I feel frustrated. If I had said nothing and waited a week, I would have been able to complete the shops for the price I wanted and still be active. But no, I had to think I was helping somehow. The two shops together are exactly the same bonus as what I was asking since one went up to $25 and the other was $15. So, why was I punished for that?

They have a time frame before they can add the bonus.
The problem that I've seen is that the schedulers like to send emails with one price but when you open the shop come to find out the bonus isn't there at all. They will respond with, "Oh some of them have the bonus and some don't". To me personally, I think this is shady. I try to double-check all my shops before self-assigning. Just recently I got an email for a cell phone shop for 140 no purchase required, I checked it out. It requires a credit check without a purchase but only pays 100, not 140. I'm not interested for that price. Maybe for a higher price maybe not.
My husband received an email for a cure re-shop with a nice bonus. He self-assigned and then the scheduler told him (above)^, oh some have the bonus and some don't. He said he didn't want to do it (We both have done the location in the past and know that it is infraction city-a lot of work). She got mad when he told her he didn't want to do it for base pay to remove it and so she tried to remove another shop instead and keep the cure re-shop on there. He had to reassign the correct shop and write her again to remove it because he didn't want to do it for base pay.
I absolutely understood what the writer of those post is talking about. You can offer to do it for a reasonable amount, more than base but less than they usually pay. They will refuse the offer because it's too early. Then later your busy and don't realize that it was on the board for the price you requested earlier. They eventually had to pay either me or another shopper more than my original offer was. Their loss.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/2023 01:09AM by F and L TeleComm.

Schedulers manipulate the fees because they have a “bonus pot” - for example, $2500 - to get a project finished. Whatever is left over is usually theirs to keep.

It’s a huge incentive for them to be dishonest. I’ve noticed that they tend to screw over the faithful, patient, loyal shoppers the most. They know that you won’t complain.

@ColoKate63 wrote:

Schedulers manipulate the fees because they have a “bonus pot” - for example, $2500 - to get a project finished. Whatever is left over is usually theirs to keep.

It’s a huge incentive for them to be dishonest. I’ve noticed that they tend to screw over the faithful, patient, loyal shoppers the most. They know that you won’t complain.

Oh, is that how it works? Those are some really major nationwide products. I feel like everyone is trying to do things on the extra-cheap these days. How do you really get good work out of people for so little money? I'm highly selective now.

I've noticed some locations are notoriously hard to fill. There is a certain shop which I did for $120 last month. This month, it's $180! It's not even the end of the month! I've also had it work in my favor when I was travelling and a shop which was initially offered at $40 went higher. I ended up doing one for $190, and another for $200. I got lucky in a big way, and that was rare. But I do good work for that company and they got lucky also because they got someone to do the shop.

I would email the portfolio/regional manager/scheduler cherubino3. If unsatisfied I'd escalate to the CEO. You likely will make the ban list (as most schedulers schedule for multiple companies) but you have to decide how much it matters to you.

I have never had a client that let us keep the bonus pool in almost 10 years of scheduling, nor have I ever had a co-worker mention they ever worked for clients that did that. They give us a set amount they are willing to pay in bonuses (a bonus pool), but if we go under they keep it not us. If I weren't already happy with my employment, I'd definitely try to seek out one of those companies that have clients that allow schedulers to keep bonus money. Any idea who they are? Maybe those are independent schedulers that have that written into their contract?

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2023 03:44PM by KSSPete.

eyelove2shop opines--You likely will make the ban list (as most schedulers schedule for multiple companies) but you have to decide how much it matters to you.

Bob agrees--Approx. 16 yrs. ago, I became a member of the Volition board; as I had never joined such, I used my name. After stating my opinion in a post, I received a message from another shopper cautioning me, as my name was listed, not to be so candid. My position was then, as now, that any MSC desiring to ignore my dependability and qualifications was free to deactivate me. At that time, I was in my mid 60s and financially set for life. Were I 30 yrs. younger and/or in need, I might have heeded the shopper's advice.

@cherubino3 wrote:

Well folks, trying to be helpful cost me deactivation. I shopped for them going back 15 years ago. I wonder if I should complain about this experience to the CEO. It won't get me reinstated, but maybe it will make them rethink how they work with people?

You might not realize, but one of these two schedulers (who MANY people here have complained about) works for about 4-6 MSCs. She probably deactivated you in all these databases.

