Low pay shops
There are a surprisingly large numbers of low-paying msc. CORI and Market Force especially. CORI had one phone shop with a $1.00 reimbursement.
Sometimes the lowball shops can be done pretty quickly, especially after one's done them a few times and knows what to look for. They can be good as fillers while out on more lucrative routes, too.
That said, I typically wait until there are bonuses, or I just ask for a bonus directly, especially if the location is one which is out of the way.
I'd much rather do video shops!
NCMama Wrote:
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> I recently signed on with another company, and was
> looking over their shops today. I was surprised by
> the low-pay, time consuming shops! I mean - $8 for
> a shop that will take an hour? I know I can just
> decline those, and someone will take them, but it
> surprised me that they offered so little. Did I
> just luck out signing with higher paying companies
> right off the bat? An $8 shop with the companies
> I've been with is usually an easy website or phone
> shop.
That said, I typically wait until there are bonuses, or I just ask for a bonus directly, especially if the location is one which is out of the way.
I'd much rather do video shops!
NCMama Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I recently signed on with another company, and was
> looking over their shops today. I was surprised by
> the low-pay, time consuming shops! I mean - $8 for
> a shop that will take an hour? I know I can just
> decline those, and someone will take them, but it
> surprised me that they offered so little. Did I
> just luck out signing with higher paying companies
> right off the bat? An $8 shop with the companies
> I've been with is usually an easy website or phone
> shop.
Can you name it? so that we don't sign up with it.
anakin Wrote:
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> Can you name it? so that we don't sign up with it.
We could probably fill a page just with a list of companies that have $8 and under shops! LOL
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> Can you name it? so that we don't sign up with it.
We could probably fill a page just with a list of companies that have $8 and under shops! LOL
great...perhaps we can start a thread.
Even when some of them are bonused the rates are obscenely low.
And the ones where you do not get enough for the remibursment. They get lower and lower.
NCMama Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I recently signed on with another company, and was
> looking over their shops today. I was surprised by
> the low-pay, time consuming shops! I mean - $8 for
> a shop that will take an hour? I know I can just
> decline those, and someone will take them, but it
> surprised me that they offered so little. Did I
> just luck out signing with higher paying companies
> right off the bat? An $8 shop with the companies
> I've been with is usually an easy website or phone
> shop.
there are many people in society who are poorer than you, who are therefore willing to work for less money for food and rent. so long as there are people who are willing to get paid less than you, these low paying shops will exist. it's about the supply and demand of workers.
-------------------------------------------------------
> I recently signed on with another company, and was
> looking over their shops today. I was surprised by
> the low-pay, time consuming shops! I mean - $8 for
> a shop that will take an hour? I know I can just
> decline those, and someone will take them, but it
> surprised me that they offered so little. Did I
> just luck out signing with higher paying companies
> right off the bat? An $8 shop with the companies
> I've been with is usually an easy website or phone
> shop.
there are many people in society who are poorer than you, who are therefore willing to work for less money for food and rent. so long as there are people who are willing to get paid less than you, these low paying shops will exist. it's about the supply and demand of workers.
Vince -- I would buy into that, however, there are so many low paying shops that schedulers consistently beg people to accept. I just don't get why these companies don't understand they may have to permanently increase fees to get the shops done. How much time and energy is wasted each month because the companies/clients are too cheap to pay a decent fee?
Vince is correct, shop fees are about supply and demand. If you were an MSC that could get an acceptable report and had to pay the shopper only $8 versus $20, you would do it too.
I would also say that shop fees are about an individual shopper's situation. New shoppers will do more low paying shops. I have been doing fieldwork for 15 years, and I will do a low paying shop if I know the shop form is reasonable and it fits into my route for the day. After all, a $10 shop that I can do in my already established route, that doesn't put any more miles on my car, and takes 15 minutes to do is quite valuable to me.
Lastly, don't think too long about a low paying shop. If it's not enough for you, move on. Spend more time finding and doing higher paying shops and not getting mad at the low paying shops.
I would also say that shop fees are about an individual shopper's situation. New shoppers will do more low paying shops. I have been doing fieldwork for 15 years, and I will do a low paying shop if I know the shop form is reasonable and it fits into my route for the day. After all, a $10 shop that I can do in my already established route, that doesn't put any more miles on my car, and takes 15 minutes to do is quite valuable to me.
