Hi!
Most likely, the email you received was a mass email sent out to all shoppers in your area who work with Goodwin. (It is common for MSC's to make mass emails look personalized). Because the email likely went to so many folks that somebody else scooped the job up before you did. It is also not super likely that you will get an email back as schedulers are pretty busy folks and deal with an awful lot of email.
So that you can move more quickly on shops, I strongly suggest that you go ahead and sign all your ICA's on iSS right away. I also suggest that you test the waters a little with an easy shop right off the job board first - just to get comfortable with the process. Goodwin is a great company, but often has some more complicated jobs (i.e. nice meals out, expensive shows, etc.) that require a lot of detail. You'll want to make sure you are familiar with mystery shopping in general before you jump into more complicated jobs.
You are welcome. I've been doing this for a couple of years and have found it a great way to supplement my income. Good luck!
Having the ability to "self-assign" through iSS does not guarantee that every company using iSS will allow you to self-assign their shops. Quite a few MSC's are hesitant to assign new shoppers, especially at the end of a month. Of course, it never hurts to contact the scheduler and make an inquiry. You should be able to find contact information for the scheduler on the job description. Click on the job application and take a look - there is nearly always contact information listed. There is no guarantee that you will get an answer, however. We are at the end of a month -and a quarter. Most schedulers are working especially hard right now to get enough assignments filled to satisfy MSC contracts with their clients.
You might try to self-assign a different shop or two. Even just getting one or two under your belt might sway hesitant schedulers to give you a shot on the shops that you really want. And, of course, you might have more luck at the beginning of April as schedulers are not pressed by time and feel they have more flexibility to work with somebody new.
Be patient, persistent and professional. You'll start getting assignments soon. :)
Greetings! I've been doing this for two years and am very pleased with what shopping has provided me. I live in Seattle.
I do almost exactly what Wendy does - with both the spreadsheet and bookmarks... I like the iSS records fine for iSS shops, but I find I need to have a single record for all my shops.
If you are anxious to invest money to open up more shopping opportunities, invest in video equipment. Some of the companies that sell the PV500 will offer training with the purchase... I would otherwise not advise paying for training.
Ellis is a fantastic company, but does not use iSS, so you may not find much feedback here.... They are generally very good about responding within 24 hours if you use their envelope icon on your shop log.
I've done enough work for them, I might be able to answer a question about how something works....
I do a couple of things to help with that...
- If I am planning ahead and my application is still pending one work day after I apply, I'll email the scheduler and simply explain that I need to know one way or another whether or not I get the shop.
- After a day, I begin looking for alternate shops. If you are not assigned the shop within a work day, you are usually not the "ideal" shopper for the job - due to whatever preferences the MSC might have.
- Once I am no longer available for the shop, I cancel the application I might reapply for a different day.
Hi!
If the assignment has been approved and is in your log, you should be getting paid. It is possible that a client might reject a shop, but the MSP would then generally let you know. First, you and the folks who run the MSC are all human. Mistakes do happen. Before going further, I would check the following:
* What is the status of the shop in your "Payments" log?
* When did you complete the shop and what is the company's policy? Every MSC has their own payment policy.
* Companies can pay by paper check, PayPal or Direct Deposit. Especially if they pay by check, there can be a delay of several days after they cut the check before you receive it. How does this company pay?
* Is your payment information listed correctly online? Does this company require that you fill out tax forms before sending you payment?
* Whom did you email? If you emailed the scheduler, you might not have much luck - they are often independent contractors just like shoppers are. Most MSC's have a separate contact for accounting needs. Consider looking for the company's website online and calling that person directly.