Anyone have any problems with them... i have applied for probably at least 10 shops so far... they say they email back with approval... i have none assigned and now sassie is saying "ICCDS shop immediatly" and it was one of the ones that i had applied to do about a week ago... it is really annoying...

blessings

I am not understanding what the problem is. Perhaps they need shoppers in some parts of the country, hence the ad (to my knowledge they do not use Sassie.) Perhaps they got a lot of applicants for the jobs you applied for, and chose other applicants. Perhaps they don't like you! LOL. :-)

You aren't missing much not shopping for them. But then, some parts of the country might have a more affable scheduler than the one I have. In the past year, I have seen little here from them, and the last minute "urgent" shops aren't well-bonused. I don't miss them at all. The clients I liked doing for them are now with other MSC's (thankfully.)

It is also possible that you do not fit the profile for the job. Did you look and see what the requirements are? They offer a few for which I am not eligible and most I am not interested in. And indeed ICCDS operates their own funky little website, they don't use SASSIE.

I do many shops for ICCDS and have had no problems. I have turned down many that are too far away from me or I can't do it on the day needed. They usually email me and need something the same day or the next day. Sometimes, if the shop is not filled, they will accept a later date.

I haven't had any "problems", per se. But, I had a scheduler who did not allow self assign, did not respond to emails very readily, and did not pay enough for the what most of what they had here required. If they have any clients left here, they are not making me aware of the openings, which is fine with me as I rarely shopped for them due to low pay for the work (usually very high end store P/R for peanuts. No, I don't do *those* unless you pay me well enough to risk the purchase. And so, even when it was bonused, last minute it was maybe $5, still under $20. For me, I just don't choose to play in that.

I certainly have had few problems with them. The worst has been getting credit for submitted receipts done in a timely fashion. Overall, though, I find the shops a bit bizarre and unrealistic in some of their requirements.

Flash Wrote:
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> I certainly have had few problems with them. The
> worst has been getting credit for submitted
> receipts done in a timely fashion.

I rarely do shops for ICCDS and have had no problems. I'm speaking generally regarding this last post. Not getting credit for submitted receipts from an MSP can be an oversight, or in my opinion, it can be a delay tactic. I watch for confirmation and if I don't see credit within 3-5 days, I submit an inquiry.

oh... interesting... i guess i forgot they have their own site... i usually apply through kern which is sassie and perhaps that is my problem... oh well... judging from the responses they dont have a good rep anywho...

perhaps they dont like me...

some people think im scary.. 0-o

Watch the grocery/pharmacy ones hours have changed...

I like them. I do a couple a month. They don't have much here. I have never gone through Kern. I've always gone thru their own site. They are self-schedule here. I've never had a problem. The only annoyance is sometimes you can't just upload the receipts, instead you have to physically MAIL it in to them. Mailing stuff after you've gotten used to electronic transmission is a pain.

I have done some really easy shops for them and they generally pay OK. I have never had any issues regarding verifying my receipts or getting paid on time. Generally, I would recommend this company.

I get those emails as well, can't take them as the location is too far for same day. I like ICCDS, can't blame them for trying.

AustinMom Wrote:
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> I like them. I do a couple a month. They don't
> have much here. I have never gone through Kern.
> I've always gone thru their own site. They are
> self-schedule here. I've never had a problem.
> The only annoyance is sometimes you can't just
> upload the receipts, instead you have to
> physically MAIL it in to them. Mailing stuff
> after you've gotten used to electronic
> transmission is a pain.

I agree. I've done only one shop for them and was not paid for it because I forgot to mail the receipt. I do take blame for that though, it was my own fault.

Irene_L.A. Wrote:
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> I get those emails as well, can't take them as the
> location is too far for same day. I like ICCDS,
> can't blame them for trying.


That happens with me a lot too. Most of the shops I do are around 30-50 miles away so I usually need to know a day ahead of time.

They don't pay enough on their normal shops and they wait until the last minute to throw on the bonus. So yes, I don't take their 'good paying' jobs either because they are distant and last minute.

Do they really have any 'good paying' jobs? I mean, I like ICCDS and I do 3 or 4 shops a month with no problems. I accept shops I like and the reports are reasonable and I feel adequately paid, but the pay is not what I'd call "good," I'd call it acceptable...... except some that I won't take because I think the pay is NOT acceptable......they have several each month close to me that I won't consider because the pay is $10 for a purchase/return - really constitutes TWO shops for the same $10 pay - AND the stores are high-dollar so it requires you to purchase and return an expensive item.

None of the shops I ever saw from them here would I consider as "good pay." More like what AM sees.

Same here. Not enough moo-la for the requirements.

yeah i just finished up a shop for them and was not reimbursed for my receipt... i was paid 10 bucks and had to spend 4 on socks... it was a shoe store... i thought for sure they would reimburse me as well... but noooo...

im signed up to do another shop for them mid january but I think thats going to be it...

even after the shop and sending all the stuff in they want you to sign a seperate agreement for each shop and send it in or they dont pay... baloney..

If you are selective with the assignments and live near a lot of outlets, ICCDS can be attractive to shop for at times, IMHO.

Many don't require a return and some don't even need a purchase.

I never print anything on paper these days. You can print the forms to PDF file, fill it out virtually if you have a full copy of acrobat, add your receipts and sig file, then print that to a JPEG and upload it. It takes less than a minute for me and makes it easier to fit the receipts in the little box they provide when I can re-size them.

