I did editing for them before Covid, and was let go, along with 95 percent of the team when Covid hit. It's possible they went that route, or just kept a skeleton crew.

So it sounds like they outsourced the work to another country.

Time to vent: I picked up a JM shop in a nearby town just before the big winter storm hit. This location is very hard to fill and is usually bonused. The only reason that I picked it up was because we were in the shopping center at the store beside the location and my husband wanted JM anyway. The shop went fine. The sandwich was fine. I was able to get the photos with ease. The issue was the editor. Despite me saying the landscape was clean and free of debris, apparently the client wants more detail. I was given the example of stating that the flowers were in bloom and pretty. These editors CLEARLY do not live in the United States or anywhere near this location.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2026 09:02PM by gigishopper.

During the winter I usually comment "the sidewalk was free of snow and ice" (as long as it was shoveled properly)

@gigishopper wrote:

Time to vent: I picked up a JM shop in a nearby town just before the big winter storm hit. This location is very hard to fill and is usually bonused. The only reason that I picked it up was because we were in the shopping center at the store beside the location and my husband wanted JM anyway. The shop went fine. The sandwich was fine. I was able to get the photos with ease. The issue was the editor. Despite me saying the landscape was clean and free of debris, apparently the client wants more detail. I was given the example of stating that the flowers were in bloom and pretty. These editors CLEARLY do not live in the United States or anywhere near this location.

In late Fall, Winter, and early Spring, I tend to comment that the landscaping was consistent with [fill in the season] in this area of the country. I may then add that the area was free if litter as well as living plants other than evergreens.

"on this windy Fall day there were only a few leaves blowing across the parking lot"

I would honestly prefer to provide an exterior photo. They could see for themselves. My response of, "the landscaping was well maintained and free of debris" should more than suffice for a zero pay "pocked" shop (whatever that means).

They offer a few shops in my area with chain restaurants. They usually only reimburse and do not offer a fee. I was apprehensive at first, but now I really like these shops because it gives me an excuse to go out to eat. I haven't found their reports to be too much. A bit of it is repetitive because they want a paragraph to summarize each section and then 2-3 paragraphs at the end for the entire experience. At most, they have wanted photos of each food or drink item and the receipt. I like them because I find the shops easy, quick to pay, and their employees are very responsive. They have a chat option on their website so it is quick to get help. I wish more MCs had that option.

A photo of the "landscaping" sounds like a great idea. My local sandwich shop has parking spots right behind the back door in a shared parking lot.
Nothing green, no leaves because nothing green and if there is trash it is likely it came from one of the next door pick up food places in the same parking lot. I suppose if the lot was not kept up their only cure would be to move to a better run minimall.
These shops now have a bonus for the remaining 3 days of the month but there seems to be only 2 shops left in the entire state of 40 million people.

Serious question: Does anyone ever push back? I see a lot of posts where people didn’t get a shop accepted yet nowhere do I see anyone do anything about it. The company is not the final arbitrator of whether you get paid: there are remedies.

Did you have a shop rejected by ACL as well as HS Brands?

@Dharma19 wrote:

Serious question: Does anyone ever push back? I see a lot of posts where people didn’t get a shop accepted yet nowhere do I see anyone do anything about it. The company is not the final arbitrator of whether you get paid: there are remedies.

I do a lot of shops for ACL. Never make money since I only do restaurants and they are claimed fast here. But I eat well beyond my means. I miss a bunch of restaurants that disappeared with COVID where the money covered lots of extras. One covered 4 entrees plus app, dessert and drinks. We had a place that had half-price apps for happy hour til 6:30 so we’d order 3 or 4 apps plus entrees, etc. Sadly, they are gone now.

One thing I like about ACL is that they are paying faster and the new pocket shops are easier. That said, they do want every friggin’ question whether yes, no or n/a addressed in the narrative. Sometimes a n/a does not need any explanation! But I’ve done enough to know the tricks.

The shop sections are often too long. There’s one place I love but rarely take due to a 76-question server section. Remember, all 76 must be addressed in narrative. They do give 24 hours for submission now and they have never turned down an extension request.

One recent change that I do not like is job postings. They post on a rolling 28 day calendar. They use to post new jobs at midnight. Now, they post randomly including during the month of the shops rather than a month out. Nothing posted for my area this month until the 12th or later, with jobs starting in the first so they are being held. missed a fave place two months in a row due to this new randomness. Sigh…. I’ve also found a returned job listed on the board for self-assignment when I had a waitlist request.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/2026 10:27PM by catmom23.

I NEVER write all the questions out in my narrative. I've done fine dining shops for ACL for over 10 years... I reaffirm all my negative responses, all my n/a and touch upon a few of the 'yes' ones to meet the sentence requirements. Never had a shop returned for that.




