1. Forums
  2. Mystery Shopping Company Discussion

ACL a closer look reimbursement and pay

April 06, 2019 04:17PM
@finsfurfowl wrote:

Ok I have done the juice chain several times and no clue how you could go over if you order the requirements, perhaps you ordered extras?

Prices are higher in different areas of the country. For example there is one location inside a convention center in Chicago, sodas in Chicago typically cost about $4-$6. That same drink just 35 minutes away where I live is about half that cost. I haven't done this shop but could easily see how a flat reimbursement could be great in one area of the county but not cover everything in another.
Reply
Log In
x

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

Already a member? Log In.

More Discussions About A Closer Look (All Companies)
More About Reimbursements
April 06, 2019 05:57PM
@snowy22315 wrote:

Not a big fan of ACL. They take too long to pay, and issue pages of guidelines. I made a slight error the other day, and explained why..now the whole shop is in jeopardy. I told them I needed to be paid, or I would not do any others. Any other industry you would be paid whether it was error free or not! There are wage and hour laws people.

LOL!!! Not if you're self-employed, as we are.
Reply
April 06, 2019 06:05PM
@snowy22315 wrote:

Not a big fan of ACL. They take too long to pay, and issue pages of guidelines. I made a slight error the other day, and explained why..now the whole shop is in jeopardy. I told them I needed to be paid, or I would not do any others. Any other industry you would be paid whether it was error free or not! There are wage and hour laws people.

ACL has enough contractors that they probably don't care if they lose one shopper makes errors. As for getting paid when you do the shop wrong, only EMPLOYEES get paid to "show up and try." Independent contractors get paid on a per-job basis for a correctly completed job. Wage and hour laws apply to employees, not to independent contractors.
Reply
April 06, 2019 06:24PM
Was it Yoda who said, "There IS no 'try'!" That is the business we are in.

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.
Reply
April 07, 2019 01:49AM
I wondered about the legally of rejecting shops. I don't think they can get away with it legally, but who will pursue $50 in court?
Reply
April 07, 2019 02:04AM
What do you mean, the legality of rejecting shops? If you read the ICA, it's normally covered in great detail. That's a contract that we AGREE to.

If your report doesn't meet the client's requirements, they can (and will) reject it. If they reject it, you don't get paid.

Perfectly legal. Not only legal, but ethical.

Oh, I'm not jumping on you. Welcome to the forum!
Reply
April 07, 2019 03:19AM
I agree .
Reply
April 07, 2019 01:04PM
@ceasesmith wrote:

If your report doesn't meet the client's requirements, they can (and will) reject it. If they reject it, you don't get paid.

Perfectly legal. Not only legal, but ethical.

There is nothing ETHICAL about starting a business and recruiting GULLIBLE people to work for you for free just because they are stupid enough to do it. It might be legal for ACL to take advantage of those people but there is no way it is ethical.
Reply
April 07, 2019 01:50PM
Another conspiracy theorist has popped up, again.

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.
Reply
April 07, 2019 03:11PM
@Sobrokeigot2dothis wrote:


There is nothing ETHICAL about starting a business and recruiting GULLIBLE people to work for you for free just because they are stupid enough to do it. It might be legal for ACL to take advantage of those people but there is no way it is ethical.

I would say this describes the behavior of scammers who send checks to gullible people who stupidly believe they are going to make hundreds of dollars for a few minutes work, and, sadly, become much wiser when the check bounces. This is definitely unethical.

In order to work for ACL, a shopper would need to find the company, register, and select assignments. Assignment guidelines are clearly visible to a shopper before he requests/self-assigns the shop. Any shopper who takes a shop has given enough thought to the relationship that he has provided his SS# and other personal information. And, knowing the requirements and the reimbursement/pay in advance, I would say the shopper is informed and has made a deliberate choice. I would not class mystery shoppers with ACL as either gullible or recruited.
Reply
April 07, 2019 03:48PM
@roflwofl wrote:

Any shopper who takes a shop has given enough thought to the relationship that he has provided his SS# and other personal information. And, knowing the requirements and the reimbursement/pay in advance, I would say the shopper is informed and has made a deliberate choice. I would not class mystery shoppers with ACL as either gullible or recruited.

That is the same argument the cigarette companies unloaded on the public for years and still do. That is the same argument that the Pay Day Loan companies use. That is the same argument that Pawn Shops use. Just because it is legal and the person/victim has been warned does not mean it is anything close to ethical.
Reply
April 07, 2019 05:11PM
I had a shop rejected because the location was closed. I called beforehand as the shop instructions specified and confirmed their hours of operation. The store closed early because they were slow. ACL refused to pay me a shop fee.
Reply
April 07, 2019 05:19PM
That stinks. Did you take a picture of the closed store ? They should have paid you something. In one respect, MF is good at that.
Reply
April 07, 2019 05:36PM
Yes and I provided the audio of the recorded call of the employee verifying they closed early.
Reply
April 07, 2019 06:57PM
It's great that you had proof. They should have done something for you. You followed all the shop instructions !
Reply
April 07, 2019 07:04PM
I was told by one of the account managers that they can't submit to the client a closed location report and they offered to add $5 on a future shop but I don't think that's fair. Wouldn't the client want to know if their stores are closing early too?
Reply
April 07, 2019 07:07PM
To me it sounds reasonable that you'll get an addl $5 fee. I would think their client would want to know if their stores are closing early, but that isn't up to us. Maybe their report isn't able to handle that the store was closed ? But the $5 fee sounds fair to me, more generous than MF.
Reply
April 07, 2019 07:19PM
Or they can just pay me $5 now. Why do I have to do another shop?
Reply
April 07, 2019 07:40PM
@eyelove2shop wrote:

