Hi Pennies,
It's really not an issue. I started out as a mystery shopper in March of 2013 and found this forum shortly afterwards. I became a scheduler for GfK in October of 2014. I scheduled for GfK until August of 2015 and also briefly scheduled for Integrity Consultants. After seeing the other side of the industry, honestly, I realized I was better off just being a shopper until I find a company that treats everyone with respect and has enough work to keep me busy.
I've thought about writing an e-book, or even approaching Jacob about writing a few articles for mystery shopping magazine. Sharing my knowledge is honestly not about profiting from it. It's more about possibly making a difference in perceptions and misconceptions that other people may have in order to help them maximize their profits.
Compared to many on here, there are several people who have more experience than I do as a shopper and several people who have more experience as a scheduler. My learning curve was accelerated by a scheduler who was with Summit Scheduling and he helped me better understand this industry.
I've made a lot of mistakes since I started. I've even burnt a few bridges that I wished I hadn't, but everything is a learning experience in this industry.
I can honestly say, thanks to my experiences and this forum, I am more in tune with this business than I would have been without it.
I replied to each question in italics and bold so it stands out from your questions. Hopefully, this isn't too confusing.
@Pennies4Shops wrote:
The system only enriches leaders at the top, lower and middle leaders always were at risk for getting ax'ed or having their pay deducted. Have you ever thought of writing a book on the industry from a Scheduler's view Dante? I think your experiences with companies and shoppers would make a wonderful E-book for all to read. You could share reality with everyone instead of these trashy websites that tell everyone "Untold Riches and free luxury cruises await the Mystery Shopper"
Sorry they took away your money when it was their fault for not providing a fair payout in the first place?
Honestly, I could write an entire book about my experiences with GfK alone. Some of the occurrences would seem fictional though; I can assure you they were not.
Dante, is it a habit of some Schedulers to not reply to emails asking about bonuses that sit on Job Boards nobody is touching. Someone sent me a email saying they raised the bonus by $.50 while they raised it greatly for somewhere else. Why would I be motivated to do this shop for $.50 extra when they raised the bonus $15 for everyone else and those shops are still sitting because of their distance. Why do some Schedulers ignore emails, do they not want those jobs done? This I ask with a pure heart because there are wonderful Schedulers I will jump over backwards for them for the rate because they helped me in binds. What is the purpose of having hard dates if your not willing to pay the shopper the correct payment to fill the task?
I cannot speak for every company, but with regards to GfK, they send out a "goal calendar" for each project, every month. This calendar includes what dates to change the due dates to on the assignments, as well as what percentage of shops should be assigned and what percentage of shops should be completed.
The bonuses can be tricky. Sometimes bonuses are set due to past bonuses given for a specific location. I preferred to give higher bonuses to a shopper who was willing to complete multiple assignments for me in order to help me clear my board. The more assignments a shopper would take, the sweeter I could make that bonus number.
I had favorites as a scheduler and I took care of those favorite shoppers, even if it came out of my pocket. I did this knowing that the shoppers would take care of me and come through for me.
Dante, what is the worst report you ever saw grammar and performing duties with? Did you have to spend tons of time trying to fix horrible grammar and messed up data and photos? Your pretty cool taking your time to educate us, thank you!
I did very little editing; however, if I believed a shop was incorrectly excluded (which did happen from time to time), I would fight for the shopper to get the shop accepted and get the shopper paid. I did this more than once and with about 95% success.
I did receive one email for a smartphone shop where the shopper asked if they would have to buy the cell phone from me... lol (sorry, I had to share that one!)
Arguing with fools is like playing chess with a pigeon...
...No matter how good you are, the pigeon will s@^t on the board and strut around like it won anyway.
Not scheduling for ANY company.