Lastly, don't think too long about a low paying shop. If it's not enough for you, move on. Spend more time finding and doing higher paying shops and not getting mad at the low paying shops.
avitoots Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Vince -- I would buy into that, however, there are
> so many low paying shops that schedulers
> consistently beg people to accept. I just don't
> get why these companies don't understand they may
> have to permanently increase fees to get the shops
> done. How much time and energy is wasted each
> month because the companies/clients are too cheap
> to pay a decent fee?
these schedulers who beg people to accept assignments may not understand the supply and demand that their employers understand.
for example, i used to work for a corporation where i would hire people (although not mystery shopping). i hired well over 100 people for the corporation, training each of them in a classroom. nonetheless, the corporation was chronically understaffed because the pay for these positions was so low, being just at mimimum wage at the time. and the turnover rate was extremely high as well.
many employees said that the corporation would be able to solve it's chronic understaffing problem, if only the corporation would pay it's employees more. there would be more applicants and higher employee retention.
however, the corporate billionaires who owned the corporation didn't want it that way. they chronically understaffed their own corporation because it saved them money. chronic understaffing created more money in the pockets of the billionaire corporate owners.
of course, the poor, impoverished, little people, who were sacrificially loyal to the corporation, didn't understand this. the lower management would beg the employees to work the extra hour each week. the grand illusion was that the corporation could never seem to solve it's understaffing problem, because it couldn't afford to pay it's employees more money. however, it was a set-up from the start. the understaffing problem was planned from the beginning. it was the big secret that no one was supposed to know. it's how the corporate billionaires could afford their jetplanes.
in other words, why should the corporation pay you or me that extra dollar when some naive scheduler could instead unwittingly coax you to accept an assignment by begging you to perform it? you're the loyal type anyway, because you like to do the 'right thing' for the corporation. you 'get the job done', even if it means sacrificing that extra dollar on your part. begging may sometimes work with you, if you feel sorry enough for the scheduler. if you get paid a dollar more for the assignment, then all those other people who are poorer than you will have to get paid that extra dollar also, and that adds up to a lot of dollars if everyone gets that extra dollar for each assignment. that would create losses across the board for the corporation. begging is more financially astute.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Vince -- I would buy into that, however, there are
> so many low paying shops that schedulers
> consistently beg people to accept. I just don't
> get why these companies don't understand they may
> have to permanently increase fees to get the shops
> done. How much time and energy is wasted each
> month because the companies/clients are too cheap
> to pay a decent fee?
these schedulers who beg people to accept assignments may not understand the supply and demand that their employers understand.
for example, i used to work for a corporation where i would hire people (although not mystery shopping). i hired well over 100 people for the corporation, training each of them in a classroom. nonetheless, the corporation was chronically understaffed because the pay for these positions was so low, being just at mimimum wage at the time. and the turnover rate was extremely high as well.
many employees said that the corporation would be able to solve it's chronic understaffing problem, if only the corporation would pay it's employees more. there would be more applicants and higher employee retention.
however, the corporate billionaires who owned the corporation didn't want it that way. they chronically understaffed their own corporation because it saved them money. chronic understaffing created more money in the pockets of the billionaire corporate owners.
of course, the poor, impoverished, little people, who were sacrificially loyal to the corporation, didn't understand this. the lower management would beg the employees to work the extra hour each week. the grand illusion was that the corporation could never seem to solve it's understaffing problem, because it couldn't afford to pay it's employees more money. however, it was a set-up from the start. the understaffing problem was planned from the beginning. it was the big secret that no one was supposed to know. it's how the corporate billionaires could afford their jetplanes.
in other words, why should the corporation pay you or me that extra dollar when some naive scheduler could instead unwittingly coax you to accept an assignment by begging you to perform it? you're the loyal type anyway, because you like to do the 'right thing' for the corporation. you 'get the job done', even if it means sacrificing that extra dollar on your part. begging may sometimes work with you, if you feel sorry enough for the scheduler. if you get paid a dollar more for the assignment, then all those other people who are poorer than you will have to get paid that extra dollar also, and that adds up to a lot of dollars if everyone gets that extra dollar for each assignment. that would create losses across the board for the corporation. begging is more financially astute.
vince Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> NCMama Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I recently signed on with another company, and
> was
> > looking over their shops today. I was surprised
> by
> > the low-pay, time consuming shops! I mean - $8
> for
> > a shop that will take an hour? I know I can
> just
> > decline those, and someone will take them, but
> it
> > surprised me that they offered so little. Did I
> > just luck out signing with higher paying
> companies
> > right off the bat? An $8 shop with the
> companies
> > I've been with is usually an easy website or
> phone
> > shop.
