@LindaM wrote:

I do want to say that I do add the additional details when the pay for dining is "reasonable" ... by reasonable I mean reimbursement that fully covers a meal (with items purchased at middle of the road and not least expensive) and a small fee around $15 - $30.

If anything comes from this post, I hope the MSC/schedulers realize that reports you may get are poor and not true reflection of the experience, which in turn will impact your business down the line when businesses stop contracting with you. What I'm hoping for in the long run is the MSC to negotiate a higher reimbursement with the client.

@rarararara wrote:

It is frustrating to be continually asked to do more for less. I tend to fill out reports based on how much I'm being paid. If you're paying nice money, you'll get a nice report with lots of detail, extra pics, etc. If you're not, then you're going to get the minimum required pictures and words. It's not that anything is fudged or misrepresented, its just you get what you pay for. MSC pays bare bones money, they get bare bones report.

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

Why would any MSC want to hire you?!? You flat out don't care about being honest. Shoppers wonder why we are always being asked to jump through additional hoops to 'prove' we shopped the right location or details, etc. Our integrity is all we have in this industry and you don't give a sh about that.... dishonest shoppers make me sick.

(Oh and I've a client pull video when a shopper submitted a really good report only to find that 95% of it was falsified.....)

@LindaM wrote:

I do want to say that I do add the additional details when the pay for dining is "reasonable" ... by reasonable I mean reimbursement that fully covers a meal (with items purchased at middle of the road and not least expensive) and a small fee around $15 - $30.

If anything comes from this post, I hope the MSC/schedulers realize that reports you may get are poor and not true reflection of the experience, which in turn will impact your business down the line when businesses stop contracting with you. What I'm hoping for in the long run is the MSC to negotiate a higher reimbursement with the client.

@rarararara wrote:

It is frustrating to be continually asked to do more for less. I tend to fill out reports based on how much I'm being paid. If you're paying nice money, you'll get a nice report with lots of detail, extra pics, etc. If you're not, then you're going to get the minimum required pictures and words. It's not that anything is fudged or misrepresented, its just you get what you pay for. MSC pays bare bones money, they get bare bones report.

@LindaM wrote:

I guess my honesty level goes up or down based on reimbursement & fees.

no out of pocket + fees? honest & forthcoming

25% out of pocket? 75% honest

etc - why do they hire me? i dunno. they could hire a more honest shopper if they raise reimbursements and fees

maybe the question we want to ask is why do they not pay more?

@LindaM wrote:

I guess my honesty level goes up or down based on reimbursement & fees.

no out of pocket + fees? honest & forthcoming

25% out of pocket? 75% honest

etc - why do they hire me? i dunno. they could hire a more honest shopper if they raise reimbursements and fees

maybe the question we want to ask is why do they not pay more?

@GinnyLynn wrote:

Mystery shoppers are business reporters by another name. In fact, we might get more respect if we called ourselves business reporters. Could you imagine if our news and weather reporters decided that whether or not they provided a truthful report of whatever had to do with how much they were being paid.

@sestrahelena wrote:

@GinnyLynn wrote:

Mystery shoppers are business reporters by another name. In fact, we might get more respect if we called ourselves business reporters. Could you imagine if our news and weather reporters decided that whether or not they provided a truthful report of whatever had to do with how much they were being paid.

I know what you mean but there are some who say that the "News" is directly influenced by many factors - advertisers, ratings, political interests, etc. Which all amount to pay in the long run.

@LindaM wrote:

I guess my honesty level goes up or down based on reimbursement & fees.

no out of pocket + fees? honest & forthcoming

25% out of pocket? 75% honest

etc - why do they hire me? i dunno. they could hire a more honest shopper if they raise reimbursements and fees

maybe the question we want to ask is why do they not pay more?

