Apartment Shops

How difficult are apartment shops in terms of time for the shop and reporting?

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Have PV-500 & willing to travel.
"Answers are easy. It's asking the right questions which is hard." (The Fourth Doctor, The Face of Evil, 1977)

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You would have to provide a name for the answer to the report. The shop itself should not be hard or too time consuming. Mine average about 30 minutes. Don't let them show you multiple apartments, that is a total time waster.

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.

Thanks Lisa. I signed up with a company that has a couple in a town about 75 miles away, so looking at trying to build a route.

Many on this forum love apartment shops and do them as their primary focus, so they would be better to answer your questions. I did one and it was not for me...too much time and lying. Another one I cancelled after realizing I had to reach a certain person and I found the stress level too high.I am just not comfortable with the scenarios. Everyone does what they are comfortable with and these are too time restrictive for my needs so I don't do them.

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The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

Most apartment reports are relatively short. EPMS apartment shop reports are long and tedious, famously so! Be sure to carefully read their guideline and their survey before starting the shop. You might want to do a search on EPMS. HOWEVER, some of us still do EPMS shops (I only do their video apartment shops) because they are so thick on the ground that they can almost always be counted on to fill in some blanks in a route, or to "jump start" a slow shopping period.

I spend from 20-35 minutes doing the on-site visit, depending on how many amenities are shown and how long it takes to go from the office to the apartment(s) being shown. Like Lisa, I try to rule out all but one apartment while looking at floorplans in the office, before going on the tour. That way, I get one of my objections into the mix when ruling out certain floorplans.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

Whoa, does an objection to a floorplan while in the office count as an objection? Wish I would have known that before.

Hmmm, depends on the shop instuctions, so perhaps I should not have been so confident.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

You are probably right and it does make perfect sense. It just never crossed my addled mind.

I won't do the targeted apartment shops. The rest are fine and EPMS reports are tedious but once you've done a few it's not so bad.

jpgilham Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I won't do the targeted apartment shops. The rest
> are fine and EPMS reports are tedious but once
> you've done a few it's not so bad.

I agree that the targeted apartment shops can be a pain. I'm also going to be shyin away from the recorded shops if I can. I have never understood why they need you to type a narrative if they have the recording?

****************

Motivation increases when we assume large responsibilities with a short deadline.

Agree, the targeted apartment shops are a PITA. I avoid them as well.

I look at those EMPS $40 fees and think easy money. Then, two-thirds through the form I wonder why I ever took this job.

The tours are actually easy and fun and I can usually get in and out in about 30-45 minutes, depending on how many amenities they have to show. But the forms are indeed tedious, repetitive and borderline maddening (what color were the agent's eyes? Describe the decor in the office, etc.)

Kind of fun seeing the range of places out there. I've been to some palaces, and some places I wouldn't let my dog move into.

Good luck!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/2013 01:04AM by sportsed1.

sportsed1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Agree, the targeted apartment shops are a PITA. I
> avoid them as well.
>
> I look at those EMPS $40 fees and think easy
> money. Then, two-thirds through the form I wonder
> why I ever took this job.
>
> The tours are actually easy and fun and I can
> usually get in and out in about 30-45 minutes,
> depending on how many amenities they have to show.
> But the forms are indeed tedious, repetitive and
> borderline maddening (what color were the agent's
> eyes? Describe the decor in the office, etc.)
>
> Kind of fun seeing the range of places out there.
> I've been to some palaces, and some places I
> wouldn't let my dog move into.
>
> Good luck!

I have to admit that I have had that feeling myself. All of the narratives!

****************

Motivation increases when we assume large responsibilities with a short deadline.

Warning: This User Has Been Banned or Is No Longer Active

really easy if you know how to get to the target, great assignments!

And how do you get to the target easily?

Yes, I'd like to know that. too.

If there's a secret, please share.

The EPMS reports are long, but I do apartment shops for other companies that are much easier. I like apartment shops because I get play a character - it's fun making up different stories about why I'm moving. Today, I looked at a lower end property, and got some weird looks from the leasing agents, so I pretended I was getting divorced, so they wouldn't ask too many personal questions and I could focus on getting the information I needed for my report.

Silver certified with a PV-500
Shopping Michigan and beyond

The targeted shops can be a pain, especially when we are working on a deadline and the "target" cannot be reached. Some go off without a hitch and others do not. It is a gamble for sure. These are honestly "two shops in one" whereas we receive single pay for two long and separate narratives (one for the phone call and another for the visit). The recorded calls to the "target" disturbs my attorney brother a bit because he says that recorded calls are not legal in my state (CA) without apprising the target at the onset of each and every call, that the call is recorded. The schedulers state that the targets have agreed to these as a condition of employment. I don't know whether or not this has been tested in court. I actually had a strange experience on one of the targeted shops where I strongly suspected that the onsite target was not he same person who claimed his persona over the phone. I think that I was dealing with an unauthorized "live in". The whole thing just did not make sense and it was not my role to figure it out. It was so odd.

Employees agreeing to be recorded for training purposes is common in several industries. If you are truly concerned, ask the MSC to provide you a copy of the documentation.

Any insight to reporting (especially narrative) requirements for apartment shops from Market Stat and/or Shopper's Inc?

Practitioner of the Nerdly Arts.

Shoppers requires much less narrative than EPMS. But... it is the most narrative I've ever had to do for a Shopper's assignment.

Don't expect a response, helpful or otherwise, from poster "auntie". He is gone, gone, gone to the boneheap of repeat trolls.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

James,

My tally of apt. assignments exceeds 300 for 5 MSCs. The targets, while on a few occasions have been problematic, and the reports, which indeed can be lengthy, are not my reason for recently having second thoughts about this type of work; it's the repetition of the report. Last fall, I was exasperated to learn, but after I had accepted the job, an MSC, for whom I had completed almost 200 shops, had suddenly changed their video work to include a FULL written report. As this was my error for not reviewing the instructions before accepting, I frustratingly completed the assignment. Perhaps it's my age, but I really dislike being asked the same question on numerous occasions, or, in the case of video/audio, where the answer in available. I'm not referencing a short re-cap, rather a full written report.

A few months later, I solved the above by increasing my fees for repetition. To date, no MSC has accepted my offer and that's just "hunkie dorie" with me.

StormCloud Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Any insight to reporting (especially narrative)
> requirements for apartment shops from Market Stat
> and/or Shopper's Inc?

Market Stat's apartment reports are much easier than EPMS. They have always needed a reminder to pay, but have paid immediately upon such reminder. (within hours it's in my PP account) They did send out a new payment timeline the first of the year, so maybe they are trying to be more on top of this end.

shopperbob Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> James,
>
> My tally of apt. assignments exceeds 300 for 5
> MSCs. The targets, while on a few occasions have
> been problematic, and the reports, which indeed
> can be lengthy, are not my reason for recently
> having second thoughts about this type of work;
> it's the repetition of the report. Last fall, I
> was exasperated to learn, but after I had accepted
> the job, an MSC, for whom I had completed almost
> 200 shops, had suddenly changed their video work
> to include a FULL written report. As this was my
> error for not reviewing the instructions before
> accepting, I frustratingly completed the
> assignment.

Wow. That's a drag. Which MSC is this?

Can someone tell me who they do apartments thru? I have done 9 EPMS apartments, and yes the questionnaires are long, and they take their time on paying out. I live in Idaho, who do you shop for?
Thanks all.

Welcome, Stella. You might start by reading this thread which mentions other companies that do apartment shops. Follow that up with a search for "apartment" making sure to select "all dates" and you should find a number of companies.

EPMS is a PITA, but a slow payer they are not.

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