It also looks like they may be bucking for the delicious smoothie account in 2010 and will pay better and more timely than the previous MSC for that one.

YES - - I have 2 of the smoothie shops next Tuesday/Wednesday. I'll let you all know how it goes!

I have a smoothie tryout on the 7th for IICCDS and expect that pay before the other company ponies up, I haven't seen the form yet, but intense can a smoothie shop be?

We'll see...

how much does a full copy of adobe cost? and is it worth it... a ton of my companies have me prints some stuff and fill it out, scan it and then send it back... its really annoying...

It is not cheap and the most recent version is far from necessary. On my XP machine I was still able to run Adobe 4.0. If you have Vista or Win 7 you may not be able to do that. But those older versions are frequently available on eBay for not much as everybody seems to feel they need the latest versions. Often the older versions are sold to folks who are looking for the discounted upgrade to the newest versions. So make sure you purchase one that supplies you with the manual and the original disk as usually the cover page of the manual is necessary for the discounted upgrade.

Edited to add: I believe that on some systems if you have the most recent free download of Reader that when you open a fillable form you can fill it and submit. But the form has to be created using the fillable option and posted accordingly. Most forms from MSPs I see were not prepared such that you could just fill, save and send.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/01/2010 05:43PM by Flash.

As someone who teaches digital art at the college level, I can say that almost every, but not every, upgrade adds needed features to the Adobe Creative Suite set of SW. However, for people not in video/film, design, and photography and digital art, it is way overkill and adds things that people using the SW on the most basic of levels will never need.

Do you need the latest package? If you only use any of the SW for MS'ing, NO, just as Flash said. However, before you purchase used SW on Ebay or anywhere else, look up the specs for it on the web and make sure it will run on your computer. SW like Photoshop 4, which hails from 1996-97, may or may not run on your particular computer. Also understand that it is many years since Adobe has supported that release (or any other out of date one) and that they will not support it for you. If something doesn't work, then it doesn't work, and you are on your own.

So, do you really need it? There are other programs out there, online versions, Shareware, Freeware and others that do the same thing. If you don't need the Adobe suite and aren't sure these old ones will run on your machine or that you are prepared to deal with issues that come up without tech support, use those.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/01/2010 07:28PM by dee shops.

I was just about to add what Dee said...

For ICCDS forms, you just need to print the invoice to a compatible file (JPEG or PDF), layer your signature file and scanned receipt on top of it in a graphics program, then add a text field for the date. You then output that to a doc which you can upload.

I keep templates for each company I work with that require forms to be submitted for payment, so I usually just have to change the receipt pic and a few text fields to be current.

Good point about the templates, Steve. For many of them, it works like a charm.
:-)

And rather than do that I most frequently just print a current copy, sign, scan and upload. I overall find it faster than goofing around with layering etc. And chances are I am scanning other stuff at the same time so it is not a whole separate activity.

But I think we are talking two different things here. Adobe has the Acrobat series that has the pdf maker, reader etc. AND it has the Photoshop suite. And yes, all of the functions are available in free software that is not as sophisticated but definitely functional for shopping needs. The OpenOffice suite (at OpenOffice.org) I understand has a pdf maker these days and certainly there are plenty of options for scanning and photoediting software available as freeware. Check in the New Mystery Shopper area in the "Useful FREE Software" thread.

No, we are not talking about different SW. Acrobat, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, AE, Premiere, Flash, etc are all part of a set they call the "Creative Suite." It is currently at CS 4 (though 5 is supposedly due early this year.) These can be sold together in the Master Collection, subsets like the Design set, or sold one by one for any given piece of SW, such as Acrobat or Photoshop. And then there are the free (and necessary, in some cases) tools, like Acrobat Reader, Flash Player, Adobe Media Player.

Generally speaking, for some of the people who are not that SW savvy: You usually can use a couple of rev's back without issue on newer computers, but there are sometimes issues that remain unaddressed as the company has abandoned support of the product for a newer version. Whether it will work and how well it will work? Look up issues online before you buy. If someone is giving it to you, or you have it already, then try and see how well it works. Nothing lost there, except sometimes, huge amounts of time and your temper. :-)

But some of these releases (including CS4) had/have specific requirements for RAM and processors that you may or may not have. Always check the tech specs.

As to free or cheap tools to edit pdfs, this article is really helpful:
[www.labnol.org]
And for quick and dirty photoediting there is free photoshop for the iPhone, and this free online version:
[www.photoshop.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/01/2010 08:43PM by dee shops.

Flash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And rather than do that I most frequently just
> print a current copy, sign, scan and upload. I
> overall find it faster than goofing around with
> layering etc. And chances are I am scanning other
> stuff at the same time so it is not a whole
> separate activity.

We are so different on this. I hate printing and scanning for this kind of stuff. Gimme the no print no scan way any day, LOL. :=)

I take a pic of the receipt with Turboscan (which is made for receipt picture taking) on the iphone, edit and email to myself from that same app, and upload or attach to whatever from the laptop. I rarely print anything that doesn't require it, like if I need to get a client signature and questionnaire for a BV, etc.

Even for the printer and toner audits, I just send myself the pdf I made of their form, and use the iPhone in the store to refer to it when needed (which is rare.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/01/2010 08:49PM by dee shops.