I see competitor pickup and instore as well as the normal.

It seems that you can't even do fuel and a pickup on the same day now, no more routes for me.

I don't know if fuel is considered an instore shop, did you check with your scheduler? Last month I was able to do a fuel and instore shop at the same locaiton. If you can schedule it yourself on the same day, maybe it is okay.

I could last month but not this month. Boo!

We didn't get any competitor shops again this round.. My son is getting antsy for a new pack of t-shirts, he really wanted competitor shops.

The shops went like poof!! I can’t believe how fast they went-not even the pickup shops from a little distance were left after an hour of posting

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/02/2023 09:53PM by Blkstorm.

You're right blk, they did seem to fly off the board quickly.. we didn't get any of the more remote Krogers this time. Or the "bad" Kroger where the associates challenge and intimidate customers for asking questions. Those shops were grabbed before we even saw the first one.

If fuel is disallowed with another shop onsite it's good that you can't self-schedule. I was so happy and surprised to log on near the start, and got three competitors. My freezer is full so my instores will be mostly produce.

Got an email this morning that said, in part: "There will be a slight change in the Kroger instore shop instruction sheet that will start at the beginning of this next new shopping period. You will be able to see the change by the end of day Monday, 11/6/23." The email also said, "This should not impact the amount of time that you will be spending in the store as you are probably going down an aisle to get to the areas needed for the assignment anyway"

I don't mind much that the change will have a small impact on the time it will take in-store and reporting but I wish the MSC would not try to sugarcoat as it asks for more work without additional compensation.

I use the Kroger jobs to defray my travel expense for non-shopping business, but only if I am passing near a store. As such, this third addition to the shop and report will have a minor effect upon me. When/if the shops are no longer attractive, I will simply pass on the work. I do agree with the sugar coating comment, but also understand that were it me, I would have done the same. After all, this is STILL business!

It is a responsibility of any business to their shareholders to extract as much work as possible from contractors for the least amount of money. That stated, the old adage of the Arabian chap and his camel comes to mind.

I knew shopperbob would be here with this comment.

yes got the memo- someone in the past had jokingly said that once the additional produce and meat items were added that expect for more items to be added without any extra fee. So true!

@shopperbob A wise business looks beyond short-term gains and considers long-term effects.

When Kroger added the two cheese questions for larger and newer stores, I THINK it was stated to only last a few months; it still exists. Next, the increased produce and meat sections with the booth observation appeared. Even with both, the shops fly off the board. Will that change with the aisles, which I understand to be temporary? This is strictly a guess, but NO. That is why I mentioned the parable of the Arabian and his camel.

Along this line, today I received an offer to complete an apt. shop, with recorded call, at a fee of $35. I was paid $40 in 2005 and without a recorded call. I, as an IC, exercised my prerogative to decline. Kroger shoppers have a decision as to how much additional time and effort they are willing to accept without an increased fee.

Bob, What is this two cheese question you speak of? There are no more required questions with the new MSC. You're supposed to try to get folks to acknowledge you as a customer in a couple places, but you don't have to talk to them in you don't want to.

I don't like having to do anything that involves strawberries, I don't eat them, I can't, the contents of the inside of my stomach will most likely come outside if I try. For $9 and $9 in groceries, I can look at them to see if they are fresh.. zipping past the bagged salad kits to see the condition and stock levels, looking at the bananas as you're going past. I buy avocados every time I'm in the store, so I get up close and personal with the avocados and tomatoes whether I'm shopping or not. It's mostly the way I shop at Ralph's or Kroger anyway. Except the strawberry parts.. Then I go and look for marked down meat or meat I can afford to buy, in the meat service case and in the self service case, so I would naturally look at the meats they want us to check, their least expensive 80/20 ground beef, chuck roast, ribs, chicken breasts, and farmed salmon. It's the natural way I shop anyway.

I didn't get any emails, or notices that we are going to have to go into the center aisles, I can't find it in any of the guidelines or even the instructions.. I fill up my $9 with $1 tuna pouches, all different flavors, after I get my avocados and creamer for my coffee out of the dairy case..

Morledzep,

When the shops moved from the long time prior MSC, there were not any questions concerning the premium cheese display. It was added at the complete tail end of the report and I seem to recall, just as with the aisle questions, there was a note it would only be for a few months. I would guesstimate only 25% of the stores I visit sell that product, whose name I am unable to recall. It is possible those questions are regional, as well as that product only being sold in their largest, most upscale and newest stores. Two of the stores in my area are so small, they do not have self checkout.

