I'm making less than $25 for an assignment that requires a recorded phone call, tons of things to keep track of for visit inspection, an on-site tour with pictures taken and lots to remember, and super long report (including play back of phone call to get tons of details).



Shopper beware of low pay + TONS of work.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/02/2017 10:01PM by shoptastic.

I don't work with ACL, so I'm not familiar with their procedures. Were you unable to see the guidelines and report before applying for the shop? Are you able to cancel the shop now that you know what's involved. I wouldn't have a problem "returning" a shop to the MSC if I felt blindsided (i certainly wouldn't use that word). Do you plan to keep it and see if it's a shop where the initial effort seems daunting, but will get faster and easier with practice?

I've worked with ACL for years, and you are able to view the guidelines before accepting any assignment. Yes, they are notorious for being reimbursement-only. They mostly do restaurants and occasionally you'll see a small bonus attached.

@ChrisCooper wrote:

I don't work with ACL, so I'm not familiar with their procedures. Were you unable to see the guidelines and report before applying for the shop? Are you able to cancel the shop now that you know what's involved. I wouldn't have a problem "returning" a shop to the MSC if I felt blindsided (i certainly wouldn't use that word). Do you plan to keep it and see if it's a shop where the initial effort seems daunting, but will get faster and easier with practice?

I never abandon a shop, so I shall finish it. Although the way you described "quitting" for reason of feeling blindsided made me think about that possibility. I might consider quitting in the future for that reason. But I won't quit this time around, since I've already filled out half the report.

There was even a requirement to get a competitor's features and quotes. I had to call a competitor too!

I did get the survey ahead of time, but it's misleading for a few reasons.

First, the survey says "comments" under various question sections, but the actual survey (not the one they let you download before the shop date) says we should explain certain answers and give examples of others. That wasn't viewable in the version they gave me pre-shop. But with some sections having like 7-10 questions, that's a lot of explaining and example giving to do!!! And there are tons of sections.

Secondly, you can't really get a head start on the work for the phone call portion of the shop, because even if you called a day ahead, which is suggested by the shop details itself, you can't access the report until the day of the shop. So, I had a TON of work post-shop. If I could have done part of it yesterday, then it would have been easier. Listening to a call and playing it back multiple times or pausing it write details takes a lot of time.

This is on the level of an apartment shop with half the pay. Except, an apartment shop requires slightly more time spent on location for the tour. Very tedious report.

Okay, done venting now and going back to work.....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/02/2017 10:37PM by shoptastic.

@shoptastic wrote:

I'm making less than $25 for an assignment that requires a recorded phone call, tons of things to keep track of for visit inspection, an on-site tour with pictures taken and lots to remember, and super long report (including play back of phone call to get tons of details).

So....why exactly did you take an assignment requiring a recorded phone call and tons of other things if you didn't think $25 was enough? Did you not look at the guidelines before you self-assigned the shop?

@roflwofl wrote:

@shoptastic wrote:

I'm making less than $25 for an assignment that requires a recorded phone call, tons of things to keep track of for visit inspection, an on-site tour with pictures taken and lots to remember, and super long report (including play back of phone call to get tons of details).

So....why exactly did you take an assignment requiring a recorded phone call and tons of other things if you didn't think $25 was enough? Did you not look at the guidelines before you self-assigned the shop?

See my explanation above about the guidelines/report. The version they gave wasn't the version I saw when I was allowed to click my shop survey.

It's also less than $25. $20 to be exact.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/02/2017 10:42PM by shoptastic.

I'd value this work at about $60 if it were up to me.

If the shop report were easier, then $45 would have been okay.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/02/2017 10:45PM by shoptastic.

;lesson learned. always clarify guidelines, if u don't like requirement dont accept shop. perks of being ic.

@shoptastic wrote:

@ChrisCooper wrote:

I don't work with ACL, so I'm not familiar with their procedures. Were you unable to see the guidelines and report before applying for the shop? Are you able to cancel the shop now that you know what's involved. I wouldn't have a problem "returning" a shop to the MSC if I felt blindsided (i certainly wouldn't use that word). Do you plan to keep it and see if it's a shop where the initial effort seems daunting, but will get faster and easier with practice?

