Where are the Ipsos bonuses?

The monthly blue (or red) P5’s are more than a week late in adding the first small bonus: they’re still at $12.50. There’s always been at least one increment added, if not 2 or 3, by this time of month. The quarterly yellow M1’s, are also still at base rate, and nearly a week behind the usual first bump. I hope this isn’t a trend to penny pinch or because of new contract terms. I don’t see that more than usual in my area have been claimed—if they’re hoping we’ll claim them earlier because of high gas prices, I don’t think that strategy is working.

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More Discussions About Ipsos Mystery Shopping (All Companies)

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IPSOS aggressively wishes shop fees to fall significantly. That's part of the reason they are purchasing competitors.

I do see some initial bonuses while others are like you said - missing. Could it be the schedulers controlling this?

Significantly, the difference I see between these shops are different schedulers. It makes me wonder how these schedulers are incentivized.
I'm assuming that the shops not bonused and then, taken, reward the scheduler with a better pay rate for themselves while shops that are bonused do the opposite to the scheduler.

No I don’t think it’s the schedulers. There are Q2 blue (or red) that have been bonused for awhile but the P5’s weren’t. Then this morning, the P5 added a bonus. It’s 9 days later in the month than the p4 was added in April. Sometimes different schedulers are faster or slower about adding the bonuses to their route and sending out the email, but from what I’ve seen, the changes are always the same day, so if any haven’t been changed yet they probably will be later today. Because of traveling, I receive emails from all of them.
This is at least true of the blue (or red) and the yellow.
The yellow are done by quarter but there is M1,M2,M3 within the quarter and they bonus the M1’s the first month, etc. But that’s mostly based on the state. I don’t think the M1’s have gotten a bonus yet which is also late.

@French Farmer wrote:

I do see some initial bonuses while others are like you said - missing. Could it be the schedulers controlling this?

Significantly, the difference I see between these shops are different schedulers. It makes me wonder how these schedulers are incentivized.
I'm assuming that the shops not bonused and then, taken, reward the scheduler with a better pay rate for themselves while shops that are bonused do the opposite to the scheduler.

This post will only address the orange tinted mollusk habitate in moderate to densely populated areas. The oil co. has a current market cap of slightly in excess of 1/5th of a trillion dollars and shoppers have provided an inexpensive manner by which to monitor the stations selling their products. If those without a need for money will stop working for peanuts and let the demand exceed the supply, the dollars will flow. Currently, the aquatic home has the 42nd largest cap in the world.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2022 03:35PM by shopperbob.

Shopperbob You probably need to delete the name of the petroleum company. I agree, but I’m not in the situation of not neededing the money. However I still try to do very few, just for a bit of pay and to cover a bit of gas, before there’s at least a small bonus. I do most when there are bigger bonuses, but not as big as they should be.

I got emails this morning we're back at last month's levels for the blue stations for bonuses. I think it might be time to get ready to go outside.

GREED and NO CARING !!
I have been doing gas stations for 15 years now.
IPSOS does not care about us !! I miss Maritz and Stericycle so much.!!!
They want all the cash, even though inflation is going nuts ! They are not
concerned about OUR FUEL and inside purchase COSTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is getting more expensive to do this type of work. Food, lodging and other
"on the road" items have gone up too ! Let's just say...EVERYTHING !
It is so sad

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/17/2022 06:41PM by claabe.

P.S
Printer ink and paper for these STUPID CERTIFICATES !!!!!!!!!

In the end, they are still going to have to get done. They will eventually pay what is required to get them done. They will do it kicking and screaming and past deadline, but they will pay. Be strong and don't accept work that pays less than your time, effort, and expenses are worth!

They are so tone deaf. Travel costs are rising, inflation is through the roof, and every other job in America is paying more. What a rediculous time to decide to cut pay. Don't fall for it! Let the jobs sit until they pay a reasonable amount. If they counter with something low in negotiations, just say no!!!! They will have to pay eventually. This was my experience last month. I ended up getting what I normally received by staying strong and saying no for a while.

I do have to thank the Green station for a $28 pay though !
But....I need to whine some more, for the $2 fuel remb.
Which has always been the fuel fee for a long time.
Okay, I'm done.

Those used to be two separate audits. They started at $18 (so $36 for both) and then they each went up over time. Doing the double will be less time than the two separate ones, but I’m not sure how much less: I haven’t done any yet.
In this case I assume the client is paying less than for the two separate ones but I think they should have started higher.
Yea, $2 in gas at this point is a bigger joke than before.

@claabe wrote:

I do have to thank the Green station for a $28 pay though !
But....I need to whine some more, for the $2 fuel remb.
Which has always been the fuel fee for a long time.
Okay, I'm done.

They are a business, why would they care about your costs? Do you care about theirs?

