TrendSource

Cancelled my ICA with TrendSource about a year ago
for ethics related issue. Get a call from Dru, wants me to do some grocery shops in my community. Used to do them like clockwork.
I told him wasn't keen in working with his company. So I said I would re up and see what pay is. By the time I re opened my account, before I even looked at shops he had already assigned them to me. Then unassigned because he found a low ball I guess. So have more than enough to do without his grief.Cancelled ICA for the last time. Have mine own little niche that keeps me as busy as I want to be.
I know many think the Source or TrendSource or whatever their name is this month is a great company. I have no qualms tossing them to the curb.
Still as unethical as ever. That may be fine with some. With me, not so much

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How strange. I have a great relationship with Dru. He’s in my top 5 right now. (Schedulers top 5 that is). Lenny kravitz is #1 on all other lists.

I don't have too many problems with Trendsource. My main beef with them is they don't look at a map and I keep getting stuff that's hundreds of miles away and they think I'm going to do it for $17. They get a little huffy when I send them back a pad that makes sense and usually I don't hear back on that!

The pay they were offering for the Medicare Advangage vendors via video conference was a joke. I think it was like $10 to attend a 60 to 90 minute video presentation and then fill out the report. Same time requitement as the in person shops but at about a third the pay.

I completed several assignments for Trendsource during my infancy as a shopper. After realizing their business model was to pay quickly but poorly, my frequency of accepting work plunged. A few years ago, I accepted a job, with a nice bonus, at a closed cell store. I took multiple pics of the situation, but the client insisted the business was open and I was denied my fee. I, as was my prerogative, immediately deactivated my account. I do not in any manner criticize their decision to accept the word of their client, but, as the pics proved, I was not in the wrong and should have been paid.

I actually paid for the background check so I could perform shops. I get desperate emails and texts on a regular basis, but when I apply for the shops all I hear is crickets.

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt

Ah, Kathy, I think there's a secret here -- I always reply to the text/e-mail, and I always get an answer. I don't apply on the website! The scheduler who texted/e-mailed me always puts in the PaD request for me.

@ceasesmith wrote:

Ah, Kathy, I think there's a secret here -- I always reply to the text/e-mail, and I always get an answer. I don't apply on the website! The scheduler who texted/e-mailed me always puts in the PaD request for me.

Agree. I tend to get better pad acceptance when I text or email back the individual scheduler. Or talk to them on the phone.

Sometimes I'll separate a company's "culture" from whether I'd take their shops or not.

If I really like a project, I'll ignore a rude employee there. I also realize it can just be one person (and I'm unlucky to have them as a scheduler/rep in my area) and maybe everyone else is great.

That was the case for me with Trend Source. I did their grocery projects, despite having some bad experiences with a rep. there. I did find their pay deplorable - one of the worst in the industry.

Yesterday I followed your advice and responded to a text. After some back and forth the scheduler said it would be assigned to me. I got a text 20 minutes later saying that since I've never done this shop before he needed to call me to go over the requirements. (Which isn't exactly true-although at four years ago I could definitely stand to have a refresher.) He asked how early he could call me this morning and I said anytime after 8 am, because I wanted to make a call to the business right at 9.

Eight am came and went. Finally at about 9:15 I moved on with my day, letting the scheduler know I had filled up all available slots for next week. I didn't hear back from said scheduler until 1:10 pm. No apology, just an acknowledgement that I had contacted him.

@ceasesmith wrote:

Ah, Kathy, I think there's a secret here -- I always reply to the text/e-mail, and I always get an answer. I don't apply on the website! The scheduler who texted/e-mailed me always puts in the PaD request for me.

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt

Mostly do grocery shops in my area. So ridiculously easy that I could finish them in 10 minutes (including the report). Two hour window now. Overall, they're in the low ball league, but sometimes with PAD it pays well. The fee/reimbursement is decent for the work/travel. Rotation is every two weeks.

Do not read so much, look about you and think of what you see there.
Richard Feynman-- letter to Ashok Arora, 4 January 1967, published in Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005) p. 230

I just do them for the groceries. I have done so many the report is easy and now that you don't have to find employees to talk to it is even better. I have been donating the groceries to those in my neighborhood who are having hard times.

I was just accepted for an onsite inspection.The last time I did one (several years ago) I printed out the entire form, but I know better now. What is the minimum amount of printing I can get away with?

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt

Some of the on-sites can be done on the app now, so you would only need to print the authorization letter in those cases.

Overall I have found them to be a low-paying company. That being said, they pay when they say they will and the reports are very easy. I've completed jobs for them for years and really only had an issue with one scheduler. That person offered me a bonus, but the proper amount did not appear on the payment info. I noticed the day of the shop. I gave the scheduler a couple of hours to correct their error. When they did not, I canceled the shop. Actually never heard from that specific scheduler again.

I used to never complete the grocery stores without a PAD because it was too much work for the very low pay. Now the shops are super easy and fast, but still with the very low pay. I conduct several per week. I don't mind getting a lot of groceries for free each week.

I do the unrevealed ink shops as fillers because they are so easy once you get used to them. I always claim the small reimbursement - sometimes I find great bargains and at least it is a discount.

