Hey everybody,

I wanted to gauge public opinion about ICCDS. Plese tell me about your experiences. Hopefully they are positive ones that can influence a shopper to join us, and if they're not I'll try my best to resolve any issues for you.

Keep in mind, I'm only an intern try to help my company and not an official source of customer/employee services.

Opinion? I work relatively little for ICCDS because they offer relatively few shops in my area of personal interest and/or reasonable pay. I personally am not going to do a 2 trip shop for $12 (purchase & return), nor am I going to do it as an unreimbursed purchase I can return "at my convenience" with no additional reporting for that price. Gas costs money and since I don't live in the mall (and rarely go there anyway) travel time x 2 + shop time x 1.5 + mileage would make these money losers before it ever got to time to write a report or read instructions prior to the shop. Perhaps if I was a 'mall rat' they would make more sense. So I probably do less than a dozen shops for ICCDS per year. Otherwise I find ICCDS perfectly acceptable to work with and have had no 'issues'.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/2011 03:07PM by Flash.

I actually logged on today to ask a question about ICCDS. How funny! Is there a job board, or are all jobs emailed? I haven't actually completed a shop for them yet. I've missed out on some I would be interested in doing because your schedulers don't respond to my emails. Or, the dates aren't going to work for me that particular week, but then I won't see that location ever again from an email.

Thanks for your opinion Flash. Krissy, as far as I know jobs are emailed. I will inquire as to why you're having difficulty receiving emails from our schedulers and why the shopping locations are inconsistent. That part may just be coincidence.

I've only completed 6 jobs for ICCDS in the 5 yrs. since my initial application, due to the offered pay and the requirement on some jobs to snail mail information to the company. I only work for MONEY, not because I'm bored, enjoy visiting stores or feel a need to provide a service. I've no recollection of encountering any problems with the company; it all comes down to the cash.

I would prefer a job board, so there's an equal chance for everyone to see what exactly is available.
I really only get "NEED THIS DONE NOW!!!!!" emails, so has it been sitting around all month, and was never offered to me until now? Then I won't even get a response, ever.
Could it be because I've never completed a shop for ICCDS? Probably. I've never even been given a chance.

Hi, Ryan, I work sometimes for ICCDS and really like you guys. Unfortunately, like Flash, I see few shops in my area that I think offer reasonable pay for the requirements. Most are very low-paying purchase/returns that require two trips. As much as I like your company and enjoy working with you, $12 is nowhere near enough for me to make a trip and purchase an item, sometimes high dollar, put it on my credit card, make a second trip, return the item, then do the report.

ICCDS is actually one of my favorite companies.

I too would love a job board, but since I've been shopping for ICCDS more, I am offered more. Most of the offers though are for cities to the east of me, which I often route shop in, but I also shop in large cities to the west of me, and I rarely get emails for shops in those cities.

After ICCDS shops are emailed to me, they appear on my home page as Available Offered Shops until they are accepted or declined. Available assignments in my area have not been plentiful enough for me to achieve a status of being offered more shops, or perhaps the opposite is the case. I'm not offered more shops because many of the offered shops are not worthwhile for me. Being required to take undesirable shops to get desirable shops, is not a method that endears me to an MSP.

I enjoy a pleasant relationship, albeit limited, with ICCDS. No problem with communication, guidelines, reports or payment.

Thanks for asking, Ryan.

Ryan, I work for ICCDS pretty regularly. Some of your jobs pay fairly, while others do not. Your purchase/return shops are some of the lowest out there, which I find really disturbing in the case of one high-end client. (I won't do that shop, solely because of the low fee.)

The other thing is the filtering system, as it relates to geographic location. When I first signed up for ICCDS, I was told that the computer database would eventually get "smarter" as I accepted/rejected shops. Fast forward, years later, I still get offers in cities other than my own, and up to about 60 miles away. Many companies have a filtering system where a shopper can note a radius they're willing to travel. It would be great if ICCDS would implement something like that.

That said, ICCDS is one of my favorite companies to work for, and I love that you've come on here to get feedback.

