Do schedulers earn money per shop filed on time, and loose comissions (personally) out of the bonuses they have to pay to get the jobs complete?

Fromt the top down,

Client A pays $100 for a desktop shop. Mystery shopper is paid $25. Company earns $75, and scheduler probably earning a comission of $40 to review the shop. Now the shop can't be filed, the scheduler has some power and incentive to give you a $10 bonus. Is that out of her money, so now its $35 me, $30 you?

The reason I ask is, one freqent desktop shop pays $25 with $10-$20 bonuses. The same store has eReaders for $7 with $1 whopping bonuses. THe forms are almost identical, and shop time and paperwork differences might be 30% in workload. Why the heck is there such a large difference within the same MSC? Who would do these $7 shops (requires about an hour of work)?

That's multiple questions The difference in the fee is probably related to different clients and what they feel the value is for the shop. While I'm sure clients don't directly dictate fees it all gets rolled into their cost per job. Just because you are going to the same store doesn't mean it is the retailer who has ordered the shop.

Scheduler's pay has to vary since some are employees and others are IC's just like us. You also mentioned the scheduler reviewing the job. Some schedulers are also editors and sometimes those are separate jobs. One scheduler who was an employee told me she was working with a small hourly plus bonus set up. She was also leaving because (stop me if this sounds familiar) her company was wanting more and more work for less pay until she was only making her base which was minimum wage

My guess is that even the schedulers who edit are doing a ROTFLOL at $40!

I am pretty sure that schedulers and editors feel the same pinch as shoppers and companies are fearful of asking more from clients to handle everybody all the way around for fear that the company next store will underbid them. There are a few companies recognized for the quality of their work (and obviously the competence and maturity of their salesmen) who bring fair fees to the conversation. But there are some small companies that I visualize as the cartoon guy on the street corner whipping open his overcoat to display his cheap shiny replica watches. He wouldn't be there if he didn't have buyers.

People always want to believe that there are big bucks somewhere in this business and someone else and/or everyone else is getting them all, LOL!

Flash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My guess is that even the schedulers who edit are
> doing a ROTFLOL at $40!
>

Heck ya! My guess would be more like $5 to maybe $10 if it was a VERY difficult to edit/schedule shop.

There's a thread around here somewhere about an editor job offering $8 a report and they aren't CORI or MarketForce type reports either!

Thanks, Marmani, that was a good laugh! As a scheduler and an editor, I can tell you that we don't make anywhere near that for either or both combined. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on what I currently make for either, but I can tell you that for my last scheduling job, we made $3 per shop that was SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED. That means if I scheduled a shop and then a shopper flaked it, I had to schedule it all over again, no matter how long it took. And if it got flaked again, well, you get the point. $3 is not a lot when you spend HOURS trying to book a single location. That being said, there were shops that would "fly off the shelf" and took almost no effort on my part. For those, I was also paid $3. I optimistically told myself that it all balanced out, but I'm really not so sure.

As for bonuses, the company I previously worked with would give us a monthly "bonus pool" to distribute as we pleased. If we went over that amount, it came out of our checks. That never, ever happened to me because I just wasn't willing to give up money that was so hard to earn at times. On top of that, as a scheduler, I was charged a FEE to use the scheduling software that the company used. You heard that right, the company I was an IC for didn't cover their own software fees - they passed it on to the schedulers! So we all paid $1 per shop for this fee (the scheduling fee was "technically" $4, but after this "software fee" we were paid $3 per shop. I can't speak to what editors made, but I believe it was close to what scheduler's made - again, sometimes you get a REALLY EASY edit that takes almost no time to complete, and sometimes you get terrible edits that take a half hour or more so you're REALLY working for your money!

Here's some more reality for you - most schedulers have to wait as long as or LONGER than shoppers to get paid. I don't mind being paid once per month as I do now. I know when my money's coming and it's ALWAYS there, like clockwork, but budgeting and only being paid once per month can be difficult. At the company I previously worked with, we got paid every 6-8 weeks or whenever they felt like paying us and there was absolutely, positively no schedule AND we were paid three months after completed work (i.e. shops scheduled in January were typically paid in March or April). It was a nightmare, to say the least.

