Some shops are just not worth doing

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@CANADAMOMMY wrote:

Heads up if they say there is an error there actually might not be. They want to see if you submit the same times if the times are way off from the norm. download the report before you submit it. You have the proof of your timing. Send it right back and see if it is accepted. bet you a nickel it is. They want to MAKE you think you made an error. Not playing that game.

I would not play that game for a shop that pays so little. It's a waste of the shoppers time. If they want to see if the times are correct, they can watch the video of the shop. They have that. I believe on this shop you would have to fill out all the times all over again. Making you do double the work.

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Despite all the threats, it is not so easy for an outside party to access video and that is assuming the restaurant employs video monitoring. If it is a competitor shop, forget about it.

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.

the timing was very inconsistent with what is the norm
they wanted to shorten the times.... nope truth is truth....

Cheapest one yet. Why do they send this crap to me?

SEI FUELS MYSTERY SHOP
CLIENT PURCHASE REQUIREMENT
NOW HAS CLIENT PICTURE REQUIREMENTS
Address: XXXX XXXXX ST. XXXXXXXXXX, XX XXXXX
Due: 04/06/2018 08:00 PM | Fee Rate: 4.00 USD | Location Hours: Monday-Sunday; 7:00AM - 8:00PM

@johnb974 wrote:

In the 3 years I've done shops for them, off and on, they only offered one other shop for a hot dog. They don't offer them anymore. In my area, they only offer pizza shops for one company.

I swear I'm going to regret this.

You do realize this MSC has hundreds of clients? What shops you see is dependent on your rating. It seems you have a poor rating and only see what they consider to be their absolute easiest report. It sounds as if your rating is low because you performed an easy shop poorly.

I would suggest that perhaps you look at your methods as not only do they consider this their easiest report but from posts here it seems most people consider the report easy as well.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

The bigger question Spicy is, Why would anyone do this? Simply crazy.

What's done is done. An egg cracked cannot be cured.
There are 3 kinds of lies. Lies, Damn lies, and statistics.

@spicy1 wrote:

Why would they do that, play the error game, when that makes it so that they need to reassign and probably bonus? I need a drink.

This. All of it, including drink.

Just out shopping around...

This is why I'm doing far fewer mystery shops. Except for eating out, most are not worth. I just started a new job with a caregiving company. With unemployment dropping, I don't see how they get people to do shops so cheaply.

Anything more than 10 miles costs $6 bridge tolls so unless it is more than $15 fee, it is not worth it for me.

A lot of people hate those shops. I can't say I love doing the timing, but I take these because I like the pizza, and I've found how to make it easier: I record the video on my phone. Then before I enter the shop, I run through the video and mark the times for the various milestones on a piece of paper, and I have all the info I need.

They say they want it accurate to 2-3 seconds, I believe, and they tie the times to the managers' bonuses, so it must be accurate.

The line moves fast so there's no way to note all the times and interact and pay and notice names, all right in front of the employee, so video is the only way.

I have gotten a question about timing and was asked to give certain timings again. I must have done some bad math. But it was accepted with no problem.

@johnb974 wrote:

They want you to note the time, (Hour, min, and sec) as you went through each stage of your pizza being made. Than they want the minutes and seconds of the time through each stage. If you miss the math on any part, your shop is not accepted. Not worth it for the time and effort for a pizza.

I agree this shop isn't for everyone. I just don't think it's worth my time and effort. I can make more on shorter shops with less paperwork.

I agree with having to record the shops. I record all my shops with a audio recorder. This shop I went back through my timings and fixed any mistakes. That wasn't good enough for this person. They rejected the shop anyway.

@bgriffin - you are right with this MSC, if it is the one I think it is. I've never done the pizza shop b/c the one location that is near me is really not very close at all, with no easy way to get there. What I have done for this MSC is a restaurant shop that only pays by gift card. I've done two of these in last few months, and all of a sudden I am seeing more shops that are better paying and fun to do. It seems they want to see how well you do first before they open up other shops to you.

It only kinda works like that.

When you sign up you are given a basic rating. Each shop they have has a rating assigned to it. Each shopper is only given access to shops at or below the same rating as them. Each shop is graded and once you have completed 3 shops your rating is updated every third shop. You actually do not start out at their lowest rating. I believe it's their second lowest rating. Anyway, if you get a higher rating and you bomb a shop you will see less shops. That includes things like missing guidelines, reporting a shop late (even with prior approval), or just not doing well. People talk about how great this company is when you miss something. Sure they still pay you but your rating is dinged and you see less shops. So no, it's not a you get to see more and more shops. It's very fluid.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

@Vicky86 wrote:

Some jobs are simply insulting for how little they pay and the amount of work required.

Like the bookstore with no fee and a $5 reimbursement?

Merc regularly lists a shop with $2.50 payment. A person's time would be better spent clipping a coupon for the grocery store, lol.

I can go to Staples right now and take a bunch of pictures of HP products, gather the prices and make sure the graphics are up to date for $5. I think I'd rather chew on my own toenails for an hour.

The only reason they pay low is because we accept the shops.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/2018 06:24PM by JaimeK.

