A closer Look
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Yes, ACL and other companies have granted me extensions. I always draft dinner reports before bed. I prefer to get up the next morning, have a cup of coffee, look at the report with fresh eyes, tweak if necessary, then submit it. The report will most likely be better, which I think MSCs realize. And, chances are there's no editor waiting to do their thing at midnight.
I've gotten a 24 hour deadline by requesting in advance, sometimes the same night. However, the last time I did this, the scheduler was not thrilled and told me to ask with an advance notice for future requests. Whoops! It's hard to go to a nice dinner and just go home and write. Sometimes we choose to see a movie or revisit our 20s and hit up a nightclub or bar... Who wants to worry about a report after closing time??
Doing what I can to enhance the life of my family! I LOVE what I do 
@Mert wrote:
Yes, ACL and other companies have granted me extensions. I always draft dinner reports before bed. I prefer to get up the next morning, have a cup of coffee, look at the report with fresh eyes, tweak if necessary, then submit it. The report will most likely be better, which I think MSCs realize. And, chances are there's no editor waiting to do their thing at midnight.
With one editor I had for years I suspect she was a night owl as well. Fastest turn around was an ACL 'Thanks for your report. We have sent it to the client.' that was about 17 minutes after I submitted it. It means the report was in the queue for the client less than 5 hours after we arrived at the restaurant. These days I most likely will read the 'Thanks for your report.' email with my morning cup of coffee because the editor started the day before I did.
Right. Even so, I would not think that would preclude an MSC from extending the deadline. And, it's not like the client wants a fast turnaround in order to nip something in the bud, same shift. I have done those, (they have included an integrity portion) but the MSC states the timing up front, and pays a premium.
I did a resort for Spies in Disguise earlier this year. They gave me FIVE DAYS to write it. It was a thing of beauty and I'm sure far more useful to the client than something I would have eked out in 48 hours after a few days of little sleep.@Mert wrote:
... look at the report with fresh eyes, tweak if necessary, then submit it. The report will most likely be better, which I think MSCs realize. And, chances are there's no editor waiting to do their thing at midnight.
Wowzah! With five days, I imagine a perfect report is submitted and expected :-)
@Flash wrote:
I certainly email to request an extension when we return home from a shop and I feel unwell or a little tipsy. For the most part, though, I would prefer get all reports done before heading to bed or else my head will 'talk to me' all night about the report. To that end, over time I have shifted my personal schedule to rising late and going to bed very late.
~~*~~*~~*~~ kal ~~*~~*~~*~~
Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just forget to load the film.
Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just forget to load the film.
@Flash wrote:
I certainly email to request an extension when we return home from a shop and I feel unwell or a little tipsy.
Is this for the shops that require the Irish whiskey sampling?
~~*~~*~~*~~ kal ~~*~~*~~*~~
Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just forget to load the film.
Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just forget to load the film.
@kalfini wrote:
Is this for the shops that require the Irish whiskey sampling?
Nope. I think we must not have that place here.
I have two people I take on shops that require a guest, one is my sister who shops. The other is a friend who works in security and knows how to follow directions and record details. He makes a great shop partner as will remember things afterwards for the narrative parts.
@Ridgeranger101 wrote:
Goodwin also sent me a 1099 for the reimbursement portion of the shops which is not correct. I emailed them explaining that if I didn't purchase what you required then would they have given me the reimbursement money. Reimbursements have never been included in a 1099 since you spend your own money that the shopping company reimburses. The fees are different. All the fees when added up over a year if they are more than $600 then you get a 1099. I told Goodwin well you can bet when I get close to $600 in reimbursements you can count me out from doing any more shops. I consider myself a professional shopper since I get calls from various mystery shopping companies to do shops on a moments notice. I have to check my schedule to see if I can fit them in. Many times they will adjust their time frame so that they can get me to shop the client. But Goodwin never gives enough for what is required but does pay which is important. ACL is my favorite.
Goodwin typically pays a flat fee. They usually don't separate the two, so I believe you have to deduct the amount yourself. You deduct the reimbursement cost as you would for mileage.
@CTK wrote:
@Ridgeranger101 wrote:
Goodwin also sent me a 1099 for the reimbursement portion of the shops which is not correct. I emailed them explaining that if I didn't purchase what you required then would they have given me the reimbursement money. Reimbursements have never been included in a 1099 since you spend your own money that the shopping company reimburses. The fees are different. All the fees when added up over a year if they are more than $600 then you get a 1099. I told Goodwin well you can bet when I get close to $600 in reimbursements you can count me out from doing any more shops. I consider myself a professional shopper since I get calls from various mystery shopping companies to do shops on a moments notice. I have to check my schedule to see if I can fit them in. Many times they will adjust their time frame so that they can get me to shop the client. But Goodwin never gives enough for what is required but does pay which is important. ACL is my favorite.
Doing the shops is fun especially when you are getting freebies and paid to do them. The downside for me on any shop is when the report ask you to be as detailed as possible and you do, then you save it and it tells you that you went over your character maximum. So then you size it down, reread it to make sure it makes sense, submit it, then you get an email from the editor telling you it wasn't detailed enough. It's like, " how about I send you a detailed report attachment in an email and you figure it out.
Love is all we need,... besides food, water and a place to live, Ha Ha. and basic necessities, and internet!
Goodwin almost always pays a flat fee. The 1099 which they sent you is correct. It is up to you to keep good records and sort it all out on your Schedule C. Paying a flat fee makes life easier for Goodwin and admittedly a little (not much if you are keeping good records anyway) harder for you.
Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008
I prefer the flat fee. As stated previously, it all comes out in the wash when you do your taxes. Indeed. I'll give you an example. Goodwin had a $40 fee breakfast buffet shop for 1-2 people. I took myself, had an enjoyable and relaxing breakfast for $19. I then earned a $21 fee. With a straight reimbursement I would have earned nothing.
Do not read so much, look about you and think of what you see there.
Richard Feynman-- letter to Ashok Arora, 4 January 1967, published in Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005) p. 230
Richard Feynman-- letter to Ashok Arora, 4 January 1967, published in Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005) p. 230
@whosear wrote:
I prefer the flat fee. As stated previously, it all comes out in the wash when you do your taxes. Indeed. I'll give you an example. Goodwin had a $40 fee breakfast buffet shop for 1-2 people. I took myself, had an enjoyable and relaxing breakfast for $19. I then earned a $21 fee. With a straight reimbursement I would have earned nothing.
The reason most MSC's don't give a flat fee is due to cost. A flat fee cost the client real cash, where true food cost should be between 15%-20% for the client. They can get the client to pay the food cost when negotiating a shopping agreement.
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