How many shops in one day?

@Capurato wrote:

Interesting story about shops, not my most, but a pretty interesting situation.

I had two bonuses approved shipper shops at Staples scheduled. They were about 15 minutes apart. I was mailing items I sold on eBay. I get to the first location and ship my item, and for some reason I opened the Instacart app. There was a 1 item shop at that staples, paying decent with a tip. The drop off location was on the way to the next Staples.

I accept the batch and deliver the item. Head to the next Staples. Ship my item and what the hell, I’ll open Instacart again. There is an order for a few items. The delivery address? Three houses down from mine.

Made some decent money being in the right place at the right time.

That's awesome. I should check out instacart - thanks for the idea!

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Earlier in the week I did 13 and that was with me getting a late start. Some were quick and easy and a few took a long time to get to due to traffic.

I did a Home Depot shop and was surprised that the cashier missed 2 of the 7 different items (14 items total). Nice person, but I think they need retraining or reassignment. Based on the cart contents, it seemed pretty clear that something was not right, even though I knew what the total should be.

Did anyone else do Home Depots for this quarter? I am surprised that they don't do the cashier accuracy check component more often. Last quarter, I recall having to tell a cashier that she missed an item (~$20) from the prior customer she handled when I was there on a Home Depot shop. The customer was using a top shelf cart and used bags of concrete (or something) that blocked the cashier's view. The last two quarters most cashiers got every item, but there is still room for improvement.

Clarity, Cease, clarity!

I wish Marketforce had an app that actually WORKS. I have never been able to complete a shop on Eyes On. I get that downloading thing going round and round and round and nothing ever loads. Unusable, compared to slick apps that actually work (shout out to IPSOS, among others).

Apps, in general, with that one exception (MF) have been a game changer for me, making MSing much more efficient and doable and profitable. And I had to be dragged into the digital age kicking and screaming, LOL!!!

@yoya301 wrote:

Cease…
I find myself no longer motivated to accept shops that required my PC for reporting. Marketforce, can you hear me?

Marketforce has an app….. It’s called Eyes:On
I always complete them on the app.

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

@Capurato wrote:

Interesting story about shops, not my most, but a pretty interesting situation.

I had two bonuses approved shipper shops at Staples scheduled. They were about 15 minutes apart. I was mailing items I sold on eBay. I get to the first location and ship my item, and for some reason I opened the Instacart app. There was a 1 item shop at that staples, paying decent with a tip. The drop off location was on the way to the next Staples.

I accept the batch and deliver the item. Head to the next Staples. Ship my item and what the hell, I’ll open Instacart again. There is an order for a few items. The delivery address? Three houses down from mine.

Made some decent money being in the right place at the right time.

That's awesome. I should check out instacart - thanks for the idea!

Instacart is hit or miss. I take single batches that are convenient for me. I was making around $70/hr during pandemic and when I do it now, I’m making around $25/hr.

@ceasesmith wrote:

Clarity, Cease, clarity!

I wish Marketforce had an app that actually WORKS. I have never been able to complete a shop on Eyes On. I get that downloading thing going round and round and round and nothing ever loads. Unusable, compared to slick apps that actually work (shout out to IPSOS, among others).

Apps, in general, with that one exception (MF) have been a game changer for me, making MSing much more efficient and doable and profitable. And I had to be dragged into the digital age kicking and screaming, LOL!!!

@yoya301 wrote:

Cease…
I find myself no longer motivated to accept shops that required my PC for reporting. Marketforce, can you hear me?

Marketforce has an app….. It’s called Eyes:On
I always complete them on the app.

I completely solved this MF problem years ago when their app first came out. It did not work well then, and it apparently does not work correctly now. What is my solution?
1st option: wait until I am at my computer to submit the shop.
2nd option: use the MF website instead of their app.

I've never used the MF app, but have submitted reports on my phone via the regular website. Fine if there is little narrative, which most are.

*****************************************************************************
The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

I like to do up to 15 when on a route. I often do more to maximize revenue vs. expense when they are close together (or when the short shop window leaves me no alternative.) And then sometimes those highly bonused shops pop up where I will be and it would be crazy not to take them while I am there, etc., and I often end up with more than 20, and then more pop up, etc..

"I completely solved this MF problem years ago when their app first came out. It did not work well then, and it apparently does not work correctly now. What is my solution?
1st option: wait until I am at my computer to submit the shop.
2nd option: use the MF website instead of their app. "

Yeppers. Except using their website on my phone does NOT work; mostly I'm in areas with no cell coverage. So doing reports after returning home is the remaining option. Why bother, when I can make $150 on IPSOS shops and complete the shops onsite, with a working app -- and get paid sooner, to boot? And have no reports to complete after an exhausting drive home?

