I think that it is just random chance if someone who is signed up with an MSC gets a scam offer purporting to be from that MSC. Most of the people who come here to find out if something like this is a scam are not even mystery shoppers. Some are college students and it appears that they get offers through their college job office (maybe, even that could be a fake email account). Some of these scammers are amazingly good at forging checks and even US Postal Money Orders.

@Whatfun14LF wrote:

How do these scammers know our information or who we are signed up with? Scary!

@Whatfun14LF wrote:

How do these scammers know our information or who we are signed up with? Scary!

I get the impression that the scammers just send out their scams to whatever mailing list they have. They do not know you are signed up with the msc that you supposedly got the mail request from. The reason I say this is that we have many requests from shoppers about a letter they received with an offer from xxx mystery shop company and it is one they are not signed up with and want to know if they are a good company. I have also heard of people who are not mystery shoppers getting similar offers for jobs. So it is probably coincidence that you got a letter from "a msc you were signed up with".

Hello:

I am with Aircraft Accessories of Oklahoma. We do not participate in any KSS International Mystery Shopper Programs. Our bank account was compromised in December of 2018. If you receive any packages with our logo on the check(s) along with the KSS letter, it is fraudulent. Our bank is aware and we have contacted the appropriate authorities to deal with this matter.

If you have received these packages, it is advised for you to contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-382-4357 or online to file a claim.

We apologize for the inconvenience. If you have any questions or concerns you may contact us if you need assistance. We will be glad to help.

Best regards,

Cole Popplewell
Aircraft Accessories of Oklahoma
2740 N Sheridan Rd
Tulsa, OK 74115
918-835-9924
cole@airacc.com

@KSSPete wrote:

One huge tell that a mystery shop is a scam is if it pays $300 for something as simple as cashing a check and buying gift cards to mail out. Mystery shopping is work, and many do not pay even close to $300. The highest paying ones I have ever scheduled through KSS personally, were hotel and senior living shops which paid $100 (the hotel reimbursed the room and purchases as well), and those take at least a few hours to complete with the visit and report. If someone is telling you that they will pay $300 for something that won't even take an hour, it's most likely a scam.

KSSPet, that's sort of an inaccurate & misleading statement that you made in your last sentence. I did a $300 job just yesterday that took 18 minutes due to the MSC paying for the entire shop fee with last minute end of month urgency. No scam with that one whatsoever.

@Eric in Tampa wrote:

@KSSPete wrote:

One huge tell that a mystery shop is a scam is if it pays $300 for something as simple as cashing a check and buying gift cards to mail out. Mystery shopping is work, and many do not pay even close to $300. The highest paying ones I have ever scheduled through KSS personally, were hotel and senior living shops which paid $100 (the hotel reimbursed the room and purchases as well), and those take at least a few hours to complete with the visit and report. If someone is telling you that they will pay $300 for something that won't even take an hour, it's most likely a scam.

KSSPet, that's sort of an inaccurate & misleading statement that you made in your last sentence. I did a $300 job just yesterday that took 18 minutes due to the MSC paying for the entire shop fee with last minute end of month urgency. No scam with that one whatsoever.

Not really inaccurate. Was it a company with which you had a history? Were you just contacted out of the blue, never having worked for them?

I made $1000 opening a credit card in 17 minutes. That doesn’t make Pete’s comment any less accurate.

People are gullible. They also want to believe that they are special and chosen. That’s why they play the lottery.

I can clarify on that last sentence...

It is extremely rare that a legit MSC is going to pay you $300 for something that takes less than an hour to complete. I would definitely want to have a working relationship already in place with any company offering that. If it is normal for that type of pay, I'm on the wrong end of this LOL!

@KSSPete wrote:

I can clarify on that last sentence...

It is extremely rare that a legit MSC is going to pay you $300 for something that takes less than an hour to complete. I would definitely want to have a working relationship already in place with any company offering that. If it is normal for that type of pay, I'm on the wrong end of this LOL!

Pro tip for you Pete-
Be nicer to Lorri!

Hahahahaha! I'm going to go out on a limb and say Lorri wouldn't be scheduling, or owning KSS, if she could make $300 every half hour.

