I noticed for Jan. Sinclair got a new grocery store, the pay is a whopping $2.00 with 6.00 reimbursement...whoopee!! I'll pass just for the principal of it.

The groceries for Service Intelligence are still paying the same but want more observations including verbatim questions that are likely to ID shoppers double quick.

Flash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The groceries for Service Intelligence are still
> paying the same but want more observations
> including verbatim questions that are likely to ID
> shoppers double quick.

No more questions specific enough that actually reveal if the associate knows anything?

I guess you get your choice to see if the associate can answer A, B, C, D, E or F. It eliminates asking real questions that would actually show the associates knowledge or lack thereof.

Why leave the house for less than $15.00 unless you have 3 minute shops (with 3 minute reports) all in one place?

Because you need to buy groceries anyway.

These still constitute reasonable pay in light of what other jobs in my area are paying these days.

dee shops Wrote:
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> Because you need to buy groceries anyway.

And these contribute over $1500 of groceries per year to the household.

Flash Wrote:
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> dee shops Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Because you need to buy groceries anyway.
>
> And these contribute over $1500 of groceries per
> year to the household.

Right on!

Exactly my point. Wales is being shortsighted on the value of a lower paying shop when it is something so basic as groceries.

holy guacamole... 1500 bucks for food??? wow... makes me hungry...

i have seen so many places drop their prices for shops its sad...

Not all grocery shops are created equal, it seems. I think $15-20 is the average for most grocery shops, but there are variances on both end of the spectrum.

I've been heading toward more grocery shops in 2010, since too many fine-dining shops take a toll on my manly physique and just cutting out the FF shops doesn't do it for me anymore.

While some stores want a narrative for each department and full staff descriptions for each employee that include race, age and weight, others just want a name or simple description and require no narrative at all. Taking a few of those at $15 each month if you are shopping there anyway helps keep the food bills down.

There is one major chain that makes you an employee of the store and pays you hourly for the shops, including drive time, reporting time and mileage. They haven't lowered the pay rate but they now made the form so simple you can input it in under 10 minutes, which is kind of like a pay cut.

Might be wrong thread, but too lazy to search. Signed up for a "self-assign" grocery store after receiving mucho emails. Ddid shop in Santa Monica, a healthy drive for me (22) miles). Went to do report, and, couldn't get on site. Emailed them, they said, "You didn't sign up. Job still available, but, wouldn't let me send in my report. Spent 8.00 on stuff, report was to pay 22.00.....am bewildered, still getting emails to do shop. Happen t0 anyone else, email me and I'll give you Co's name.

Dee, what can you buy for 6.00....for me it would be a loaf of BREAD AND MAYBE JAM. I am so pissed over the nerve of paying 2.00.....how low can you go!!!

SteveSoCal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> There is one major chain that makes you an
> employee of the store and pays you hourly for the
> shops, including drive time, reporting time and
> mileage. They haven't lowered the pay rate but
> they now made the form so simple you can input it
> in under 10 minutes, which is kind of like a pay
> cut.


I have always wondered about that one. Do they have a certain number you must perform a month, etc?

The ones I most frequently see are $7/$10 but I also see the occasional $13/$20. Of course in years past the $7/$10 were most frequently bonused so I 'normally' did them between $10-14/$10 with the occasional $21/$10. These days, however, that doesn't happen as more than 700 shops in my state are snagged generally in the first hour after they post. There used to be a $14/$1 which was a bad joke with a repetitive and IMO irrelevant questionnaire. That chain has disappeared from my market.

Doing a run of these shops will certainly extend the time it takes to do my shopping, but it does handle most of our grocery needs as I cook from scratch and we do a lot of restaurant shops. (Last night's scratch cooking was making ham stuffed tortellini served in a bechamel sauce with peas and proscuitto--cost of pasta=cost of 2 eggs + flour; filling was trimmings off the ham bone that would otherwise have been trashed or gone into soup; half stick butter + flour in the bechamel; $1.50 of proscuitto; can of peas 79 cents. All ingredients obtained from shops. Estimated cost of dinner for 4 of a little under $5.)

Flash, I'm getting hungry just reading....

We made a from scratch holiday diner for my entire family last week, entirely purchased with shops (about 10 of them throughout December). It ended being about $150 of food and few bottles of wine that were all just under $10 :^)

Dee, I'll PM you the info since it's a bit different where you are located.

Regarding the grocery that makes you an employee ~ haven't heard of that before, and don't know if the chain is in my area. But, do they have their own reporting guidelines and software, and is it non or revealed?

Flash - homemade pasta?! Wow. Way off track here, but I'd like to learn more. Maybe take it to the domestic thread in Chat when you have time?

SteveSoCal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not all grocery shops are created equal, it seems.
> I think $15-20 is the average for most grocery
> shops, but there are variances on both end of the
> spectrum.


Very true. But we do all still have purchase them..well, at least no one in my social circles has staff on hand to do this for them...LOL


> While some stores want a narrative for each
> department and full staff descriptions for each
> employee that include race, age and weight,


I have one of those here that pays $20 fee, $10 groceries. It requires a full questionnaire section on each employee, a full door to door narrative, and a return a day later. It is one block from my house so I don't care about the return, but I will only do that one location due to that.

