Schedulers crying wolf

@marg704 wrote:

We have gone several times and are always around $50 - two entrees, soda and tip. I don't mind going over on occasion but, when I have a lot of restaurant shops, every overage adds up.

Sounds like you must be in a region where the COL is really high, and the menu prices are higher than usual. I'm sure we're talking about the same restaurant chain, but because the MSC was mentioned in another post, can't say the name.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

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I finally set up an email filter to "catch" all these urgent restaurant shops. I avoid food shops anyway but 5-6-7+ a day from the same scheduler is way too much. There is a car negotiation shop I also added to the filter list.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

There are always shoppers who work for the bare minimum. I guess the schedulers are hoping to get them to fill the shops.

I think schedulers hope that someone would do the shop while they are in the area doing another project. I used to do those $5-$7 shops just because it was in the same mall where I already was heading.

ACL is probably the greediest company I shop for. They expect you to be happy with just food reimbursement. They don't care about gas and parking costs you have to cover. They don't value your time: 1 hour at a restaurant + 1 hour in traffic + 1 hour on the report = $0.00 pay
What frustrates me the most is that their reimbursement amounts are so low that it won't cover the required drink and food purchases even if you get the cheapest items on the menu.
Common, ACL, either pay me for my work or provide reasonable reimbursement. Many other companies actually offer both. That is why I refuse doing their shops unless there is at least $10 bonus.

Always ask for a bonus with ACL. That way, you aren't working for food.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

I did that also. My inbox went haywire. Valid emails went to spam. The filtered emails still came through. Valid emails were filtered. I ended up removing the filters.

@SS4U wrote:

I finally set up an email filter to "catch" all these urgent restaurant shops. I avoid food shops anyway but 5-6-7+ a day from the same scheduler is way too much. There is a car negotiation shop I also added to the filter list.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

How about schedulers who send out desperate emails and then don't bother to actually schedule? I left today open after applying for a route of hard-to-fill shops. Applications still sitting on the board until after noon EST. If I was desperate, I'd be checking the apps every hour.

"Let me offer you my definition of social justice: I keep what I earn and you keep what you earn. Do you disagree? Well then tell me how much of what I earn belongs to you - and why?” ~Walter Williams

I was getting emails up the gazoo and finally wrote and asked why, when they checked, I had said I de-avtivated,
so years later, emails have stopped. Does any MSC actually read your profile?

Live consciously....

Nope. If they did, I would not receive requests for shops in New York.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

@ShopGuy9 wrote:

I've gotten half a dozen emails from ACL this week about an "urgent" location they need done that is 1 1/2 hours away. A couple of the emails even mentioned "I know this location isn't near to you".....and yet they only added a $10 bonus to the last email for a reimbursement only job at a mediocre restaurant. No wonder they can't get anyone to take the job.

Ha HA, This scenario strikes me as familiar with a twist but not just with ACL. When you live in Los Angeles area which is at least 100 miles north to south and another 50 or so east to west with the slowest traffic all day long you get these emails always about shops they think are just around the corner (in my neighborhood they say). I have driven 20 miles in 2 hours sometimes so just around the corner for me for a shop means within 5 miles. And a bonus is non existent until they up it to $2 once they cross into the next month and they are really desperate.

Working as a scheduler for ACL requires you being a masochist. Low fees, no real bonus budget to work with when you spend it all in one go in areas with no shoppers within 100 miles, and you've harassed people to death on social media just to get that one job done. And then at the end of the month, they'll cheat you out of your commission and get upset when you call them out on it. They expect you to work miracles and your answers to questions vary depending on who you ask. I loved scheduling in theory. Not so much in practice with them but I would love to give it another go with a better company.

Simply don't do the ones that don't suit you. Yes they send out a lot of urgent/help requests, but unless it has a bonus on it, I'm unlikely to respond. That said, my ACL scheduler has been good to me. She gives previous shoppers first dibs on the next month clients, and is flexible moving assignments around when I need it.

My ACL scheduler is like that as well.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

I don't mind ACL. I always figure I have to eat and most of the shops I do for them are food related. I do the occasional mattress/furniture shop because it is on my way to and from work usually and it's easy-though I do wonder when I am going to be outed there because it isn't a huge location.

@SunshineDaisies wrote:

Working as a scheduler for ACL requires you being a masochist. Low fees, no real bonus budget to work with when you spend it all in one go in areas with no shoppers within 100 miles, and you've harassed people to death on social media just to get that one job done. And then at the end of the month, they'll cheat you out of your commission and get upset when you call them out on it. They expect you to work miracles and your answers to questions vary depending on who you ask. I loved scheduling in theory. Not so much in practice with them but I would love to give it another go with a better company.

I quit keeping track of my scheduler. They change on me more often than my hair color.

@SoCalMama wrote:

I quit keeping track of my scheduler. They change on me more often than my hair color.

And that's a huge problem -- especially when you go (way) out of your way to do a promo shop for a desperate scheduler and then the new scheduler overlooks the favor.

My scheduler at acl is great and always helps me too.

Today’s winner is SeeLevelHX
$1 bonus
I thought it was $10 and there was an error in the subject.
Nope, it’s $1

@marg704 wrote:

We have gone several times and are always around $50 - two entrees, soda and tip. I don't mind going over on occasion but, when I have a lot of restaurant shops, every overage adds up.

Same for my husb and I....two entrees, soda and tip ends up being closer to $50. We consider it "a super coupon for date night" to have $35/$50 paid, but in the months when the bills are bigger and the paycheck doesn't stretch as far, there is no way I can do those shops

My shoppers always said the same about me but for the company it's all about money. It doesnt matter how much your shoppers love you, they're gonna treat you like dirt even if you're killing yourself trying to get those shops filled.

I have to say that I treat most restaurant shops as a way to eat out for free or at a sharply reduced price. There are very few of them that pay enough beyond reimbursement to make a reasonable rate out of. I do other shops (banks, autos, etc.) to earn money on. But I enjoy free food. Last week I did a restaurant shop that reimbursed a meal for two that was over $300. Fully reimbursed. I can't afford that very often on my own. It only paid a few bucks in shop pay, but who cares? Just don't look at these as a way to pay your rent.

I used to get these a lot, I am in the DC area. I responded a few times but most of them were not worth my time, they only included appetizers and drinks and you had to bring someone with you and the reimbursement was super low. DC may be small but getting across town during rush hour to do a bar shop could literally take hours. I told them no but if they upped the reimbursement I would consider it, no response.

I like you don't do them to make the money, just to eat somewhere good for free. But if the reimbursement does not cover the tab, then I do not do the shop UNLESS it's one of my favorite places to eat already and close by whereas I see it as a discount coupon. I investigate the shops first and see how much the items cost before committing, most of the time it works a few times it did not and I will not do those shops again. Some want you to order alcohol and bring a guest for dinner and they give you $25.00. You can barely eat for two people at McDonalds in DC for dinner. No thanks.

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Schedulers crying wolf

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