I was looking at the job board for one of the large MSCs and noticed a new Fast Food shop. According to the address(es), they seem to be for LJS. Reimbursement only ($12) at this time. They appear to all be Drive Thru shops, either lunch or dinner period at each location.

I was wondering if anyone has taken these yet and know what is required? Last time they were around, the reimbursement did not come close to covering the required purchase in my area, and the MSC refused to cover the cost.

You'd have to pay me to eat there. Which they aren't doing with a $0 fee.

If these are the ones I've seen, they are rewards shops. They have a zero fee and a $12 reimbursement and there are ordering requirements. I have not taken the shops either.

When I began shopping in 2003, I tried the reward jobs on several occasions. On far too many, though, the manager was unavailable to meet with me until I had waited too long for the work to be profitable. I have not completed such an assignment in at least, if not more than, 15 years. If one's time is unimportant, though, I can see such shops being acceptable.

If is a rewards shop, should it say this is a rewards shop?

Later on if there is a fee and I accept it and there are certain food requirements can I cancel and it won't count against me?

I get frustrated with the job board for this MSC. They don't tell you who is being shopped. You have to do detective work. They don't tell you any of the requirements upfront. You have to accept the shop in order to see the guidelines. Then there's a warning in red not to cancel shops because it will affect your ability to get more shops. I tend to stay away from them.

Based on the responses to this thread and a previous one about the same fast food chain, I know many of you dislike the food here. I actually don't mind it once in a while, perhaps for nostalgic reasons, but the food is rather pricey (in my opinion). But I guess fast food prices (along with everything else) have gone up in general.

Still, I agree that the shop doesn't seem worth it with no fee, especially since anything over reimbursement won't be covered.

@ckushner Like you, I wish the MSC would disclose more of the shop details rather than requiring shoppers to accept it first. It would be nice to see the shop guidelines so I'm sure I could complete the shop before actually signing up. I do find helpful information about various shops on this forum, so I do check here and am grateful for the discussions provided by members.

I went several years ago (The one in my area) and the food is pretty good. I have heard that they have hired an bunch of new people and the food is not as good.. Depending on what the requirement is I will eat it..

I wonder if we can Email them and ask them more about it? Also not sure if this has been discussed before, but how come they start off some shops with NO FEE?

I also like to know the requirements of the shop before I accept it.

I don't believe the MSC has been named, is LJS Long John Silver?

That was my guess too. Wow, they are still around? I have not heard of them in years.

@wrosie wrote:

I don't believe the MSC has been named, is LJS Long John Silver?

Yes, Long John Silver. I, on occasion, will crave a greasy piece of fish and LJS or Slapfish satisfies the crave in me. I just plug in address that MSC does provide prior to accepting the project and mapquest will show me what is located there. I won't do the reimbursement only shops. I wait until they offer 10/15 fee. And I have never been concerned about a manager signing off as he/she might not be there. They do, however, always have a lead person or someone placed in charge. I used to do another one when it hit $14 fee plus reimb.

I love their crumbs

I may be in the minority but actually like LJS. They have the only fish I will eat. I am not a fish person. I used to love their chicken planks as well but the quality has gone way down. It still edible for the chicken but must be eaten hot not reheated. I do like the crumps too but only a few. If I had a nearby location I would wait for $10 fee then take. For others in the minority the 2 fish 3 chicken platter is your best value at $8.79 at the one in Batavia, NY it is my closet location.

@BuffaloNY101 Wow, I'm surprised you can get a platter for $8.79 in NY! I'm in KS and the last time I checked, I think all the platters were over $11 here. None of the meals/combos are less than $8. I think the regular price of the 2 piece "Fish and more" is close to $9, although sometimes they'll have email coupons for $4.99. I would have thought NY fast food prices would be higher than prices in my area.

I might sign up for one of these shops if the MSC eventually offers a fee. But for some reason, the shops around me are snatched up really quickly, so I doubt the fees will get anywhere near $10 before they are all taken. A fast casual offered by the same MSC in my area almost never makes it past $12, when the base fee is $9. I'm jealous of others who post they can get those shops regularly for $25 or even more!

There's an alleged LJS batter recipe at food dot com. Can't vouch for it. Never tried it.

I remember an while back you could get an # 1 Platter with 2 Fish and 8 Shrimp for $ 5.99 .. Last time I was there it was like $ 7.99 or $ 8.99

Depending on what the requirements are, the fee will cover it. (In my area) I like everything they have but the shrimp.

At one time you can get 2 Fish and More Meals or 2 Chicken and More Meals for $ 7.99..

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/15/2020 04:09AM by Isaiah4031a.

@Isaiah4031a I haven't seen prices like those you list for several years now. They did send out an email coupon for 2 Fish (or Chicken) and More meals for $9.99 recently. I think about 10 years ago they had coupons for the same (2 fish/chicken and more meals) for $7.99.

I don't know why LJS is so expensive around me. I just remember that the last time this MSC had these shops (in Feb or March of this year, I believe), the reimbursement did not cover the cost for the dinner shops.

I did see the same coupon not to long ago. Times have changed

I just got an e-mail for $2.00 off any platter, fried or grilled with a choice of two sides.

Is the MSC the same one that does Five Guys?

My account was shut off with them a couple of years ago with no explanation, which from what I've read here, is quite common. I've tried and they won't reactivate it.

They added a $5 fee today. I'm wondering if anyone has accepted the shop yet and knows what the required purchase is this time?

I am tempted to accept the shop to see what the requirements are.. On the main page there is 7 dates listed but when I click on to view more information, it only shows one day (Which was today)

I just checked the web site this morning and it is not listed. I guess someone grabbed it for $ 5.

