The Mystery Shopping thread - part 6

shazam

xxvickixx wrote: »

A pint? For 99p??? Where???? I'm there!

A certain pub chain that does lots of assignments on RE which has a name of a cutlery in the name (trying not too mention it lol) has pints (real ale) for 99p!!!!

tigergold

I thought we were not suppose to mention fees.
cp-hope you manage to do all your jobs tomorow & hope your hubby is ok!
I also saw the pubs jobs and the meals are cheap, the most expensive meal I could see was a steak for just under £10. I know sometimes they say do not buy steaks as it affects timings but it did not mention anything on the notes.
I also think this "only reimburse what you need to buy", could be for the benefit of the newbies. Unlike me, who adds up the food bill before I get to the restaurant so I get every single penny I can. Think about, when you input your total spent & upload the reciept, someone will have to go in manually and change the amount spent by subtracting desserts,side orders and if they have a lot of jobs going on - this would take hours.

xxvickixx

Thanks I get you! I'm not really into ale though, more of a lager girl myself.
I don't like doing the "1/2 a pint of your guest ale please" shops I always get a funny look. LOL!

Cherry_pie_5

tigergold wrote: »

. Unlike me, who adds up the food bill before I get to the restaurant so I get every single penny I can. Think about, when you input your total spent & upload the reciept, someone will have to go in manually and change the amount spent by subtracting desserts,side orders and if they have a lot of jobs going on - this would take hours.

Thanks for your kind thoughts, and yes, you're right, probs for the newbies, but it has an impact on oldtimers too, they may not go into the receipts and subtract side orders etc, but they might! And with RE, it really wouldnt surprise me. Unfortunately my recent experiences with them have been negative. I used to recommend them but I won't anymore, it seems they are taking advantage of the problems with the economy to pay peanuts and get monkeys! I know we're all mostly signed up with them, it's not supposed to sound derrogitory and isn't meant that way, but there is trouble brewing in the MS industry and RE are assisting a negative process.

Noctu

The same chain does bottles of San Miguel for 99p

xxvickixx

That sounds more like it!

tigergold

Cherry_pie wrote: »

Thanks for your kind thoughts, and yes, you're right, probs for the newbies, but it has an impact on oldtimers too, they may not go into the receipts and subtract side orders etc, but they might! And with RE, it really wouldnt surprise me. Unfortunately my recent experiences with them have been negative. I used to recommend them but I won't anymore, it seems they are taking advantage of the problems with the economy to pay peanuts and get monkeys! I know we're all mostly signed up with them, it's not supposed to sound derrogitory and isn't meant that way, but there is trouble brewing in the MS industry and RE are assisting a negative process.

You are quite right, i wouldn't put anything past RE. I'll be ordering the most expensive thing on the menu. I dont have any jobs lined up with them and probably won't do with the reduction in fees.

Hollypear

Cherry_pie wrote: »

Thanks for your kind thoughts, and yes, you're right, probs for the newbies, but it has an impact on oldtimers too, they may not go into the receipts and subtract side orders etc, but they might! And with RE, it really wouldnt surprise me. Unfortunately my recent experiences with them have been negative. I used to recommend them but I won't anymore, it seems they are taking advantage of the problems with the economy to pay peanuts and get monkeys! I know we're all mostly signed up with them, it's not supposed to sound derrogitory and isn't meant that way, but there is trouble brewing in the MS industry and RE are assisting a negative process.

I agree with you CP. I am the one on here who some people disagreed with ( as they have a right to do) when I frequently used to slate RE. I ended up calling them Ridiculous Eyeballs.!!!

My main reasons remain the same.

Their fees are way under considering the time taken etc.
Lengthy far too detailed questionnaires. Often asking the same question several times.
The fact that the pharmacy visits often used to involve purchasing medical products to lie in a cupboard.
The fact they take poinst off you for stupid things like spelling when often they make spelling mistakes in the briefing notes.Deduction of points make you ineligible for the only really worthwhile jobs like the Spanish ones.

I understand the point people made who disagreed with me. I do have a job so MS'ing is a top up for me and I enjoy it. BUT by doing their jobs with low fees the people who really need the money to pay the electricity bill etc are doing all of us no favours as if we refused to do work for peanuts then they would have to up the fee or lose the contract.

I have spoken to allocators who are frustrated by them as they get undercut by them. These are companies who pay good fees without the mega questionnaires and my pet hate...standing outside a pharmacy taking a photo.I found out through another forum that RE already have stock pics of them anyway which they use to put on the report folder for the client to make it look nice.:eek:

Anyway sorry for the long post and rant over.:beer:

blindman

Cherry_pie wrote: »

What don't you understand? The fee on these is £3.50. They are stating that the reimbursement is £25 but the job notes state that they will only reimburse for 2 meals and 2 drinks, no additional items. Some of the pubs in this wave offer 2 main meals for £7.19 and a pint of beer costs 99p. Do the math.

I've done the math (BTW its Maths unless you're an American :rolleyes: )

Your compulsary purchase (£9.17p) is well within the expense limit (£25.00)that RE give you.
(Unless I've misunderstood your post- I haven't seen the RE job in my area)

So Yes, you do not get to spend up to the limit but at least you get a free meal

What's your problem?

Cherry_pie_5

blindman wrote: »

What's your problem?

You, apparently. And it's math, in the technical sense, pedant.

I don't do this for a free meal. I'm a great cook, why would I lend money to MS companies for microwaved pub fodder when I can eat better at home?

A free night out, good atmosphere, bill covered, handy location, all for the cost of an hours hassle uploading receipts and answering the same questions over and over again is just about justifiable.

An almost average pub meal for tuppence halfpenny and 2 hours of hassle with a dodgy website is very far from it.