If you sign up for a shop which is scheduled for a few days in the future, and then afterward, you see the MSC is offering a bonus on the other locations, do you ask for the bonus to cover yours too if the shop itself hasn't happened yet? If so, did they give it to you to cover yours?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/2024 12:50PM by BarefootBliss.

After applying for and being accepted for work, the thought of requesting more money never occurred to me nor would I take such an action. In addition, I would not permit the MSC to, before completion, reduce my pay.

Never. Asking for more would be the same as the MSC finding someone who will do it for less, and then asking me to lower my fee. It works both ways.

Plus you have to consider if you hadn't taken the shop for that rate, someone else might have.

Unfortunately no, it is the game we play. Wait for the fee to increase or lose the job to someone else.

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I got lucky.

My initial answer was no. After a few seconds of thought, if it was a scheduler with whom I had a good working relationship or maybe I had helped them when they were in a pinch, I may would drop a note and ask if they could increase my shop to include the bonus or additional fee. The worst they can say is no.

I would not make a habit of it, and I would probabably think hard about whether a few extra dollars is worth leaving a negative impression in their mind.

If I agreed to do a job for a fee, I'll most likely do the job for that fee. I would never ask for the fee increase that came after I agreed to do the job. There have been very few times when I've had to let a job go back on the board because of my health. I don't usually go looking for them after I feel better, but I will claim the same job, if it's there, regardless if the pay has increased or not. I also won't offer to do the job for the original fee.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/2024 10:12PM by Morledzep.

I would never ask for more after agreeing to a fee. However, I have seen an occasional proactive/retroactive fee increase appear on shops I have been assigned. Very few MSCs decent enough to do that.

@ServiceAward wrote:

My initial answer was no. After a few seconds of thought, if it was a scheduler with whom I had a good working relationship or maybe I had helped them when they were in a pinch, I may would drop a note and ask if they could increase my shop to include the bonus or additional fee. The worst they can say is no.

I would not make a habit of it, and I would probabably think hard about whether a few extra dollars is worth leaving a negative impression in their mind.

This, mostly.

I realize the waiting game for higher fees is a game we basically agree to play when dealing with MSCs, but that doesn't mean that I have to allow the standard rules to always dictate how I operate in negotiating with MSCs. If I see everyone else being offered a much higher rate (I'm not gonna quibble over a few dollars) to perform the same job immediately after I accept the job at a lower rate, yeah, I'm gonna ask for that same rate.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/18/2024 02:25PM by retrodaddy.

@retrodaddy wrote:

@ServiceAward wrote:

My initial answer was no. After a few seconds of thought, if it was a scheduler with whom I had a good working relationship or maybe I had helped them when they were in a pinch, I may would drop a note and ask if they could increase my shop to include the bonus or additional fee. The worst they can say is no.

I would not make a habit of it, and I would probabably think hard about whether a few extra dollars is worth leaving a negative impression in their mind.

This, mostly.

I realize the waiting game for higher fees is a game we basically agree to play when dealing with MSCs, but that doesn't mean that I have to allow the standard rules to always dictate how I operate in negotiating with MSCs. If I see everyone else being offered a much higher rate (I'm not gonna quibble over a few dollars) to perform the same job immediately after I accept the job at a lower rate, yeah, I'm gonna ask for that same rate.

So would you be ok with the MSC coming to you and saying "We found someone to do it cheaper, will you lower your rate?".

@viv0412 wrote:

@retrodaddy wrote:

@ServiceAward wrote:

My initial answer was no. After a few seconds of thought, if it was a scheduler with whom I had a good working relationship or maybe I had helped them when they were in a pinch, I may would drop a note and ask if they could increase my shop to include the bonus or additional fee. The worst they can say is no.

I would not make a habit of it, and I would probabably think hard about whether a few extra dollars is worth leaving a negative impression in their mind.

This, mostly.

I realize the waiting game for higher fees is a game we basically agree to play when dealing with MSCs, but that doesn't mean that I have to allow the standard rules to always dictate how I operate in negotiating with MSCs. If I see everyone else being offered a much higher rate (I'm not gonna quibble over a few dollars) to perform the same job immediately after I accept the job at a lower rate, yeah, I'm gonna ask for that same rate.

So would you be ok with the MSC coming to you and saying "We found someone to do it cheaper, will you lower your rate?".

Hell no, and what I posted shouldn't lead anyone to believe I'd be okay with that.