I know the electronic shop. I have done with bonus. It is still not worth it. Way too much detail required. They also require first and last names. This is the dead giveaway when you are looking at the name tags. The staff always sees me eyeballing the name tags. These companies need to get real. That particular shop always talks that it reviews all tapes. If it reviews all tapes why do we need last names.

I agree that many shops are not worth doing. I do mostly bank shops and one of the banks used to
post easy shop $20. I did quite a few of them. Then all of a sudden more questions were added to the report and they wanted every little detail. And so many of the questions are redundant. By the time I drive back and forth to the assignment, get home and type it out, (takes at least 30 minutes), it really isn't worth it. Then I would get the report back asking for more details.

I've been beating myself up lately for taking ridiculous shops since I've learned some of this may be pointless.
I have been hoping that over time, I could grow this tiny business into something worthwhile for myself - not so much about making big money, but making a little money while saving big money.
My game plan may have been off. Instead of focusing on those MSCs that operate in the sectors that interest me, I have been taking a shotgun approach and doing different kinds of shops just to establish at least a minimal history with as many MSCs as possible. This is ridiculous...I have learned, so I am re-focusing. I will only take low ball shops if they will lead to better in industries that interest me. Easier said than done.

@BarefootBliss wrote:

Merc regularly lists a shop with $2.50 payment. A person's time would be better spent clipping a coupon for the grocery store, lol.

I have never ever seen merc's 2.50 jobs. I get great offerings from them, which is why I stay all these years. Restaurants, new homes, all at a fair price. Must build relation with them, maintain good score, I've stayed a 9/10 throughout and they repay me. Top company for me.....

Live consciously....

I have this pizza shop down to a science in getting my timings right but I will only do it for a $15 bonus. It is just too time consuming otherwise.

@Lawladyshopper wrote:

I know the electronic shop. I have done with bonus. It is still not worth it. Way too much detail required. They also require first and last names. This is the dead giveaway when you are looking at the name tags. The staff always sees me eyeballing the name tags. These companies need to get real. That particular shop always talks that it reviews all tapes. If it reviews all tapes why do we need last names.

They may be recorded, but there's no way they can know what is being said. I don't understand, they ask you to scan the receipt and than ask, "What is the address and phone number on the receipt"? Why?

I am only a few months in with them...so they are probably. not showing me their best stuff lol.

You type in the address and phone number and that information is transferred to a report formatted for the client. Just like you type the address, tracking number and receipt numbers on the post office shops.

Spicy1, where can I find Mystery Stopwatch? It is not available in the iPhone app store. I tried using the stopwatch app which came with the iPhone, but the screen shows as it is counting time. Dead giveaway. I do not know how to hide the screen and still be able to hit a lap counter at the appropriate time.

I don't know if your attitude is correct. I think when you start you need to shop a little bit of everything. Everyone has a different experience. I have actually changed my opinion about jobs I wrote off based on this board. I think sometimes my expectations might have been out of line. Yes some audits pay low and you need to run. I will use a sizing audit or the Goodwill shops as an example. They take an appropriate amount of time for the pay and I acted like I should get a lot of money. I wrote both off for awhile. I took a chance again and realized they aren't so bad. I think No ONE should be doing a $2.50 shop. I have a shop right now I am keeping my eye on, they are raising it 1.00 at a time. I am aware there is someone else in my area that also takes these shops. So far we are both cooperating with each other and not taking the shop. You have to decide for yourself, is it worth it? I do a little job for $5.00 I would never do it normally, but I go to the place regularly so it does not cost me anymore than 15 minutes of my time. If I was going on an hourly rate, that would be $20.00 an hour. That I will do.

@Irene_L.A. wrote:

I have never ever seen merc's 2.50 jobs. I get great offerings from them, which is why I stay all these years. Restaurants, new homes, all at a fair price. Must build relation with them, maintain good score, I've stayed a 9/10 throughout and they repay me. Top company for me.....

I wonder why Merc has two platforms??? On Sassie, there are zero jobs in the USA, and on the Metrics board, there are several backups available in Ca (don't know if it's your area, Irene) and only 2 for backups in my area...the satellite TV merch ones, where you leave promo materials in different areas onsite. Wish they had more variety in my area. Wonder if they're even still using the Sassie board?????

@kselby wrote:

I have this pizza shop down to a science in getting my timings right but I will only do it for a $15 bonus. It is just too time consuming otherwise.

Do you call them and ask for the bonus or do these shops eventually get bonused in your area?

@JaimeK wrote:

I wont accept any shops paying below $20, usually more.

Why not? Pay is not the only thing to take into consideration. I'm leaving in the morning for a 6 day trip. I've got 8 or 10 $13 shops scheduled. They take less than 10 minutes each and the report is done when I leave the location. I am literally driving by each location anyway. That's a $78 per hour pay rate. In contrast I am doing 2 $25 shops on this route simply as a favor to a scheduler. Those will take about an hour each for shop and report time, so $25 per hour pay rate.

According to you the $25 shops that are money losers for me are better than the $13 shops that you would pass on......

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

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