A Closer Look
With ACL one big indicator is the type of "canned" comments that you get from the editors. Another may be whether or not you actually see hotel shops when you look at the job board. Be sure to check for hotels in other states because it just may be that there are none available in your home area when you look. since they begin posting assignments on or about the 18th of the month for the following month, the 18th-end of the month shops that you see will give you a good feel. Finally, do you get most of the shops that you request ?
Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
The fact that you have done 25 shops say a lot. My gauge for how well I'm doing is the monthly phone calls I get to complete shops.
"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
I don't have contact with MSC by phone, only email.
The comments are pretty consistent, it's a form letter, stuff like your "valuable information, we appreciate your hard work, you provided good detail in all sections, we look forward to seeing your future reports."
That's what I typically get. I have gotten some emails with feedback, for particularly hard jobs where everything went wrong. Or, once in a while I will forget one of the ten photos, or they change their requirenents after the fact. A shop said take a picture of the desserts. The picture limit was five. The editor said I needed separate pictures of the desserts. If you forget a photo, they threaten to not work with you again. But, they will assign whatever I ask for.
Overall, I love these people. A $100-150 shop will take 2 hours, compared to the 5 hours for a Coyle shop.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/2019 02:51PM by Niner.
The comments are pretty consistent, it's a form letter, stuff like your "valuable information, we appreciate your hard work, you provided good detail in all sections, we look forward to seeing your future reports."
That's what I typically get. I have gotten some emails with feedback, for particularly hard jobs where everything went wrong. Or, once in a while I will forget one of the ten photos, or they change their requirenents after the fact. A shop said take a picture of the desserts. The picture limit was five. The editor said I needed separate pictures of the desserts. If you forget a photo, they threaten to not work with you again. But, they will assign whatever I ask for.
Overall, I love these people. A $100-150 shop will take 2 hours, compared to the 5 hours for a Coyle shop.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/2019 02:51PM by Niner.
I would say you have a good rating if you get everything you have applied for..I’m not really sure exactly how their rating system works either... I can see hotels and a wide variety of shops and always get whatever I apply for so I guess I’m ok good standing lol. It would be nice to know what ratings you have with everyone in my opinion but I understand some MSCs don’t provide this information to us...
The many textes I get asking if I can help with a shop.
I used to be an editor for them. They have an internal rating system and don't tell shoppers what it is. If you are getting a canned email from an editor after each shop is submitted that doesn't contain anything negative and the editors don't email you often for clarifications after you submit a shop, you are doing fine, especially after completing 25 reports!
I still shop for them. I get email requests for me to do shops but they don't contact me by phone. They must like Honny better than me, LOL. I really think it's just an individual scheduler preference. The schedulers for my area are not phone people, I guess.
I still shop for them. I get email requests for me to do shops but they don't contact me by phone. They must like Honny better than me, LOL. I really think it's just an individual scheduler preference. The schedulers for my area are not phone people, I guess.
@Niner
I have no clue where I stand with them. I've shopped with them for 3 years, only completing 10 shops in the first one. Then I picked up a daycare shop and I began to get calls, texts and personalized emails. I have since completed 200+, in virtually every market they offer. I am constantly offered promo shops. They do not bait one shop with another for me.
I have yet to have a shop where everything went wrong. I get the canned comments, but half the time personalized comments are added. I have forgotten to upload photos (did so last night for a hotel shop), and sometimes the comments reflect this but most of the time they don't. I had a delightful, informative conversation with an editor last night regarding said hotel shop. They have never threatened not to work with me. I have never encountered a picture limit. I uploaded 30 to a hotel report two weeks ago.
I have to ask to be assigned here and there, but I always get them. I have had 4 shops unassigned for either scheduling or guideline issues. I do not know their rhyme or reason, based on the varied comments posted about them in this forum.
I have no clue where I stand with them. I've shopped with them for 3 years, only completing 10 shops in the first one. Then I picked up a daycare shop and I began to get calls, texts and personalized emails. I have since completed 200+, in virtually every market they offer. I am constantly offered promo shops. They do not bait one shop with another for me.