I never abandon a shop, so I shall finish it. Although the way you described "quitting" ....

SAY WHAT? Where did I describe quitting at all?

With generosity of spirit, I suggested that you must not have been able to read the guidelines prior to applying for the shop, in which case after reading the guidelines you would be justified in returning the shop. In that event, the shop would not have been assigned to you for no more than a few hours, and the MSC could put it back on the job board. I did not know that you had the opportunity to read the guidelines before applying, have already started the shop, and are now feeling remorse for taking the shop and just wanted to vent. Sorry you're sorry about the shop, but don't put words in my mouth.

I'm with Chris Cooper. If you feel misled, it would be professional to honestly communicate with the MSC.

I'm with the OP, in that, I hate that ACL restricts you from working on the phone call portion of the report until the entire shop has been completed. That is usually a day or two later, sometimes even more. The only way to recall the conversation is to sift through the recording at that point. Why not just let us report while the phone call is fresh in our memory?

What ever happened to making shop notes to refer to?

Complete guidelines are not always visible prior to accepting a shop from ACL. Neither is the questionnaire. Not long ago, I was interested in a new to me shop, with a new to ACL client. Only cursory guidelines were available prior to assignment. I emailed the info desk asking if I could see the questionnaire. Never heard back. Yet, the shop remained on the board for several days. I then emailed the scheduler, who sent me a copy of the questionnaire toot sweet.

The shops I've done for ACL requiring a pre-visit phone call, allow for input on the due date. If I choose, I can input that portion prior to the onsite. Or, I would rely on my notes.

@COMystery wrote:

I'm with the OP, in that, I hate that ACL restricts you from working on the phone call portion of the report until the entire shop has been completed. That is usually a day or two later, sometimes even more. The only way to recall the conversation is to sift through the recording at that point. Why not just let us report while the phone call is fresh in our memory?

What happened to writing your report while fresh in mind & saving to Word until report submission?

@shoptastic wrote:

I did get the survey ahead of time, but it's misleading for a few reasons.

First, the survey says "comments" under various question sections, but the actual survey (not the one they let you download before the shop date) says we should explain certain answers and give examples of others. That wasn't viewable in the version they gave me pre-shop.

I totally agree with what you expressed here. It is not uncommon, even for other companies, to see a pre survey where a narrative box is left off so it looks like those questions only require a check box but then when you get to actually report the job you find a ton of narrative work you did not expect. These do not seem to be a case of an updated survey they did not replace in the sample as the questions are the same just the lack of even a clue you need a narrative with every question. totally misleading.

I will interject a bit of info, when a person starts out they don't realize what low pay is they are just excited to get a shop. But as we season we are more particular and getting to know what it takes we wait for the bonus's to show up. Everyone has a different idea of what they and their time is worth. I plan trips with multiple shops and I don't do any under 15.00 any more, in fact they are very rare. When I have to travel a distance they just are not worth it to me.

Shoptastic - This whole Mystery Shopping thing is a trial by error. We won't know what companies are like until we try them out and then ideally we stick with the good companies and with the ones we don't like so much, you cherry pick assignments that are worth it to you.

It's like a new restaurant pops up in the neighborhood. You may say lets try it out and after one try, you say ehh, it isn't worth it for the money but the food is OK. However if they are offering a buy one get one free meal, then you decide it could be worth it. Same thing with Mystery Shopping. An assignment may not be worth it for $15 but at $30 it may be.

Just finish up the assignment you are on and move on. You will find better assignments worth your time and money.

With that said, I find ACL doesn't offer up much in pay for many of their shops so I tend to stay away from them.

The description sounds like a shop I am doing for ACL, actually ten of them. However, these shops pay $75 and not $25.

Yep, I recently completed my first and last "male named Q" shop for them. Wasn't worth the effort. However, they do have at least one other restaurant that I would repeat.

They always have shops at cool places, but they do require A LOT! I dont do reimbursement only shops, and especially for them.

