I've noticed so many shops that increase the shop fee or add a bonus right after I've accepted them. One was a pretty easy online auto insurance comparison study that paid $15 for a few screenshots. But a month after I completed it, the fee more than tripled. Same with several others. Some companies are willing to match the increased rate if I had not yet completed the shop. Today, I was scheduled to do a phone shop that is pretty time consuming and the shop fee was $30 when I signed up. I was about to start making the call when I noticed an email from the scheduler, offering the same shop for $45. I contacted her and asked to be paid the new rate, but she refused. I asked her to remove the shop. They have to know that a shopper will be unhappy about receiving substantially lower pay than someone else. Has anyone else encountered this issue, and how have you handled it?

If I were a scheduler and a shopper did what you did to me, I would not only avoid working with that shopper again. I would also let other schedulers know what that shopper did.

Yes. Every shop you accept comes with that gamble so you complete the shop as you've accepted it or ask for a bonus before accepting it or don't accept it while waiting to see if it will still be available if/when the fee goes up. That's business. Canceling after entering into the contract is ungood.

I have had that happen and figure i just took the shop too soon. I have always done the shop at the rate i got it for.

I absolutely agree with BUZZ, SES & PEG. We are NOT employees; we are business people. As such, we establish a reputation that, believe me will follow us throughout our time as shoppers. I, as an example and according to one independent scheduler, am known as one who will not budge on fees; that is correct. I always quote my bottom dollar; that renders negotiating a total waste of time for each party.

I certainly would not like it if I accepted a shop at $30 and then the scheduler approached me to ask me to do it at $20 or get unassigned because another shopper would do it for $20.

A deal is a deal. My word is my bond.

I think we all have been in that situation. Instead of cancelling the shop, I would do it for the lower fee. I would also pay attention to the trends. The next time I am eligible for the shop, I would wait it out to get the higher fee..

Thanks for your response.

I'm starting to see that I should probably wait longer when new shops come up. I just wish they did not send these email offers. Normally, people in the workplace are not aware of how much more or less another person gets paid. I feel shortchanged when I am about to do a shop that is paying someone else substantially more. It's happened enough times that I'm really fed up with it.

You take it at the offered rate or you wait for more and risk losing it to another shopper. You never know until later whether you did the right thing or not.

This is the business we have chosen.

As suggested above, watch the trends. They will generally repeat, month after month.

I do not let it bother me if someone else is making more than me.

And it might be a good idea to contact that scheduler and give her/him a sincere apology and an explanation.

(In my case, I'd say something like "I'm so sorry I made a total a** of myself. I actually was not thinking when I made that ridiculous request of you, and I sincerely hope you will forgive me and overlook my unprofessional lapse. I hope you will give me a chance to redeem myself, and prove my professionalism. Thanks for considering my request, and, again, my heartfelt apologies". )

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/2021 06:59AM by ceasesmith.

Keep in mind also that at $15 you have the shop at the location you prefer as a sure thing on a date in the future that you have selected and can plan around. The person who gets the shop later at $45 probably has a location that is not as convenient and a time that is within a day or two. So that person needs to be available to travel further, may have to change their personal schedule to do it and has also taken the gamble that the shop will even be available to them at the end of the month. For instance today I saw a $7 shop for $30. I would have to do it within 2 days and when i searched the location found out it is one with one star on yelp and also a crowded neighborhood that might be a challenge for parking. Certainly the report at a "bad" location would take a lot longer and it may be difficult to even get the information I need for the shop from a reportedly surly staff member who works there.
On top of that how would I (or you in my place) feel if i knew that the person who had free choice of dates, times and location at the beginning of the month and had locked in the shop for themselves was now getting the bonus I waited for and I could only get on a leftover shop obviously no one wanted this month? Yes if you want a bonused shop you need to take the chances every one else does to get them. I am glad to see that you have realized this based on reading responses on the forum.