PRET A MANGER: No longer shopped with msc # 2???
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I was told by a scheduler it was a promotional shop. They are still with their old MSC - I have a shop slated for Monday.
There are many shops available with their old MSC. Hate the report though, way too long for the pay.
Plus there's the whole "gross food" thing....
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
I never did a shop with the new company. I prefer the old one.
Looks like the promo shop worked as they're gone from the old company and back on the new company at the $5 rate with no allowance for parking or tolls.
I thought I was blocked by the old company from seeing those shops. I did my last one for $35 two weeks ago 
I got an email about it for company #2. They are only lunch shops.
I got an email about it for company #2. They are only lunch shops.
Just them re posted today with the new msc....
I saw a shop posted by the old company for today only. I snatched it up so quick. It's starting to fill nostalgic already. I don't remember the last time I've done these shops at base pay.
A scheduler from msc#2 confirmed the new shops will remain breakfast/ lunch shops
A scheduler from msc#2 confirmed the new shops will remain breakfast/ lunch shops
Who else had to google "Pret A Manger?" LOL
I didn't know they had any here. Ate at one in London and was gross.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
Was wondering whether anyone has done one of these reports with the new company yet. Wanted to know if it was similar and as tedious as when it was with their previous MSC. I used to do them when it was reimbursement only with the MSC who had it before the previous MSC. Granted it was reimbursement only, but it took much less time and I just do not find the fee worth the extra time with the previous company and now with the new company which reduced the fee, I am curious if the report has shortened.
I'm not sure who the current MSC is. I did a shop early this summer with one of the big MSCs that is notorious for dropping shoppers based on their proprietary algorithms. If that is the same MSC, the report is very simple! Just make sure not to make any mistakes when entering and submitting the report. I submitted mine on my phone (was on a road trip/mini vacation to see U2 that day) and accidentally selected PM instead of AM for my shop time. It's much easier to make a mistake like that when clicking a dial on a mobile browser instead of clicking a radio box or drop-down menu on a computer browser, and that was the final error that got me removed from that MSC. :-(
Since my last post, I've done three with the old msc. They were all listed as day of with make an offer options. Today I got a phone call from a scheduler to do a shop. The shop was not listed on the board.
It's not on that MSC anymore. The new MSC uses Sassie. I've done a bunch. The report is basically identical (two "passion for coffee" questions) but they seem to no longer have min. required word counts for a lot of the questions, so I felt like the report went a bit quicker. Maybe it helped that I wasn't constantly waiting for a slow reporting website to load the next question. Ultimately if you like their food (and I defintiely do) you'll want to do the shop, but I doubt too many people would pick it up for the fee. A very small number of these shops have been bonused from $5 to $10, which is what I typically got including parking meter costs from the old MSC. In one case it required doing it on less than three hours notice. The scheduler is very responsive and helpful. Since Pret threads seem to generate a lot of puzzled reactions I'll mention that it's a British "fast casual" sandwich/salad/coffee chain. They have many locations in a few very large cities, typically in downtown areas. I don't think people who use cars to do shops could ever pick up one of these with the new MSC.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/01/2017 12:58AM by NinS.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/01/2017 12:58AM by NinS.
PS -- New MSC has a 30 day rotation. Although the old MSC never revealed rotations I was getting Pret way less often than 30 days (especially compared to a client which serves much less healthy food and where I could do multiple shops a month per location).
I did lots of these shops each month for the old MSC and they were all bonused. I got over 4 times what the regular fee was for these shops. I really miss them and the money. They had great time flexibility and were often weekend shops.
With the new MSC, they are now lunch only Mon-Fri shops with only $5 fees, which doesn’t even cover a round trip subway fare in NYC. I feel insulted. If you like the food that much that it costs you money to get there and eat, more power to you, but the protein portions in each dish are often very small. Manhattan rents are high, so they have to charge a lot.
I am hoping these shops go back to the old MSC or somewhere else. The reports are easy and I enjoyed doing the shop itself, but I can’t work that cheap. It’s at least a 2 hour time commitment between getting there and back and doing the report. And they want them by 6:00 pm? That’s nuts.
Pret makes the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had, if you get it with half and half and the barista gets the chocolate portion right. I’ll pay for it myself!
With the new MSC, they are now lunch only Mon-Fri shops with only $5 fees, which doesn’t even cover a round trip subway fare in NYC. I feel insulted. If you like the food that much that it costs you money to get there and eat, more power to you, but the protein portions in each dish are often very small. Manhattan rents are high, so they have to charge a lot.
I am hoping these shops go back to the old MSC or somewhere else. The reports are easy and I enjoyed doing the shop itself, but I can’t work that cheap. It’s at least a 2 hour time commitment between getting there and back and doing the report. And they want them by 6:00 pm? That’s nuts.
Pret makes the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had, if you get it with half and half and the barista gets the chocolate portion right. I’ll pay for it myself!
Such a shame. I was getting 2-3 of these shops a week for $30 each for several months. Just goes to show how cheap the new MSC must be, whoever they are. I’ve gotten the emails from the scheduler for the new MSC, but for $5 pay the food needs to be better than it is for me to want to spend my time working and waiting for reimbursement. It costs $5.75 for round trip subway fare in NYC unless you buy a monthly pass (which is expensive), so the fee doesn’t even cover your transportation costs.
I think those Manhattenites prefer to pay more for tiny portions. I think they will have hard time filling NYC shops. That is a fraction of min. wage in the city if you count all the time spent.
I just did one during my lunch hour. Had not done with for the longest time but used to for the first MSC that had them for reimbursement only. It wasn't painful, but the report was a bit long for the $$. i went over the allotted reimbursement for very little food, but then again, I don't need much. Expensive, but I work in the area so worth it to me. I also love the hot chocolate and will pay for it out of pocket. This time, the chocolate was in a big clump on the bottom. I noticed that as I put the cup up to my mouth and felt a thump every time, LOL!
During the holiday period these have been hard to fill. A few weeks ago the email said that "no bonus is available." Apparently no shoppers went for that so the bonus ($3) has reappeared the last few weeks, usually popping up on Tuesday nights or Wednesday mornings.
What is the usual reimbursement limit for these?
The reimbursement is $12.
I signed up for one out of curiosity. The guidelines state you have to send a selfie of yourself after completing the shop. :/
I asked the scheduler why and was told because they want to make sure we aren't Pret employees and the manager reviews the footage and report.
I opted not to do the shop. The photo requirement is stupid and doesn't make any sense. Plus it's only during lunch time for $5.
I signed up for one out of curiosity. The guidelines state you have to send a selfie of yourself after completing the shop. :/
I asked the scheduler why and was told because they want to make sure we aren't Pret employees and the manager reviews the footage and report.
I opted not to do the shop. The photo requirement is stupid and doesn't make any sense. Plus it's only during lunch time for $5.
I don't care about the selfie requirement and have taken a number of these when I'm nearby as it is a far healthier and interesting lunch than Five Guys. It does seem like showing the manager a photo of what the shopper looks like is a way to make sure the entire shopping force is outed....
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