I once had a scheduler call me and tell me they found someone to do it for less, and said they were giving the job to another shopper. In all honestly I didn't want the job anyways and was just doing it to help them out, and they knew that, which was probably why they felt okay doing that, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth. I haven't done a job for that MSC since. I imagine they feel the same when someone asks them to increase the fee. They may do it, but it will leave a negative impression.

@mystery2me wrote:

I once had a scheduler call me and tell me they found someone to do it for less, and said they were giving the job to another shopper. In all honestly I didn't want the job anyways and was just doing it to help them out, and they knew that, which was probably why they felt okay doing that, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth. I haven't done a job for that MSC since. I imagine they feel the same when someone asks them to increase the fee. They may do it, but it will leave a negative impression.

This exactly. If we aren't ok with the reverse being done then we shouldn't do it. (even if we or they say no and the end result is we are paid the originally agreed upon price)

I was texted, asking to take a few fuel sites near a deadline. I had already done a few. I did see they were minimally bonuses, either 2 or 3 bucks. They had about a dozen sites outstanding within a usual but somewhat expansive territory I do shops in. I specifically asked if I took a reasonable number of locations would they bonus them? A quick return said, “They are already bonused.” The next AM I checked and they were still available. I wanted the extra bucks because these sites are often run down a bit and the survey form is not very well presented to complete easily. I relented and took at least 5 sites. Two hours later I noticed they were anlready additionally bonused. I asked for equal consideration, only since I had specifically asked already. The reply was no. I thought, Really? I’m not worth a few more bucks after having asked? I get it. The people that hold out will get the compensation I asked for to take on sites I didn’t really want but took on to be helpful. Yes, I accept their written terms. I skipped the local site. I am loosely familiar with the family of the owners through a community connection. Not so close I had to exclude myself but I prefer not to risk identifying myself by asking for the store receipt. They always have a hard time filling it because of bridge tolls and locale. They paid well more than the difference I asked for to do the one site. If I am not valuable to them I will skip doing the 6-10 sites I did this round next time around. I’ll remind them politely I felt like I was told to “Kiss” off.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/18/2024 06:11PM by emm2131.

@emm2131 wrote:

I was texted, asking to take a few fuel sites near a deadline. I had already done a few. I did see they were minimally bonuses, either 2 or 3 bucks. They had about a dozen sites outstanding within a usual but somewhat expansive territory I do shops in. I specifically asked if I took a reasonable number of locations would they bonus them? A quick return said, “They are already bonused.” The next AM I checked and they were still available. I wanted the extra bucks because these sites are often run down a bit and the survey form is not very well presented to complete easily. I relented and took at least 5 sites. Two hours later I noticed they were anlready additionally bonused. I asked for equal consideration, only since I had specifically asked already. The reply was no. I thought, Really? I’m not worth a few more bucks after having asked? I get it. The people that hold out will get the compensation I asked for to take on sites I didn’t really want but took on to be helpful. Yes, I accept their written terms. I skipped the local site. I am loosely familiar with the family of the owners through a community connection. Not so close I had to exclude myself but I prefer not to risk identifying myself by asking for the store receipt. They always have a hard time filling it because of bridge tolls and locale. They paid well more than the difference I asked for to do the one site. If I am not valuable to them I will skip doing the 6-10 sites I did this round next time around. I’ll remind them politely I felt like I was told to “Kiss” off.

Wow. That's a bummer and I'm sorry to read that was your experience.

It's also a great example of why asking to receive the bonuses others are receiving to perform the same job is a completely reasonable request. It should be MSCs' goal to fairly and equitably compensate good workers and maintain good, equitable working relationships which achieve long-term goals. Not doing so results in good workers not wanting to take on future assignments, as is the case here. Asking for a higher than previously agreed to amount which is equal to what others are being given for the same gig, and being willing to accept less to match what someone else will accept do *not* have anywhere close to the same consequences in real life. We're not debating this in a high school or college ethics / philosophy class. We're talking about MSCs not wanting to part ways with money they can afford to part with to make sure people are being fairly and equitably compensated. Nothing more, nothing less.

What happened in my case was that I accepted the shop, then a few hours later, I noticed the bonus had been raised later that same day for that group of shops. I sent a message to the scheduler - i.e. since I accepted the same day, can I get the better bonus?
she said: "sure".
Never hurts to ask.

Thanks for letting us know the end result. Glad it worked out for you.