I have yet to have a shop where everything went wrong. I get the canned comments, but half the time personalized comments are added. I have forgotten to upload photos (did so last night for a hotel shop), and sometimes the comments reflect this but most of the time they don't. I had a delightful, informative conversation with an editor last night regarding said hotel shop. They have never threatened not to work with me. I have never encountered a picture limit. I uploaded 30 to a hotel report two weeks ago.
I have to ask to be assigned here and there, but I always get them. I have had 4 shops unassigned for either scheduling or guideline issues. I do not know their rhyme or reason, based on the varied comments posted about them in this forum.
When you complete more shops and are in good standing, what kind of shops can you see?
I have completed dining chain shops at $100-$170. Is that the highest level for ACL? A fine dining chain (which is great, of course)
For hotels, I can see mid priced hotels in the $100-$125, not five star Coyle type listings. Does ACL have "fancier" hotels that they do?
My husband signed up and has done two shops, and we see the same shops, that's why I think my 25+ shops have not made a difference with what I can see.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/2019 03:58PM by Niner.
I have completed dining chain shops at $100-$170. Is that the highest level for ACL? A fine dining chain (which is great, of course)
For hotels, I can see mid priced hotels in the $100-$125, not five star Coyle type listings. Does ACL have "fancier" hotels that they do?
My husband signed up and has done two shops, and we see the same shops, that's why I think my 25+ shops have not made a difference with what I can see.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/2019 03:58PM by Niner.
I see cosmetic, storage, daycare, entertainment, lighting, in home services, restaurant up to $200, hotel up to $300 plus $150 for outlets, hotel for $600 incl dining, senior living, gym, donation, salon, parking, appliance, grocery, coffee, phone, bar....
I searched Cali as it is high population.
I searched Cali as it is high population.
@Niner
Just got the thank you for shopping email about my hotel report. It was the canned response. I talked to the editor twice. He had to confirm and clarify some of my statements, ask for me to upload my receipt and one other photo, offered advice, tips and tricks.
Guess I'm ok.
Just got the thank you for shopping email about my hotel report. It was the canned response. I talked to the editor twice. He had to confirm and clarify some of my statements, ask for me to upload my receipt and one other photo, offered advice, tips and tricks.
Guess I'm ok.
I guess it depends on the amount of shops are available to you. Of course, it would be hard to compare what other shoppers have available. I know that after doing many, many, many shops for them and then canceling three (semi-unexpected job move) the shop options reduced. They seem to be unforgiving if you cancel and then you need to settle for smaller, undesired shops to build up your rating. I am not sure if they have rating scale
All the above advice about what to look for is really dependent on where you live. I live in California and do not see more than half of what nsliner has listed but if I search for the entire state I see different shops than I do in my area. Hotel shops down here seem to be few and far between as do high end restaurant shops but a few years ago we had several small chains of high end restaurants. They seem to come and go. So what indicates a valued shopper in one area may not hold true in another. I would not worry if you get the jobs you want. Each msc has different standards so having a 10 rating at one does not always translate to a 10 rating at another anyway. I think knowing a rating is more stressful than getting lots of thanks for a great job.
@sandyf wrote:
I live in California and do not see more than half of what nsliner has listed but if I search for the entire state I see different shops than I do in my area. Hotel shops down here seem to be few and far between as do high end restaurant shops for a great job........ So what indicates a valued shopper in one area may not hold true in another
I do not live in California. As stated, I searched California (not a zip code). I found, North to South, enough hotel and high end dining to keep me on the road for a month easy. I also see different shops than I do in my area, as some busineses are regional. If I searched Texas or New York, the statement would be the same. I am able to see high end shops for ACL across the entire United States, enough to take me East to West on I40 and back, one hotel and one high end dining per day. It appears I am valued in the USA.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2019 06:25AM by nslinhar.
@nslinhar wrote:
@sandyf wrote:
I live in California and do not see more than half of what nsliner has listed but if I search for the entire state I see different shops than I do in my area. Hotel shops down here seem to be few and far between as do high end restaurant shops for a great job........ So what indicates a valued shopper in one area may not hold true in another
I do not live in California. As stated, I searched California (not a zip code). I found, North to South, enough hotel and high end dining to keep me on the road for a month easy. I also see different shops than I do in my area, as some busineses are regional. If I searched Texas or New York, the statement would be the same. I am able to see high end shops for ACL across the entire United States, enough to take me East to West on I40 and back, one hotel and one high end dining per day. It appears I am valued in the USA.
