@Mert wrote:
MFJ, I appreciate your intent. However, maybe you should not assume that all shoppers are shopping for $/per hour. There are many other reasons and benefits.
@Shop-et-al wrote:
I am happy with my ms earnings. They fund bank accounts. Anything more than that would be an embarrassment of riches. However, I wonder about something. I realize that we want to be helpful. But why does anyone think that it is our business to know what another shopper's needs are? Stated differently, when did we start thinking that anyone else's life had become our business? *goes away to ponder the concept of minding my own business*
@RobinMarie wrote:
This is a great thread. I have some questions, Editor:
How many companies do you edit for? Are you the person who rejects shops or is that another role?
What happens when a shopper responds in a hostile manner? Is this an acceptable situation?
Out of curiosity, how do you notice this if no correction was asked of you? Are you looking at your past projects? Editors are encouraged to make obvious corrections when possible. We simply don't have time to send everything back and wait for a response if we think we can accurately update it.@French Farmer wrote:
Examples:
Editors who change my answers on a report based upon what they perceived from a photo submitted. If you think my answer(s) are incorrect, send it back to me with a question about the photo and ask for correction. However, also allow me to add a comment.
That's fair. We are human and we make mistakes. Additionally, clients often update project requirements or we might have newer people working on a program.@ wrote:
Editors who have to be informed of the particular shop's guidelines. Why are you the editor if you are not aware of the guidelines? Why should I have to pint out that a photo, etc is, according to the guidelines, not needed?
Agreed. It happens and often has to do with our process or just the amount of people who write unnecessary info in there. We do look at those but it can be easy to miss depending on the situation.@ wrote:
Editors who fail to read my comments regarding the shop in the comment section. I've been sent back shops for something clearly explained in the comments.
Yes, we notice when the questionnaire is repetitive and usually it's just how the client wants it. Please just fill them out completely and pay attention to what each question is asking. Then we can stop bugging you about it. Better to be a broken record then be hassled by us =)@ wrote:
OTOH, there are some shops where my short, written opinion of the shop is required while at the same time, there is a question I must answer that asks the same question. Thais not the editor's fault, it is the misfortunate question added by the creator of the report. Why would I answer in any way different than the question?
@anoryzae wrote:
Out of curiosity, how do you notice this if no correction was asked of you? Are you looking at your past projects? Editors are encouraged to make obvious corrections when possible. We simply don't have time to send everything back and wait for a response if we think we can accurately update it.@French Farmer wrote:
Examples:
Editors who change my answers on a report based upon what they perceived from a photo submitted. If you think my answer(s) are incorrect, send it back to me with a question about the photo and ask for correction. However, also allow me to add a comment.
@ wrote:
It's pretty interesting to hear from you. Thanks for taking the time to share your perspective.
Good question for the above!
I am extremely "anal" about my work. My memory of each shop is significant in that I remember details like what the attendant or employee was wearing, or the gray mustache of the guy at the counter or even the little old man who berated me for using pump 5 at a "Yellow" gas station (he said it was his and I should get the He!! out of his way - wore a black Fedora hat with a gray band, old black glasses and an old black raincoat. He was driving a blue Chevy Cavalier that was in very good condition.)
When a shop report is sent back for something. Could be a photo from a different perspective, whatever, I always review my entire report. I've noticed over the years that many of my answers have been changed. Once, I was called by a supervisor of the MSC asking about a photo and why I claimed there was a problem when clearly the photo showed nothing. I told them, I did not make that change, your editor did. They seemed taken aback by that remark.
So how do I know what I report?
I have a worksheet for each shop I perform. It doe not matter what type of shop it is. The worksheet reflects what is needed, photos required, etc. Each area must be checked off before I leave the site. I have a comment section where I write anything unusual that would not fit my worksheet for that type of shop.
The shop is worth what they'll pay for it. If you happen to live in a neighborhood no one else wants to go to for whatever reason, it makes perfect sense to request a bonus. If you're taking that shop for $50 bonus and they'd have to pay someone else $100 to do it, you've saved them money and helped them fill a difficult shop. How exactly is that unethical?@Shop-et-al wrote:
It makes no sense ethically for me to request a bonus for a local shop that costs me nothing.
@anoryzae wrote:
@guysmom wrote:
I did a grocery shop recently, and the editor made a couple of suggestions on how to report certain situations, differing from how I reported them. They were really, really, helpful ideas, and I wrote her back and thanked her for pointing out a couple of areas that will help me in the future.
