Hi,

I was just offered a Ikea shop for $65, and was curious as to whether anyone on the forum
has completed one of these shops. I have a feeling that they are a PITA, but I would like a confirmation .

Thanks in advance

You might want to do some searches and read up on THE shop from hell.

I wouldnt touch that shop with a 10 foot pole.

I honestly don't think I would do that shop for anything less than $150, maybe not even for $150. If you search the word "Sweedish" and all dates, you will find some feedback.

I thought about the IKEA shop but after reading comments in search, I do not think so! LOL Not worth the time and money and headaches...just getting around the store as a customer is crazy and let alone doing a report...no thank you.

If it was $$$ maybe, naaaaaaaaaa...I'll skip...

Run away fast from that shop!!!

99 horror stories are posted both here and on the V GOD site.

Tx, I haven't done an Ikea shop because of the many negative comments I've read on this forum. I don't know anything about the shop, but when lots of people advise against it caution may be a good policy. You're smart to be researching this before you jump in.

Thanks for everyone's feedback. I am not going to take the shop, my initial feelings were correct.
To much-- for to little $$.

Thanks again...

I have a question on shops like this.

If enough people won't do them, does the MSC ever raise the pay, change the report, or just wait until they find somebody dumb and/or inexperienced enough to do them?

When I first started doing this stuff, I was under the impression that MSC might value work done by the more experienced shoppers. They'd get better reports and likely much better information for their clients.

But the longer I do it, I keep seeing many MSCs who it seems would rather employ rookies or the desperate, and pay less.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/30/2012 02:23AM by sportsed1.

I've done a few of those IKEA shops before, but I haven't done one in over a year b/c it just takes waaaay too long to do (over 2 to 3 hours in the store and over an hour of filling out the form!), so I don't think it's worth the time for the pay.

It really is the shop from hell with no redeeming qualities about it.

***
Shopping Los Angeles and its environs

I did one of these shops a long time ago. I will not do again unless the for is $150 plus. I LOVE IKEA and I like shopping there but NOT doing "Shops."

I think it's a combination of a really cheap client combined with a difficult to work for and demanding MSC. Bad combo!

I did one of these shops and will never do it again! It takes too much time to do it and fill out the report. The IKEA I shopped the pick place was in different building and it was raining. This was a bad shop!!! It paid $85. I think I rather do 4 shops at different locations and get the same money and it does not take as much time!!!

It's an all day job, and a stack of printing, and it takes 3 months to get paid. Then you have to buy some of that nasty food out of pocket.

Wait...I like the food. Wasn't there some type of requiremnt to buy a large item and return it?

This is what the shop entails:

Reading through densely-written, threat-filled, insulting shop instructions

20+ narratives in separate departments, and you are instructed to wait 5 minutes in each before seeking assistance.

Purchase and return of a specific, hard to locate type of item.

Purchase of food, not reimbursed.

Waiting for 60-90 days for pay.

This shop is a rite of passage for MS'ers. It appears that we've all done at least one, and then said, "never again!"

txguitar Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi,
>
> I was just offered a Ikea shop for $65, and was
> curious as to whether anyone on the forum
> has completed one of these shops. I have a
> feeling that they are a PITA, but I would like a
> confirmation .
>
> Thanks in advance


If you like a long walk in a wharehouse and hundreds of questions that can be answered any number of ways and IKEA gets to choose which answer they will accept and most likely will invaladate your shop and use your report anyway without paying you go ahead and take the shop. I would run as fast as I can AWAY FROM THAT SHOP...DO NOT TAKE IT...IT AMOUNTS TO A SCAM.

OMG! I've never done it because of this forum. Maybe $1,000 bonus would change my mind, but I doubt it.

Missy, I'm lucky because there isn't one of those stores within a five hour drive of me. So this girl was able to avoid that disaster and now feel duty bound to help anyone I can do the same

The only Ikea I've seen is up in CT, and I was thinking of shopping it next time I went back to visit family...not now...well maybe, a $1,000 bonus with 75% payable in advance...then I might do it.