Also, the numbers you have are way up there. You might have just been using round numbers for the purpose of it being easy, but I'm fairly certain that most shops (I'm not talking high-end shops) cost about half of that (give or take). There really isn't a lot of "wiggle room" in the shopper fees. If we add bonuses, we're truly desperate, and I've seen my current company eat fees and lose money just to get a shop done for a client. I really think that a lot of the people who have never seen "behind the scenes" in this industry are very misguided about the amount of money MSC's make. Sure, some of the huge companies might be rolling in the dough, but as far as I know, my bosses aren't taking European vacations several times a year, nor are they driving Porches, and they certainly don't employ Au Pairs for their children. Admittedly, I was totally ignorant of these facts back when I was just a shopper as well. There really is no way to know this stuff unless someone tells you, right?

Unfortunately, I can't really speak to the discrepancies in pay that you mention in your last inquiry as I really have no idea.

Thanks for the dose of reality

I would say this was the reality when I scheduled as well...at least though the scheduling fee was a tax deduction.

It was great if you could schedule a shop right off but ones that required multiple emails or repeats were not very cost effective.

I prefer to shop and find I make more/better money (personally) that way.

Liz


JGiles Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks, Marmani, that was a good laugh! As a
> scheduler and an editor, I can tell you that we
> don't make anywhere near that for either or both
> combined. It would not be appropriate for me to
> comment on what I currently make for either, but I
> can tell you that for my last scheduling job, we
> made $3 per shop that was SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED.
> That means if I scheduled a shop and then a
> shopper flaked it, I had to schedule it all over
> again, no matter how long it took. And if it got
> flaked again, well, you get the point. $3 is not a
> lot when you spend HOURS trying to book a single
> location. That being said, there were shops that
> would "fly off the shelf" and took almost no
> effort on my part. For those, I was also paid $3.
> I optimistically told myself that it all balanced
> out, but I'm really not so sure.
>
> As for bonuses, the company I previously worked
> with would give us a monthly "bonus pool" to
> distribute as we pleased. If we went over that
> amount, it came out of our checks. That never,
> ever happened to me because I just wasn't willing
> to give up money that was so hard to earn at
> times. On top of that, as a scheduler, I was
> charged a FEE to use the scheduling software that
> the company used. You heard that right, the
> company I was an IC for didn't cover their own
> software fees - they passed it on to the
> schedulers! So we all paid $1 per shop for this
> fee (the scheduling fee was "technically" $4, but
> after this "software fee" we were paid $3 per
> shop. I can't speak to what editors made, but I
> believe it was close to what scheduler's made -
> again, sometimes you get a REALLY EASY edit that
> takes almost no time to complete, and sometimes
> you get terrible edits that take a half hour or
> more so you're REALLY working for your money!
>
> Here's some more reality for you - most schedulers
> have to wait as long as or LONGER than shoppers to
> get paid. I don't mind being paid once per month
> as I do now. I know when my money's coming and
> it's ALWAYS there, like clockwork, but budgeting
> and only being paid once per month can be
> difficult. At the company I previously worked
> with, we got paid every 6-8 weeks or whenever they
> felt like paying us and there was absolutely,
> positively no schedule AND we were paid three
> months after completed work (i.e. shops scheduled
> in January were typically paid in March or April).
> It was a nightmare, to say the least.
>
> Also, the numbers you have are way up there. You
> might have just been using round numbers for the
> purpose of it being easy, but I'm fairly certain
> that most shops (I'm not talking high-end shops)
> cost about half of that (give or take). There
> really isn't a lot of "wiggle room" in the shopper
> fees. If we add bonuses, we're truly desperate,
> and I've seen my current company eat fees and lose
> money just to get a shop done for a client. I
> really think that a lot of the people who have
> never seen "behind the scenes" in this industry
> are very misguided about the amount of money MSC's
> make. Sure, some of the huge companies might be
> rolling in the dough, but as far as I know, my
> bosses aren't taking European vacations several
> times a year, nor are they driving Porches, and
> they certainly don't employ Au Pairs for their
> children. Admittedly, I was totally ignorant of
> these facts back when I was just a shopper as
> well. There really is no way to know this stuff
> unless someone tells you, right?
>
> Unfortunately, I can't really speak to the
> discrepancies in pay that you mention in your last
> inquiry as I really have no idea.