I picked up an oil change shop through KSS. While I was on site I had a problem where the business wanted to charge me $60 for a regular oil change. The reimbursement was around $30. I knew $60 was not their regular price, and I tried to contact the scheduler. He was not responsive so I left the business and tried contacting him again when I got home. Again, I did not receive a response. I tried contacting KSS 3 days in a row about this. Meanwhile my shop due date came and went. I provided a full written explanation along with 2 voice mails messages. and I never received a response. Instead, a few days later I received an email stating I received a zero score on my shop because it was past the deadline. This was not an anomaly. I have done other shops for them and have found other team members to be non-responsive as well. I have plenty of MSC's in my repertoire so I just bypass them when looking at the job boards.

Just wow! Although I do not recall being scheduled for anything by Pete, he seems to be taking a lot of flack just because this place happens to have quite a number of shoppers who have done and/or can easily do a $300 shop in less than an hour.

Aside from that, I work with about 6 KSS schedulers on a regular basis and am quite accustomed to VERY prompt replies, excellent support and cheerful help when I need to reschedule. And, I probably average 5 to 8 KSS scheduled shops per month over the last 18 months.

As for the oil change shop, since increasing the reimbursement was most likely a decision that only the MSC could make, I would have done the oil change, filed a complete report, added a note to the editor (probably the first person to see the report) and THEN tried contacting others at the MSC with cc to the scheduler. to my mind, that would be the most likely road to full reimbursement. I have done 4 oil changes a year since September 2005, with several MSCs, often been charged more than the stated reimbursement and never denied full reimbursement. (I do not need synthetic oil or an expensive/ exotic oil filter, of course.) YMMV

Until recently, all my interactions with KSS were positive (thank you, Pete!). But now I have a new scheduler for the jobs I like to take. His reply to every e-mail I send is "apply on-line". Even when I printed out the guidelines, and had a question, sent him an e-mail for clarification, no reply. Even when he says "go ahead and apply on-line and when the job gets assigned to you, I'll adjust the pay to include the bonus". Doesn't happen. Even when he says "I'll make sure this shop gets assigned to you within 24 hours", doesn't happen.

I'm thinking the other schedulers had just spoiled me....by being responsive, by immediately scheduling my requested shops, etc., etc., etc.

So I basically quit requesting shops. But not until after I had cancelled some, due to no response from the scheduler.

Makes me very sad, as I shop routes, and depended on these shops.

@walesmaven wrote:

Just wow! Although I do not recall being scheduled for anything by Pete, he seems to be taking a lot of flack just because this place happens to have quite a number of shoppers who have done and/or can easily do a $300 shop in less than an hour.

Only Eric gave Pete any flack.

I work a lot with Pete...the best in the west... I do agree, saying $300.00 per job is normal, it gives newbies hope, and it is rare on a % of what most make.

I'm very sorry that you had that experience Rooper7! I promise you that if you ever see a shop that I schedule on any job board, a reply will come within 24 hours, and very likely much sooner.

I know that weekends can be tough to get a hold of schedulers (for any company). Many value a 5 day work week, and try to set everything up so they can take the time off and come back on Monday to start fresh. My approach is a little different. Here I am on a Sunday, and the only reason I am responding today is because I just opened my laptop to check work emails, applications for shops, etc. Yesterday was the first day in over a year that I went a full 24 hours without working for at least an hour. That's my choice, because I find it easier to get all my shops done if I am available for these types of emergencies, as well as to check for last minute applications for my shops. Many of my regular shoppers also have my cell number to call or text if they have questions, or happen to be driving by a shop after "work hours", and would like it assigned.

I hope you will decide to try out some of the shops we schedule again.

And thank you to everyone with the kind words. I won't let it get to my head LOL!

@walesmaven wrote:

Just wow! Although I do not recall being scheduled for anything by Pete, he seems to be taking a lot of flack just because this place happens to have quite a number of shoppers who have done and/or can easily do a $300 shop in less than an hour.

Aside from that, I work with about 6 KSS schedulers on a regular basis and am quite accustomed to VERY prompt replies, excellent support and cheerful help when I need to reschedule. And, I probably average 5 to 8 KSS scheduled shops per month over the last 18 months.