I do a lot of reimbursement-only shops for ACL because (a) I like the restaurant or (b) I enjoy getting away to a hotel for a night. I know in advance it's going to take 4 pages of narrative and a bunch of photos to complete the hotel shop, but I write everything up in Word as I go along. For pre-visit phone calls, I have a blank page in front of me on which I'm writing notes throughout the call, and I type them up in Word as soon as the call ends, while it's fresh. If it isn't worth it to you, don't accept another one. I can't remember when the survey form for the actual shop differed from the one you can print with the guidelines. I do know that I've asked questions about the guidelines or survey before accepting the shop, and I always get answers quickly from them.

I'm sorry you are having a bad experience. I really like ACL.

They are definitely getting greedier with each passing years. More photos, more requirements. Also, when you have an editor who feels like he/she has something to proof, it becomes much more a pita. Their casual pizza shop is definitely not worth it, which is probably why I keep getting e-mails begging for a "hero."

I don't think that the schedulers at ACL get paid some sort of coupon or reimbursement for their work, so why does the mystery shopper get only reimbursement on 95% of their shops?

I feel that the OP has limited experience as a shopper and is more or less unfairly critiquing ACL based on one client. I base this solely on looking back at myself and the growing pains I went through as I delved into MSing.

There are plenty of threads here about A Closer Look for the OP to have performed some initial fact finding.

Just by browsing over ACLs offerings, it is very clear that their primary business model is based on reimbursement only scenarios. They do provide a lot of information up front and encourage contacting them with questions or concerns.

Experienced shoppers have learned that when a form has "comments" to expect the unexpected. Assume paragraphs and be happy with less. I want to encourage the OP to accept responsibility for applying for and accepting this shop. Instead of finding faults with the MSC, whom with which some may exist, first assess how you went about applying for this opportunity. That's how you will learn and grow the most.

Personally, as far as ACL goes, they have a couple of restaurant and gas station clients that reimbursement only works for me. I have tried several additional restaurants they list, not enjoying the food enough to reshop them again (though for a reasonable additional fee I would). The reports aren't that complicated.

Based on my general MSing experience; I would not have applied for the opportunity that the OP did based on the available information.

That is why there are many choice of companies to choose from. If you don't like one, move on to the next. If you like one particular company for shop type X but don't like them for shop type Y, then only do X. We are IC's, so you are not bound. It's like dating, if after you endure one horrendous date, you decide to move on.
With that in mind, I find that many of ACL's shops are reimbursement only as many have said, but there are some high-end restaurant shops that are worthwhile to try, one of which I am trying that is reimbursement only.

@ChrisCooper wrote:

@shoptastic wrote:

@ChrisCooper wrote:

I don't work with ACL, so I'm not familiar with their procedures. Were you unable to see the guidelines and report before applying for the shop? Are you able to cancel the shop now that you know what's involved. I wouldn't have a problem "returning" a shop to the MSC if I felt blindsided (i certainly wouldn't use that word). Do you plan to keep it and see if it's a shop where the initial effort seems daunting, but will get faster and easier with practice?

I never abandon a shop, so I shall finish it. Although the way you described "quitting" ....

SAY WHAT? Where did I describe quitting at all?

Sorry, ChrisCooper, I think there was a misinterpretation and miscommunication above.

I was partially through with my shop report when I posted my "vent" in the OP. Maybe that didn't get communicated well enough when I wrote it, so I apologize for the miscommunication.

I did, however, keep your suggestion in mind for future shops (where I haven't completed the shop yet) to possibly "return" a shop if the guidelines seem overly cumbersome for the pay involved. I haven't ever done that yet, but would consider it going forward. It does stink when you see a shop description say "easy" (like "easy apartment shop" ) and then you apply/self-assign it and discover there's a really long and complicated report behind it.

I'm going to reassess this ACL shop I did and ask myself if I was being fair or not in how I felt. I just responding now after I completed a bunch of shops this week and have a day off.

@wozswoman wrote:

The description sounds like a shop I am doing for ACL, actually ten of them. However, these shops pay $75 and not $25.