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

Why would any MSC want to hire you?!? You flat out don't care about being honest. Shoppers wonder why we are always being asked to jump through additional hoops to 'prove' we shopped the right location or details, etc. Our integrity is all we have in this industry and you don't give a sh about that.... dishonest shoppers make me sick.

(Oh and I've a client pull video when a shopper submitted a really good report only to find that 95% of it was falsified.....)

@LindaM wrote:

I do want to say that I do add the additional details when the pay for dining is "reasonable" ... by reasonable I mean reimbursement that fully covers a meal (with items purchased at middle of the road and not least expensive) and a small fee around $15 - $30.

If anything comes from this post, I hope the MSC/schedulers realize that reports you may get are poor and not true reflection of the experience, which in turn will impact your business down the line when businesses stop contracting with you. What I'm hoping for in the long run is the MSC to negotiate a higher reimbursement with the client.

@rarararara wrote:

It is frustrating to be continually asked to do more for less. I tend to fill out reports based on how much I'm being paid. If you're paying nice money, you'll get a nice report with lots of detail, extra pics, etc. If you're not, then you're going to get the minimum required pictures and words. It's not that anything is fudged or misrepresented, its just you get what you pay for. MSC pays bare bones money, they get bare bones report.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

ShopperBob is the best. I love his "termination" comments on the various threads. He's like the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld. I can see him saying "No more shops for you!"

While there are things I don't like about IPSOS, i focus on the shops I like and ignore the others. I could care less about mailing crap. I don't need gas with electric vehicle. The bank stuff is easy and profitable. So is the fast food stuff.

@LindaM wrote:

I guess my honesty level goes up or down based on reimbursement & fees.

no out of pocket + fees? honest & forthcoming

25% out of pocket? 75% honest

etc - why do they hire me? i dunno. they could hire a more honest shopper if they raise reimbursements and fees

maybe the question we want to ask is why do they not pay more?

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

Why would any MSC want to hire you?!? You flat out don't care about being honest. Shoppers wonder why we are always being asked to jump through additional hoops to 'prove' we shopped the right location or details, etc. Our integrity is all we have in this industry and you don't give a sh about that.... dishonest shoppers make me sick.

(Oh and I've a client pull video when a shopper submitted a really good report only to find that 95% of it was falsified.....)

@LindaM wrote:

I do want to say that I do add the additional details when the pay for dining is "reasonable" ... by reasonable I mean reimbursement that fully covers a meal (with items purchased at middle of the road and not least expensive) and a small fee around $15 - $30.

If anything comes from this post, I hope the MSC/schedulers realize that reports you may get are poor and not true reflection of the experience, which in turn will impact your business down the line when businesses stop contracting with you. What I'm hoping for in the long run is the MSC to negotiate a higher reimbursement with the client.

@rarararara wrote:

It is frustrating to be continually asked to do more for less. I tend to fill out reports based on how much I'm being paid. If you're paying nice money, you'll get a nice report with lots of detail, extra pics, etc. If you're not, then you're going to get the minimum required pictures and words. It's not that anything is fudged or misrepresented, its just you get what you pay for. MSC pays bare bones money, they get bare bones report.

@LindaM wrote:

etc - why do they hire me? i dunno. they could hire a more honest shopper if they raise reimbursements and fees

maybe the question we want to ask is why do they not pay more?

@digikiss wrote:

MSP's should realize that shoppers will not go above & beyond when the pay is low, and the end result is that the client is being short-changed. I've started to include a closing comment in my reports for shops that end up being especially frustrating. I let them know that I would not accept a shop like this for the same pay again, and explain why it should pay better. When schedulers ask me to pick up the same shops again, I remind them that the pay has to be better.

@sestrahelena wrote:

It's a matter of "Quiet quitting" also called "Acting your wage" which was always present in work life but now has a name and is discussed openly on many internet platforms. It's really just human nature, though, to feel like doing your best work is pointless when those you do the work for do not appreciate your efforts and, instead, require more and more from you while compensating less and less.