I hope someone will post here what the requirements were

I used to attempt to sell advertising space to LGS. It was a LGS/A&W location and I was SHOCKED to find out that it is typical for the LGS portion to fund the A&W portion in stores such as these across the country. He told me that a whole bunch of older people swore by LGS and would continue to come in a few times a week as part of their routines.

@Isaiah4031a Do you only have one location near you? One of the stores in my area had only one day available, but the others had the whole 10 days or so listed. If you have other stores around you, they might have other dates open.

I decided to sign up for a dinner shop. I'm not sure whether the lunch shops have different requirements, but for dinner, you have to order a platter and wait to see if the order taker uses the correct upsell phrase to offer a drink. If they do, the shop is successful, and you will reveal yourself and present the "golden ticket" at the end of the shop. If they are unsuccessful, you do not have to reveal (or get a manager signature/form filled out). If they don't offer a drink, you have to add one to your order.

A photo of the drive thru menu board is required. If drive thru is not open, you are supposed to go inside and order for carry-out. Then you have to get a photo of the fountain area and the tea urn, and you have to check the restroom. If you order through the drive thru, you don't have to go inside or report on restroom or dining room cleanliness.

Luckily, there was an email coupon this week for $2 off a platter. It was part of the reason why I decided to take a shop today, so that I could use it to offset costs. Even though the CPI and shop description said that coupons are allowed, the guidelines said NOT to use coupons when I first downloaded and reviewed them. I contacted the Help desk, and thankfully they replied quickly and told me coupons ARE allowed and that they would update the guidelines. With the coupon, my cost came to $10.38, so I would have gone over without the coupon.

I hope this helps anyone who is thinking about accepting one of these shops!

@ sstsau There is only one LJS in my area..

I hate going through the drive through. I rather order inside at the counter. I know most D/T are on timers and sometimes I don't know what I want but sometimes I do.

However, during the first few weeks of COVID I did have to go through the D/T if I wanted to eat.

Several years ago I did an Arby's D/T shop where I had to take an picture of the D/T menu board.. I know everybody takes pictures theses days of their food and menu boards but I don't like taking pictures of menu boards.. I am old school and I like paper menus.

At one time they had coke products but an few years ago they changed over to Pespi.. The cashier also got the drinks but now it is self serve..

It has been several months since I have eaten at LJS.. I know they have an All You Can Eat on Sundays for $ 8.99 I believe . I am not sure how much the platters are now..

I am not sure if I want to do an reveal shop. Now if I was going out of town I may try one.. I know most of theses reveal shops they send you an package and someone has to be home to sign for it and then you have to send it back..

Thanks for the information.. I hope you you enjoyed you supper

@Isaiah4031a I agree about drive thrus...I prefer going inside and ordering carry-out when possible. I don't like wasting gas, sitting in my car, and reading the menu board can be harder like you said.

The nice thing about this "reveal" shop is that you only reveal if they are successful. They have to say the specific upsell phrase exactly, so there's a good likelihood that they won't be successful. Nothing is sent to you for the shop...you have to print out the "golden ticket" and the page in the shop guidelines where a manager would fill out the cashier's name and sign, but you only use those documents if the shop is "successful". The two times I have done this shop (one pre-covid and this last one), they were not successful.

I don't think it is a difficult shop. The questions are pretty standard and easy to answer. Getting the photo of the menu board was a bit of a pain because it was dark and raining when I conducted my shop, and half the menu was not lit properly. The only other issue is the price of the platters, which was $9.49 pre-tax...then you have to add a drink (small was $2.09 in my area). So without the coupon I had, it would have gone over the $12 reimbursement. I don't know if the purchase requirements are different for lunch shops...I think they were pre-covid, so maybe the lunch purchase would be less expensive.

@ sstsau.

Thanks for replying back. At one time they had an platter with fish, shrimp, and clams, but they took that one off. It does sound like an easy shop.


I believe an small drink in my area is like $ 2.09 or something like that. I wonder why they make the reimbursement less then the amount people spend?

I wanted to try it but the shop I saw was for lunch (I believe) and I was working those days.. When I got in from work, I checked the website and some one had taken it.

The next time it comes up I may try it.

What platter did you order?

@Isaiah4031a I got the 2 fish, 3 chicken platter, with onion rings and mac and cheese as the 2 sides. Mac and cheese is a new/special (maybe limited time) side, and as part of the shop you are supposed to see if it is advertised on the menu board.

The fish and chicken were good, but my onion rings were burnt, dry, and stale. The mac and cheese was fine...what you would expect and tasted like the mac and cheese from KFC. It was a very small portion though. I was a little sad that they didn't give me any crispies, but I probably didn't need them anyways!

I'm not sure why the MSC won't fully reimburse some of their shops. Having to pay out of pocket for a shop, especially when there is no initial base fee, does NOT make me inclined to accept the shop. But it's a little frustrating in my area because it seems like there are shoppers who take all the shops at base or very low fee, so there are rarely any "bonused" opportunities available to me nowadays.

Hopefully you get a chance to do this shop if it comes around again, and if you are still interested in it at that time!

I believe it is a LTO item.. My favorite thing is Clams then the chicken then the fish. I love my crispies. I would ask for extra crispies. : ) I love Honey Mustard with my wings..

It is back on the boards my area.. However the only day I can do it is tomorrow (Friday) and it is an lunch shop from 10 to 2.. I am working tomorrow and I am schedule to get off at 1 but with it being Black Friday I am not sure if I will be out before 2:00. There are 3 days listed.

I was driving buy the other day and on the sign it said verity platters $ 9.99 With an drink added I am looking about $ 13 or $ 14 added after taxes. I will be out of pocket $ 3 to $ 4. Unless I print off the coupon but I don't have any ink right now in my printer.

At one time they had wraps and they were good.. I am still very interested in this shop.

Hope you had an Wonderful Thanksgiving