>
> there are many people in society who are poorer
> than you, who are therefore willing to work for
> less money for food and rent. so long as there
> are people who are willing to get paid less than
> you, these low paying shops will exist. it's
> about the supply and demand of workers.
.....
I thought $8 is fairly good! I see far too many shops that only pays $3 in cash and $5 reimbursement.
One time I decided to shop four or five stores on the same trip.... For about $15 in cash and $25 reimbursement. It's great if you need something to buy items that you were going to purchase anyway, but after a couple of stores, I was working at just something to buy.
-------------------------------------------------------
> NCMama Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I recently signed on with another company, and
> was
> > looking over their shops today. I was surprised
> by
> > the low-pay, time consuming shops! I mean - $8
> for
> > a shop that will take an hour? I know I can
> just
> > decline those, and someone will take them, but
> it
> > surprised me that they offered so little. Did I
> > just luck out signing with higher paying
> companies
> > right off the bat? An $8 shop with the
> companies
> > I've been with is usually an easy website or
> phone
> > shop.
>
> there are many people in society who are poorer
> than you, who are therefore willing to work for
> less money for food and rent. so long as there
> are people who are willing to get paid less than
> you, these low paying shops will exist. it's
> about the supply and demand of workers.
.....
I thought $8 is fairly good! I see far too many shops that only pays $3 in cash and $5 reimbursement.
One time I decided to shop four or five stores on the same trip.... For about $15 in cash and $25 reimbursement. It's great if you need something to buy items that you were going to purchase anyway, but after a couple of stores, I was working at just something to buy.
Vince -- As a Teamster baby, don't even get me started about the idiocy and greed of the corporate world. However, here's the question that I'm sure the incompetents who make more money than they are worth, how much money and lost productivity does it cost to keep training new employees? Way back when I started working, that was a huge consideration and a reason they worked to keep their employees.
Now, keeping it within the mystery shopping world, one must wonder if the lack of getting shops done costs the companies clients. And/or if the quality of shops (if there is a correlation between fees and quality) causes loss of clients.
Now, keeping it within the mystery shopping world, one must wonder if the lack of getting shops done costs the companies clients. And/or if the quality of shops (if there is a correlation between fees and quality) causes loss of clients.
Someone replied that people take shops because they are poorer than some. If you are that poor, working for a mystery shop is really counter productive, in reference to the $8 shop. gas+ time+ computer+ usage = not enough to pay you the actual eight dollars you are going to get two to nine weeks later. So the excuse that people take them because they are poorer is a not accurate...
avitoots Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Vince -- As a Teamster baby, don't even get me
> started about the idiocy and greed of the
> corporate world. However, here's the question
> that I'm sure the incompetents who make more money
> than they are worth, how much money and lost
> productivity does it cost to keep training new
> employees? Way back when I started working, that
> was a huge consideration and a reason they worked
> to keep their employees.
>
i was once a teamster. later, i became a corporate trainer, training 200 employees. it's generally cheaper to terminate 10 employees who are the least productive and replace them with 10 new employees who will be trained anew, than to keep the original 10 employees. it all depends on the quality of the employee being lost and how hard it is to replace that employee. with the current job crisis, the average employee is easily replaced, despite training costs. and mystery shopping companies don't really pay to train people in this context, anyway.