This is nice to hear. If I send feedback it's because I want to make my job easier by making things more clear for the shoppers. Unfortunate, mostly I just end up angering people because I'm sending them messages telling them we can't accept their project for whatever reason..
@kimmiemae wrote:
Once, I got an email from an editor thanking me for a great report I submitted. It was for a fine dining shop. Because it needed so little editing I was given a $5 bonus. Totally made my day.
@ShopperFun99 wrote:
1. Why do you use so much contraction? I thought MSC's frown on contractions especially Coyle.
2. Why do editors send emails back with 20+ questions when most of them were already answered in the narrative? Are you just trying to see if we are telling the truth, if we remember to take notes of what happened? Sometimes, I felt the questions in the email was asked in a different way to see if we still answer the same way we did in the report. I do several reports a week. After 3-4 days, I have to do a recall when you asked very specific questions.
3. With some MSC's, my reports get accepted with 5 out of 5 or 10 out of 10 scores most of the time. But this one particular MSC, it always comes back with many questions. So, I have the confidence to know that it is not my poor report, but the issue lies with this particular MSC.
Unfortunately, not true across the board. It's often asking for things that weren't in the guidelines, or asking questions that have already been answered.@anoryzae wrote:
2. I'm not sure. At my job, if we are sending you 20+ questions then there is something very wrong with what was input.
@iShop123 wrote:
The shop is worth what they'll pay for it. If you happen to live in a neighborhood no one else wants to go to for whatever reason, it makes perfect sense to request a bonus. If you're taking that shop for $50 bonus and they'd have to pay someone else $100 to do it, you've saved them money and helped them fill a difficult shop. How exactly is that unethical?@Shop-et-al wrote:
It makes no sense ethically for me to request a bonus for a local shop that costs me nothing.
@NinS wrote:
Great thread! For the OP:
1. When you decide whether to reject or accept a report, do you look at the shopper's score or history, or is it simply a binary matter of whether they followed the guidelines or not?
2. We often see posts on here from shoppers who are somehow certain that their report was sent to the client even though they weren't paid or reimbursed. Have you ever seen that happen?
3. Are the rejected reports more likely to be from inexperienced newbies or from veteran shoppers who failed to check updated guidelines?
4. About how long does it take to edit an "average" report -- no serious problems, but a few typos here and there?
5. Do you send the report directly to the client or does someone else at the MSC review it first?
Thanks!
@ShopperFun99 wrote:
It is never "unethical" to ask for higher pay at any job.
Calling it "unethical" is simply silly.
@MFJohnston wrote:
@Shop-et-al
That is a complete and total mischaracterization of how most of us ask for bonuses.
1. The MSC is not our boss. We are self-employed. Our ICA's, written by the MSC's, are super-clear that we are not employees.
2. I don't know of anybody who is going to ask for $100 for a shop half a block away - unless the shop is going to take close to a couple of hours.
3. It is not up to anybody on this forum or the MSC to determine how much my time is worth. I am my own boss. It is up to me.
4. If somebody is willing to do a visit for less than I am, that's fine. That person can have the job. We don't get every bonus we request. Rarely do I get a flat-out "no" as in your scenario. Generally, I get a counter-offer. I then decide if the counter is something I'm willing to accept. If not, I make another offer.
5. It's not "greedy" to expect to be paid for your time - at what you think is an appropriate value. Sure, some folks might over-value their time. However, market forces will "teach" that person the truth.
6. No MSC is going to continue to bargain with you once the shop is assigned to somebody else. If they do, I have no interest working for the MSC.
Beyond that, those of us willing to ask for bonuses work to understand our markets. I know that there are some areas an hour or two from my house where there are zero video shoppers - and very few shoppers overall. To bring in a video shopper is going to cost MSC's quite a bit of money - but they sometimes simply have to get the shops done. I'll try to put together a route where I ask for bonuses from multiple MSC's to do shops in those areas. If I ask for a bonus from each MSC that is less than what they would have to pay to get a different shopper to that area, each MSC feels really good about paying it to me. However, when I combine all the bonuses, I come up with a very profitable day - more so than if I were to just shop near my house. This becomes a win for all of us. I'm not being greedy. Rather, I am simply using my understanding of the markets to offer the MSC's a great shop at a lower price than they expected to pay while allowing me to work, at times, at $80+/hr. (after including travel time).
If this were unethical, my email would not be filled with MSC's offering me work. It's capitalism. Folks who which to make money doing this - especially if they are hoping to do this full time - do well to understand the capitalistic nature of this business and how they can find the right niche.