I'm sure this changes company to company but I'm wondering how this boils down especially as it pertains to bonuses. What incentive or punishment does a scheduler get for just being like here take the max possible bonus? I'm sure there must be something or every scheduler would do that to get the shops off their back

They actually get paid pretty decently. I know a few that get paid 26 dollars an hour but most get around 20-22 an hour.

I'm sure we will get a slew of schedulers to refute those amounts.

Most of my schedulers I can barely understand especially, MF.

In some instances, schedulers get a personal bonus if they keep their average bonus per shop below a set target.

Schedulers get paid in rainbows and lollipops.

They paid in headaches, hassles and flakes.

I'm going to piggyback on this and ask- Is being a scheduler a regular 9-5 job? Or are they ICs like we are?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/20/2016 01:01AM by CeciliaM.

@CeciliaM wrote:

I'm going to piggyback on this and ask- Is being a scheduler a regular 9-5 job? Or are they ICs like we are?

The short answer is both. Some are contractors and others work as employees of companies.....though some shoppers are also employees too. The hours are anything but 9-5, however.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

The hours are anything but 9-5, however.

I noticed that a lot of emails from schedulers come in bunches at random times.

@CeciliaM wrote:

@SteveSoCal wrote:

The hours are anything but 9-5, however.

I noticed that a lot of emails from schedulers come in bunches at random times.

schedulers live in different time zones just like shoppers do. some e-mails are automated & roll out at different times.

A shotgun response (covering several issues at once) - first, I don't think it's good taste to ask exactly what anyone gets paid. Firstly, if you want to know, apply for the job and see what is offered. Secondly, like all fields of endeavor with competitors in the same field, pay scales vary Thirdly, one has to account for experience level. If one gets $20 an hour, that doesn't mean they all do. That one scheduler may have 10 years of solid experience with solid results. Would you like me to ask you exactly what you get paid (assuming you have a full time job in addition)? My feeling is that is too snoopy. Now, with regard to bonuses - don't concern yourself with that. The longer you are a MS and the more schedulers and editors you develop a relationship with (and you will), you will begin to understand that usually they get a fixed lump-sum amount that can be used for bonuses for a month. If bonuses are given too soon or too easily, by the last third of the month when the client's due date is near and open jobs have gone wanting for a long time, the scheduler would have to have enough reserve left to provide not only the bonus but, in some cases, a bonused bonus. You can see that with urgent requests for a shop that carried a, say, $10 bounus to be done immediately, and within 5 days the same shop is re-posted carrying an additional $5 bonus because they HAVE to fulfill their commitment to the client by the required due date. And then, what about a shopper who has to drive WAY out of their way to do just that one shop to help the in-trouble MSC. There has to be extra funds available to cover incentive pay for gas, etc. So, point in fact, it would be bad planning to, say, bonus everything right out of the box and get them all done right away at the beginning of the month (which, given the vagaries of shoppers, would be impossible). Finally, having been in sales and later owning my own business, my hunch is that the schedulers have incentives for awarding as few bonuses as possible. After all, the MSC has to stay in business, too. It's a tough job weighing all the factors and hitting a happy medium that satisfies most requirements and most shoppers. I wouldn't want the job, myself. Whatever they earn they deserve and I don't envy them if they earn more than I do. But then the topic of what editors earn has be considered also, which wasn't even brought up. There's another intricate can of worms. I know that most MSCs de-incentivize editors if they miss deadlines (such as getting the report edited and out of their bin the same day). So unless a person really wants all the additional headaches, one is better off just doing a great job of observing and reporting and be worry free after that.

Sorry for the long discourse, but I used to have the same concerns and, with time and experience, have learned and "intuited" the above.

I see no harm in asking questions about this. This is what the forum is for. I wouldn't ask someone I knew that has a Professional position but here....who cares? For example I would not ask a Police officer of high school Principal what they made.

Two things strike me about your post.

By saying you would not ask a "professional" what they make, you are implying schedulers are not professionals and by extension neither are we.

Unlike us, both police officers and high school principals are public employees paid by tax dollars. I would have no issue asking either what they make because it should be public record.

Asking what a particular position earns is not exactly taboo and thinking that it is is definitely archaic thinking. If I want to become a scheduled, I'm sure as hell going to inquire about the pay scale before I bother going through the application process.
We put far too much effort into keeping our pay secret. My regular job, before I Started doing this, paid $20/hr. My wife makes $200K / yr
How does that change anything?

I tend to agree with Hoju, based on my understanding of what he is saying. I would not ask an individual person, for example, a police officer, "How much do you make?" I might ask in general, not directed at any one individual, "What is the salary range for police officers in XXXXstate/city?"

