Schedulers vs Self Schedule

I am a little confused. It has been some time since I have shopped. Do you have to go through a scheduler to get shops? Has anyone every heard of Nola at KSS? Is she a good scheduler? Is she easy to work with? Is she good at communication? I have always been able to assign my own shops so I am not sure what the benefit of going through a scheduler is.

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You can usually still assign your own shops if you know what company it is they are scheduling for. KSS schedules a lot of Ipsos shops - check both Sassie and Shopmetrics portals to see if the shop you're interested in is there.

Should I not go through Nola? I don't want to make anyone mad and get banned.

@Blendin2background wrote:

Should I not go through Nola? I don't want to make anyone mad and get banned.

It depends on the company. Sometimes, you have to go through the scheduler. If the fee is the same both places, you might as well go through her. If you can self-assign directly on the platform, that works too.

When did you last shop? KSS has been in business for over 20 years. Nola is a key person at KSS. In my experience, she is professional and competent. I have no complaints.

There are scheduling companies (such as KSS International), independent schedulers, and schedulers that are MSC employees.

It depends on the shop/project whether you have to "go through a scheduler." Schedulers are involved in most shops. It may not be apparent, but someone is usually involved in assigning a shop.

Which MSCs do you usually shop for? I am curious because, unless you shop only for Market Force (and perhaps A Closer Look), most shops are not self-assigned.

@Blendin2background wrote:

I am a little confused. It has been some time since I have shopped. Do you have to go through a scheduler to get shops? Has anyone every heard of Nola at KSS? Is she a good scheduler? Is she easy to work with? Is she good at communication? I have always been able to assign my own shops so I am not sure what the benefit of going through a scheduler is.

I have shopped for ACL but mostly Coyle, Intellishop, Advanced Feedback and Storecheckers I am able to self assign with all.

I am not currently scheduling any programs. I manage the schedulers and many of the programs we schedule. All of our shops are assigned on our client sites (MSPs), as that is where all of the guidelines and shop reports are housed. Also, the MSPs issue all shopper payments. Since all of the shop info is housed on the client sites our site does not allow self-assign for shops.

The benefit of applying on our site is that we post all shops for all MSPs that we schedule for all in one place, so you are able to view everything we have in your shopping area.

If you are new to a particular MSP you may not yet be able to self-assign, as there may be a particular minimum rating to self-assign and once you successfully complete shops for the particular MSP then you are able to self-assign if it’s a self-assign program. Some programs are not self-assign and some are — it really just depends on the program.

Hope this helps!

I was just getting emails from you. They were going to my spam so I just found them from the last couple of months. Thank you for replying.

@Blendin2background As a former scheduler for coyle (pre-pandemic), I can 100% stars that I have never seen a coyle shop on self-assign. Same holds true as a shopper for them, which I have been for 15 years.

Thank you!

Kate Rattner, Mystery Shop Scheduler

kateschedules@gmail.com

Sign up for my database for several shop opportunities!
[docs.google.com]

Last time I worked with them was in 1997 or 1998. I think they were pretty new. A lot of the companies I worked for are gone or merged with other people. Usually they emailed me a hotel shop or restaurant shop and the requirements and I accepted it or didn't accept it. Not sure if that falls under self assign or scheduling. Too bad you are no longer with them. Everyone seems very nice. Not like some of the companies around now. This board is full of everyone trying to get at one another. Not sure if that is what it is supposed to be, but I just asked a simple question because I got an email from a company/person I didn't know and didn't find a thread. There are so many scams I didn't want to fall prey to one. If I offended anyone, well that's too bad. I just thought this board was for finding out information. But it seems like it's a bunch of people who have nothing better to do than be mean to each other.

Wow..there are some threads where people can get a bit mean to each other, but I saw nothing on this one to indicate anyone was being mean to you. They were just trying to help you out. You seem a bit ungrateful and thin-skinned. Good luck to you. If you want information from folks, it helps to be gracious and appreciative.

*****************************************************************************
The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

@Blendin2background wrote:

This board is full of everyone trying to get at one another. Not sure if that is what it is supposed to be, but I just asked a simple question because I got an email from a company/person I didn't know and didn't find a thread. There are so many scams I didn't want to fall prey to one. If I offended anyone, well that's too bad. I just thought this board was for finding out information. But it seems like it's a bunch of people who have nothing better to do than be mean to each other.

Everyone on this thread was helpful to you. What are you talking about?

deleted

Moderator Note:

Moderator Note: Post removed because it verbally attacks another forum member. MOD

Um...who is being mean now? Bye bye

*****************************************************************************
The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

@Blendin2background wow I wish I had started shopping in the 90s...to be fair I was 13 in 98 so probably couldn’t have done much!!! From what I’m gathering it sounds like you had done shopping quite a while ago but not recently right?

If so you should check the list of companies on this forum (link should be below). I can’t promise it’s up to date, in fact right now things are changing by the day due to the pandemic. But it would probably be a good place to start.

Almost every shop will have a scheduler involved. While some shops are set for self-assign, you still have the scheduler who would answer questions or extend the date. As far as KSS, they are strictly a scheduling company. A lot of the complaints I’ve seen about them here deal with payment, however while they can try to assist, they are not actually the ones who pay shoppers, so while I’m sure the posts from shoppers are valid, I think it might be misdirected anger.

Thank you!

Kate Rattner, Mystery Shop Scheduler

kateschedules@gmail.com

Sign up for my database for several shop opportunities!
[docs.google.com]

deleted

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

Moderator Note:

Moderator Note: Post removed because it contains verbiage that attacks another forum member. MOD

I have been a member of this board for a shade under 11 years and no one has ever been mean to me. You included the following in a reply:

I am by far thin skinned.

Bob's opinion--That may be the problem with your assessment of this board.

I think OP is (or is very closely related to) another member who frequently goes off her meds.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

I think they are someone with a new name. Something they said - I don't want to quote because the post will get deleted like yours did. Perhaps they were having a bad day. If not, watch for the cycle and be careful.

Kim

Exactly. This person goes through phases of creating threads for attention, and then crying woe is me.

She is too entertaining to block, but I don't read her posts.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

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