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EPMS

May 14, 2012 05:04AM
If you know people who work in the office, isn't that a conflict? I would tell them you know people in the office and let them make the call.
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May 14, 2012 10:00AM
jleetw1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Anyone done any? pay seems really high first shops
> are today


EPMS!,

They have the social skills of a goat. I pass on them every time.

Don
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May 14, 2012 10:10AM
I disagree. I have only had one minor issue with them and have found them very accommodating and flexible.
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May 14, 2012 01:42PM
I also disagree. I'm entering my 7th yr. with Ellis this month and haven't experienced any problems with this MSCs workers. All with whom I've had any contact, have always been both accessible and accommodating.
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May 14, 2012 01:46PM
cynb,
I think it is always an issue if you know anyone who works at the site you are shopping.

While I have had some less than positive interactions with EPMS folks on the "traditional" (written) report side of the company, the folks on the video/audio side are GREAT! It's like two different corporate cultures! Trashing the whole enterprise seems a bit OTT to me.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
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May 14, 2012 02:04PM
walesmaven -- And yet, I don't do the video/audio shops and still have dealt with people who have been very accommodating. I will admit, though, that if you deal with more than one person the second person may not know what the first person agreed to and that seems to be true at other MSCs. I guess I've been fortunate in dealing with some pretty reasonable people. It may all depend on who the scheduler or editor is which is true at other MSCs as well. Except for the one bad incident which was caused by a property manager who probably shouldn't have kept her job after the client listened to the phone conversation I had with her, I've never had any problem with my report being accepted and, I don't think, I've ever had any clarification issues.
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May 14, 2012 03:03PM
avitoots,
My "issues" with a couple of EPMS folks never rose to the level of having a report seriously questioned except for one time. That was when the head of the video division was on leave and someone from the other part of the company (which deals exclusively with written reports) tried to deny me payment for a report on specious grounds (I was told that there was no audio, when there was excellent audio, both on their copy and on mine.). When Robert A returned and discovered what had been done IN HIS NAME, he called and apologized personally and reinstated the report. He was quite blunt about the error being entirely on EPMS, not on me.

My other issues with the NON audio/video side were just a matter of extremely rude people. Many of them may be gone by now. I have not done a written-only shop for them in years, so you may be dealing with a whole new cast of characters.

Edited to correct the first sentence of the last paragrapg to read "NON audio/video"!!!!!!!!

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/14/2012 04:31PM by walesmaven.
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May 14, 2012 03:57PM
walesmaven -- My point is that there may be a few idiots in a MSC company that treat shoppers in a rude and unprofessional manner in many of the MSCs and I have dealt with a couple but not at EPMS. It may be that the schedulers and editors I have been dealing with in my area are not the same as in other areas.
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May 14, 2012 04:31PM
avitoots,
Then we are agreeing.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Reply
May 14, 2012 08:58PM
I just figure that the EPMS editors are ICs and the position has high turnover.

I practice my Lamaze breathing from long ago when I'm reading the EPMS editor emails - they used to get my blood pressure up, but now I think they are kind of hapless and feel a little pity for them.

When does EPMS pay? I just started doing shops for them in April and signed up for the auto deposit, looking forward to my $$.
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May 15, 2012 12:52AM
They pay pretty quickly. Can't remember exactly but I want to say the month after the shop. Check their website. It's probably stated there.
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May 15, 2012 02:33AM
I'm getting a lot of e-mails, but they are all for written shops. Considering the reports it does not interest me in the least. In the back of my mind is the possibility that video shops could be requested for the same location and it would be such a waste for me to use my only visit on a written.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
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May 15, 2012 02:56AM
Lisa,