Or they can just pay me $5 now. Why do I have to do another shop?

Because it is all about them and you are nothing. They are using that $5 dollars as bait to possibly lead you down another rabbit hole. You already have proven them to be dishonest and they know it but now they want to take it to another level and see if you will still do business with them anyway knowing full well they will cheat you in a heartbeat.
Reply
April 07, 2019 07:46PM
@eyelove2shop wrote:

I had a shop rejected because the location was closed. I called beforehand as the shop instructions specified and confirmed their hours of operation. The store closed early because they were slow. ACL refused to pay me a shop fee.

Bummer. Was the shop a reimbursement-only with no agreed fee? I hate when that happens. Since there's no agreed fee for closures, and the only "payment" is reimbursement which becomes a moot issue if the location is closed, there's always a risk if for any reason you can't get in and spend the money. I hope you took them up on the offer of $5 to be added to a future shop.
Reply
April 07, 2019 07:51PM
it was a fee plus reimbursement.
Reply
April 07, 2019 07:51PM
I only ordered what was required, but I live in one of the most expensive areas behind Manhattan and SF and our tax rate is 10%.
The reimbursement was $15 my receipt was $16.10. Yes I can afford an extra dollar but I just feel like without even fees they can at least cover what is required. Most other companies at least offer fees even if it is $5 for a fast food place it's the principal of it.

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

@finsfurfowl wrote:

Ok I have done the juice chain several times and no clue how you could go over if you order the requirements, perhaps you ordered extras?

Prices are higher in different areas of the country. For example there is one location inside a convention center in Chicago, sodas in Chicago typically cost about $4-$6. That same drink just 35 minutes away where I live is about half that cost. I haven't done this shop but could easily see how a flat reimbursement could be great in one area of the county but not cover everything in another.
Reply
April 07, 2019 07:56PM
Shoppers are expected to do their research before deciding whether or not the reimbursement meets their individual needs and standards. In your case, I would have read the requirements and emailed the scheduler to say that you would withdraw from the assignment unless the reimbursement was changed to guarantee full reimbursement of the cost of the required items. ACL actually has a procedure for schedulers to send up info about actual local costs so that project managers can change the reimbursement. The same when it comes to offering parking costs in a few areas.

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.
Reply
April 09, 2019 01:57AM
@walesmaven good to know I go to the juice place a lot but have never ordered food items before and the requirements were to order some food item and a bowl. I don't actually like their food items so if they just have plain juice shops I will probably do it again.

This time before accepting the poke lunch I did look online and most items were $12-14 so if two people went it would go over the $30 offered if you tip.
Max Reimbursement / Gratuity:
Receipt: $30.00 / 0%

*If any receipt total + gratuity exceeds the max reimbursement for the receipt, you will receive only the max reimbursement amount.

So does that mean they don't want me to tip? I emailed the scheduler to ask but have not heard back yet.
Reply
April 09, 2019 04:23AM
@roflwofl wrote:

ACL is particularly understanding and will bend over backwards to work with the shopper and get a shop approved.

I completely agree. I've only done a dozen shops for them, but the staff....schedulers to editors...have been fantastic
Reply
April 10, 2019 02:11PM
I have stopped doing shops for this MSC few months back..they want very detailed reports and hardly pay anything..
Reply
April 10, 2019 02:27PM
The dining shops are not money makers but the reports, depending on restaurant, aren't that difficult. They do take time and require some detail. Some of the restaurants are good and some shoppers feel they are worth the report time for a reimbursed meal.
Reply
April 10, 2019 05:23PM
I miss doing shops for them. Expect to a few pizza shops; their shops are gone from South Florida. I enjoyed their high end dining, fast casual dining, bowling, hotel stay, paint & sip class, ice cream. As long as I read the shop clearly, made notes of requirements; I was ok.
Reply
April 11, 2019 12:54AM
@komalagarwal695 wrote:

I have stopped doing shops for this MSC few months back..they want very detailed reports and hardly pay anything..

They don't pay for restaurant shops.
Reply
April 11, 2019 02:17AM
@Niner wrote:

@komalagarwal695 wrote:

I have stopped doing shops for this MSC few months back..they want very detailed reports and hardly pay anything..

They don't pay for restaurant shops.

Not true. I am not even talking about a bonus, some have a fee.
Reply
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login