Newer shoppers need to know that whether they can score that rate or better depends on where they are, the volume of work available, the number of willing shoppers and just how willing those shoppers are. Philosophy about what we should or should not earn for our work has nothing to do with it. The MSC will pick up the least expensive / most dependable shopper, weighing off the tradeoff according to their desperation to get the job done.
I'm not in favor of taking money losing jobs under any circumstances. That's not a good business model and doing jobs to "help out" Jack or Jill is not smart if it requires any additional financial outlay on the part of the shopper and the shopper doesn't get paid for the additional outlay and get some consideration back in turn somewhere down the road.
Let me give you an example of a decision gone unexpectedly bad. I got a call offering a bonus to shop westward on a lone orphan job. The offer was fair, I thought I had an "extra" day, and I took the offer and made the trip to do the shop. It was an okay deal but not dream quality spectacular. Later that week I ran into a snag with cold heavy rain and I asked the same company (and the same project team) for an extension on two outside base rate jobs I didn't want to do in the pouring down rain. No can do, Mary. I opted not to do those shops so I lost them and also lost the reassignment lock I had on them. I made a bad decision and I take responsibility. That said, anybody here think that show will play again?
What looks like a good deal is not always a good deal. It all depends.
We have to make the best decision we can at the time depending on the information we have to work with and the offer they make or the bonus we ask for. Our best is all we can do, and we can learn from what happens as we go along. If we price ourselves out of the market we won't have nearly as much work. That's okay if our plan is to take only the peachy plum jobs now and then and to work on a limited basis. If we want more consistent work and more consistent income we have to work day by day and we have to work at the rates we are able to get. The MSC will never care how much it costs to run a car.
Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.