This is for Ryan there used to be a job board to bid on shops and I was good at getting some. Know a Scheduler send you an e-mail telling you wahat is available not just in a miloage area you put on your application, but the whole aea in 2 states. I won't say her name , but she handles Ohio. I personalyy have had a hard time getting jobs this way when I didn't before.

nicelytwicely Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ryan, I work for ICCDS pretty regularly. Some of
> your jobs pay fairly, while others do not. Your
> purchase/return shops are some of the lowest out
> there, which I find really disturbing in the case
> of one high-end client. (I won't do that shop,
> solely because of the low fee.)
>
> The other thing is the filtering system, as it
> relates to geographic location. When I first
> signed up for ICCDS, I was told that the computer
> database would eventually get "smarter" as I
> accepted/rejected shops. Fast forward, years
> later, I still get offers in cities other than my
> own, and up to about 60 miles away. Many
> companies have a filtering system where a shopper
> can note a radius they're willing to travel. It
> would be great if ICCDS would implement something
> like that.
>
> That said, ICCDS is one of my favorite companies
> to work for, and I love that you've come on here
> to get feedback.

Ditto. I have noticed, though, that I am getting a ton of shops on the same client, multiple locations within the same 3-5 day window. Pay is low, reimbursement is minimal (think $2. When there is very little I can buy in the store for the reimbursement price, I am very unlikely to take 2-3 of those for you.

Like NT, the high end purchase/return shop makes me crazy. The lowest priced item there hovers around $50 and the average is over $100. The one item they carry in the $25-30 range is not permitted as a buy by the client. That is probably the most ridiculous shop I've heard of. ( other than the teeny-bopper clothing shop for another MSC, where you cannot return for anything other than store credit.)

$12 is just not enough to make me do that shop, unless I can combine it with 3-4 more for you or other MSCs in the same mall. For both trips.

I worked for ICCDS for a few years, then found a few MSC's that pay much more for their retail...although I love your upscale handbag shop, $12.00 for two visits doesn't cut it anymore, due to gas. I get at least 30.00 for a P/R, or I don't do it. Having said that, this a good solid MSc, just the pay is low...sorry, wish I could continue.

Very good company to work for with fairly easy reports and they give you the option of faxing your receipts. Wish they had a job board.

I applaud them for reaching out for shopper feedback. Smart move !!!

I've never had a bad experience with ICCDS in all these years. They also have a client that's my favorite store--a hardware/home supplies kind of shop. Paradise for me!

Ryan.ICCDS Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hey everybody,
>
> I wanted to gauge public opinion about ICCDS.
> Plese tell me about your experiences. Hopefully
> they are positive ones that can influence a
> shopper to join us, and if they're not I'll try my
> best to resolve any issues for you.

Hi Ryan,

Thanks for asking for feedback from shoppers! I used to do shops for ICCDS, but stopped because:

- There's no job board.
- I usually got "offered" shops I didn't want, or which were 90 miles away, or both, even after declining them and giving specific reasons.
- I hate having to print out an invoice form in order to upload a receipt. If I'm logged in, I'm electronically there. You don't need a printout of my signature. Just let me upload the receipt while I'm logged in.
- I submitted a few invoices that never got paid. I submitted many invoices that didn't get paid until I asked about them. Once I submitted an invoice and got paid without asking about it.
- You don't seem to have the smoothie company as a client anymore.
- The pay for the handbag store is crazy low for two visits, and I'm a guy.

Do you have any shops in the San Francisco bay area these days?

Dave

I too shop for ICCD. I get emails from them but those jobs are NEVER posted on my acconut with them. So what's up with that?

If the shop in my email as being in my area, then why wouldn't it be on my account site. Plus thw emailed person does not contact you when you do respond to it.

My ICCD area rep only tends to send me "xxx" shops, which are a nuisance to me. or there are no shops in my area.

I don't twitter or facebook, if any jobs/shops are on those networks, why can't they be in our account site?

just asking?

Hey everyone, thank you for your input. I've been out of the office for a few days, but I'm going to address the job board situation right away as well as get everyone's questions and comments addressed. Thanks everyone for your kind words about ICCDS, we will get back to you shortly!

