WELCOME!
ISS is a pretty good site. You will find a lot of different types of shops here...just be patient.
Quite often the company wants a particular person or persons shopped for reasons known only to them. That person(s) name will be listed somewhere in the special instructions for the shop. Other times you will see instructions that say something like, if no names are listed then shop whomever answers the phone. In cases such as this you can shop anyone.
You need to read the instructions carefully because if you shop the wrong person then your report will not be accepted and you will not get paid.
Good Luck!
As shops are opening up I have been using the current situation to my advantage. I have picked up several shops that I have done in the past and ran into the same employees. With wearing a mask I have been able to complete the shops with just a little change in my voice and mannerisms. The employees never caught on. The social distancing worked as well.
I still don't get that many shops, but I'm picking them up when I can.
With some of these shops it's really difficult to remain incognito. It all relies on the shoppers ability to blend in and not appear to be too nervous. Sometimes going into a new type of shop (a style that you haven't done before) gets a little confusing as you try to remember everything you need to do. Just relax. It gets easier with time.
My best advise is to try different shops. That way you will become more and more comfortable as you progress.
In the years that I have been shopping on the ISS platform I have only had one shop that was not paid on time. I probably would not have noticed for a while but I received a message from ISS and they solved the problem for me. Great job.
Thanks. You just made me feel really good. I think I'm going to have a hit of Geritol and go to bed.
With the Covid problem going on I have had to leave my comfort zone and take shops that I would not have taken in the past. While some of them might be a little uncomfortable to do, I have found myself feeling a little more relaxed as time goes on. When restrictions begin to lift I envision myself taking on more shops and increasing my income. In a nutshell, I think the Covid restrictions are making me a better and more competitive shopper.
Radhika,
If you are worried about getting paid, let me ease your mind a little.
I am using a template that I made myself to keep track of shops and payments. But even with this I have lost track. On one occasion I mismarked a shop as paid and thought nothing more of it. It wasn't until ISS contacted me and said that a MSP had failed to pay me. They took the steps to contact the MSP to make sure I got the money that was owed. Thank you ISS!
ISS also has a very good spread sheet on the site that keeps track of the payments for you. I have used this to back up my own data from time to time. I found it to be on the money as far as dates and amounts and is an excellent tool to use on its own or in conjunction with your own tracking system.
Just my two cents.
Dave
Katrina,
The amount of money you make depends on several things. Personally, since I work a full time job I limit the number of shops I do and with which companies. I generally select shops that will be near where I will be on a certain date. It limits the number of shops that I do but makes them easier to get to. This is more of a hobby to me than it is to many people.
Basically you can work as much or as little as you want. It's a lot easier if you "bundle" the shops to a certain geographical area. In that way you can complete several in a short amount of time and increase your income. Just make sure that you keep your notes and start/end times organized so you don't get confused when it comes time to complete the reports.