Or, using ACL as an example, because they currently are recruiting schedulers and editors, I might approach ACL to ask "What is the salary range for schedulers (or editors) with ACL?" I would not contact an individual scheduler or editor to ask "How much do you earn?"

I still consider it rude to ask an individual how much they make. There is a difference between asking about a pay scale/range or what the starting pay might be for a position.

The exception would be if you are both in the same corporation. Secrecy in salaries there has made it too easy for pay inequity to thrive.

@LisaSTL wrote:

The exception would be if you are both in the same corporation. Secrecy in salaries there has made it too easy for pay inequity to thrive.

Exactly.

There recently was a job offer from one of our shopping companies for schedulers and editors. One of the requirements for a scheduler was that they had to be available 24/7. Not for me! I'm sure they don't get paid enough.

This is a professional board where we share ideas and expertise about our work. It is totally appropriate to ask a salary question here. I wouldn't ask someone at a cocktail party how much they make, because the rules are different in that setting.

Do you get upset if a medical professional asks how old you are or how much you weigh? But those same questions would be unacceptably rude if I asked them in a social setting.

Context is everything.

"I'm going to piggyback on this and ask- Is being a scheduler a regular 9-5 job? Or are they ICs like we are?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2016 08:01PM by CeciliaM."





Hi Cecilia,

I've emailed Schedulers and got responses at 1:00 AM and talked with others still at the office at 8:00 PM(their time). Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking to a wonderful Scheduler for a local MSC working on Saturday beyond the eight hours late in the evening. They work hard, I don't think they have a 9-5 am job because of trouble-shooting issues with customers and agents or their own company.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2016 06:45PM by Pennies4Shops.

[www.youtube.com]

True but they're so friendly.

Except for the call center agents I believe a lot of schedulers work from home rather than from a corporate office. That's just judging by the background noise and voices I often hear. Like beeping microwaves, rattling dishes, crying babies and little voices going "MOOOOOOOM". LOL.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2016 03:38AM by Kenzie.

@lucky7s wrote:

I see no harm in asking questions about this. This is what the forum is for. I wouldn't ask someone I knew that has a Professional position but here....who cares? For example I would not ask a Police officer of high school Principal what they made.

Wow, I did not know that one of the purposes of this forum is to interrogate its members about how much money they make. I've been posting wrong this whole time.

So, lucky7s, how much do you make mystery shopping? How much do you make in your FT job, if you have one? How much do you get in SS, if you are eligible? How much are you claiming to the IRS for 2015? Come on, inquiring professional minds what to know!

@TowerOrchard wrote:

This is a professional board where we share ideas and expertise about our work. It is totally appropriate to ask a salary question here. I wouldn't ask someone at a cocktail party how much they make, because the rules are different in that setting.

I'd be more apt to ask about salaries while at a cocktail party. You can always blame it on the alcohol!

Then again, none of us are salaried when it comes to mystery shopping so there is no need to speculate.

Hello All, I'm new to this forum. In fact this is my first post...

About a month ago, I received an email from a Company I have Mystery Shopper with for a couple years, asking if I wanted to become a scheduler. The description stated there were some months I would be scheduled for work and others I would not. The months were not specified. It also stated, during the months I was scheduled, I had to be available 24/7. This included holidays and weekends. The pay was not specified. It just said the pay was negotiable. I did not reply. I like Mystery Shopping better!

Knowing what the end of the month usually ends up for me, when dealing with my one of my favorite schedulers...
NOT ENOUGH!

I have been scheduling as an independent contractor for 8 years. During that time I have made anywhere between $3 per successfully completed shop and $10 per successfully completed shop.
Please realize that the operative words here are "successfully completed shop." This means from a shop's inception to it acceptance by the client.
Very few schedulers are paid on an hourly basis. I wish I were. My usual day starts at 6am because of east coast shops (I'm in Calif) and ends about 11pm because of Hawaii shops...Multiply this x 7 days a week.
Don't get me wrong....I love what I do and I love the people I work with. If I didn't, I'd have retired to Hawaii long ago.

Edited to add.....many of those bonuses you guys ask for are paid directly out of your schedulers' pockets...not by the msp.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2016 03:11AM by Inside Evaluators.

See that's what I wanted to know most of all if it was coming from them when i ask for a bonus makes me feel bad now....but I've never asked for a bonus unless I really needed it. Like there's a certain batch of announced shops I like to do because they pay well and I just really like announced audits. But the MSC seems to have a lot of trouble scheduling central Pennsylvania....I live in Jersey! But I continually drive 100-200 miles to do these shops out in central Pa because they bonus to what I ask for but always ask if I'll go lower....it makes me feel bad but the tolls on the pa turnpike and then gas & hotel I really need the bonus I'm asking for