchase. Not to mention the "URGENT! NEED TODAY" with the same dollar amounts. Perhaps "appalled" is a better word choice. Not to mention insulted! I can't tell you the last time I did a shop without a bonus, but it was a long, long time ago! I would do a grocery shop with a $30 reimbursement, because that would cover my grocery needs for a week. But there aren't any in my area.

I used to do the TJs pricing shops when I worked in the area of one of their stores many years ago and it paid more than what I've seen recently. After being unable to complete the shop in the time I allowed (which was over an hour as I recall) I had to leave to do something else. I returned later to finish it (a drive of over 20 miles) and have never done another. It certainly was not my cup of tea. I don't care for the store and was not familiar with their products, so in all fairness, that was probably one reason it took me so long, but it was so not worth my time to hunt through the store for specific sizes. UCK..hated it.

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Mark Twain

The alcohol compliance shops are a bit more rewarding. There's a $15 reimbursement to purchase several items, including one alcoholic item. I'm usually in the store 10 minutes and spend 5 minutes on the report.

And here I was hoping to find the MSC for Trader Joes...but its a good 20 minutes from my house, and with fee/reimbursements like that I think I'll pass!

I did one shop for that rate, well one at Trader Joe's and the other at Central Market. They are simply not worth it. They encourage you to accept multiples of the 25 item lists so that you make more and get more for your groceries, but it's a beat down and not worth it.

I already shop at Trader Joe's, and I just did one of these and 100 items took me less than an hour. It was actually less than an hour for 100 items plus random other wandering and shopping I did in the store. I would never do these if 25 items would take 1-2 hours.

If you do these nickel & dime shops then you do not value your time even if you generally shop there. By the time you fill out the paperwork that is required of these shops you are working for a nickel or dime. I treat mystery shopping as a business, factoring travel time, cost of travel, time on site and time to complete the paper work & transmission time.

@albrightsr wrote:

If you do these nickel & dime shops then you do not value your time even if you generally shop there. By the time you fill out the paperwork that is required of these shops you are working for a nickel or dime. I treat mystery shopping as a business, factoring travel time, cost of travel, time on site and time to complete the paper work & transmission time.

agreed , it sets a precedent & sends a message to the MSCs that they can get away by paying serf-like fees. JUST SAY NO !!!

I don't like TJ at all.
There is a Whole Foods within 90 seconds from where my daughter works.
She breakfasts there 3 to 5 times a week.
I stop there with her to grab a scone or muffin or two when she asks for Whole Foods for breakfast.
The store is very clean and at 7:30 am the food is of course absolutely fresh and SOOOO tasty.
I have shopped this store a couple of times.
If my 70 year old mind is calling up the numbers properly the shop fee was $7.00 and the remittance $10.00.
Those shops were pleasant in that the food was really good and the staff personnel were on top of their game knowing the product and the store.
The store and parking lot are always clean and appealing in appearance.
The survey took me about 20 minutes or less and I have had no complaints- from me or the MSC.
I would not do TJs simply because of the layout of the store and the products.
And certainly not for the $3.00 fee.
I really can't imagine anything I would want to eat from them that I could purchase for $4.00.
I have met people whom believe shopping at Tj's is a sign of elevated social class.
What a bs turn off!

That is truly a new low. I like Trader Joe's but just to park in my area takes 15 minutes. I don't even want to know the name of the MSC because I would not work for them. It is insulting beyond belief. Don't work for peanuts people - it is not worth your time. I can do a bank shop in 15 minutes for no outlay of money and make 3X that amount.

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@Alisonj3 wrote:

If you spent 2 hours in my local Trader Joe's they'd wonder if you thought you worked there. .

This was exactly my reaction. The TJs near me is tiny. They would probably call the police if someone was in there for two hours!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2015 01:58AM by MW.

@shopmyst wrote:

Which MSC does Trader Joes? Is the company Market Force?

Sorry but since i mentioned the client (Trader Joe's) I can't mention the MSC but it is one of the biggies (top 10).

It amazes me that you would even consider this type of shop. Your time is so extremely valuable. You are an independent contractor. This is your business. If you own this business and hire an employee would you pay your employee this amount of pathetic money? This is not even minimum wage for the work you talk about.
Please consider your value and your time.

I do these pricing ships all the time. In the Kroger stores, I can do 200 items in 1..75 hours, plus 1/2 hour to enter the data. I get $32 reimburse and $28 payment (i also usually get an additional $24 bonus ) I do another local grocery that i can do faster than Kroger because it is smaller. Not bad for 2.25 hours. If that MSC did TJs in my area, I'd be all over them. I never take just 25 items without a big bonus, not worth my time to go to the store.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/05/2015 04:06AM by Danza.

What does the "25 item list" mean? Is that where you search for those items? I've never done TJ's...

I would rather know the MSC and not the client.

I do them all the time and love them. Since I know the layout of the store and the lists are almost indentical week after week, I do them in 30 min or less and I was going to the location anyway. You can also fill in the report on the app.

Any shopper who takes these assignments are insulting all of us. THe MSC's will just get away with this and offer lower and lower fees as long as their is 1-idiotic shopper who will take these assignments. I have received phone messages from MSC's begging for help for these type of assignments and do not even return their call.

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Trader Joe's MSC has sunk to this level !!!

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