And Option 3, of course: don't accept any MF shops til the bonuses are enough to make it worthwhile. I admit, I usually only accept MF shops in the $125 range -- that makes up for the inconvenience!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/2022 06:05AM by ceasesmith.

I live in a rural area also and it depends on if they are all the same job just different locations and how far apart they are. I can do up to 5 if they are the same job amd there are a couple in each small town. But when i have to drive 45 miles to the first shop and then another 45 to the next one ect. I usually only do 3. But i don't so myatery shopping full time either just one or two days a week.

Welcome to the forum!

@Lferguson1963 wrote:

I live in a rural area also and it depends on if they are all the same job just different locations and how far apart they are. I can do up to 5 if they are the same job amd there are a couple in each small town. But when i have to drive 45 miles to the first shop and then another 45 to the next one ect. I usually only do 3. But i don't so myatery shopping full time either just one or two days a week.

I might do 5 or 6. Beyond that this little gig starts to feel like a job. I have completed as many as 10 before, but I don't like how I feel at the end of a long day like that. I don't mystery shop everyday, and usually nothing on Saturday and Sunday. This time of year I'm taking more of a break. I have two days scheduled for the rest of the year. However, I'm a bit of a tightwad. I don't like spending my own money (own money is anything outside of mystery shop income). So, if I get some unplanned expense, like the root canal and crown I recently had, I will do more shops to cover the expense and minimize or eliminate me from having to spend "my own money."

@ceasesmith wrote:

"I completely solved this MF problem years ago when their app first came out. It did not work well then, and it apparently does not work correctly now. What is my solution?
1st option: wait until I am at my computer to submit the shop.
2nd option: use the MF website instead of their app. "

Yeppers. Except using their website on my phone does NOT work; mostly I'm in areas with no cell coverage. So doing reports after returning home is the remaining option. Why bother, when I can make $150 on IPSOS shops and complete the shops onsite, with a working app -- and get paid sooner, to boot? And have no reports to complete after an exhausting drive home?

And Option 3, of course: don't accept any MF shops til the bonuses are enough to make it worthwhile. I admit, I usually only accept MF shops in the $125 range -- that makes up for the inconvenience!

If MF website does not work well on your phone, try installing one of the good browsers (i.e. Firefox) instead of using the browser that came pre-installed on your phone. If there is no Wi-Fi, turn it off and use your phone data. If that does not work then you are more remote than I am, and I live in the desert. I do almost zero MF shops anymore when I am on an out-of-town route due to their low pay and ridiculously short 8-hr submission window. So, option 3 is the best for those of us who do this for a living. Yes, I agree that IPSOS apps are among the few that work in the most places with fewest issues.

@MsJudi wrote:

I've never used the MF app, but have submitted reports on my phone via the regular website. Fine if there is little narrative, which most are.

I usually complete MF and Ipsos shops on my phone using their web-based sites. It's nice to arrive home with nothing more to do.

The worst I ever did was the mall outlet shops where you had to go into every single store in the outlet mall and do a report for each along with an overview of the food court and amenities. I got paid very well but I did. I think 30 to 40 shops in a day and it was brutal doing the reports. It took me three weekends to get through the entire mall! Glad these are not done anymore.

When I was fairly new, I did 30 shops in one day! I let the scheduler talk me into it. Something that has never happened again. It was a brutal day. Fortunately, these were quick 10 minute shops, but the reports were due the same day. This was before I had a cell phone, so I would drag my laptop into the closest McDonalds and use their WIFI to do reports. I still cringe when I think about it. I did these shops at BASE price!

with mobile apps available I did recently 8 shops.

Shopping Eastern Pennsylvania since 2009

If I have less than 5 per day, I feel like it's an easy day. I prefer to string a bunch together to get the most value out of my daily trips. Most I've done?...upward of 20..I've slowed down lately though since I don't take long drives as frequently as I did in the past.

*****************************************************************************
The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

In the bigger cities I have been doing on average 16 to 18 C-Store shops per day most months. I have been travelling the country doing shops all over and my time is important especially the out of my home town shops as I like to get done and home. Routing is key and I find the more effort I put into scheduling my days/trips the sooner and more I get done. I try to cut my days off at the 7.5 to 8 hour time frame like a regular job.

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