deleted

First, please change the name of the client to "grocery" or something similarly vague. It is against forum rules to identify which MSC's serve which clients.

They are very unlikely to respond with what they found. There are a fair number of shoppers who cheat (I'm not saying that you did, only that such shoppers exist) and, if an MSC suspects a shopper of having such integrity issues, they are not going to share what they found with that shopper as the shopper could use that information to cheat more effectively. There are many ways that folks try to cut corners - and just as many ways that a person could be caught. If they believe that you were not honest in your reporting, do not expect them to ever let you back in.

However, Trendsource is only one MSC out of at least 200. Lots of folks do very, very well shopping and never shop for that particular MSC. Sign up for other companies and move on.

Trendsource has a horrible reputation.

Salisbury, I respectfully disagree. I've been working with them for years, and never a problem. Great schedulers, easy reports, fair pay.

Alex,

Trendsource's business model is one whereby the work:reward ratio is very poor, but by quickly paying, they are able to attract, among others, the needy. They actually did you a favor by deactivating your account. I fired them last year.

@shopperbob wrote:

Alex,

Trendsource's business model is one whereby the work:reward ratio is very poor, but by quickly paying, they are able to attract, among others, the needy. They actually did you a favor by deactivating your account. I fired them last year.

Cute Bob.
I guess I am the "needy". They like to pay me an extra $8-$13 on every shop.
I don't do shops at base pay for them at all. No exceptions.

@SoCalMama wrote:

Cute Bob.
I guess I am the "needy". They like to pay me an extra $8-$13 on every shop.
I don't do shops at base pay for them at all. No exceptions.

SoCalMama,
He did not mean you. Bob is referring to people who take them at base. I do their shops but never at base. Look at the phone company. Base $6!!!! Someone who needs the money urgently will take a route of them at base price. They are currently bonused +10. I have seen them +30.

I always get a $19 bonus ($25 total) on those phone shops and will only do the ones within 20 miles of my house (as long as I have other stuff nearby the locations). I am not about to "fire" The Source. I have been with them for almost 2 decades and though I don't do a lot for them, I have gotten some nice bonuses from them on occasion.

In Cincinnati TrendSource pays 9 bucks for groceries and 5 bucks for the report without a bonus. 14 bucks not bad for a 20 minute grocery visit and 10 minute survey form completion - that's 28 per hour. I would have to travel 5 to 8 miles one way from home to go to the grocery store anyway. Rarely do they offer any bonus what they call PAD.

Never seen nine or more bonus dollars on 14 dollars offered by TrendSource for any grocery or cell phone shops in past 10 years in OH or TN. What city/state do they offer those bonuses?

I no longer do 3-5 dollar phone shops or 10 dollars or less visit shops since it is too low for my time needed.

Which companies offer the best pay given pay/time ratio? That's better to know then just for me to look at a list on this bulletin board here: [www.mysteryshopforum.com]

Thanks for your help.

I live in NE Ohio. Where I live they don't have grocery store shops, but there are lots and lots of those cell phone stores here. SoCalMama obviously lives in Southern California.

Don't really want to share my favorite companies openly on the forum in case other people who live in my city read it and then become my competition. But there's a chance that with a distance of a few hundred miles my favorite companies don't shop in your city anyway. Also, stuff I like to do might not be your cup of tea.

I like small chain fast food and restaurants moderate to expensive, dry cleaners, phone shops, gym visits, etc. Guess no way for us to email each other from either side of the state.

What I always advise people who ask for such companies, or what MS shops what shops, or what bonus to ask, put the zip code of major metropolitan areas, 50 miles out and you will see companies that you did not know exist and are shopped, who shops whom, and how much bonus MS pay on average. I will put a few cities because there are different interests in different cities.

Yeah, I don't like any of those types of shops, restaurant shops only if they are carry out (unless it's a special occasion). I don't like fast food at all. I hate phone shops (where you have to call someone on the phone) and I am not super fond of the cell phone in-person shops, either. They have to tack on a big bonus or I won't go. There aren't any drycleaning shops here currently. A few years back there were some from a local chain, but they didn't pay well enough for me to bother unless I wanted to dry clean my comforter or occasionally one of my husband's suits (he rarely wears suits anymore). No gym shops for me, not my thing. Looks like we are into totally different types of shops.

@alextrainer wrote:

I like small chain fast food and restaurants moderate to expensive, dry cleaners, phone shops, gym visits, etc. Guess no way for us to email each other from either side of the state.

Nobody else likes gym visits.
Register with KSS. They schedule plenty of them for various companies.
Also BARE & HS Brands & A Closer Look.
I would sooner sign up for a weekly pap smear that do a gym visit.

I'll keep adding and editing.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2020 01:10AM by SoCalMama.

Ah, SCM is channeling her inner you-know-who with editing multiple times, LOL!!!!

Does anyone know if Trendsource was dropped by their major grocery store?

@sun&fun wrote:

Does anyone know if Trendsource was dropped by their major grocery store?

May depend on your area but in Southern California there are the usual number posted.