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

@myst4au wrote:

I do the unrevealed ink shops as fillers because they are so easy once you get used to them. I always claim the small reimbursement - sometimes I find great bargains and at least it is a discount.

I've put in for about 20 of these and never even got a sniff. Same true of other "opportunities." I'm about to just bag it and deactivate because they've clearly got a few "regulars" in my area who get all the work.

@KokoBWare wrote:

@myst4au wrote:

I do the unrevealed ink shops as fillers because they are so easy once you get used to them. I always claim the small reimbursement - sometimes I find great bargains and at least it is a discount.
I've put in for about 20 of these and never even got a sniff. Same true of other "opportunities." I'm about to just bag it and deactivate because they've clearly got a few "regulars" in my area who get all the work.

In my area, these are all self-assign, first come, first serve. So if you have to apply as back-up shopper, then yeah, that can be a bummer. But if you can apply for them before anyone else, you should get them. If there is ever a rotation issue, you can call Trendsource and dial extension 105. You'll get Brenda's voice mail, but if you leave a message requesting some shops that say rotation issue when you know there aren't any, she should assign them to you. Be pleasant and professional. That's how I get mine when it says rotation issue and I know there isn't one. Good luck!

I can self-assign, so that makes it very easy for me.

@KokoBWare wrote:

@myst4au wrote:

I do the unrevealed ink shops as fillers because they are so easy once you get used to them. I always claim the small reimbursement - sometimes I find great bargains and at least it is a discount.
I've put in for about 20 of these and never even got a sniff. Same true of other "opportunities." I'm about to just bag it and deactivate because they've clearly got a few "regulars" in my area who get all the work.

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

I tried one once (ink), and the business had all the ink behind a counter. Employees only behind the counter. I couldn't figure out how to get photos with the employee standing right there watching me, so I gave up on the shop.

When I asked, he said they were stolen so much, they moved the display behind the counter. True -- unless they are overpackaged, ink cartridges can easily be slipped into a pocket.

It took me a while of taking the shops nobody wanted to get to a point where I can self assign. I love being able to quickly get the shops I want.

I like the office supply photo audit. It pays about $9 and I'm done in 10-15 minutes. I enter the job in the app. That equals a high paying job for me. I should probably do the mobile check-in because I spend more time in the store looking for something to buy than doing the shop.

@ceasesmith wrote:

I tried one once (ink), and the business had all the ink behind a counter. Employees only behind the counter. I couldn't figure out how to get photos with the employee standing right there watching me, so I gave up on the shop.

When I asked, he said they were stolen so much, they moved the display behind the counter. True -- unless they are overpackaged, ink cartridges can easily be slipped into a pocket.

Isn't the only one you need to get a photo of the ink, revealed? I don't do the unbiased so I don't know the requirements. The revealed are much quicker, you don't have to wait for an employee to get assistance.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/2021 07:01PM by JasperJohnson.

The one I do requires photos of the aisle, signs, and the price tags of missing inks. That would be nigh unto impossible if the ink cartridges are behind a counter. I visit drug stores, big box stores, etc. and the cartridges are always on peg hooks in an aisle.

@JasperJohnson wrote:

@ceasesmith wrote:

I tried one once (ink), and the business had all the ink behind a counter. Employees only behind the counter. I couldn't figure out how to get photos with the employee standing right there watching me, so I gave up on the shop.

When I asked, he said they were stolen so much, they moved the display behind the counter. True -- unless they are overpackaged, ink cartridges can easily be slipped into a pocket.

Isn't the only one you need to get a photo of the ink, revealed? I don't do the unbiased so I don't know the requirements. The revealed are much quicker, you don't have to wait for an employee to get assistance.

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

@myst4au wrote:

The one I do requires photos of the aisle, signs, and the price tags of missing inks. That would be nigh unto impossible if the ink cartridges are behind a counter. I visit drug stores, big box stores, etc. and the cartridges are always on peg hooks in an aisle.
@JasperJohnson wrote:

@ceasesmith wrote:

I tried one once (ink), and the business had all the ink behind a counter. Employees only behind the counter. I couldn't figure out how to get photos with the employee standing right there watching me, so I gave up on the shop.

When I asked, he said they were stolen so much, they moved the display behind the counter. True -- unless they are overpackaged, ink cartridges can easily be slipped into a pocket.

Isn't the only one you need to get a photo of the ink, revealed? I don't do the unbiased so I don't know the requirements. The revealed are much quicker, you don't have to wait for an employee to get assistance.

That is the "experience" job. That is a tough one....probably why it was still on the board. I'm sure in a odd situation like that, if you tell the employees what you are doing, they would help.

I had one that was half behind a counter. I couldn't get close enough to take the photo of the outs so I took the price tag off the hook, took a photo and returned it to the hook.

It was years ago, and at that time, was not revealed.

Could have changed, meanwhile.

If now revealed, I would happily start doing them again.

I can’t self assign because I don’t do any at base pay. I have them assigned by the scheduler via text (same scheduler that the OP didn’t like)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/08/2021 01:03AM by SoCalMama.

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