> Now, keeping it within the mystery shopping world,
> one must wonder if the lack of getting shops done
> costs the companies clients. And/or if the
> quality of shops (if there is a correlation
> between fees and quality) causes loss of clients.
it would seem that many of these companies somehow still remain in business, either way. clients may or may not lack alternative options.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2011 04:50AM by vince.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Vince -- As a Teamster baby, don't even get me
> started about the idiocy and greed of the
> corporate world. However, here's the question
> that I'm sure the incompetents who make more money
> than they are worth, how much money and lost
> productivity does it cost to keep training new
> employees? Way back when I started working, that
> was a huge consideration and a reason they worked
> to keep their employees.
>
i was once a teamster. later, i became a corporate trainer, training 200 employees. it's generally cheaper to terminate 10 employees who are the least productive and replace them with 10 new employees who will be trained anew, than to keep the original 10 employees. it all depends on the quality of the employee being lost and how hard it is to replace that employee. with the current job crisis, the average employee is easily replaced, despite training costs. and mystery shopping companies don't really pay to train people in this context, anyway.
> Now, keeping it within the mystery shopping world,
> one must wonder if the lack of getting shops done
> costs the companies clients. And/or if the
> quality of shops (if there is a correlation
> between fees and quality) causes loss of clients.
it would seem that many of these companies somehow still remain in business, either way. clients may or may not lack alternative options.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2011 04:50AM by vince.
I think he meant if you are poor if might be better to get a Walmart job than a $8 job - which are erratic. People who take $8 assignments are either doing them as a hobby or this is their secondary/supplemental source of income.
I'm retired,so I admit that I'm doing this as a hobby and to kill time(get away from my wife). I am still learning and didn't know that we should wait and hold out for more.There is a strategy to this. This might not help you but others in the biz.
mnmfong Wrote:
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> I'm retired,so I admit that I'm doing this as a
> hobby and to kill time(get away from my wife). I
> am still learning and didn't know that we should
> wait and hold out for more.There is a strategy to
> this. This might not help you but others in the
> biz.
Seriously ?? You want to KILL time? Do you have a lot to spare? If so I will take some of it. I hope that your wife does not read this. My heart sank to read this. I hope this was meant to be some kind of humour. But not funny.
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> I'm retired,so I admit that I'm doing this as a
> hobby and to kill time(get away from my wife). I
> am still learning and didn't know that we should
> wait and hold out for more.There is a strategy to
> this. This might not help you but others in the
> biz.
Seriously ?? You want to KILL time? Do you have a lot to spare? If so I will take some of it. I hope that your wife does not read this. My heart sank to read this. I hope this was meant to be some kind of humour. But not funny.
cynb -- Don't judge. His wie may think mystery shopping getting him out of the house now and then is a good thing.
My thoughts are people that need to pay the rent and feed their kids should not be doing this...Mcd's give (at least) a paycheck, Starbucks gives great benefits for working only 20 hours per week, which enables you to go to school. They give full health coverage and stock options. MSing is for those who have a bit in their pocket and can put money out and wait months to see it again. Some of us will do relatively low pay shops for various reasons, get free stuff, be productive and like me, love to shop and eat out. The cost of a computer and internet and gas to do this just doesn't add up in my book.
Live consciously....
NCMama Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I recently signed on with another company, and was
> looking over their shops today. I was surprised by
> the low-pay, time consuming shops! I mean - $8 for
> a shop that will take an hour? I know I can just
> decline those, and someone will take them, but it
> surprised me that they offered so little. Did I
> just luck out signing with higher paying companies
> right off the bat? An $8 shop with the companies
> I've been with is usually an easy website or phone
> shop.
Just take the shops you want and don't "fiddle" with the others. If no one takes it then they will bonus it later. Others will do it if you do not. They want to et it done at the cheapest cost to them. They keep the difference as profit. We would do the same.
Don in Las Vegas
-------------------------------------------------------
> I recently signed on with another company, and was
> looking over their shops today. I was surprised by
> the low-pay, time consuming shops! I mean - $8 for
> a shop that will take an hour? I know I can just
> decline those, and someone will take them, but it
> surprised me that they offered so little. Did I
> just luck out signing with higher paying companies
> right off the bat? An $8 shop with the companies
> I've been with is usually an easy website or phone
> shop.
Just take the shops you want and don't "fiddle" with the others. If no one takes it then they will bonus it later. Others will do it if you do not. They want to et it done at the cheapest cost to them. They keep the difference as profit. We would do the same.
Don in Las Vegas
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