Thanks for your reply. I'm in FL and they haven't post any for Jan.

@salisburync wrote:

Trendsource has a horrible reputation.

I've worked for Trendsource for two years and they have some of my favorite assignments. Other than some of the best schedulers being "cheap", I've had no problems whatsoever with them and I've never heard anyone bad mouth them. So I'd like to know where you get this idea. What happened and when? Of course, there are always two sides to every story.
Cutting a corner on ms, and actually lying and cheating are a shop are two different things. Example: you are doing a mystery shop at a gas station and realize you forgot to check the nozzles covers on every single pump. Bearing in mind of course that after three years part of you can't help but notice most incidences of damaged nozzle covers. So how do you handle this? Do you give the merchant the benefit of the doubt and mark that they are ok and keep it moving or do you go back up to every single pump and individually check each one? IF you give them the benefit of the doubt and mark them ok, that is cutting a corner. However, if every gas station you do you take the basic pictures and only mark the infractions that are in your basic pictures without checking anything else at the location (like porn, paraphernalia, coolers, or other dispensers) then you are "lying and cheating". Personally, I think the former is forgivable and the latter grounds for deactivation. The same principles can be applied to grocery store shops. And as for on-sites well the latter is never, never acceptable, period. The bank is loaning money for that property and for you to lie and say that you checked and you didn't is inexcusable under any situation. I would fire you for that myself!

I recently read somewhere here on the forum that the red and white grocery chain is no longer shopped.

@sun&fun wrote:

Thanks for your reply. I'm in FL and they haven't post any for Jan.

@KateH Sorry to sound dumb..put the zip code in where?

@KateH wrote:

What I always advise people who ask for such companies, or what MS shops what shops, or what bonus to ask, put the zip code of major metropolitan areas, 50 miles out and you will see companies that you did not know exist and are shopped, who shops whom, and how much bonus MS pay on average. I will put a few cities because there are different interests in different cities.

@callinectes wrote:

@KateH Sorry to sound dumb..put the zip code in where?

@KateH wrote:

What I always advise people who ask for such companies, or what MS shops what shops, or what bonus to ask, put the zip code of major metropolitan areas, 50 miles out and you will see companies that you did not know exist and are shopped, who shops whom, and how much bonus MS pay on average. I will put a few cities because there are different interests in different cities.

Experiment with zip codes in large metropolitan cities, ex try NYC, Miami, etc where you see a lot of shops available and you will discover the MS that shops a particular shop, or that a shop is being shopped so you will know where to either contact your scheduler and ask what you can do so you can be assigned that shop, or what MS to "stock" aggressively when they release shops to grab it. That's also the reason that you should never deactivate yourself from any company because you never know what they might be shopping somewhere else, or they will shop in the future.

@sun&fun wrote:

Does anyone know if Trendsource was dropped by their major grocery store?

Yes, one of their grocery chains stopped their mystery shopping program here in the "Southeast" (hint hint). I spoke with Sergio at TS and confirmed this. This chain has had financial difficulties in the past. Maybe they have them again.

The green grocery store?? OMG! I didn't even realize it because I don't do to many of them. How disappointing!

@callinectes wrote:

@KateH Sorry to sound dumb..put the zip code in where?

@KateH wrote:

What I always advise people who ask for such companies, or what MS shops what shops, or what bonus to ask, put the zip code of major metropolitan areas, 50 miles out and you will see companies that you did not know exist and are shopped, who shops whom, and how much bonus MS pay on average. I will put a few cities because there are different interests in different cities.

I think they mean on the shopper page where it says location or zipcode.

@SoCalMama wrote:

@alextrainer wrote:

I like small chain fast food and restaurants moderate to expensive, dry cleaners, phone shops, gym visits, etc. Guess no way for us to email each other from either side of the state.

Nobody else likes gym visits.
Register with KSS. They schedule plenty of them for various companies.
Also BARE & HS Brands & A Closer Look.
I would sooner sign up for a weekly pap smear that do a gym visit.

I'll keep adding and editing.

Not here in Flyover country' I am registered with all of them and rarely find work with through them.

@F and L TeleComm wrote:

The green grocery store?? OMG! I didn't even realize it because I don't do to many of them. How disappointing!

Not sure what you mean by green grocery store?? The inside decor??? Eco-friendly??? Whatever it means, I'm not sure the store chain I am referring to is known as the green store. Might be another chain.

In my state, the majority of these companies' stores have a green sign and a green base color. But there are other brands owned by this company. I didn't even notice because there's only one close by ish and it's thirty minutes away.

Trendsource is famous for not accept answers on their business checks. They also are dirt cheap. Others pay well over triple their amount. If a business gives me one answer I need to accept that no matter what Trendsouce thinks the answer SHOULd be.

@CANADAMOMMY wrote:

Trendsource is famous for not accept answers on their business checks. They also are dirt cheap. Others pay well over triple their amount. If a business gives me one answer I need to accept that no matter what Trendsouce thinks the answer SHOULd be.

I got $25 for those checks in 1999 from the previous company. The fees for that are laughable.