Wow.

Well learned. Thanks for clearing that up.

The reason I assumed you make so much is because the money doesn't add up. Maybe the company is getting rich.

A medium size company that does a LOT of auto shops has client pricing advertised on the website. That means regular pricing is probably more. For the "starter" package, 20 mystery phone calls were $750 and 20 dealership visits were $1500.

So break it down. That means the client is paying MSC $75 per auto shop. The IC shopper gets $17 and the scheduler gets $3 (wtf?). Where did all that money go!? $55 is unaccounted for. And believe me, I know as a business owner and entrepreneur, you need margins, but I was very sure schedulers had a little more freedom than us, or got hourly pay. Maybe other schedulers will give their take, since, you were motivated to post as it was an exception. Schedulers making big bux aren't going to just advertise for the competition on here.

No problem, marmani. I hope you didn't take my reply as rude or defensive (I know how hard it is to convey/read tone on the Internet...).

Like I said, I can't comment on my current pay as it just wouldn't be professional, but I do get an hourly rate and I feel it's fair for the work I do.

Those are some high-priced shops you mentioned above! Suffice it to say that some MSC's prefer larger margins, and you are probably safe to assume that most of that "unaccounted for" money is NOT going to the schedulers or editors.

Marmani, there is a retail store here that puts 'MSRP' and 'Our Price' on all of the price tags in the store with a substantial differential between them. While the 'Our Price' may not be low enough to encourage me to buy, the 'MSRP' listed is to make be believe that 'Our Price' is a great deal. I suspect that very few clients pay the 'MSRP' listed on the website--that they all get a deal.

At the same time, the start up time on a shop is going to require a fair amount of time by the company in meetings with the client about what they are trying to determine, what appropriate responses are, decision making about what proof of visit the client will find acceptable and getting everything signed off on before the instructions are written and the location list obtained and everything uploaded into the platform. It is probably that time savings for subsequent years which is why companies offer the client a lower price per shop for the next year and cut back the shopper fees as well. The price for a shop is also going to depend on whether the company is just presenting edited-to-be-readable reports to the client or doing more complex data analysis to determine trends.

Thanks amazing info and I always try to get things done on time and do good reports. Just stay in touch and we can all work it out;

Makes sense.

So when I get an easy high-paying job, it's a client who got roped into a high-charging MSC?

How about a client who expects a superior report and puts a great deal of value on the information provided? Sometimes reports are simply used for scoring, others are used as training tools which is why they either require a lot more detail or utilized video/audio recordings.

BTW, I also would assume a company paying a higher rate to the shopper also pays higher rates to schedulers and editors for the same reason. So $17 to the shopper and $3 to the editor doesn't necessarily add up. Also with those calculations you used that $55 is surely not unaccounted for and definitely not pure profit. There are too many other business expenses that you have not factored into the equation.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/13/2012 03:48PM by LisaSTL.

That is also why if I am doing one of those easy, high paying shops, I put in the extra effort to include as much detail and information as possible. You get what you pay for.

There are shops that are just routine scores on a location for determination of bonuses or penalties. These tend to be lower paying, frequent and not in depth. Some of these are done as frequently as every week and most frequently the report is Y/N or multiple choice.

There are shops that check that associate training is being used. I suspect these are reported as scores with modest supporting narratives.

There are shops that describe the whole experience. These I suspect are submitted to the client pretty much in total after editing.

I have noted that the shops that check training tend to have the best fees while the whole experience shops have the best reimbursements. My guess is that my reimbursement on some of the whole experience shops exceeds what the company is receiving.

My guess is that the initial setup and scheduling are the greatest company expenses on many of the Y/N and multiple choice shops. It is very possible that a human being does not even handle my report but it is rather just machine tallied with the results going into an overall trend line graphic report for the location. So the client probably pays a bundle for the initial setup and after that the cost per shop to the client is pretty modest.

Hear hear Jamie!

Hi everyone! I think Jamie covered a lot of information that I am sure is helpful.

