1. Forums
  2. Mystery Shopping Company Discussion

Trendsource [client name deleted] Shops and other cheap MSCs (Stop Accepting Low Pay Grocery Shops People)

September 20, 2016 05:09AM
@aayaey wrote:

However, if I'm missing some trick on doing the grocery store shops please enlighten me...
I swore off groceries after doing one of those snooty groceries where you have to ask questions in seven departments (and you have to find someone even if you have to stand there all afternoon.) It had a $5 reimbursement. The two apples I thought I could afford cost $5.88. I said never again. Since then, I have found two MSCs with grocery shops that I enjoy. They are stores where I usually shop and I never drive more than 5 miles to get there. One has an easy report, the other has a report that I have done about 10 times now and am finally feeling like I can do it fast. The trick is to track who the MSC is for the grocery stores you like and give the report one try. You are savvy enough to already see the "tells" of a store you won't do. There are lots of shops I wouldn't consider (banks, car dealers, financial advisers etc.) Fortunately, there are as many types of shops as there are shoppers.

Shopping SoCal and Maui.
Reply
Log In
x

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

Already a member? Log In.

More About Payment
September 20, 2016 07:54PM
I love the Trendsource grocery shops! Where I live, within a 3-mile radius, there are 20 grocery stores (3 different chains). I usually only do about 8 every 10 days, and that covers most of my grocery shopping for that time period. So it's worth it to me.
Reply
September 20, 2016 08:04PM
@Lurezia wrote:

I love the Trendsource grocery shops! Where I live, within a 3-mile radius, there are 20 grocery stores (3 different chains). I usually only do about 8 every 10 days, and that covers most of my grocery shopping for that time period. So it's worth it to me.

I'm with you, I also have 5 stores and a couple upscale that I love. Beside getting coupons for what you buy regularly (they track the rewards members), getting 9 to 12 $ + the coupons is a nice savings..I always go over, but yes, it helps!! I get my allergy tablets which are expensive.

Live consciously....
Reply
September 20, 2016 09:45PM
@sokimm wrote:

I don't know of any shops requiring interactions with 8+ employees, perhaps you weren't reading requirements properly.
RCMS has one that I do monthly where you interact with every associate you happen upon. So perhaps rather than failing to read the requirements properly, it was a different shop than the 2-3 employee one.

Now scheduling travel shops for the day after Christmas through mid-January.
Reply
September 20, 2016 11:52PM
@sokimm wrote:

You only need to interact w/ 3 employees (in addition to the cashier/bagger who you already interact with) but many times they're not available due to helping other customers. It does take observation skills, & to note descriptions in addition to name collection. If performing Boar's Head, it pays higher & only need interaction with 2 more. I don't know of any shops requiring interactions with 8+ employees, perhaps you weren't reading requirements properly.

If you are doing the Trendsource shop correctly you have interaction with a Deli person, a Produce person, a Meat person, then three different people working the aisles of the store, then the Cashier and Bagger.

If my math is correct that is 8 different people. Time to re read your your shop instructions lol.
Reply
September 20, 2016 11:54PM
I've done about 8 of these shops and I NEVER see anyone in the grocery department. I did 1x and that was it. I walk through 2x just to make sure.




@Wild Bill wrote:

@sokimm wrote:

You only need to interact w/ 3 employees (in addition to the cashier/bagger who you already interact with) but many times they're not available due to helping other customers. It does take observation skills, & to note descriptions in addition to name collection. If performing Boar's Head, it pays higher & only need interaction with 2 more. I don't know of any shops requiring interactions with 8+ employees, perhaps you weren't reading requirements properly.

If you are doing the Trendsource shop correctly you have interaction with a Deli person, a Produce person, a Meat person, then three different people working the aisles of the store, then the Cashier and Bagger.

If my math is correct that is 8 different people. Time to re read your your shop instructions lol.
Reply
September 21, 2016 12:04AM
When you don't see three employees in grocery, you ask any question of your choice to the one you see, it takes a minute. I usually see one employee in grocery...Deli, Meat, Produce and grocery, I have 9 out of 10 times evaluated four.

Edited to add. Cashier and bagger, not a big deal remembering their name and if they smiled, etc.

Live consciously....


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/21/2016 12:32AM by Irene_L.A..
Reply
September 21, 2016 12:13AM
It's the 3 Focus departments and up to 3 grocery employees. Some of the locations I usually do, the focus department employees also double as the grocery associates, so I do not engage them twice. Other times, one of the focus departments didn't have an associate to evaluate. One particular location, only 2 focus departments were available for evaluation, and since the crew was very small, no grocery associates to evaluate.

