Q for those who work with A Closer Look

Disclaimer: Relative newbie here.

I was accepted as a shopper for A Closer Look (ACL) a couple of weeks ago. Since then, the ACL shopper log-in page has read, "We will start posting September shops on Tuesday, August 16th at 12 noon." ... and so I've anxiously been waiting to sign up for my first shop with ACL today. I've been checking their job board rather compulsively today, but there still are NO jobs listed for September in my state. Is this normal? Thanks in advance!

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Yes, it is perfectly normal. The shops in my area most frequently post on or about the 3rd day of posting and are about the last ones up it would seem. Do check the board a couple of times a day over the next few days, but obsessiveness is probably not necessary.

Meantime, take a look at the 'Locations' tab for who the clients in your area are so you have some notion of what to expect. Not all shops are shopped every month and as a new shopper there may be some of the locations you will not be allowed to visit until you have performed some shops for them.

Thanks, Flash!!

You're welcome! Good luck on getting a nice job with them. They are great to work with and love you when you can provide direct quotes. They have a style guide which is a pretty decent help. They do not like contractions and the format for a quote with them that seems to work best is something like: Suzy answered the phone at the end of the second ring saying, "Thank you for calling Square Peg of Omaha! This is Suzy. How may I help you?" Remember comma before quote and ending punctuation inside the quote.

Look under Aug. as well, I see they have some jobs available. I just checked and jobs are not out yet for Sept.

Live consciously....

After some time with ACL, you will start to get the feel for when certain jobs get posted within the posting dates.

I've always been under the impression that some of the less desirable jobs are posted first, since they have a filter that limits the amount of jobs that can be self-scheduled.

I have to say that the locations tab, relatively simple reports and self-scheduling makes ACL one of my favorite MSCs to shop for, despite the pay being between average and non-existent for most restaurants.

The ability to pick up a last-minute lunch or dinner from my phone when my GF and I are out on the town has come in handy many times.

In my market their biggest reimbursement shop is usually post first, which may make them more or less desireable. The client indeed makes them the most undesireable shops for me :-)

What I appreciate is that their reimbursements are not just a discount. The reimbursement does not require that you order the cheapest of the required purchases in order to stay within budget either. Our most frequent shop we come out happy and stuffed with leftovers to take home and are still $3-4 below the maximum reimbursement.

They are also great about changing dates on shops to fit your schedule if they possibly can. They can't change the time period of the shop and they can't change the date if it gets the shop too close to another visit, but they can be somewhat flexible.

I didn't see any September shops yesterday either. Some shops posted today, but they will continue to release shops sporadically enough throughout the month to be maddening. In my area, typically the highest reimbursement is released first, but no other pattern has been detected.

Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences! Today I was able to view several restaurant shops for September ... I'll keep checking back.

This is something new I saw in a closer look e-mail. On a list of shops they also have a line that says,"Reimbursement Check Date: 10/24/2011".....So you know when will you get paid. Cool.

Yes, and they are good enough about staying true to those dates that I don't make any note of them when I accept work for them. As anticipated, I received my payment for July on 8/25. I don't remember what date the check was to be cut, but 8/25 is the date I received it. There are also extremely few errors in payment amounts--either over or under, whether it is an added bonus or an entire shop.

Here's a quick follow-up to my experience with ACL:
I submitted my first shop report for ACL last night. At noon today I received a nice email from an ACL editor thanking me for my report and letting me know it had already been forwarded on to the client. Impressive!

Congratulations PizzaPizza! That means that first time out of the box with them you gave them what they are looking for. You will never see a score per se with them, but when you get the email you got you know you are doing it right. They use 'approved' phrases to build their emails, so there are phrases to add into the email if you are stating opinions instead of facts, if you are not addressing all 'no' answers, if your grammar is not acceptable, etc. There have been nights when I submitted a report around 10PM and went on to deal with email only to have their note that the shop had been sent on to the client landin my in box before midnight. They do have very quick turnover in getting the shops on to the client.

New Shooper looking to apply with this company. I do not see a link to submit an applicaton. Please help, thanks.

Wow Flash, how the heck are you? I have missed your postings recently!

debosummers, on their home page, click on "Become a shopper" at the lower right of the page.

[www.a-closer-look.com]

Since I speak with one or more schedulers there a couple of times a month, I have learned that they are a bit short handed right now. One key person is on scheduled maternity leave. Another suddenly had a premmie and is also now on earlier-thatn scheduled maternity leave. Both moms and babies are doing well, but monthly job posting dates have lagged a bit for the past two months. Just a note to say that not all delays are for potentially unhappy reasons! And, pay remains precisely on time and as advertised. Great people to work with.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

ACL is the first company I did a shop for. I have really enjoyed shopping for them. They have great clients, fairly easy to complete reports, and the schedulers have always been fast to respond to questions.

Remains my absolute favorite MSC. I shop for a lot of them but ACL is the best, IMO. Especially for the great eateries in the Hotlanta market.

walesmaven Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just a note
> to say that not all delays are for potentially
> unhappy reasons!

Sweet. =D

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2013 02:33AM by CAscotch.

I still see them.

Not every location or client is shopped every month. To my dismay, one of their clients that I really enjoy just went from monthly to quarterly shopping.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2013 02:33AM by CAscotch.

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