Really....why torture me with the application??

August 17, 2012 10:15PM

I am sure there is a thread somewhere on this, but I have not been able to find it. Maybe because it has been a loonnnnnggggggggggg day? At any rate, with no shops lined up for the weekend and what looks to be a mostly rainy weekend, I thought I would take the time to sign up with more MSC's to see if there are more shops of interest in my area. I just spent 15 minutes signing up with one only to find out they are in 2 states on the West Coast. I am in North Carolina. I doubt they are going to give me travel pay.

Is there a way to find out the areas the companies are in before wasting hours of time? I don't mind completing lengthy applications if it could ever possibly be an avenue to opportunites. I know that companies may expand into my area in the future, but surely there is a way to see if they are at least in my current time zone right now. I also signed up for one MSC that currently has only 4 openings in the ENTIRE country. If that wasn't a waste of time, I don't know what else would be.
Any advice?

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August 17, 2012 10:20PM

No advice, but I feel your pain. I am in Canada and I have signed up with a few MSC's hoping to find some work, only to find...nothing....

August 17, 2012 11:21PM

One way is to check job boards near the beginning of a month and look for MSCs with shops in your state. Another is to look for MSCs in or near your state. Yet another is go to sites such as the MSPA's and search by state.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/2012 11:21PM by BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz.

August 18, 2012 12:35AM

@mulva111-If you’re anywhere near Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton, Mississauga, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto, Vancouver or Winnipeg, Inside Evaluators has some easy market research “shops” being conducted on a monthly basis.

$10 pay for a quick 10-15 minute store visit and a very short survey-15 minutes tops. Several locations can be done in a day (sometimes even in the same mall) and you can pretty much choose your own locations from our list to create your own route.

Feel free to email me and I’ll send you the full details.

Joan Gingras
Senior Project Director~BarStoolie Mystery Shopping

Barstoolie@insideevaluators.com

August 18, 2012 12:55AM

Thanks Joan, but I am an hour outside of Toronto in the Niagara Region...

August 18, 2012 01:12AM

Well if you're ever in Hamilton, let me know and I'll see what I can set you up with.

Joan Gingras
Senior Project Director~BarStoolie Mystery Shopping

Barstoolie@insideevaluators.com

August 18, 2012 03:12AM

MSCs add and delete clients all the time. No way to know. Are you using roboform? My theory is that if you sign on with a company and only get one or 2 shops a year it is worth the effort.

August 18, 2012 01:29PM

Thank you cynb!
I am SOOOOO confused about Roboform after looking on their site. Maybe I need some more coffee before I think I can comprehend cyberworld password storage! I started a new thread on it to get as many pros/cons/uses/etc. Do you have to pay an annual fee for it? I saw it was $9.95 for the first year. What happens after then?

August 21, 2012 04:17AM

mulva111 Wrote:
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> Thanks Joan, but I am an hour outside of Toronto
> in the Niagara Region...

I'm in the Niagara region, too. But USA side.

Howdy neighbor!

August 21, 2012 04:20AM

amie068 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you cynb!
> I am SOOOOO confused about Roboform after looking
> on their site. Maybe I need some more coffee
> before I think I can comprehend cyberworld
> password storage! I started a new thread on it to
> get as many pros/cons/uses/etc. Do you have to
> pay an annual fee for it? I saw it was $9.95 for
> the first year. What happens after then?

I've only paid one fee years ago. I don't know if they've changed their policy. I know if I wanted the latest update, it'd cost me a discounted fee. It's the first time I've ever seen that so it might be something new. However, I just declined it and haven't had to pay any other fees.

As to MSCs, remember that clients will often hop around. Clients come and go and the MSC with shops only in CA might have some in NC in a year or two and ones you LOVE. So just keep trudging along and you'll be rewarded with shops near you.

August 23, 2012 01:56PM

Angie, I am from Niagara Falls, NY, originally.

August 23, 2012 09:34PM

15 minutes? I got skilled lol, it takes me 2 or 3 minutes. The narrative they ask for is always the same. I have it saved in a doc file on my desktop: cut and paste and put in my name and address. Job done

Shopper and auditor since March 2012.
Cover all center/north Oklahoma and south Kansas.

August 24, 2012 03:33PM

It seems like my favorite shops have come from companies that didn't have anything in my area when I applied and generally nothing for the next year or two. Then the beautiful gift of a nearby offer appears in my e-mail. Yes, I still have many companies I have never for and probably never will, but you never quite no when they will randomly luck into some client.

August 24, 2012 03:37PM

charyuop Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 15 minutes? I got skilled lol, it takes me 2 or 3
> minutes. The narrative they ask for is always the
> same. I have it saved in a doc file on my desktop:
> cut and paste and put in my name and address. Job
> done

Filling out the application is not the only part of applying with a new MSC. If it is only taking you 2 or 3 minutes, you must not be reading their ICA. Do you know what their payment schedule is, how they pay, and do you know what you are agreeing to when you sign the ICA?

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Really....why torture me with the application??

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