If you have a store with the cheese section, this is a one-minute browse and see if they greet. No need for name, either. No biggie and most of the stores near me don't have them. The meat counter greet takes more time although it's especially annoying that the surveys are incorrect on which stores have service meat counters.

I saw the email re the new center aisle requirement. Be sure to read the questionnaire this month before you set out, the email the surveys should be updated Monday.

There are barely a dozen shops left in my prior shopping radius (13 miles one way). I used to do the 13- mile store as a favor and when I could combine it on a route with another store 5 miles away (both pickup and instore)
With gas $5+/gallon and no ability to do pickup/instore the same day, it can sit on the board. There are apparently three other shoppers in that area. It will be interesting to see if anyone decides to take that in-store shop. Probably the pickup will go eventually.

BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz opines--A wise business looks beyond short-term gains and considers long-term effects.

Bob comments--That statement is predicated upon one's definition of both SHORT & LONG. It is my opinion Shell Oil, with a market cap of slightly over a sixth of a trillion dollars, cares not of the opinion of shoppers who consider assignments paying $12.50 and requiring at least, as the last offer I read, 25 pics. That IS business.

This morning, I read that McD raised the price of a Big Mac meal to $18 and diners are outraged. IF enough people dine elsewhere, that is when a positive outcome can be accomplished.

When my relationship with an MSC sours AND I decide the situation is irreversible, rather than to weep, wail and gnash my teeth, I simply terminate our agreement. I do not extend second chances, deal with non-responders nor contract with MSCs known to have a deplorable work:pay ratio across the board.

I do not in any manner criticize MSCs for paying as little as possible for as much work as they are able to extract. It is the responsibility of ICs to only contract under conditions favorable to them..

Me - shopperbob is an expert terminator, and I bet he has a mean Austrian accent.

I used to do the Kroger in-store shops back in the day with the other MSC. They paid $5 and then reimbursed $9 for 3+ groceries. I remember it being a lot of work to begin with, and then they kept adding more and more and more without ever raising the pay or reimbursement. It finally got to be too much because I was spending over an hour in the store trying to interact with employees in various required departments, plus getting their names and descriptions. It wasn't worth it for what they were offering.

Fast forward to today - sounds like they've added even more to the in-store shops. I've been doing the fuel and pickup shops, which are great. I love them. The scheduler actually told me I wouldn't be eligible for any more pickup shops until I did some in-store shops "to balance things out." -blinks- That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. That's like telling me I can't do any more drive-in stall shops until I do some drive-thru shops.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2023 07:27PM by drdoggie00.

@shopperbob

I was referring to the MSC when I said a wise business should look beyond short-term gains and consider long-term effects.

For most businesses, the main goal is to maximize profit. That is true for MSCs as well as shoppers.

How does the MSC maximize profit? In this instance, it is by making the client (Kroger) happy by giving it what it wants (more data) at no additional cost. Whatever it costs for the additional data is absorbed by the MSC (time and effort in communicating with shoppers, revising the guidelines and survey, editing, etc.) and by the shoppers (reading the revised guidelines, extra work in-store and in reporting).

How does the shopper maximize profit? In this case, I try to be aware, figure out what is the most efficient way for me to shop Kroger from now on (until the next change), and decide whether it is better to keep shopping Kroger or switch to other shops.

Being aware that one's profit margin will be negatively affected (however minutely) and talking about it with other shoppers is not the same as weeping, wailing, or gnashing one's teeth.

Short-term: I don't think there will be enough shoppers (if any) deciding not to do Kroger shops over this.

Long-term: I think many shoppers will remember this -- just as they remember other instances of the MSC asking for more work without more compensation. I will also remember the attempt to sugarcoat

Drip, drip, drip. It adds up over time. Each shopper has to decide when it's too much.

Panda Express. Insufficient reimbursement even after slight increases? No drink? Pay decrease? The MSC still wasting shoppers' time by not organizing its SASSIE shop emails by states alphabetically like all other MSCs? I don't do Panda Express shops anymore unless there is a bonus.

Market Force. Poorly worded ICA? No more parking and toll reimbursements and not even announcing the change? Decreased fees and getting much stingier w/r/t MAO? I don't shop for them anymore.

For me, it is too simplistic to just quit shopping for an MSC without figuring out a way to make it to be still profitable enough for me in spite of what the MSC offers.

Example: I am not interested in plants but I shop a plant nursery almost every month. The normal fee is insufficient for me. So, I negotiated with the scheduler and now get a bonus every time without having to negotiate again. Not having to renegotiate and the bonus makes the shop profitable.