As for the oil change shop, since increasing the reimbursement was most likely a decision that only the MSC could make, I would have done the oil change, filed a complete report, added a note to the editor (probably the first person to see the report) and THEN tried contacting others at the MSC with cc to the scheduler. to my mind, that would be the most likely road to full reimbursement. I have done 4 oil changes a year since September 2005, with several MSCs, often been charged more than the stated reimbursement and never denied full reimbursement. (I do not need synthetic oil or an expensive/ exotic oil filter, of course.) YMMV

@walesmaven @SoCalMama I wouldn't say that I've given KSS schedulers like Pet any flack. More like the other way around, especially when they were wrong in principal. While Pete has never scheduled a shop for me, I've accepted work from Sally, Lorri, and Kim. I found Sally to be quite rude, and with a bad attitude whenever I wouldn't accept offers to do her monthly parking valet jobs at multiple locations. She would call me on my cell phone more often than emailing me. While Lorri has asked me via email to do the same monthly parking valet jobs for something like $10 a location, her responses to emails were borderline condescending. I found this to be surprising, given that she's been a business owner within this industry for quite some time. To put it more candidly, her communication absolutely sucks. I used to give Lorri Kern the pass due to her demonstrating that certain "Boston hospitality." It was only after I started working in Boston at least 2-3 times a year over the last 6 years that I realized that the folks in New England aren't so bad, and that like anywhere else in the US, that certain hospitality is not necessarily true for this region. While I have no doubt that she is probably a good MSC scheduling owner where the company loyalty is obviously demonstrated by schedulers like Peter, my biggest hope with her is for improved communications with shoppers. But that is all that this is- hope. I won't hold my breath.

The only one that I found to be respectful (as well as prompt in replies) has been Kim. I've had no issues, and I found her to be reasonable and understanding.

@KSSPete wrote:

And thank you to everyone with the kind words. I won't let it get to my head LOL!

Too late.
I see that you have three names too: Pet, Pete, Peter. That means you are important.

I do have one difficulty with KSS... for some reason, the schedulers cannot send me individual emails. I get their mass emails, but when I ask an individual question, they cannot respond. I spoke to Shelly about why I never got answers to my questions and she said it’s because I have a Comcast email address. She said that all their individual messages to Comcast folks just vanish. I’ve tried to make rules to force them through, but to no avail. I likely need to go to a service center...

I have nothing but nice things to say about KSS. They pay on time and they are very responsive; and the reports are relatively easy.I tend to email over calling though, just my personal preference.

Also the 300 dollar comment.
I have been mystery shopping for about a year now and have not shopped one shop that fee is 300 dollars. The biggest one for me was 150 because it was end of month and this shop was in po dunk nowhere..now I know to ask for more oops!!!!

Well, it is beginning to look like this is one of those cases where, now that we have more detail, all I can say is that I appear to be working with a different set of KSS schedulers than those of you who have had such problems. And, I now do not doubt that you have had the problems described. It may be that the two KSS clients for whom I do a ton of shops have a scheduling team that is different from others. I have never done, nor been asked to do $10 garage shops and I certainly would not like to get multiple calls asking me to do such shops. And, the schedulers for the shops that I do through KSS do seem to send individual emails regularly. In addition, when I respond to even what looks like a broadcast email, I get a specific reply. So, I sure hope that KSS keeps that dream team of mine together!

In my situation, I am convinced that the issue is technological, as opposed to personal.

MFJ...not personal, Pete answer's immediately, I work often with him, and he has responded here. I work with Shelly for my Vegas work, and she as well always answers, so it has to be a glinch on the tech side.

I do wonder how many of the folks how have had troubles communicating with KSS also have Comcast email addresses. Shelly told me that they were having that communication problem with all Comcast customers.

Also, if I were getting nagging phone calls from a scheduler, I might just add that phone number to my "blocked" list, unless I knew that it was a number shared by several schedulers. (I work with three overseas ones who share one number. Fortunately they are all easy to work with and have well paid shops that I like.)

There are a couple of email addresses that bounce back to us when we send individual ones. I call those shoppers right after my email alerts me that it didn't go through. If you do any of the shops that I schedule and would like to be able to reach me directly, I can give my cell number to you to call or text if needed.