@claabe wrote:

GREED and NO CARING !!
I have been doing gas stations for 15 years now.
IPSOS does not care about us !! I miss Maritz and Stericycle so much.!!!
They want all the cash, even though inflation is going nuts ! They are not
concerned about OUR FUEL and inside purchase COSTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is getting more expensive to do this type of work. Food, lodging and other
"on the road" items have gone up too ! Let's just say...EVERYTHING !
It is so sad

As they’re a multinational corporation, I don’t expect them to care about their contractors’ or employees’ costs (unless it means they can’t make their money). But why in the world should any of us be worried about their finances (other than again making sure they can pay us on time).
Their revenue in 2021 was 2.26 BILLION dollars. Their revenue in the Americas, which used to be a smaller percentage of revenue, increased 20% in 2021 over 2020.
They’re doing fine. And certainly fine enough to raise base rates for first time in X years, or not have us do more work for same pay, etc.

So it’s totally legitimate to gripe about their corporate greed.

[www.ipsos.com]

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

They are a business, why would they care about your costs? Do you care about theirs?

@claabe wrote:

GREED and NO CARING !!
I have been doing gas stations for 15 years now.
IPSOS does not care about us !! I miss Maritz and Stericycle so much.!!!
They want all the cash, even though inflation is going nuts ! They are not
concerned about OUR FUEL and inside purchase COSTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is getting more expensive to do this type of work. Food, lodging and other
"on the road" items have gone up too ! Let's just say...EVERYTHING !
It is so sad

It is completely true that they don't care at all, and they are just trying to increase their profits.

It's important that we do the same thing. No favors and no sentimentality. Just say no until the pay is commiserate.

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

They are a business, why would they care about your costs? Do you care about theirs?

@claabe wrote:

GREED and NO CARING !!
I have been doing gas stations for 15 years now.
IPSOS does not care about us !! I miss Maritz and Stericycle so much.!!!
They want all the cash, even though inflation is going nuts ! They are not
concerned about OUR FUEL and inside purchase COSTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is getting more expensive to do this type of work. Food, lodging and other
"on the road" items have gone up too ! Let's just say...EVERYTHING !
It is so sad

@thunderdeacon wrote:

It is completely true that they don't care at all, and they are just trying to increase their profits.

It's important that we do the same thing. No favors and no sentimentality. Just say no until the pay is commiserate.

Commensurate.

Mystery Shopping taught me well, I used to go out of my way to help schedulers only for them to turn around and stick the knife straight into the middle of my back. I wait for the bonuses cause I need to make the money now. And I don't really care what they think.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/18/2022 01:06AM by Morledzep.

@Morledzep wrote:

@thunderdeacon wrote:

It is completely true that they don't care at all, and they are just trying to increase their profits.

It's important that we do the same thing. No favors and no sentimentality. Just say no until the pay is commiserate.

Commensurate.

Mystery Shopping taught me well, I used to go out of my way to help schedulers only for them to turn around and stick the knife straight into the middle of my back. I wait for the bonuses cause I need to make the money now. And I don't really care what they think.

It has been my experience that schedulers act friendly and sweet to manipulate you and to get their work quotas filled. If you think that they’re genuinely interested in your well-being, you are fooling yourself. If you need friends, get a dog.

EXACTLY!
As a business owner there is exactly ONE company that I will even think about their costs when considering my own profit for a shop. And even then I won't lose money. This is business, this is MY business. Waaaaaaaaaaaaay too many mystery shoppers treat it as though it's a friendship, not two companies doing business with each other. Take the emotion out.

@thunderdeacon wrote:

It is completely true that they don't care at all, and they are just trying to increase their profits.

It's important that we do the same thing. No favors and no sentimentality. Just say no until the pay is commiserate.

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

They are a business, why would they care about your costs? Do you care about theirs?

@claabe wrote:

GREED and NO CARING !!
I have been doing gas stations for 15 years now.
IPSOS does not care about us !! I miss Maritz and Stericycle so much.!!!
They want all the cash, even though inflation is going nuts ! They are not
concerned about OUR FUEL and inside purchase COSTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is getting more expensive to do this type of work. Food, lodging and other
"on the road" items have gone up too ! Let's just say...EVERYTHING !
It is so sad

Greed is never good ! These companies need people to do "their business".
I ran my own retail business in the 90's. I shared the profits with my employees !
Which made my employees more interested and dedicated to my store.
Everything (family, emotions and a paycheck) is important to everyone.
Back in the day with shopping, you could negotiate routes early in the month.
Companies like Maritz cared about quality and rewarded the contractors.
You actually could CALL THEM !!!!!! You would get a response quickly (not days).
You would know the scheduler's personally (to run your business properly and
schedule your week, or even your whole month). We have more expenses that
effect our daily lives directly(compared to a large corporation with DEEP pockets).
Now, more then ever, compassion and empathy are needed for the people that
help run your business.