Example: I used to do a mini-route of a grocery chain every month. I negotiated with the scheduler and got a bonus and a much longer reporting window. Without that bonus and longer reporting window, the route would have been unprofitable. I stopped doing that route only because the MSC switched reporting platforms and gained local shoppers who did not require a bonus or a longer reporting window. Long-term: There are no hard feelings. The MSC is doing what is best for itself. Short-term: It was good while it lasted. I moved on to other shops.

I misunderstood Bee's comment concerning clients, as opposed to MSCs. While I do not attempt to "work out" problems, I respect that strategy is successful for other shoppers. At the age of 81, I am so averse to aggravation, for me it is simply easier to move on with life.

At such time that either I stop business travel or Kroger continues to load the camel without a fee increase, I will heed the words of Margaret Mitchell and be "Gone With The Wind."

The previous mystery shopping company that had the Kroger shops I had quit working for several years before the Kroger moved to a new mystery shopping company. Between schedulers that were inconsiderate, and far more work than what the shop was worth, I decided that I didn't need to work for them anymore. I never deactivated myself or anything like that, if I wanted to do work for the previous company I could, but there is precious little that they have that pays enough for me to bother.

I like the new shops, with the new mystery shopping company. I don't have to ask stupid questions that make no sense. I don't even have to interact with the produce department associate if I don't want to. I can get their name and description, and say whether they said anything to me and keep right on moving. All of the things that we are supposed to check while we are shopping are all things that I would look at anyway, except strawberries and grapes.

The name of the cheese is Murray's. And most of it is really good cheese. I usually buy myself a piece of cheese from their display, two stores in my area have a cheese display, once it's marked down anyway. I really like cheese, I really like trying different cheeses that I've never tried before, and I'm a really big fan of every kind of goat cheese. Even when I wasn't mystery shopping at Kroger, I stopped at the Murray's cheese display and look to see what was good and marked down. I never really cared if there was an attendant at the counter or at the display, but if there is and they greet me that's even better.

What I do differently when I am mystery shopping in a grocery store is get people's names, and descriptions, where they're needed. Check the restroom even when I don't need to use it. Look at strawberries and grapes. And notice if there is somebody at the service desk. Otherwise it's a normal grocery shopping trip for me.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2023 04:58AM by Morledzep.

Has anyone else noticed that the report submission form is slightly different this round? At least on my desktop there was a 'check-in" box and there are drop down menus for time. I don't see anything about checkin in (yet) in the shop instructions or questionaire but I wonder if it's coming soon to a Kroger job near you.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/16/2023 05:44PM by melg.

There's always been a link that says 'check in', but I've never used it or seen anything in the guidelines that mentioned it. The form does look different this time.

@melg wrote:

Has anyone else noticed that the report submission form is slightly different this round? At least on my desktop there wa a 'check-in" box and there are drop down menus for time. I don't see anything about checkin in (yet) in the shop instructions or questionairee but I wonder if it's coming soon to a Kroger job near you.

There used to be a "check in" box when the MSC first took over the Kroger shops. I used to check in too on every shop, but then stopped since it wasn't a mandatory requirement. Then that box went away. Now it's back again, but I still never use it. Why do one extra step when it's not necessary? Although it did help me catch a mistake when I was at one Kroger when I was supposed to be at another one half mile down the road.

Does anyone know if the max of 15 in store shops per store/max 8 pickups per store is on a rolling basis, or will it reset in 2024?

If my scheduler's assertion that we were all going to be rotated out of doing pick up shops starting in October coming true is any indication. I believe it's going to reset starting in 2024.

Honestly, that's just a guess. When I can assign myself some more pick up shops I'll know for sure.

What does that mean “all being rotated out..”? Meaning no more pick ups or anyone doing them now, or applying a rotation for locations? Sorry, just confused and not sure what is meant by that.

GA. I am currently rotated out of pick up shops, my son is still doing them though, because he didn't start doing them until I think it was August of this year. Up until then he only did self-service leftover shops at the end of each round. I am still doing one in store full service shop at each of 6 stores that I normally shop along with the fuel shops at 5 of those. I'm hoping to be able to sign up for pick up shops again in January.

GA, it was explained to me by a scheduler: if you have too many of one type of shop, they restrict you from doing those until you've done enough of a different kind to "even things out." For example, I only do pick-up shops. I've been blocked (can't even see them in the list) from doing them until I do an amount of full-check/self-check that they deem sufficient. Whether that restriction will carry over into the new year or automatically be "reset" remains to be seen.

It's a bunch of malarkey, but I don't make the rules.