I had applied for a hotel shop along a route that I was planning to do. I received a note back from the scheduler that the hotel shop was a 'premium' shop being held for 'great' shoppers like me that are willing to help ACL do other shops. I was given a specific shop that I had to accept to then be able to do the hotel shop.
I find this distasteful. I'd also be curious as to how these clients feel about having their shops held hostage so that ACL can get a different client's, less desirable shop filled. That seems to border on the unethical. They are clearly not acting in the best interest of the client with the 'premium' shop.

Has anybody else have this happen to them? I noticed that they reshuffled their schedulers to be geographic, where before, it was more client based. Seems like a conscious effort.

I feel it is unethical and there are other threads written about this, including a rough post from me...read on.

They tried pulling that stunt with the gas station shops I do for them. I told the scheduler I would not do the pizza shop and they would have to find someone else. I still did the gas stations.

Wow, I actually like the Pizza shop better than the gas stations. The gas station is a lot of work for no money.

They do hold things hostage though. That's really annoying as it basically means you have to do the really crap jobs to get anything good. Maybe they need to talk to their clients about reformulating the jobs no one wants.

Isn't that what their tier system was about? I worked my way up to self-assigning up to 4 a month... Now with some shops as low as $35 reimbursement-only being held for ransom, it makes the tier system seem pointless. I hope they stop this and let those who have taken in the lower shops over the years continue to self assign what they want. Newer shoppers can be told they need to complete so many of the less desirable shops in order to move up the ranks.

It seems to me that if you are a good enough shopper to do one of the pizza shops and have done a variety of their higher end shops in the past, you should at least see what they have to offer.
How are they able to meet their deadlines, if there are no shops available and only given to shoppers they want to reward.
I know that some of the shops have some minor editing that has had to be done but the reports are always sent to the client
I have asked several of the schedulers and editors that have contacted me for either a verification of a timing or the height of a server why I have been excluded from shopping other places. The response has been that they see no reason.

Has anyone called Customer Service to see why we can no longer see the shops?

I have completed 21 shops for this company and a friend was seeing hotel shops that I was not. I emailed my scheduler in hopes of allowing him to offer me the hotel shops. He basically told me that I needed more experience but was very polite. After emailing him and prior to receiving his response, I called the company and left a voicemail about my interest in these shops. About two weeks later, I was contacted by a different representative and am now receiving the hotel shop offers. Both employees were very polite and easy to deal with.

I always ask for, and get, a bonus for each gas station.

@weatherman2111 wrote:

Wow, I actually like the Pizza shop better than the gas stations. The gas station is a lot of work for no money.

They do hold things hostage though. That's really annoying as it basically means you have to do the really crap jobs to get anything good. Maybe they need to talk to their clients about reformulating the jobs no one wants.

They also pay in gift cards for your next non shop visit. No thanks.

The one MSC who went under did that. I probably would for ACL for the restaurant shops. However keep in mind that this year and the next is going to be a reshuffling one for retail businesses. HH Gregg went into bankruptcy and then liquidation. I made out like a bandit with my dream Tempur-Pedic bed for under $1000. But those with gift cards lost it all. They were invalid due to the bankruptcy.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/26/2017 04:16AM by whosear.

I used to shop for them often years ago, but they did not like one shop. I was banished to hear from them only at the end of the month with urgent begging emails. I could have easily done the shops anytime throughout the month but, at the end of the month, I am picking up bonused shops from other MSCs. ACL shops are still reimbursement only even at the end of the month. Clearly their premium system is not working if they have so many shops "desperately" seeking shoppers at the end of the month. And still no fee!

They are doing this with multiple clients – pizza, fitness, wing and less than popular beer places. The Message they are sending – and take my word I've got that message loud and clear – is that it is no longer important whether you are a good shopper, a new shopper or a bad shopper. The bottom line for them is that their schedulers get paid for every shop they put out there and that the client gets their fee for every shop they have offered. Gone are the days of being able to choose what you want- ACL is going to find out quite shortly that when you use something else to manipulate something else – you are going to irritate the better thing for the expense of the crappy thing. I'm talking both clients and shoppers. It is a matter of time until these better shops catch whim of what ACL is doing. It is merely a matter of time before you see these more preferred shops showing up with another MSC.

They are holding the better shops as bait. There is no other way to describe it.

So here's my concern with this approach. It's probably not the same as everyone else's, but this is my situation:

For the sake of simplicity, let's say that there are two types of shops that ACL conducts: "good" shops and "bad" shops. Good shops are the shops that shoppers want and that get swept off the boards quickly. Bad shops are the ones that linger. ACL now requires shoppers to conduct a "bad" shop if they want a "good" shop.

I actually like the bad shops. I usually conduct them every month because the ones I'm talking about in my location have a 30 day rotation. I like the good shops better, but those have longer rotations, sometimes 60 days, sometimes several months.

So now what do I do? This month, I applied for a good shop and was told I needed to take a bad shop to be rewarded with the good one. No problem, I probably would have taken one anyway, so I got the good shop I wanted and the bad shop I wanted too. But now, next month, I'll be out of rotation for all of the good shops. But it feels like I should get something for doing a "bad" shop next month. And since I'm out of rotation for all the "good" shops, they have nothing to offer me (except money, which doesn't come often, and frankly an extra $3-5 isn't really blowing my skirt up... I do the bad shops because I like them, not for the lucrative profit).

Sorry for the long post, but I think the biggest problem with this approach is that there aren't enough "good" shops to balance the "bad" ones. And if I don't get credit for helping out in the past, only for the month that I want a "good" shop, then that means that I'll actually be doing less of the "bad" shops than I would have before. Basically ACL is creating an economy where completing "bad" shops is worth more now, but only if they have "good" shops to offer. The bad shops that I would have done for base rate 3 months ago, don't seem worth it now unless I'm getting a good shop as payment for doing the bad one. This means I'll probably do less of the bad shops and the same number of the good shops. I don't think this is what ACL intended with this change.

I don't think they know what they are doing at all. Haphazard emails are common with them is an indication. I still see quite a few bad shops out there and Caligirl is correct, there aren't enough good shops to go around. It appears that most good shops won't be able to be picked as standalone shops. Shouldn't that client be made aware somehow? If i was that client i would be monitoring what acl is doing.

Here in Chicago there are 2 pizza chains that ACL shops...the national one and one thats regional. I've done more of the regional chain and have also done a breakfast chain and just last week one of their wine shops. I have seen some "better" shops out there but still I want to work my way up to those.

FWIW, Bestmark a number of years ago would dangle a coveted big box variety store shop where all you had to do is get x-amount of stuff and ask one question....you got a chance to do these shops if you shopped their big box electronic shops that seemed to take awhile to fill. Funny thing is that after doing enough of the electronic shops I don't mind them at all...