There are only 2 hotels in CA right now that we can see. Both are assigned. Neither of them has a fee. Not exactly prime shops. I declined one of them last month.
95% of the restaurants have reimbursements under $100. I don't recall any with a fee or if they do have a fee, it is $15 or less, which is not enough for me to consider it to be a fee. There are a handful of restaurants with reimbursements around $150.
@SoCalMama wrote:
@nslinhar wrote:
@sandyf wrote:
I live in California and do not see more than half of what nsliner has listed but if I search for the entire state I see different shops than I do in my area. Hotel shops down here seem to be few and far between as do high end restaurant shops for a great job........ So what indicates a valued shopper in one area may not hold true in another
I do not live in California. As stated, I searched California (not a zip code). I found, North to South, enough hotel and high end dining to keep me on the road for a month easy. I also see different shops than I do in my area, as some busineses are regional. If I searched Texas or New York, the statement would be the same. I am able to see high end shops for ACL across the entire United States, enough to take me East to West on I40 and back, one hotel and one high end dining per day. It appears I am valued in the USA.
There are only 2 hotels in CA right now that we can see. Both are assigned. Neither of them has a fee. Not exactly prime shops. I declined one of them last month.
95% of the restaurants have reimbursements under $100. I don't recall any with a fee or if they do have a fee, it is $15 or less, which is not enough for me to consider it to be a fee. There are a handful of restaurants with reimbursements around $150.
Oops. I got so high on my soapbox I skipped something. I'll restate here: I found, North to South on US 1, enough hotel and high end dining to keep me on the road for a month easy.
However, SoCalMama has helped make my point. She and I see the same. We are not in the same area.
I can see two hotels in CA, and much more of a variety of types of shops. But, I am seeing more $100-$150 dining shops where I am now.
It is very late in the month to be seeing ANY open hotel shops, or are you seeing the ones that are assigned but not yet completed?
Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
I am not sure where you are coming from but a high end restaurant with little or no fee and a hotel with no fee both 450 miles away is not a shop most Californian's would take. Yes, if I was on vacation I might but if I was trying to make a living doing mystery shopping a route for me would actually cost me money. It can take up to 2-3 hours just to get out of town at times. In town the (town being a megalopolis plus some) I finally saw a bonus on two shops from acl today. I have never before seen a bonus on those shops even with one day left in the month. But the locations bonused at $2 on a shop with a flat fee of $10 for one and the other 10 reimbursement and 10 fee were a 45 minute or more drive from my house if I drove for the 20 minute window between morning and evening rush hour. And the two shops were not at all near each other. It is a losing proposition to drive for almost 2 hours to get a $2 bonus with probably no other shops nearby or if their were they would be little pay shops that the locals to that area do.
I do see larger bonuses but they are in small mountain communities an hour or more winding road drive from a city much closer than my city. And these mountain communities usually have a one or two street downtown so the drive up there and back might be for only one shop.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2019 10:43PM by sandyf.
I do see larger bonuses but they are in small mountain communities an hour or more winding road drive from a city much closer than my city. And these mountain communities usually have a one or two street downtown so the drive up there and back might be for only one shop.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2019 10:43PM by sandyf.
@sandyf wrote:
I am not sure where you are coming from but a high end restaurant with little or no fee and a hotel with no fee both 450 miles away is not a shop most Californian's would take. Yes, if I was on vacation I might but if I was trying to make a living doing mystery shopping a route for me would actually cost me money. It can take up to 2-3 hours just to get out of town at times. In town the (town being a megalopolis plus some) I finally saw a bonus on two shops from acl today. I have never before seen a bonus on those shops even with one day left in the month. But the locations bonused at $2 on a shop with a flat fee of $10 for one and the other 10 reimbursement and 10 fee were a 45 minute or more drive from my house if I drove for the 20 minute window between morning and evening rush hour. And the two shops were not at all near each other. It is a losing proposition to drive for almost 2 hours to get a $2 bonus with probably no other shops nearby or if their were they would be little pay shops that the locals to that area do.