[


quote=catmom23]
I do a lot of shops for ACL. Never make money since I only do restaurants and they are claimed fast here. But I eat well beyond my means. I miss a bunch of restaurants that disappeared with COVID where the money covered lots of extras. One covered 4 entrees plus app, dessert and drinks. We had a place that had half-price apps for happy hour til 6:30 so we’d order 3 or 4 apps plus entrees, etc. Sadly, they are gone now.

One thing I like about ACL is that they are paying faster and the new pocket shops are easier. That said, they do want every friggin’ question whether yes, no or n/a addressed in the narrative. Sometimes a n/a does not need any explanation! But I’ve done enough to know the tricks.

The shop sections are often too long. There’s one place I love but rarely take due to a 76-question server section. Remember, all 76 must be addressed in narrative. They do give 24 hours for submission now and they have never turned down an extension request.

One recent change that I do not like is job postings. They post on a rolling 28 day calendar. They use to post new jobs at midnight. Now, they post randomly including during the month of the shops rather than a month out. Nothing posted for my area this month until the 12th or later, with jobs starting in the first so they are being held. missed a fave place two months in a row due to this new randomness. Sigh…. I’ve also found a returned job listed on the board for self-assignment when I had a waitlist request.[/quote]

I do these to get the free product. Someone mentioned large reimbursement for pizza...it's perfect even if I'm not getting paid. Same with the sandwich shops. Those are also pretty easy once you get the required pics. I'm eating lunch either way...if it can be "free" even better!

I've had similar issues with questions being asked that were clearly in the narrative. It gets frustrating for sure.

Where are you seeing hotels for? I've only seen onese here and there for the past month, and I've shopped with them for 5 years. There used to be tons more...

There are hotel shops for various chains. It seems like every type and location is bi monthly. I agree, it seems like there used to be more. I have picked up hotel shops mainly in the southeast US, however, I have done some in IN, IL, MI, OH.

@Luv2Travel123 wrote:

Where are you seeing hotels for? I've only seen onese here and there for the past month, and I've shopped with them for 5 years. There used to be tons more...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/03/2026 07:10PM by gigishopper.

@catmom23 wrote:

One recent change that I do not like is job postings. They post on a rolling 28 day calendar. They use to post new jobs at midnight. Now, they post randomly including during the month of the shops rather than a month out. Nothing posted for my area this month until the 12th or later, with jobs starting in the first so they are being held. missed a fave place two months in a row due to this new randomness. Sigh…. I’ve also found a returned job listed on the board for self-assignment when I had a waitlist request.

I'm curious if anyone has found a pattern to this new randomness, e.g. most posted between x and y dates of the month, or at z times of the day? Back when they were posted on certain dates or times, I could usually get one or two of the key shops I wanted, but now I have no idea...and there are tons of good (e.g. fine dining) shops in my area that always seem to be taken before I even see them posted. I also used to request certain shops from schedulers that knew me, but I'm not even sure who the key schedulers are anymore.

I had a text chat with one of the reps at the beginning of the week. I was looking for a specific location that was only posted once in May ‘25. The rest of the chain is posted every 2-3 months normally. They told me it’s not listed for upcoming. I then asked them if there was a new release schedule and they told me, “We do not have a specific time our clients release their assignments.” The clients release the assignments?

I got a shop last month for a same month shop and it posted between 9 an 11:15 pm. I got lucky and got it. Yesterday, same place posted their Feb dates around 5 pm. I have been checking for jobs every 1-2 hours since it got so erratic.

I only looked on the website because of this discussion. I thought the no reimbursement sandwich shops were history. Happy to take a few more. I always miss out on any other client. I can't recall ever being asked for more info on these assignments.
My most recent editor has an East Asian name, not Eastern European.That doesn't mean it's outsourced.
I was looking through emails to check on that and noticed that 20 year ago I used to do a lot of good shops for ACL.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2026 05:50PM by melg.

@ShopperGirly wrote:

The schedulers have been very pleasant to work with, but the editors are challenging. I say this as someone who, successfully worked with counterparts in India for many years dealing with very large business transactions. Their frame of reference is just not the same as in the U.S.

They are unnecessarily picky and don't seem to understand common issues we face.

I hope this doesn't sound bad.I have many good friends from India and many currently living in India. They need to have a US based liasion to help them understand the culture.

I have to agree with this. I recently completed a shop with the following ordering guideline:

Appetizer, soup, salad, or side item.

I ordered an appetizer and got an email, call, and text very early in the morning asking why I had not ordered a soup, salad, or side item as it was a requirement. It took some time to explain that was not the requirement and if it was a requirement it would have been written appetizer AND soup, salad, or side item.

I took the shop because it was just barely passable for my required reward for effort expended and this early morning unpleasant exchange with an editor tipped the scale for me.

I usually do some restaurant shops and smaller dessert shops too. Never had a report rejected though. I haven't picked up anything in the last four months though.. nothing has caught my eye

I don't need a sandwich badly enough to turn over my entire financial portfolio to their payment system to use as they please and sell when they want. The risk there is just way too high.