I've no recollection of your stated concern having occurred in my area of Southwestern Ohio.
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May 15, 2012 11:08AM
Thanks for the 411. Another company around here has primarily written apartments, but told me on occasion the client will want one done as video. Considering the difference in the fee for them is around $75, I don't want to waste a visit. If EPMS clients tend to stay the same then I may pick up a written shop or two when they start to increase.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
Reply
May 15, 2012 02:39PM
I did EPMS shops a few years ago and I am starting again. Do they still send you the video equipment for those shops or are you expected to have your own? The surveys are long but the pay is good and they are pleasant to deal with.
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May 15, 2012 02:46PM
Stacy,
EPMS will send equipment, but you get both a $10 bonus and preference in assignments if you have your own.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/15/2012 02:56PM by walesmaven.
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May 15, 2012 10:23PM
The video shops have scared me since I read some stuff on these boards. Are the video shops hard to do? Is the equipment easy or hard to work with?
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May 15, 2012 11:25PM
Thank you Walesmaven. I've been reading about the PV-500 cameras. Can you use the PV-500 lite for EPMS shops? I would love to just turn the camera on and not have to fill out long written surveys!
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May 15, 2012 11:36PM
Hate to burst your bubble, but there are way more video shops that require a report than don't. I think the EPMS reports are the same regardless. The good news is the narratives don't usually require the same depth.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
Reply
May 16, 2012 12:24AM
I do recall having to fill out the surveys, but they weren't as long. I think I would feel much more comfortable having my own camera that I had lots of time to practice with.
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May 16, 2012 02:47AM
LisaSTL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hate to burst your bubble, but there are way more
> video shops that require a report than don't. I
> think the EPMS reports are the same regardless.
> The good news is the narratives don't usually
> require the same depth.


The reports take me 60-90 minutes each. How long do they take you?

In regards to the video shops how hard is it to use their video equipment?
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May 16, 2012 12:41PM
Just email and ask if they accept PV-500 lite product. I suspect that they will, but get it in writing. Some of EPMS' clients have cut back the surveys to almost nothing for video and/or audio shops. Others have not changed their long surveys at all. You get to see the survey before you have to commit to the job, so that should help.

A rare few clients require that a shopper can NEVER go back to any of their locations once a single shop has been done. Most have a 12 month rotation with EPMS in the areas where I have done shops for them.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Reply
May 16, 2012 01:33PM
My average for a written report with Ellis is 1 hr., but there's 1 client that runs over 2 hrs.; I've made note of the name and don't accept any such work. This was the personification of repetition.
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May 16, 2012 01:50PM
I've only done two video shops for them so far and they were the lengthy, repetitive reports, probably right at an hour each. I always know first reports are going to take longer so it's entirely probable that time would be reduced if they were offered with any regularity. I'm just one of those people who likes spending time on the actual job and abhors writing narrative.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
Reply
May 16, 2012 02:18PM
My first few long reports for EPMS took about three times as long as they do now.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Reply
May 17, 2012 12:53PM
So - slightly different question: yesterday I had a couple of EPMS apartment shops.

One of the buildings had an electric meter with thecover off and the 'guts' hanging out. There were wires falling down everywhere, to where a child could easily grab them and be seriously injured. And this was a lower-income complex where there were dozens of kids everywhere.

I took several photos to document this situation, and I am including them in my report.

However - now I'm wondering if I have a duty to report this to management? The leasing agent walked right by the gutted-out electric meter (it was clearly visible) and pretended like it didn't exist.

There were also other serious problems with this complex, like deep holes dug to fix a sprinkler system and left unmarked.

I know my report will eventually be seen by.... someone? But in the meantime, what (if anything) should I do?
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May 17, 2012 01:23PM
I recently had something which could be considered a safety issue on a video retail shop and addressed it with the sales associate. He had a very blase attitude about the whole thing. I e-mailed my scheduler right away explaining the attitude was all on film, but I felt the issue was to risky to ignore. The scheduler was going to pass along the info to the client right away.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
Reply
May 17, 2012 01:30PM
Lisa -- That's exactly the way I would have handled it. Contacting the client directly is against our contracts. However, I wonder if contacting the city or village to report the dangerous conditions would be a breach of our contracts since you are not directly contacting the client. I think reporting it to a government agency would probably be a more productive option anyway.
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May 17, 2012 01:51PM
There is a point where we need to dig down deep and make the decision of which is most important and right. If the issues are a real safety risk then that would have to take precedence over a mystery shop. Since mine was effectively handled while I was there, having the scheduler contact the client was a safe way to go. For this case I would be inclined to do what you are suggesting. How does one live with a child getting hurt just to protect a client?

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
Reply
May 17, 2012 02:02PM
Lisa -- My question is whether the client is aware of the problems at the property and doesn't do anything about it because it is such a low income producer. Having lived in Chicago for most of my life (I'm splitting my time between Chicago and Florida now) allowing this kind of stuff to slide is not out of the ordinary for low-income properties.
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