It has always been my belief that businesses, no matter their size, are unemotional entities whose sole purpose is to make money. Yes, they are run by humans, and not all, because that would be an assumption, but it seems that many of those humans sacrifice their own beliefs for the benefit of the business entity.
Why else are there so many governmental regulatory agencies? Think FDA FTC, OSHA, EPA, etc. They came into being because businesses could not control their own intense and selfish desire to make money regardless of the damage they might inflict upon others, whether it be the environment, their workers or their fellow humans.

Why do I say this? I have seen it all too often and see examples of it now.
(Rant Over)

It is my opinion, the primary reason for any business to operate is the concern for shareholder equity. As self-employed contractors, shoppers need to be tuned to their respective business raison d'etre.

Ipsos will open their purse when a need arises. Last fall, they paid me $140 to visit two cell stores. There were not any odd hours or distances involved, but it required a particular credit score, which was accessed as a soft hit during the visit.

On an unrelated note, Informa currently has computer shops that only involve retrieving rates. I have completed five @ $35 each and they are like "shooting ducks in a rain barrel." All were soft hits, but I would gladly take a hard hit or three if the opportunity presented itself. I have had hard hits and each only lowered my score 2% for a few months.

Scheduler response to that exact topic “your being unreasonable! We NEVER make offers to reimburse office supplies” $&@) YOU!

The fuel reimbursement has actually been lowered at the blue/red stations for the majority of us. It's gone from $5.00 to 1 gallon. For the moment at least, gas in most of the country is still less than $5/gal so we take the hit for Cali, and NY and NJ. Before the demented clown was installed I could get almost 3 gallons for that $5, those were the good old days.

Yikes you scared me! I looked at the latest update and it doesn’t say that. Maybe blue/red means something different to me. I mean blue OR red. Still $5.

@pieslapper wrote:

The fuel reimbursement has actually been lowered at the blue/red stations for the majority of us. It's gone from $5.00 to 1 gallon. For the moment at least, gas in most of the country is still less than $5/gal so we take the hit for Cali, and NY and NJ. Before the demented clown was installed I could get almost 3 gallons for that $5, those were the good old days.

There are a lot of gas brands that have similar colors.

For example, when you say red or green or blue, I can probably name three stations for each color.

That said, the one that they used to call double Cross oil, that is red and blue, finally has bonuses added. However, they are playing with fire. There are hundreds of them still sitting on the board that are technically due at the end of this month. I know they were hoping to get them filled at lower rates, but it will be interesting to see if this whole thing backfires on them. Due to the lack of bonuses in the middle of the month, I took a hard pass on this project and found work elsewhere. If they do reach out to me at the end of the month and tell me that they can pay the normal bonuses, I'm just not going to have enough time. I guess we will see what happens.

Definitely a good nickname for Vladimir Putin. We had agreed that politics do not belong here but calling Putin a "demented clown" is IMHO simply a statement of reality. And indeed, the average for a gallon of gasoline in NJ in 1999 (before Putin and even before Bush the Younger took office) was $1.17/gallon. Now it is $4.65.

As far as the good old days, I can remember gasoline in NJ in the late 1950s for $0.189 a gallon, there was no polio vaccine, no measles vaccine, no heart transplants, no intra-ocular implants after cataract surgery (which took weeks of recovery time with your head between sandbags on a hospital bed), and little air conditioning!

@pieslapper wrote:

"... Before the demented clown was installed I could get almost 3 gallons for that $5, those were the good old days."

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

To satisfy my curiosity, please explain "auditor's" post. I understand the incorrect usage of the possessive YOUR and the final two words, but the remainder is a mystery to me.

Scheduler response to that exact topic “your being unreasonable! We NEVER make offers to reimburse office supplies” $&@) YOU!

This is how I interpreted the original posting.
Part 1) The poster asked the scheduler to reimburse the cost of office supplies that they had to buy to complete the shop. The scheduler replied that this was an unreasonable request and said that the MSC never reimburses for the cost of office supplies.
Part 2: Either the Scheduler told the Shopper, "F*** YOU!" (presumably for making an unreasonable request) or (more likely IMHO) the Shopper is responding to the Scheduler by telling the Scheduler, "F*** YOU!" because they did not like their request being turned down.

@shopperbob wrote:

To satisfy my curiosity, please explain "auditor's" post. I understand the incorrect usage of the possessive YOUR and the final two words, but the remainder is a mystery to me.

Scheduler response to that exact topic “your being unreasonable! We NEVER make offers to reimburse office supplies” $&@) YOU!

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

Thanks myst To the best of my recollection, that is the strongest response, from whomever it originated, I have yet to encounter on a shopper's forum. It might have been vino influenced.

Well said, SB.

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