Also to consider, the more often you do these shops, the easier they get. I spend no more than 30 minutes at a location, sometimes more if I can't locate associates right away. And I like to schedule a bunch of these at a time, since where I live there are so many grocery stores in my area that these stores often borrow employees from each other.
Reply
September 21, 2016 12:21AM
I used to do mystery shops for Dynamic Advantage. One of their clients was a grocery store chain and their requirements were tougher than Trendsource and yet their reimbursement was significantly less, something like $5 reimbursement and $5 payment.

Their requirements: Interact with 5 department associates, plus mod, plus cashier and/or bagger. Comparing this to Trendsource, I'd do Trendsource any time!
Reply
September 21, 2016 01:35AM
The grocery Client that I do for Trendsource requires interactions -- if employees are available -- with Deli, Bakery, Produce, Meat (or Seafood), try to find 2 employees in the grocery aisles, plus cashier and bagger (if available). So that's 8 total if available. 90% of the time, there is only ONE person in the grocery aisles. About 50% of the time, there is NO ONE in Produce! And about 50% of the time, I enter a lane with a bagger and then the bagger leaves for another aisle! Oh well! I report it as it happens....I've NEVER had a report refused because of being unable to find an employee in a department. If there's no one there, then there's no one there! I'm doing 3 tomorrow.
Reply
September 21, 2016 03:05AM
I have done about 5 shops for Trend Source and had no problems being paid on time which is much sooner than once a month the month following the shop you did.. Make any sense of did I rattle? Who cares I don't get paid for this. Anyway, the grocery shops I have done have paid for some food for my adult son and two children. However, the questionnaire is a little construed and could be better designed. Like elect me for President and who cares about my opinion!
Reply
September 21, 2016 03:09AM
As far as the grocery stores I have done, they pay $12 as I call if for food purchase and $5 and $9 and $5. The newer larger stores with jewelry and clothing are a little harder to do than the older grocery stores without all the frills.
Reply
October 26, 2016 09:16PM
I agree, but I leave them for the newbies to do. I'll wait it out for a bonus. It is not worth my time to leave the house for 15.00 unless I can do many shops in a route. Then it might be iffy if I take them that low. Grocery stores when it take you 45 to 60 minutes and have to talk to three or four different associates and then do a lengthy report just isn't worth it even if I lived across the street.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2016 09:20PM by Kate20105.
Reply
October 26, 2016 09:35PM
@Kate20105 wrote:

I agree, but I leave them for the newbies to do. I'll wait it out for a bonus. It is not worth my time to leave the house for 15.00 unless I can do many shops in a route. Then it might be iffy if I take them that low. Grocery stores when it take you 45 to 60 minutes and have to talk to three or four different associates and then do a lengthy report just isn't worth it even if I lived across the street.

I got a Coupon for 10.00 off if you spend 30.00, plus I had another 4.00 in coupons,.., I got $34.00 of groceries (whatever I wanted) for 14.00 and collected 17.00 for the job. Made a dollar, but we eat well, not too shabby in my book. The "newbies" wouldn't get these coupons nor know how to do it, experience and playing the game is how to do this.
I grocery shop and like good food.......and doing two to three a weekend keeps me in dark chocolate truffles
and steak.....
I am in the store 30 minutes tops, with report taking 20 minutes with no driving time, all store within 3 miles of me.

Too each his own.
edited to add: the source pays twice a month, never have to wait for my reimbursement...how many can say that...smiling smiley

Live consciously....


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2016 09:59PM by Irene_L.A..
Reply
October 26, 2016 11:38PM
I like them and there is absolutely no reason to stay in the store 45 -60 minutes to talk to an associate. If they aren't there in two walk bys you are good to go.. The three departments are a little different as you need to talk to an associate if they are there but I have never experienced any huge wait times there..

Liz
Reply
October 27, 2016 12:30AM
@Wild Bill wrote:

@sokimm wrote:

You only need to interact w/ 3 employees (in addition to the cashier/bagger who you already interact with) but many times they're not available due to helping other customers. It does take observation skills, & to note descriptions in addition to name collection. If performing Boar's Head, it pays higher & only need interaction with 2 more. I don't know of any shops requiring interactions with 8+ employees, perhaps you weren't reading requirements properly.

If you are doing the Trendsource shop correctly you have interaction with a Deli person, a Produce person, a Meat person, then three different people working the aisles of the store, then the Cashier and Bagger.

If my math is correct that is 8 different people. Time to re read your your shop instructions lol.

In case there are not 3 in grocery, just ask one a question and that's it...I hardly ever see three employees.
in grocery, 9 times out of 10, I see one and have no problem from The Soucre.

