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for $75 for a shop in TX. This was the offer I got today. I live in KY.

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Sorry off-topic, but I really enjoyed my KY vacation this spring.

I can't wait to go back for another visit.

What did you like about it? What did you see?

@CoffeeQueen wrote:

What did you like about it? What did you see?

Louisville, Bardstown, Lexington, Frankfort, Churchill Downs, etc. I drove all over for a week right at the beginning of Derby Month.
The climate is different, making the landscaping very different from where I live now. I went to lots of distilleries, saw a bit of the Louisville Slugger Museum, etc. My friend got sick and didn't join me for the first few days of the trip, so I headed out on my own. Nice people, fun times.

The only shops that I did were mailing shops. I did have the worst Mexican Food ever. I don't recall which city? Otherwise, the food was great, and the bourbon was heavenly. Oh, and I learned that Bardstown has no Uber service.

To find good mexican here you have to find the little taquerias . Most of the restaurants cater to the extremely white bread tastes of the midwestern clientele. I'm a transplant from the desert southwest and the gently rolling hills, horse farms and river running through everything still amaze me. I'm not surprised to hear that about Bardstown.

We have great Mexican food in Ohio, believe it or not. Lots of Mexican people in our area and lots of little family owned places, yum!!!

Going to Cabo San Lucas for a couple of weeks this winter, can't wait!

How the heck did any of the messages reflect on the subject of PAD?

PAD is something I have an interest in for Source.

I dunno about the non sequitur there. Maybe the company gets positive response by reaching out to people who live and work in different states. We do have people who travel great distances for this biz.

I love The Source! I have had a little difficulty with the PAD system as well as a little success with it. For me, the PAD system is mystifying and somewhat frustrating. We did establish an acceptable (to me) amount for one shop that involved a 200-mile round trip. Due to my schedule, the few businesses along the way, and the late shop start times, it was not possible to add other shops. There would not have been enough time to complete and submit stockpiled reports before the deadline and also before it was time to get up for my early morning job.

I am willing to try again in future when I have completed my next spate of planned assignments and when I can spend more time on building small, specific routes which culminate with that shop. That would alter the seemingly large PAD and make it possible for me to work steadily on location and on reports throughout the work days involving that shop. For now, I am content with being the backup shopper for reliable shoppers on other assignments that I apply for which do not require such a large PAD.They have not needed a backup!

@wrosie wrote:

How the heck did any of the messages reflect on the subject of PAD?

PAD is something I have an interest in for Source.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

I have never ever gotten pad, it is reserved for far away jobs, and you have to state the reason your asking for it....it is like a bonus, more money than shop ask's for...good luck and prepare to drive for it.

Live consciously....

I've gotten PAD, and not for far away places, just inconvenient/deadline ones. That's why I am interested in other's experiences with it.

I rarely complete assignments for Trendsource, as their fees are always, without PAD, below my requirements. In the space where they inquire as to the reason, I type "irrelevant." I am an independent contractor, as opposed to one of their employees; justifying my actions is unnecessary.

I can see your point. But what about them? Would they appreciate being asked for a $100 PAD to accompany a shop that the shopper plans to walk to and can complete in less than fifteen minutes?

I mention time and distance. These are relevant, verifiable, non-random, and stated in good faith.

@shopperbob wrote:

I rarely complete assignments for Trendsource, as their fees are always, without PAD, below my requirements. In the space where they inquire as to the reason, I type "irrelevant." I am an independent contractor, as opposed to one of their employees; justifying my actions is unnecessary.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

Recently I've seen them offering PAD, and upping the offer as often as several times a day. A dollar, a dollar, a dollar until somebody bites. The somebody was me a couple of times.

They may call it PAD, but in reality, it is incentive pay = bonus to entice someone to accept the assignment. I generally tell them time and distance as a reason, but my PAD is generally far above what their guidelines suggest as reasonable. I quote ROAD miles and state as such since they always show bird = air miles. I have even told them that if I was a bird, I could get there in less time and cover less distance, but that I am not a bird. They laugh. IMHO, what they appreciate is getting the job done as quickly as possible for as little money (including PAD) as possible. If they acquire the money transfer shop that requires that I try to bribe the agent (they don't currently have it), I will ask for $100 even if I need to only walk a block. That is the required inducement to get me to do one.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

I can see your point. But what about them? Would they appreciate being asked for a $100 PAD to accompany a shop that the shopper plans to walk to and can complete in less than fifteen minutes?

I mention time and distance. These are relevant, verifiable, non-random, and stated in good faith.

@shopperbob wrote:

I rarely complete assignments for Trendsource, as their fees are always, without PAD, below my requirements. In the space where they inquire as to the reason, I type "irrelevant." I am an independent contractor, as opposed to one of their employees; justifying my actions is unnecessary.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

I have submitted PAD requests when they asked me to for business verifications. They are never accepted. I don't know why they keep asking me.

I also live in Kentucky and have gotten some way far jobs and always come back with a way out incentive. They never take me up on it.

I've used the reason "pay is not enough without it." If they accept, great. If not, it wasn't worth it.

"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

@wrosie wrote:

I've gotten PAD, and not for far away places, just inconvenient/deadline ones. That's why I am interested in other's experiences with it.

I now get PAD on 100% of my shops. I don't even have to ask. They offer it to me. I no longer check the job board at all. They contact me.

Better?

You've been around long enough to know that sometimes we chat about other stuff in the middle of a thread about mystery shopping. Why the heck is that a big deal?

@wrosie wrote:

How the heck did any of the messages reflect on the subject of PAD?

PAD is something I have an interest in for Source.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

You've been around long enough to know that sometimes we chat about other stuff in the middle of a thread about mystery shopping. Why the heck is that a big deal?

Yes in the middle of the thread but not the first five replies to the original post.

Well I still don't know why it bothers you. You know, they have a toggle button if you don't want to read my posts. Or anyone else's posts, for that matter.

I didn't have a problem with it. Sorry you did. It's entirely possible to make YOUR posts about the original subject without criticizing everyone else.

In regards to SoCal Mama's post about the PAD she gets, that used to be the case for me too. It was apparently dependent on one particular scheduler who liked to have all his shops assigned and virtually guaranteed to be done and accepted. He moved on and it went back to the haphazard method.

I had been watching some easy cell phone shops located 4-7 miles away from me that I wouldn't touch for $6. My PAD offer was $19 ($25 total pay). I knew that sooner or later those people that did them for $6 would be unable to go back without being recognized and I just waited until right before the deadline. I got them for the amount I wanted. I am sure that there will be more of the same soon enough.

Jas some of those went to $40 here. I had done them for $20 which I considered fair since I was already close to the ones I was doing. But like you said, I can't go back too soon so they just sit there.

Yeah, there are a TON of those stores around here. I will ask for a bit more when I get over the 10 mile range. Thank you for letting me know that they went that high, I should be able to get close to that if I have to go more than 15 miles!!!

I got the Texas email too and I live in Georgia. I calculated it a dollar a mile round trip and no, I haven't gotten the shop yet either

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