I have worked for Ellis for over ten years. The first report or two will leave you wondering why you accepted the shop but it does get better, Several years ago, I did a multi state series of shops for them that took me to twenty shops in three days. I wrote reports in my hotel room every night but I did have few to wrap up once I got home.

I just signed up as well, mainly due to the huge drop in shops in my area. I guess a lot of clients are not participating in mystery shopping anymore. Since I don't have video equipment, I will just be doing phone/onsite shops. I see rates of $40 for specific person or any person. From reading this post, it appears I should wait for a bonus for that amount of work.

@marg704
If they have video shops in the area, Ellis will loan you the equipment.

I prefer not to do Ellis shop until they have a bonus, but whether or not that is an option for you will depend on the region and at what price folks in your area tend to scoop them up. For me, part of it is that it can take quite a while to drive to an apartment while navigating traffic...

Be wary of bonused targeted shops. The bigger the bonus, the harder it is to reach the target. Ellis usually removes the calls made by previous shoppers when they repost, but occasionally, you’ll see 20+ calls made by other shoppers over the last week.
If you’re new to apartment shops, don’t worry about bonuses. It’s going to be easier to get comfortable doing the shops if you take a few that say “Anyone” or some non-bonused targeted shops.

I have done a couple and I like them so far. The schedulers are very nice and helpful. After the first report, I started to get the hang of it.

@TroyHawkins
I live off these "hard to reach" targets....

@MFJohnson You, yes.
I was simply suggesting that shoppers start with easier apartment shops to get a feel for it and figure out what they’re doing before tackling what could be very time consuming targeted shops. Those bonuses aren’t always added because no one took the shop.
When shoppers who are new to apartments wait for high bonuses, they might spend all week trying to finish one shop. Then they come on here and complain about a) how difficult it is to reach targets and b) how they aren’t allowed to make appointments and c) reports are stupid and d) it’s not worth the time (as if you do a 100 mile round trip for one job). I don’t recall what e) is, but I’m sure there’ll be a thread on it by the end of the week.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/05/2018 01:59AM by TroyHawkins.

Ellis is the worst in my opinion.

I'm an experienced mystery shopper of over a decade and have completed shops from the easiest (Market Force) to the most complex (Coyle). The ONLY shop ever rejected in all these years was from Ellis. Why? I did 2 apartment complexes in the same day. The first one went well but the second was full of difficulties with the leasing agent. He missed many points and the overall report was not going to be flattering, no matter how friendly he was. Turns out he was a friend of the agent's from the morning shop. They talked and figured out I was a mystery shopper (the two were in towns over 45 minutes apart and my story as to why I was moving to the area was therefore different for each). They called and reported that I was a mystery shopper and Ellis took their side. I fully explained I had followed all guidelines and that this turned out to be 2 employees who knew each other. I have no doubt that had the second agent done their job this would not have occurred. It was simply to avoid a less than negative report. Ellis rejected both my reports. I spent an entire day working and writing their detailed reports, as well as paying out of pocket for the gas to drive a considerable distance. Do yourself a favor and don't let them get this type of detailed work with NO compensation at the whim of an employee if they realize you were a shopper after the fact, and know they did not perform well.

Shame on Ellis for not caring about their contractors nor fighting the company for payment when it was an internal set-up to nullify the report. That was the last day they got free work from me! I'm almost always a top rated evaluator for all companies (numbering over 100) and at most only get knocked a point or two on a rare occasion.

Birem, Did Ellis tell you that the sole basis for rejecting both reports was that you were outed?

@mom.for.hirehotmail.com Yes! It was many years ago and I was shocked. I even wrote to the company and tried to escalate it as I believed this was not only unfair but bordering on criminal behavior. They received two very well written reports and got excellent feedback on an employee that likely needed more training in the field. I got nothing. I told them I would never work for them again after they refused any kinds of payment and honestly they couldn't care less. That was my first, and only, "Welcome to Mystery Shopping, we don't care about our shoppers" attitude I have ever encountered.

I've heard horror stories from others regarding Ellis and also about other companies, but I've always gone above and beyond and never experienced this type of disregard from anyone else. I was working with another potential shopper I was trying to recruit at the time as well (they encouraged it as they needed shoppers) and that was it for her - she was done. I stayed committed and went on to find many great companies. The only recourse I had, as I told them then, was to tell others what they did.

It may have changed over the years, but I would never again donate that type of time and out of pocket money to give them a quality product and receive nothing in return - especially when it was set up by two employees of the client being shopped.

@blrem
Of course, I can't speak to your situation, but I do countless shops with Ellis and have had an outstanding experience.

One thing that strikes me: Why would the first leasing agent talk to the second about you? Those folks see an awful lot of folks daily and weekly. It seems like generic prospective resident would be a rather dull topic of conversation, and certainly nothing worth calling one-another about. You should have given different names and contact information, which would have made a cross-reference rather difficult. Now, if you had given the same contact information to each, your information would have immediately popped up in their computers and you would have been outed. That *is* a reason to have a shop rejected.

Actually the reason I won't take a route of Ellis shops is the insistence on different aliases and cover stories. Years ago I completed a route of 33 apartment shops out of town and part of what made it work was being the same person with the same story who was looking at multiple communities before relocating. I have been able to do the same thing on shorter routes with other companies. To me it is much more natural with less chance of being outed. MJF, you discount how driving a car with out of state license plates and an out of state DL can immediately become memorable.

I agree. The schedulers are very harsh in their tone utilized if you make a mistake. We all strive for excellence. I honestly made a mistake and I could understand if it was an issue. The message to me was very disrespectful and not professional. I sent a letter to their offices, the scheduler, support and the suggestion box. I stated the tone utilized in communicating was not acceptable. I stated I am a 26 Year Gold Certified Shopper with a BS in Journalism and a Masters Degree, I do not expect nor liked to be talked "down" to. I stated if there was an issue, please lend the professional courtesy to me as I extend to you. Within half an hour, I received an email from a Manager. Apologizing, stating she understood my frustration and a highlight of what I missed. I thanked her. Also, I believe they make be noticing there is an issue as there was a recent survey that went out all surrounding the scheduling experience.

What and where are the Ellis apartment shops?

On the Ellis website. Ellis aka EPMS, is on the official list of mystery shopping companies.

Unless you feel you want to sit in your chair at your computer, answer alot of dumb questions, talk about the art work on the wall, and the office furniture, what the landscaping at the apartment project looked like, and all that trivia stuff, and probably get the whole shop rejected after spending your valuable time of 1.5 -2 hours, then go do this ridiculous shop. One time was enough for this kind of torture. These are called 10 foot pole shops in our industry. Common Sense should tell you that if you had a regular job, your company would not have you do this kind of innocuous stuff.

A very nice paycheck every month works for me!

I have done some work with Ellis. The targeted shops have been difficult for me since much of my work is somewhat far from home. So, in the past, I have tried to fit in these shops when driving the couple of hours to Houston, for example. However, not being able to reach the target before my scheduled trip to the area leaves me with a whole i y schedule for the day and having to decide whether to return to the area again or cancel the shop. That has been hard. There is a lot of good advice on this thread, though. I will try some of these tips and tricks and see if I can make Ellis shops work for me.

I have to drive for a hour or two for most of my Ellis shops , I always have be able to get a extand on the shop if I try to make an apointment with my target for the due date and found out she will not be thee until another date. A few times I have set an apointment with my target only to find out she was sick or for some reason not there for our apoitment , They have always accept my shpo once I explain that to them. I live working with them