@Lstockwell wrote:

This is a good route process.

How so? I do over 100 gas audits a month. Some months more. There is no way I can plan a route and stick to specific date. Some days I might get 15 done some days I might only get 7 done. My schedule needs to be flexible. Especially when your throw in a few night audits, rain, snow, ice etc. I’m traveling on my routes so my bottom line has to include overnight stays where I am not doing a hotel evaluation. I usually do a 10-14 days route per month. I do a lot of small towns in the middle of nowhere. $12.50 per shop won’t cut it.

@mmsackett wrote:

I usually do a 10-14 days route per month. I do a lot of small towns in the middle of nowhere. $12.50 per shop won’t cut it.

Especially if you are limited to 100 of those per work cycle. Hotel room costs will take a big bite out of that. (That's assuming you're talking about the chain that I think you are talking about.)

When I watched the video I couldn't wait to come here and see if everyone was thinking what I'm thinking. This will get most of the assignments done early and cheap because we are competing to get them first. That cuts back on paying schedulers to do what we will now be doing ourselves. Every company is out there to make money, I guess. The thing that bothered me was the spin they put on it. Like it's a great thing they are doing just for us. Just change things, and don't then try to manipulate me to be happy without giving any thought to what you are actually telling me. But it won't matter much to me, anyway. I'm cutting way back on shops not close to home because the rising gas prices are cutting into my earnings. I do this as a supplement, not as a full time job, so rising gas prices really make me think twice about doing a job that sounds "fun" or is in an area I like to visit, anyway. I love doing this, but lower pay and higher gas prices just don't add up to some of my favorite shops being worth it anymore. Especially those shops that I got merchandise instead of payment, or merchandise plus so little payment that it would barely pay for a gallon of gas. Just saying, I'm feeling disappointed all around.

For me, my own opinion and what would work for me in doing gas stations, is to just do this:

1) Just give your reliable (non-flaking - you know who they are) rotational shoppers the option of performing the shop in one of the 4 weeks of the month. If they flake too often, they revert to only getting the first 2 weeks of the month.
2) For newbies, allow them the first 2 weeks. Reward the non-flakers, over time, the ability to schedule out further in the month.
3) Recognize that certain areas of the country are impacted by weather. As an example, here in the northern part of the country, it is very difficult to schedule out shops because of snow and various other wintertime conditions. Do not penalize those shoppers if they need to reschedule.
4) Realize that certain gas stations are in such lonely, rural parts of the state, etc, that in order for the shopper to even consider doing them, in a timely manner, a reasonable, workable bonus needs to be implemented within a week or so of the shop becoming available. For instance, I know of a single gas station in a tiny little town almost 90 miles from me that I've done only when it was substantially bonused enough for me to do it. If there were other types of shops nearby, I would have considered doing it for less of a bonus, but, there were not. I've seen that particular shop sit for weeks upon weeks with no takers.
Remember IPSOS, if you want your shops performed in a timely, responsible and professional manner, you need to recognize that the quality of the shop performed in a timely manner, should be more important than the quantity of shops done.
You know who your professional, reliable and responsible shoppers are. Why else do you give a performance rating.
So forget about the "Swag", that doesn't put money in the bank, just be an adult and go with what obviously motivates your shoppers.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/2021 01:03PM by French Farmer.

This is purely speculation from me; it is predicated upon 58 years of self-employment and 18 of shopping. Ipsos is so large, they are unable and/or unwilling to consider isolated situations. Just this week, I was contacted by an independent scheduler concerning a bank visit they were unable to fill. I responded that I could complete the work Fri. 04/23, but with considerable shuffling of assignments, or Fri. 04/30 for $10 less, as my schedule was empty. She replied it must be this week, but at next week's fee. I declined and she passed on my fee request for 04/23. While I was typing this post, I received an emergency call awarding me a video job for this afternoon at 16:00 and paying $150. The Ipsos scheduler did me a favor by declining my offer.

Folks, it more shoppers refused to work for an amount they deemed unacceptable, the fees would probably become workable.,

@French Farmer wrote:

4) Realize that certain gas stations are in such lonely, rural parts of the state, etc, that in order for the shopper to even consider doing them, in a timely manner, a reasonable, workable bonus needs to be implemented within a week or so of the shop becoming available.