I know that when I worked as a mystery shopper years ago, when I got to consider in all of the tax deductions (gas, copy paper,ink, meals, etc) it helped me out so much more as being an editor, and now scheduler (with some editing thrown in LOL) as I do not have all of those deductions. I used to be paid per edit/schedule and agree 100% with Jamie on some are easy and some are VERY hard. There are some areas of the US where the client has an assignment and it can take me weeks to get that one location filled.

The company I work for does pay shoppers higher $$ for more entailed reports and sometimes we do have to bonus shops. I do know that the owners of my company have lost money getting some shops filled and it stinks on their side. That's the way it works though.

As for how much the client pays and how it ties in to how much the MSP makes, well, you have to consider all of the breakdowns. Most MSPs (except for the one Jamie is referring to) pay for the software they use (and most software companies charge per report), then they pay for internet, phone service, building rent/mortgage, power/gas expenses, pay the schedulers, editors, and shoppers, and other misc expenses.

Given that, all MSPs do make money. I mean, who would want a business if they made no money? I wouldn't! LOL

I'm not rolling in the dough as a scheduling manager but I love my job and love getting to 'meet' my shoppers. I get to stay home to work (in my pj's still this morning!) and am here when my 4 children get home from school. That balances out for me!

Also, when you see me begging for help with an assignment, please know I am truly desperate and not meaning to bug anyone!!!

As both a scheduler and editor, I can assure you that your figures of what we are paid are WAY off! I don't know any that are paid anywhere near what you seem to think.

As a scheduler, we don't get paid unless the shopper does the shop and the report is accepted by the client. If the shopper flakes or does the shop wrong, we are back to square one. Depending on the shop, we might have to fill it multiple times before it is good to go. As an editor, if the report is incomplete we might have to go back and forth with the shoppers several times to get the necessary information before we can submit the report to the client. Regardless, the editing can take up to an hour depending on the detail and ength of the report and, more importantly, how well the report is written. You have no idea what the reports come in looking like!

Judy Davis
Independent Scheduler


marmani Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Do schedulers earn money per shop filed on time,
> and loose comissions (personally) out of the
> bonuses they have to pay to get the jobs
> complete?
>
> Fromt the top down,
>
> Client A pays $100 for a desktop shop. Mystery
> shopper is paid $25. Company earns $75, and
> scheduler probably earning a comission of $40 to
> review the shop. Now the shop can't be filed,
> the scheduler has some power and incentive to give
> you a $10 bonus. Is that out of her money, so now
> its $35 me, $30 you?
>
> The reason I ask is, one freqent desktop shop pays
> $25 with $10-$20 bonuses. The same store has
> eReaders for $7 with $1 whopping bonuses. THe
> forms are almost identical, and shop time and
> paperwork differences might be 30% in workload.
> Why the heck is there such a large difference
> within the same MSC? Who would do these $7 shops
> (requires about an hour of work)?

This thread really points out the MS'ers who look at this as a business and those who look at this as an employee. Keep up the good work as there is a lot that can be learned here by new shoppers.

JGiles Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> As for bonuses, the company I previously worked
> with would give us a monthly "bonus pool" to
> distribute as we pleased. If we went over that
> amount, it came out of our checks. That never,
> ever happened to me because I just wasn't willing
> to give up money that was so hard to earn at
> times.

I have had a scheduler (for a certain frequent, yet very hard to fill (might be the $7 with the lengthy questionairre!) shop) call me and ask me to do a shop about 40 miles from me. I asked for a $10 bonus, and he said that he would give me $5 via the company and the other $5 personally out of his next paycheck. He then told me his wife was going to have to drive 150 miles each way to do the shop if I couldn't help him...Part of me was mad at myself for not negotiating a bigger bonus, but reading this now (and I think this was my motivation in saying "yes" to it), these folks are in the same boat as we are, so why not help them out?

What's funny to me is that I think I would be way more willing to do this $7 shop more often if it was a $10 shop. Something about the higher number--it's not significant, but psychologically I think I would just be more likely to take them. Oh, and for this particular shop, PLEASE, GOD, remove one of the stupid, "MYSTERY SHOPPER OVER HERE!!!" questions that has been there for over a year now. Either remove it or mix it up a bit! Grrr.

I feel that way about CORI, too, though. If they increased all of their commissions by a few dollars, they would probably have less need to ridiculously bonus other shops. But who knows...