I just completed a fairly paid and reimbursed shop It was the first shop I've completed for ICCDS in many months.

Feedback from my recent experience ~ ~ ~ As stated earlier, printing an invoice, only to then be required to send it electronically, is a waste of time and money. The ink and paper are an unnecessary expense for the shopper. We have electronic signatures with the majority of MSPs. Uploaded receipts provide proof of visit and the amount to be reimbursed. After completing my report, I clicked "Upload Images" and received "All images have been uploaded for this assignment. Please click here to return to the history page." No images had been uploaded by me. I emailed them after finishing my report.

P/R shops are two visits and two reports and the fee needs to reflect that.

Emailing shops, in conjunction with posting to the board, is preferred. Selective email leaves us wondering. Experienced shoppers understand eligibility and rotation.

I applied for a bonused shop and received an email that it had been assigned to another field rep. That email let me know I could schedule other shops instead, and was appreciated!

How about the ability to save a pdf of my submitted report? Saving each frame is time consuming and cumbersome.

Respond to a shopper's email. I emailed a question, prior to my shop, that was never answered. It called for an 'executive' decision, that hopefully, will not cost me.

I really like this company but I agree with Mert. I think having to print an invoice to rescan it is a big waste of ink.

I agree as well, and lately, the invoices have been printing on TWO pages, with just a bit of unnecessary writing on the second sheet. Of course, I set my printer to just print out page one, but still...I find this very irresponsible.

Also, in regard to the invoices, they're sometimes either not marked as received, and sometimes, NOT received, even though my own fax machine tells me otherwise. I recently sent in three invoices at the same time. Fax confirmation says all pages went through, yet, ICCDS claims receipt only of two.

I never had a problem with them not receiving my invoices. I email them in.

I love working for ICCD. The shops are pretty low paying, so there is only a couple of clients I will accept, but for those shops, I have never had much of a problem. It drives me crazy that it takes them a while to acknowledge receiving the invoice. Yes, I hate having to print it, then scan and send it. But I like the fact that they pay as scheduled, and I like the fact that you can see the history and track your payments.

pay is to low for me to take... same as with others... other than that no problem...

Hello Ryan - I've had multiple and extremely time consuming problems with invoices/receipts being reported as not received. Apparently this email system isn't working well, so why not set up the system to let us scan and submit along with the report? I agree with other posters that printing out an invoice to sign and submit is expensive and creates an extra step for us. I also would prefer a job board that allows scheduling ahead of time throughout the month. Frequently I get an email to shop a far flung location that I visited in the past three days, and it has to be done today or tomorrow. No hope there for me. Thanks for requesting our feedback.

I never had any problems with them. It is easy to deal with them.

I've always liked ICCDS and don't even mind printing the invoices. But as others have said, I don't accept many shops because the pay is too low, especially for the high end handbag store that only pays $12 for purchase and return. Purchase and return shops are TWO shops and require twice the work, so the pay should reflect that.

Also, I wish the job board was more "open" so I could see everything that is available instead of just a few jobs in my area. Sometimes I will be travelling and might like to see what's available in another area.

Another suggestion I would make is to give shoppers 24 hours to submit the shop instead of 12. Many shoppers (like me) do their shops after work in the evening and by the time I get home I am mentally and physically beat. Having to do a report at 10 p.m. at night is not the best idea for me. I do much better reports after I have rested.

Ive only done 7 shops for ICCDS in the past 2 weeks LOL. The pay for the particular client Ive been shopping is moderate, but considering Ive been able to get 3 shops at one location (each in a different department paying $10 commission per department) its been good for me. That said, another client requires a fairly large purchase that can be returned on my time... Im just not willing to gamble that kind of money! Also, I would like to see more clients being offered. Ive only seen 2, which means in a very short time I will either need to go out of my area to shop, or wait a few months before there are shops available again.

I was seriously disappointed the other day to find that for a shop I used to be able to perform and not exceed the maximum allowable reimbursement, I am now out of pocket to pay for the requirements. The reimbursement did not change, only the prices at the location. Aargh!

I love working for them. my only issue is that I fax the invoice, and they seem never o get it, and it happens if I scan it to. then it delays my payment.