She did that to me.Yet when she needed to get a shop scheduled, she bombarded me with e-mails asking me to do it AFTER SHE HAD DEACTIVATED ME. To me that's kind of strange.

wrosie shares--You might not realize, but one of these two schedulers (who MANY people here have complained about) works for about 4-6 MSCs. She probably deactivated you in all these databases.

Bob comments-It is possible you are correct. When I learned the Nikkster was scheduling for a company with whom I was contracted, I did not hesitate to cancel our agreement. If she were to also wipe out shopperbob, she would be extending me a courtesy.

Just to add one more thing, because reading through this it appears some do not have an understanding of how bonuses work... It is very rare (if at all) that a scheduler has control over the bonuses. The end client sets the bonus pool, the locations they allow to bonus (many don't want to see bonuses at all in large cities, unless the project is just that undesirable), the percentage of shops that need to be completed before any bonuses are allowed, etc. So when a scheduler rejects an offer, it isn't because they want to have some sort of power over you. It is because at that point in time, the client is either not allowing a bonus on anything, or it is a location that very frequently gets done by someone without a bonus and they need that money in the bonus pool for other locations that are more difficult to fill. Believe me, the schedulers want and need these shops done probably even more than you do. Our jobs depend on it. The money doesn't come out of our pockets (at least in any case that I know of, but it seems there is a scheduler or two maybe making money off bonus pools?).

I agree with @KSSPete, I have been a scheduler for almost 12 years, and I've never been given a bonus pool where I am allowed to keep the remaining amount. I've had some clients where the MSC changes the bonus as need, and others where I have a bonus budget, but none of that ever makes it's way to my pocket!

Yeah, that sure sounded very far-fetched to me!

oh wow I wish I had a bonus pot!

Karen, you at least deserve the bonus pot!

LOL actually the first company I scheduled for had something sort of similar - they set a bonus goal. And if you used less than that amount they split that with you. But it was a smaller company and smaller bonuses, so it wasn't a very large amount and I don't think I ever got any!

Unfortunately, some schedulers behave as if they shared a large pot bonus.

@cherubino3 wrote:

Karen, you at least deserve the bonus pot!

And Kate too!

@KarenSchedulesForIpsos - I am glad you said something, because when I read this thread I sure thought IPSOS probably has that pot.

Ha - no, no scheduler pot for unspent bonus - actually we really don't have anything to do with bonuses most of the time. The Project Manager for each project carefully oversees the budget!

Many years ago I did a lot of work for a great scheduler with Confero. She enticed me to do a shop with a sweet bonus, ($50 I think). I received a personal check from her for the bonus. I felt bad about it...for a few minutes. She left the company and I don't recall her name, but she was great. I don't think this is common practice, however.

@purpleicee wrote:

@KarenSchedulesForIpsos - I am glad you said something, because when I read this thread I sure thought IPSOS probably has that pot.

Actually I get the exact opposite impression from Ipsos, this Ishopfirst program seems to be a way to limit the earnings of the schedulers. There are programs that Ipsos has that never seem to even get a scheduler at all even after they've added bonuses.

Not a trick, just a lie. Today from ISS: "Hurry, hurry! Going fast!"

No. No they're not. They've been on the board forever. To take a number and wait at a place whose timeliness and attitude is comparable to any bad DMV for a pittance? No. Not going fast at all.

@MsJudi wrote:

Many years ago I did a lot of work for a great scheduler with Confero. She enticed me to do a shop with a sweet bonus, ($50 I think). I received a personal check from her for the bonus. I felt bad about it...for a few minutes. She left the company and I don't recall her name, but she was great. I don't think this is common practice, however.

There was a wonderful woman who scheduled for several MSCs years ago, who sent me $100 via PayPal after I told her my electricity had been turned off, and I had no way to upload my report until the next day when I could go to Starbucks to charge my phone and laptop. That was such a rough time for me, as my husband and I had just separated and I was utterly broke. She was always so kind and sweet, and I'll never forget her generosity.

I emailed the CEO of one company based in OH, about the bait and switch one of his schedulers Joe pulled on me (promised 150 each for two shops and then said he never said it even though I have the email!) and his unprofessional responses when asked about it and the CEO never even bothered to respond.

I got an email from Nikki for the first time in years offering me a reimbursement only restaurant shop. I reported it as spam because it was on her personal email address.