As far as Eric's comment, there was more than enough back and forth on another thread, so I'll leave it at this... Your opinion is your opinion. That is fine. It is not shared by the vast majority of shoppers I have contact with, or that Lorri has contact with. I have not met the other schedulers you mentioned, so I don't know. I would think that they wouldn't be around long once Lorri found out they were so rude and terrible. If I had an issue with how someone communicates, and thousands of others do not, I'd start looking at either myself, or my expectations. I also don't just assume an entire region is no good without any experiences with them, so maybe we just look at things differently.

Have a great day everyone!

@KSSPete You are certainly entitled to your own opinion as well, but not your own facts with regard to prior communication between me, yourself, and Lorri.

Have a good Tuesday.

Thank you Pete. You're an anomaly.

@ceasesmith wrote:

Until recently, all my interactions with KSS were positive (thank you, Pete!). But now I have a new scheduler for the jobs I like to take. His reply to every e-mail I send is "apply on-line". Even when I printed out the guidelines, and had a question, sent him an e-mail for clarification, no reply. Even when he says "go ahead and apply on-line and when the job gets assigned to you, I'll adjust the pay to include the bonus". Doesn't happen. Even when he says "I'll make sure this shop gets assigned to you within 24 hours", doesn't happen.

I'm thinking the other schedulers had just spoiled me....by being responsive, by immediately scheduling my requested shops, etc., etc., etc.

So I basically quit requesting shops. But not until after I had cancelled some, due to no response from the scheduler.

Makes me very sad, as I shop routes, and depended on these shops.

Please message me. I'd love to know who this scheduler is. Thank you.

@Eric in Tampa wrote:

@KSSPete You are certainly entitled to your own opinion as well, but not your own facts with regard to prior communication between me, yourself, and Lorri.

Have a good Tuesday.

Oh for Pete's sake (hahaha see what I did there?)

I thought you had agreed to move on and we had worked all this out. Still holding grudges? I don't think it'd be smart to rehash this all in the public purview, do you?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2019 12:19AM by Lorri Kern KSS.

@Eric in Tampa wrote:

@walesmaven @SoCalMama I wouldn't say that I've given KSS schedulers like Pet any flack. More like the other way around, especially when they were wrong in principal. While Pete has never scheduled a shop for me, I've accepted work from Sally, Lorri, and Kim. I found Sally to be quite rude, and with a bad attitude whenever I wouldn't accept offers to do her monthly parking valet jobs at multiple locations. She would call me on my cell phone more often than emailing me. While Lorri has asked me via email to do the same monthly parking valet jobs for something like $10 a location, her responses to emails were borderline condescending. I found this to be surprising, given that she's been a business owner within this industry for quite some time. To put it more candidly, her communication absolutely sucks. I used to give Lorri Kern the pass due to her demonstrating that certain "Boston hospitality." It was only after I started working in Boston at least 2-3 times a year over the last 6 years that I realized that the folks in New England aren't so bad, and that like anywhere else in the US, that certain hospitality is not necessarily true for this region. While I have no doubt that she is probably a good MSC scheduling owner where the company loyalty is obviously demonstrated by schedulers like Peter, my biggest hope with her is for improved communications with shoppers. But that is all that this is- hope. I won't hold my breath.

The only one that I found to be respectful (as well as prompt in replies) has been Kim. I've had no issues, and I found her to be reasonable and understanding.

Sally retired from KSS 2 years ago after working with us for 12+ years. I'm sorry you had a bad experience but I think if you do research, you'll find most shoppers LOVED Sally. She was pretty amazing and super patient and nicer than 99% of the people I know.

If you accepted work for Kim, that means you work in NV. You have a PI License? Kim ONLY schedules in NV (and has for 18 years working for KSS). I don't see you on our list of people that have legal work standards in NV, so this is baffling to me.

As far as me asking you to do valet parking assignments? I don't schedule any of those, so I have no idea what you are talking about.

Also - Boston hospitality? Seriously? I just moved here 6.5 years ago. I was born in Alabama, I grew up in Charleston, SC and Winston-Salem, NC - I moved to California when I was 21 and lived on the West Side of the country until 6.5 years ago. I am 50. so for 43.5 years, I had Southern and Western hospitality. But now I live in Boston and I'm still the same nice, kind hospitable person i was for 43 years prior to moving here.

I find your generalizations offensive and irrelevant. Most people in Boston I know are super kind as were the ones I knew in AL, NC, SC, CA and AZ.

Just wow.