@Dino29 wrote:

Reminds me of my first casino shop. My partner went with me and we had to go to every bar and restaurant there. He was drunk by the time the trip was over. So imagine a very expensive steak house, a sandwich place, the bakery and the pastry stand in the gift shop. We had to spend over $100 gambling and guess who wins the jackpot on their first turn of the slot. ME, I got like 5k and after it was all said and done. My partner said that's its we are leaving, you got your money back, we are out of here. Rescheduled and came up with some of kind excuse why I couldn't do it. I will be damned if that casino ratted us out. They revoked my loyalty card and I got fired from my first ever MSC.

Just so you know, wins/losses are cumulative. I have won too much money playing tables in the past, so I went to the slots to “lose down” enough so that I could keep what I won. If I win too much at slots, it’s pretty easy to lose it back “waiting for a drink server.” Depending on the MSC/client, you can usually keep up to $1199.

Re casinos; I expect everyone has a number where if they win that much, they would be willing to burn their relationship with the MSC and move on.

Re worst shop; It wasn't the shop itself, but the situation that comes to mind when I think about my worst MS experience. Was at a high-end hotel in NYC and came down with shingles on night #1 of the stay. My choice was to forgo all of the travel and hotel expense and return home, or just suffer through the shop so I could at least recoup my $$.

Needless to say, after spending most of the night in in the ER waiting to see a doctorl, I ate all the required meals at the hotel, went to the bars and did all the needed interactions, then took a taxi back to the airport and flew home, all in excruciating pain. My thought process was that I would be in pain one way or the other, so I may as well finish the shop, but I was limited on what drugs I was able to take to mask said pain while still being able to perform the shop. I still wince in remembrance of that experience every time I pass that hotel to this day...

The other sad part was finding out that my insurance had a 10% deductible for the ER in NYC, wheras I could have flown straight home and been treated for a $5 deductible in LA, so it ended up costing me a bunch of money to stay and do the shop anyway.

I've done a casino and it was a TON of interactions, and it was during a weekday, so half the employees that wanted you to interact with weren't there. I tried but couldn't make about 3 of the interactions so wound up not getting paid.

My worst was a roofing shop that had salesmen coming to my house trying to sell me on a roof, windows, etc. Very time consuming, and the company didn't offer the options the MSC wanted, so after all the time spent, the shop wasn't accepted anyway.

In both cases above, now that I've had more years under my belt, I would probably be able to figure out how to get those done, or have avoided them completely.

@boridi wrote:

Haven't done this shop but I've received emails about CustomerOptix's food bank shops. $0 pay and $0 reimbursement. Your compensation is the food that the food bank gives you.

I wonder what they are checking for these shops. Kinda makes me sad that the food might go to a shopper who might not actually need it vs. a person in need. Of course, if the shopper needs it, I have no issue. I just know that the resources are usually limited at those places, and some people do shopping more as a hobby than for income.

The casino ones can be alot of work. I do not do the overnight stays as they require so much more. A "shift" visit isn't as bad, but it still requires quite a few interactions. I guess the upside is, there is a potential to win. The guidelines state how much is acceptable to win and you would have to return the rest. I'm sure if someone hit a major jackpot, they would abort the shop and come back another time or just blow off the assignment altogether.

I would hope that there was a way for the shopper to donate the items back to the food bank (ie canned goods that wouldn't spoil). Or to give to a neighbor or another food bank.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

I'm sure if someone hit a major jackpot, they would abort the shop and come back another time or just blow off the assignment altogether.

As a contractor, I think you are entitled to keep the money and just decline the assignment. I have done casino shops as an employee where the MSC fronted the cash to play, and I was legally required to return all winnings. That would hurt if you won the big jackpot....

One time I had an airport bar shop and had to order a mixed drink. I’m not sure if I was drugged or the drink was just that strong but I had to go buy a sandwich after the shop to sober up!

I used to pick up food for our campus food pantry and I know there was a log where the staff had to mark the number of produce items (i e bags of potatoes, number of strawberry containers, etc) as well as the number of boxes of bread items I took. There was also the boxes of other items and they were counted and inventoried a different way. I imagine there is compliance in that area as well as cleanliness protocol and customer service .

@joanna81 wrote:

@boridi wrote:

Haven't done this shop but I've received emails about CustomerOptix's food bank shops. $0 pay and $0 reimbursement. Your compensation is the food that the food bank gives you.

I wonder what they are checking for these shops. Kinda makes me sad that the food might go to a shopper who might not actually need it vs. a person in need. Of course, if the shopper needs it, I have no issue. I just know that the resources are usually limited at those places, and some people do shopping more as a hobby than for income.

I laugh about it too. Now.

My go to move for when I have to photo someone is to hold up the camera and make an exaggerated duck face. It really looks like I am taking a ridiculous selfie when actuality I have the camera pointed directly at them for the photos.

I’d much rather the target think I’m a weirdo 50-year-old taking selfies than a weirdo taking photos of them

That sucks, but winning five grand probably put you away ahead for a long time.

@joanna81 wrote:

@boridi wrote:

Haven't done this shop but I've received emails about CustomerOptix's food bank shops. $0 pay and $0 reimbursement. Your compensation is the food that the food bank gives you.

I wonder what they are checking for these shops. Kinda makes me sad that the food might go to a shopper who might not actually need it vs. a person in need. Of course, if the shopper needs it, I have no issue. I just know that the resources are usually limited at those places, and some people do shopping more as a hobby than for income.

I have never seen this shop where I live however sending one person to the food bank to see if they are following the guidelines established to check to see if you qualify might save the food bank from giving out many many bags of food to those who do not meet the guidelines. There is no shortage of food banks where I live but also no shortage of people who will take advantage if no one is looking. I have a friend who does qualify and has gone to many different food banks over the years and she tells me most of them ask no questions. You get in line, you get the food. I believe most of them do have guidelines but it seems no one trains the volunteer staff to ask for ID or whatever.

NYC Check Cashing Place: Supposed to take several pics and the msc has given you cover stories on what to say if asked. LOL. Stupid beyond belief taking pics in a place like this. The staff will be calling 911 in seconds and who can blame them. And on top of that I am white and this is in a high crime area! Red Flag !!!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/2025 08:16PM by Arch Stanton.