I personally find it offensive for the scheduler to guilt you into the shop with an indication that they are paying half of the bonus. I find it completely unprofessional. I recognize that some schedulers HAVE paid me bonuses from their own funding because the bonus comes as a separate Paypal, usually long before the company pays the fee and reimbursement.

If the job is not worth the fee I won't do it. The only exception is when it is a scheduler who has either dropped plums on me and/or who I trust will drop plums on me in the future. If the schedulers are not paid enough for their work I should not be asked to work for less because of it. If a company is not making a profit I should not be asked to work for less because of it. The pay needs to be worthwhile for me to spend my time and gas on it and there are ample jobs out there that do that for the role mystery shopping plays in my life. In the past I have done lots more jobs than I do today but if the economy is not allowing them to pay shoppers fairly I am not required to play.

good perspective, Flash. I guess I need to get a tougher skin. It's true that if we all refused to work for sub-standard pay, they would have to change their ways.

They won't change their ways because there are always shoppers willing to do $3 and $4 road trips and driving 20 miles for an extra $2 on a job that wasn't fairly paid to start with or it would have been taken. It just doesn't need to be me wasting my time and gas. That being said, there are a couple of schedulers I would do the occasional free job for if they needed because they take good care of me the rest of the time. But isn't interesting that they would never ask that of me.

I completely agree with every word FLASH used in the above comments. I think it was Jan. of 2009, when the owner of a scheduling company posted on Volition and requested shoppers work for less to help MSCs who had a cash flow problem.

Reeeeeeally! And who was then going to help the shoppers through their cash flow problems?

I have always looked at the lower paying jobs (anything less than $10) as "on the job experience" for new shoppers. I did nothing but $4.00 shops when I first started to gain experience and confidence. Those who I have gotten started in this field I have told they can expect to do the low paying jobs at first and get their experience in. Frankly, I would rather mess up on a $4.00 fast food or convenience/gas store than a $25.00 or more upscale shop!
So far everyone has taken my advice and moved on to bigger pay as they gained their experience and confidence. So I am glad that low paying shops are available and I think the schedulers should try to give these to the newbie shoppers as training experiences and give the higher paying ones to those with more experience. Everyone learns attheirr own pace, too. It took me nearly a year before I had the confidence to do the upscale shops.

I am wondering hoindependentant schedulers" matheirier money? I recruit alot of people it seems like and maybe would recruit more if I could earn a little on the training I do for free now! I have never yet gotten that referral fees for the 4 people I have already "trained"!

Any answers welcome on this one!

LisaSTL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Reeeeeeally! And who was then going to help the
> shoppers through their cash flow problems?


Yes Lisa exactly. We are not volunteers. I think that there are way too many MSC's out there in order for them to individually make a profit. If you are a company that is not making a profit, please do not ask your shopper to work for nothing.
Who does this. ??
When I did a Freeman shop a while back, they had my $200 for over 3 months to help pay their expenses. Let us not be naive. This is exactly what is happening. Do not work for these companies.We need to let them fail if they cannot pay their shoppers, which without they could not do business. Do not be intimidated. Stay with the companies that pay reasonably and on time.

cynb Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> LisaSTL Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Reeeeeeally! And who was then going to help the
> > shoppers through their cash flow problems?
>
>
> Yes Lisa exactly. We are not volunteers. I think
> that there are way too many MSC's out there in
> order for them to individually make a profit. If
> you are a company that is not making a profit,
> please do not ask your shopper to work for
> nothing.
> Who does this. ??
> When I did a Freeman shop a while back, they had
> my $200 for over 3 months to help pay their
> expenses. Let us not be naive. This is exactly
> what is happening. Do not work for these
> companies.We need to let them fail if they cannot
> pay their shoppers, which without they could not
> do business. Do not be intimidated. Stay with the
> companies that pay reasonably and on time.


I don't have a clue who would do $3 and $4 shops. I won't touch anything under $10. There is an obvious deficiency in shoppers, otherwise I wouldn't see $25 bonuses on $25 jobs.

Probably newbies. Live and learn. The only exception I can see is easy phone shops/ with an easy report. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to get more than one or two at a time to make it worthwhile.