Dora - you can sign the MSP agreements for all MSPs in the iSecretShop system on the "Provider Contracts and Policies" page on the iSecretShop website, or the "MSP Contracts" tab on the mobile app/mobile site. Whether you do this or not, you will have access to all MSP's shops that you can do on your Available Shops page.
Terri - Yes, the reimbursement and compensation fees are paid after the shop is successfully completed and approved by the editors. Each MSP has their own payment schedule and payment policy, so you would have to inquire with them about when can you expect the payment.
Cheers!
It's still only in the US and Canada, but plans for international expansion in the future are definitely there :)
That's so great to hear Kim! Welcome aboard, and I wish you luck on all your shops!
We're here if you need any help or advice :)
Hi Vondele,
There could be various reasons why a shop request gets declined, and it's a very common occurrence.
The most likely reason is that the shop was assigned to another shopper - in that case, the requests for that shop from all other shoppers are automatically declined. The schedulers are making the decisions of whose requests are approved, based on several factors - primarily the requested date and the shopper badges.
- The requested date is important since the MSPs and their clients need their shops done as soon as possible, so those shoppers that request shops for the earliest available dates are the ones whose requests are most often approved.
- The shopper badges tell the schedulers what kind of a shopper you are, and what can they expect - they show how experienced the shopper is overall (reflected in the Reputation badge level), how much experience they've had in that specific shop category (reflected in the level of the specialty badge for that shop category, like Retail for example), how reliable they are (reflected in the Reliability and Quality badges), how long has the shopper been using iSecretShop platform (reflected in the Legacy badge) and if they were recognized by schedulers/editors for standing out in some regard (by having badges like Grammarian, Last Minute Assist, etc).
Schedulers also sometimes decline requests even only one shopper has requested the shop - if they are confident that they can get the shop scheduled soon and do not wish to assign the shop to that shopper - it can happen if the requested date is too far away, or if the shop was requested for the same day when the request was made (schedulers can then think that the shopper would not have enough time to prepare adequately for the shop), or if the shopper that requested it is not sufficiently experienced, etc.
I hope this provides some clarification :)
Cheers!
Here's how that works:
When an MSP creates a shop on iSecretShop, they define how long it takes for the shop to become overdue if the report is not filled out. If they leave that setting at 0 days, which is the default, then the shop becomes overdue at midnight of the assigned date (if no questions in the report are filled out by then).
In this case, the shop doesn't get cancelled immediately - the system still allows you several hours after that, and then it sends out an automated reminder email (usually early in the morning of the following day), to notify you that your shop is overdue and has to be filled out. It then again allows you a couple more hours, to at least begin filling out the report. If you fill out even one question in all that time, the shop status will change and the system will not unassign it on its own. However, if absolutely no answers have been filled out by then, the system considers that you didn't do the shop, and unassigns it so it could be assigned to another shopper.
If the report is partially filled out by then, editors will review it and usually send you a reminder to complete the report, rather than cancelling the shop straight away. They will then give you an hour or a few (up to a day) before reviewing again and cancelling the shop if nothing else was done on it.
However, if the shop requires multiple visits to the location, or has to be performed late at night, or if it requires you to wait a few days for some type of follow-up, etc - this obviously means that the report cannot be fully done my midnight of the assigned date, and in that case, MSPs change the "overdue" setting to 1 (or more) days, which allows the shop to stay assigned to you for a certain amount of days after the assigned date and still not be considered overdue during that time.
Many of these shops still do require shoppers to fill out some portions of the report on the assigned date (and the rest later), so it's always important to pay attention to those requirements in the guidelines, and it's generally a good idea to fill out a few questions right after you do the shop - spares you the boring "overdue" reminders later on ;)
Hi Vondele,
You can find a blank W-9 form on the following link: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf
You can download/print it, then fill it out, and you can then email the filled out form to them. The email for ARC Call Performance Solutions for requesting information is info@arccps.com, the email for shoppers is shopcoordinator@arccps.com, and the payment department email is payroll@arccps.com - I suggest contacting them using one or all of those emails, and asking which email should you send the W-9 form to.
I hope this helps!
I'm honestly not sure about that - perhaps you can ask a tax accountant? Do some other members of the community know more?
Hi Amanda, welcome to the Forum, and to iSecretShop! We're glad to have you with us :) Good luck on your shops!
Hi Michelle and Teresa,
You can check out this thread on the Forum, where a couple of shoppers have provided some pretty good explanations about the question you asked:
https://www.secretshopforum.com/thread/1/2/59/mspa#post316
Cheers!