The others like this pay the same end result but differently. One is $15 with $7 of groceries. The other is $17 pay and $5 groceries. Both require 5-7 interactions (depending on services available at any given store) and full narrative for each employee. One adds a narrative on the front end operations (lines, customer counts, registers open.)


> others
> just want a name or simple description and require
> no narrative at all.

My favorite is one that has one department interaction with a required question, plus the cashier. 3-5 sentences per person and a super simple check the box short survey. $5 pay and $14 in groceries. I wish the rotations were shorter!

Then of course their are the price audits that pay $7/$7.

> Taking a few of those at $15
> each month if you are shopping there anyway helps
> keep the food bills down.


All of them help keep the food bills down, or allow me to purchase something I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. This year they were worth $1002 in pay, $616 in groceries, and $202 in bonuses. All together a real usable value to me of $1820 this year. I'll do every grocery I can get! :-) I only wish they paid less in cash and more in food here, since reimbursements are tax free income to me, and I always need groceries, so I would be happy if they converted these $22 combined pay and groceries to $22 in groceries.

Irene_L.A. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dee, what can you buy for 6.00....for me it would
> be a loaf of BREAD AND MAYBE JAM. I am so pissed
> over the nerve of paying 2.00.....how low can you
> go!!!


I agree it seems very low. If I already shopped there, I
would take it anyway, unless the reporting is a full narrative.
However, at that rate of pay I wouldn't go 22 miles to do it.

To clarify...
I do take lower paying shops (Down to about $10) when I want to go to bank or grocery store anyway. In fact, I hate to go to the bank unless I am being paid to do so. I pick up about $60 a month in free groceries, plus the fees, of course. But $2 fees and $6 reimbursement? Not bloody likely.

Anyone want to share the names of the MSPs with some of those grocery shops? (Not asking for the names of the clients too, I know that's not allowed).

I only have ever come across two grocery shops. One pays $5/$9. I usually do those because I shops there already and then another one (with a diff. MSP) that pays $4/$5.

Flash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The groceries for Service Intelligence are still
> paying the same but want more observations
> including verbatim questions that are likely to ID
> shoppers double quick.


Service Intelligence doesn't believe in raises. They still pay the same rate for shops they had in 2003..And when the currency was upside down between Canadian and US, they refused to pay a fair rate to Americans, so Canadians were actually making double was the US shoppers were making. Their requirements are just plain ridicilous with 30 pages for a whopping $7.

Perhaps they haven't increased their fees, but they have not cut them like so many others. I suppose that if you printed out the questionnaire with all the options and commentary it would be 30 pages, but you do the shops a few times and you can rip through the report in 5-10 minutes. Time in store in my market is generally 20-25 min so it works out to a lot better than minimum wage even at $7.

lisams901 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Anyone want to share the names of the MSPs with
> some of those grocery shops? (Not asking for the
> names of the clients too, I know that's not
> allowed).
>
> I only have ever come across two grocery shops.
> One pays $5/$9. I usually do those because I shops
> there already and then another one (with a diff.
> MSP) that pays $4/$5.

Over the years these MSPs have had grocery shops. Some have lost them in my area: SI, Bare, GfK, Confero, Customer 1st, Ritter, SPG, MF.

Most of the grocery shops in my area are few and far between (and by far, I mean that the closest store is about 25 minutes from me) with $7 shop fees, and $7 in reimbursements. I don't go grocery shopping at these stores frequently enough on my own to make them worth while, especially since they are the reports which require 6+ department/staff interactions with full details and narratives. I can't get out of the store in less than 45 minutes, spend an hour driving there and back, and it takes me about an hour to properly and completely enter all the information and check it over. (I know, some of you are probably a lot faster at this than I am!)

I wish I got $20/10 at some of the ones in my town!

Lee

Mert Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> lisams901 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Anyone want to share the names of the MSPs with
> > some of those grocery shops? (Not asking for
> the
> > names of the clients too, I know that's not
> > allowed).
> >
> > I only have ever come across two grocery shops.
> > One pays $5/$9. I usually do those because I
> shops
> > there already and then another one (with a
> diff.
> > MSP) that pays $4/$5.
>
> Over the years these MSPs have had grocery shops.
> Some have lost them in my area: SI, Bare, GfK,
> Confero, Customer 1st, Ritter, SPG, MF.


Thanks. I'm with all those (well except for Ritter, signed up but never heard anything from them), so I guess they don't have any in my area anymore.

Many are done regionally, Lisa. My MSC's would be of little help to you, as they are all doing local stores. And I am not posting them for my competition who don't contribute but only read here. LOL.

WRT SI, they have no groceries and very few shops here. Howeer, they also bonus stuff well and quickly, and my area coordinator is the only one who sent me a nice thank you letter for my work over the past year. I will work for them anytime for the jobs I can get bonuses on here.

dee shops Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And I am not posting them for my
> competition who don't contribute but only read
> here. LOL.

Haha, I don't blame you.

dee shops Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> WRT SI, they have no groceries and very few shops
> here. Howeer, they also bonus stuff well and
> quickly, and my area coordinator is the only one
> who sent me a nice thank you letter for my work
> over the past year. I will work for them anytime
> for the jobs I can get bonuses on here.


I got an email from my state coordinator too. It was nice.