Oh boy! Possible location difference? I'm actually in a decent sized city, but we're no NYC, SF, LA, CHI, etc.

Also, my shop was $20 (not $25 - I don't know why I wrote it that way in the OP when I said "less than $25" ).

It's not as tough as an apartment shop, where you have very long narratives and a longer on-site tour. So, I retract what I said earlier about the workload being comparable or close to comparable to an apartment.

But the work did require more time than I expected. And I guess that was what was frustrating. It's not until you actually start doing a job sometimes that you get a sense of the real amount of time it takes. For example, I had to get competitor quotes, benefits, and details. That conversation by phone took 15 minutes probably, because when the competitor got me on the phone they treated me as a real customer and tried to sell me just like my actual shop client did. It was hard getting off that call and I do not want to be rude and just say: "That's all I need, so thanks." Although, it wouldn't be wrong.

It took 25 minutes or so to make both calls. It took another 35-45 minutes probably to listen to my recorded call and answer some questions basic questions about that call. I had to drive to/from the company for a visit/tour (probably 45-50 minutes total time or drive + tour), take discrete photos and get a biz card that needed to be uploaded, and do a bunch of tour questions with some short narratives.

I probably made $4.50 - $5.50/hour approximately.

Minimum wage is $7.25 in the U.S., so it definitely felt non-worthwhile for me. But a faster worker could maybe make it more worthwhile. I didn't even factor in the time spent studying the directions/guidelines. I could see a person getting faster at these shops over time and making closer to $7.25/hour on these if they could finish the entire shop in 3 hours. But that would still be less than min. wage.

I couldn't see myself finishing this shop in under three hours in the future though. It would probably take me right around three hours total.

@rardon wrote:

I don't think that the schedulers at ACL get paid some sort of coupon or reimbursement for their work, so why does the mystery shopper get only reimbursement on 95% of their shops?

I think it depends on the shop.
If I got a seafood dinner with $100 reimbursement only at a nice restaurant, then I could consider that worthwhile. I've done a shop similar to that, but at $75.

I do try to get at least some fee if I'm doing a food shop. I've not done a reimburse only for months when it comes to food. I don't think I've done a reimburse only actually at all other than the nice seafood restaurant I mentioned. I need, want, and value the $ at this time!

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/10/2017 01:49AM by shoptastic.

Who is ACL ? Sorry...

A Closer Look

@shoptastic wrote:

@ChrisCooper wrote:

@shoptastic wrote:

@ChrisCooper wrote:

I don't work with ACL, so I'm not familiar with their procedures. Were you unable to see the guidelines and report before applying for the shop? Are you able to cancel the shop now that you know what's involved. I wouldn't have a problem "returning" a shop to the MSC if I felt blindsided (i certainly wouldn't use that word). Do you plan to keep it and see if it's a shop where the initial effort seems daunting, but will get faster and easier with practice?

I never abandon a shop, so I shall finish it. Although the way you described "quitting" ....

SAY WHAT? Where did I describe quitting at all?

Sorry, ChrisCooper, I think there was a misinterpretation and miscommunication above.

I was partially through with my shop report when I posted my "vent" in the OP. Maybe that didn't get communicated well enough when I wrote it, so I apologize for the miscommunication.

For what it is worth I read your original post as a vent....I personally did not read you were planning to just abandon the shop and it seemed to me from your first post like you were in the middle of doing it when you wrote.
Sandy

I was getting offers from ACL after doing two restaurants. I had them ask the client if I could do the shop solo without alcohol. They said yes. After that I kept getting requests to do the same restaurant, however that required another person be with me with the purchase of alcohol. Since I am a non drinker that was a non starter. I asked ACL to query the client if they would allow the shop to be done solo without alcohol. One response is that they do not ask the client the client tells them. Another time ACL said the client said they would consider it but ACL never got back to me. Time is money. I would prefer to do 8 shops at $15.00 per within line of sight 1/2 to 1 mile apart like a I did in four hours and complete all reports in 2 hours. 8x15=$180.00 6÷180=$20.00 per hour. Not bad.