I do see larger bonuses but they are in small mountain communities an hour or more winding road drive from a city much closer than my city. And these mountain communities usually have a one or two street downtown so the drive up there and back might be for only one shop.
I'm not coming to California. I do not live in California. I was using California as an example.
When I said, "contacts me by phone," I meant text. The scheduler du jour texts me at the end of the month to ink my shops for the following month.
@JASFLALMT wrote:
I still shop for them. I get email requests for me to do shops but they don't contact me by phone. They must like Honny better than me, LOL. I really think it's just an individual scheduler preference. The schedulers for my area are not phone people, I guess.
"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
@HonnyBrown wrote:
When I said, "contacts me by phone," I meant text. The scheduler du jour texts me at the end of the month to ink my shops for the following month.
@JASFLALMT wrote:
I still shop for them. I get email requests for me to do shops but they don't contact me by phone. They must like Honny better than me, LOL. I really think it's just an individual scheduler preference. The schedulers for my area are not phone people, I guess.
That's a nice arrangement that you have!
I think that Sandy's point is that these are not "good" hotel shops. For me, a "good" hotel shop is one that pays mileage, has 2 nights not one night, and has a fee of $250 to $500 on top of the reimbursement. Their shops are good if you need points or need a place to stay on the road and it is the right place at the right time.@nslinhar wrote:
I'm not coming to California. I do not live in California. I was using California as an example.
I see your point but not Sandy's as it relates to yours. My point was I see the same shops as you. You are personally offered jobs not on the board, but as of yesterday the board was the same for us. And Niner it seems.
Yeah, they don't text me either. Sniff sniff (JK). I am actually very okay with that. I don't really like to be contacted via phone (or text) from anyone other than friends and family.
@HonnyBrown wrote:
When I said, "contacts me by phone," I meant text. The scheduler du jour texts me at the end of the month to ink my shops for the following month.
@JASFLALMT wrote:
I still shop for them. I get email requests for me to do shops but they don't contact me by phone. They must like Honny better than me, LOL. I really think it's just an individual scheduler preference. The schedulers for my area are not phone people, I guess.
@nslinhar wrote:
I see your point but not Sandy's as it relates to yours. My point was I see the same shops as you. You are personally offered jobs not on the board, but as of yesterday the board was the same for us. And Niner it seems.
Sorry. I am guilty of not reading the whole thread.
I get texts all the time from ACL. I am personable and funny though.
What's up JASFLALMT???? kidding...
I think only 3 or 4 schedulers text me for jobs routinely. I don't mind doing most of them, but there is one location that can't get it right, so I flat out refused to go back there. Mystery shopping is clearly not helping them.
One of my old friends is an editor there. She said that I have a very good rating. I did not inquire any further. So, if it's there, I can see it.
Sorry Nslinhar, I guess I got off the track. I am very sensitive to when ever anyone from elsewhere seems to think city shopping, or California shopping or whatever is so easy and plentiful. So I got distracted by your list of all the shops in California and by your statement that you could have a shop all up and down the coast. My head was in a different thread than this one.
Sandy
Sandy
I didn't "seem" to think anything. The list was a factual statement. Because I used the search feature provided to all mystery shoppers by the MSC. I do not get how you thought I assumed California shopping was easy. I made factual statements.
@HonnyBrown wrote:
When I said, "contacts me by phone," I meant text. The scheduler du jour texts me at the end of the month to ink my shops for the following month.
@JASFLALMT wrote:
I still shop for them. I get email requests for me to do shops but they don't contact me by phone. They must like Honny better than me, LOL. I really think it's just an individual scheduler preference. The schedulers for my area are not phone people, I guess.
You know what I don't like? When a scheduler text you about a non fee shop asking you to complete it. I asked if they were adding a fee and got the cold shoulder.
Well, excuse me scheduler. I can see your Mexican shop on the board, if I was interested, I would have requested it.
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