Live consciously....
Reply
November 12, 2016 10:25AM
I am in houston.I thought trendsource was a good deal. I planned my grocery shopping around 8 visits which were pretty easy and all of the stores were within a 5 mile radius of me. 7 stores, free groceries plus $35 I worked this other project for them. 12 locations, total of 2:30 hours being away from home $5, 20 miles driven and 30 minutes of report for $100 andd they process and they pay pretty quickly.
Reply
November 12, 2016 05:51PM
@myles1225 wrote:

I am in houston.I thought trendsource was a good deal. I planned my grocery shopping around 8 visits which were pretty easy and all of the stores were within a 5 mile radius of me. 7 stores, free groceries plus $35 I worked this other project for them. 12 locations, total of 2:30 hours being away from home $5, 20 miles driven and 30 minutes of report for $100 andd they process and they pay pretty quickly.

Your numbers don't add up. That's a hot mess.
Reply
November 12, 2016 07:15PM
@SoCalMama wrote:

@myles1225 wrote:

I am in houston.I thought trendsource was a good deal. I planned my grocery shopping around 8 visits which were pretty easy and all of the stores were within a 5 mile radius of me. 7 stores, free groceries plus $35 I worked this other project for them. 12 locations, total of 2:30 hours being away from home $5, 20 miles driven and 30 minutes of report for $100 andd they process and they pay pretty quickly.

Your numbers don't add up. That's a hot mess.

I didn't bother to add the numbers since it's no money in my pocket. What I took from his post was that he is happy with TrendSource and he is making an appropriate amount of money for his time and travel. His numbers are actually irrelevant to anyone except him.
Reply
November 12, 2016 08:20PM
I do them because I still need to eat. I have to buy groceries anyway, why not eat for free if I have to drive into town anyway?
Reply
November 13, 2016 05:33AM
@roflwofl wrote:

@SoCalMama wrote:

@myles1225 wrote:

I am in houston.I thought trendsource was a good deal. I planned my grocery shopping around 8 visits which were pretty easy and all of the stores were within a 5 mile radius of me. 7 stores, free groceries plus $35 I worked this other project for them. 12 locations, total of 2:30 hours being away from home $5, 20 miles driven and 30 minutes of report for $100 andd they process and they pay pretty quickly.

Your numbers don't add up. That's a hot mess.

I didn't bother to add the numbers since it's no money in my pocket. What I took from his post was that he is happy with TrendSource and he is making an appropriate amount of money for his time and travel. His numbers are actually irrelevant to anyone except him.

I was trying to figure out how much he was claiming to make. I understand it is working for him. COL in Houston is cheap.
Reply
November 13, 2016 08:28AM
Trendsource is by far my favorite MSC to work with. I don't mimd lower payimg grocery shops because I can couple them with three or four insurance shops and business verifications. And the timeliness of their pay is incredible.
Reply
November 13, 2016 12:52PM
My very second shop was the $9+5=14 grocery and it nearly made me give up mystery shopping! Then I tried another grocery chain (regional) where all I had to do was interact with one department for $10 fee plus a $2 reimbursement. Still sounded low until I realized I could shop up to 4 departments in one trip. So I'd perform one shop, go to my car, then back in again until they were all completed. I moved my car too so it would appear I was leaving. $40 plus $8 in reimbursements and the reports were easy. I take all these I can get.
Reply
November 19, 2016 05:21AM
Where I live you have to personally evaluate the produce, the deli, the butcher, the jewelry dept, home and garden, pharmacy, health and beauty, clothing, 3 grocery clerks and the cashier and bagger, that is thirteen people in all, each and every time...TS and /or the client did not like the answer that nobody was in the department. So not worth the 12-15 bucks when you then had to come home and do a 45 minute report on the store, plus 13 employees...as a experienced shopper, I have a pretty good memory, but even I find 13 to be a stretch, and no note taking is allowed!!! Yikes...
Reply
November 19, 2016 05:23AM
In mine you get to add pharmacy, home and garden, jewelry, clothing and health and Beauty...lol. So not!
Reply
November 21, 2016 04:40PM
@Wild Bill wrote:

@sokimm wrote:

You only need to interact w/ 3 employees (in addition to the cashier/bagger who you already interact with) but many times they're not available due to helping other customers. It does take observation skills, & to note descriptions in addition to name collection. If performing Boar's Head, it pays higher & only need interaction with 2 more. I don't know of any shops requiring interactions with 8+ employees, perhaps you weren't reading requirements properly.

If you are doing the Trendsource shop correctly you have interaction with a Deli person, a Produce person, a Meat person, then three different people working the aisles of the store, then the Cashier and Bagger.

If my math is correct that is 8 different people. Time to re read your your shop instructions lol.

You only ask a question to the grocery person if you see one..for me, 9 times out of 10, I see one, not three.
Makes it 5, I don't even count cashier/bagger, although you do have questions on report, that takes 2 minutes.

Live consciously....
Reply
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login