This suggestion is one in particular that I would agree with. Too often in the past I have felt like they wanted to play a game of "brinkmanship" with deadline based incentives. Meaning wait until it’s like a day or two from the “real” deadline that they don’t like to tell anyone about, in which the client expects the work in by. And then offer a reasonable amount for an incentive. But the problem then is there is not enough time to get to everything if it’s all far away. It’s them being so greedy with incentives that they are willing to risk not meeting their own deadline with the client, while being super strict about shoppers not meeting their deadlines with them.

Now with the iShopFirst idea, I would suspect that they might give you something like an extra $2 right away to do that very far away shop in the middle of no where, since you make a good point, but not perhaps the extra $30 that you could really use to justify making such a trip. That’s the kind of thing that irks me because they could do this and still do very well profit-wise. It’s just because of greed that they don’t. They are getting so many shops done at the lower pay rates in the urban areas, that it shouldn’t be a big deal to pay appropriately for the few shops in rural areas from the get go.

@shopperbob wrote:

Folks, it more shoppers refused to work for an amount they deemed unacceptable, the fees would probably become workable.,

I agree with you, but I think the problem for some people is that they do not know what better options are available to them for work. That’s what prompted me to look into starting a career as a data analyst. This type of work does not pay reliably, and that is unlikely to change.

Congrats on your video shop award though.

So... did anyone get this mysterious swag??? I have not gotten any subsequent notifications about this program. Anyone else?

@mmsackett wrote:

@Lstockwell wrote:

This is a good route process.

How so? I do over 100 gas audits a month. Some months more. There is no way I can plan a route and stick to specific date. Some days I might get 15 done some days I might only get 7 done. My schedule needs to be flexible. Especially when your throw in a few night audits, rain, snow, ice etc. I’m traveling on my routes so my bottom line has to include overnight stays where I am not doing a hotel evaluation. I usually do a 10-14 days route per month. I do a lot of small towns in the middle of nowhere. $12.50 per shop won’t cut it.

does it bother you at all that by doing so many at a time you're never able to take advantage of the $5 worth of gas? i feel like fees are so low, that $5 matters.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/14/2021 12:21AM by jay225.

A pickup can hold a lot of gas. Gas cans hold even more. I have 2 other vehicles in my household that can use my overflow. I ALWAYS get my $5 worth, even if I give the gas away!

@jay225 wrote:

does it bother you at all that by doing so many at a time you're never able to take advantage of the $5 worth of gas? i feel like fees are so low, that $5 matters.

No, for me, not at all. I will take advantage of the $5 whenever I can, but the way I look at it, the less I charge on my cards that get interest applied to it, the better. If I only have to spend $1 or $2, then I'm fine with not charging more on my card.

Interest is not charged on credit cards if the balance is paid in full each cycle.

So, you know at Dollar Tree, in the party section, you can get a whole bag of cheap kid's party favors for a buck? Well, that's the swag. But not a whole bag. Just one piece. Of valueless crap. One more way to demean us, nice. Straight to the trash.

I cannot make heads or tails about what this thread is about. They never sent me an invitation to watch a video as far as I know. However since I live in a large city we have no big bonuses anyway. Last week I saw one location with a $3 bonus but it would have taken me an hour to get there and back even tho it was in my city. Not worth $3. Since covid I see some bonuses but I imagine they will be gone as soon as Delta is gone, unless you all leave mystery shopping and become data analysts. I am a retired data analyst and since covid began I get two or three job inquiries every week on linked in. In all the years before covid I never got any job inquiries so becoming a data analyst, if you have the "right stuff" at this moment is probably a good idea.

Sandyf - IPSOS iShop First is an "Incentive" program to entice shoppers to accept low-paying assignments as soon as they're released for a chance to be "rewarded" with a dollar store bauble.

Is that official confirmation of what the swag actually was? A cheap party favor?

That's what the shopper friend showed me. Something like a headband with something something Ipsos stamped on it.

That's incredibly bad. I assume that your friend must think it's worth his or her time to do a bunch of shops at base pay. I could never imagine doing a shop at base pay, even if it was across the street from my house. So, to thank them for working thrir buttocks off for what might amount to minimum wage if they plan really well, they get a cheap head band. Regular jobs are paying so well now and everywhere is hiring. I just can't see why anyone would think that it would be worthwhile to just go do a bunch of shops at base pay. It's sad that they got something so crappy to say thanks for helping increase the bonuses of the people that don't even have to leave their house to go work.

@sestrahelena wrote:

That's what the shopper friend showed me. Something like a headband with something something Ipsos stamped on it.

She's been hard up for money and takes anything she can get. Lives a few states away. She had sent me a pic of the swag.