There's one 8 miles from me and I furnisihed my daughter's apartment with 100% IKEA furniture. Almost tempting to make some $$ back from them. Well, maybe if I have a really slow week, or maybe it's easier to three bank shops.

I think just about every shopper when first starting out gets sucked into one of these. It was only the third shop I ever completed (many moons ago) and almost caused me to quit shopping altogether. I was there EIGHT hours at the store, and then spent another four or so hours on the report.
PITA does not even begin to cover it. After I finished, large quantities of tequila were required to put it out of my mind.

Run far and run fast! By the time you are 100% done with this shop, you will make about $0.50 an hour!!!

Do not do it, I repeat, do not do this. Not only will it take you forever, you will not get paid for 4 months. I will now probably be removed from their data base, like the last company where I tried to make helpful, and far less disparaging remarks, but I don't want any one to suffer the pain and agony of this low paying, hours long scavenger hunt.

Today is December 30, 2012. The scheduler for IKEA shops is still trying to get it filled this month. She needs it done on Monday, December 31, 2012 between 10 AM and 6 PM. I did one of these shops once and it truly was the shop from Hell! Don't forget that it will take about four months to get paid.

I offered to do it for $125 but she emailed me back, "This isn't a "request what you want to be paid" assignment."

I wished her a Happy New Year since the payment has only reached $80.

P.S. They had the same problem filling this shop last month as well.

shopit Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I offered to do it for $125 but she emailed me
> back, "This isn't a "request what you want to be
> paid" assignment."


Well, then, I guess they don't want/need it done *that* badly.

From the sounds of it (I've never had the horror of doing one) you made a good offer!

What a snotty reply from the scheduler.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/30/2012 04:21PM by LisaSTL.

I've had those offered to me. Got all excited when I saw the $70 fee it was up to until I realized it must be the Ikea shop and I don't think I will go there for less than $125 either. I would have to consider it an all-day thing, with nothing else scheduled for the day, plus I have to drive 100 miles to get to one so that's $25 for gas. I don't leave town for less than $100 and gas money.

And, I've been in an Ikea exactly once, thought it was a zoo, and never been back since so I'm not even familiar with the layout of the store and it would probably take me three times as long trying to find anything.

That scheduler needs a reality check.

I tried this shop when I was very new. I think it was in my first week or two.
I found it impossible to remember the names of everybody in all the departments. I planned to jot all the questions and their answers down, but there was no place to hide while taking notes.
I put in a report with lots of holes in it and was sorry I even tried. Then the replies from the proofreader went to my spam folder and I must have deleted them. Needless to say I did not get paid for my attempt, and I wasted a lot of time, energy and gas getting there.

I thought about trying it again, but thought again!

Oh the pain of those IKEA shops is coming back when I read this thread. When I was new (probably 10 years ago or so) I used to do 2-3 a month when a different and very reliable company had them. There are two IKEAS not far from me. I actually enjoyed doing them and had a system to knock it out within 2-21/2 hours in the store. The report was long and the shop paid around $50-$65 but it was NOTHING like it is now. When they started adding things each month, I started doing less. The former company's scheduler agreed with me about the additions the client continually requested. Well, I tried one with the new (now old to most of you) company and wanted to vomit. I was very familiar with the store layout and it just took forever with this and that department being added and names required. The report took way too long. I remember emailing the current company and telling them my feelings and what the shop should pay..think I said $100. Well, I tend to forget the pain and took another a few years later when I read the report/shop was simplified....NOT. I had to put the roof down on my vehicle to get the dang thing that I bought across the road to the NEW return place that I didn't know was there. (I used to go right out one door and right back in the next). Never, never never again. My shops were always accepted, but I've read that many shoppers have had them not accepted. After spending all that time in the store and on that ridiculous report, that would really get me POed. The former company paid reliably every month. The current company took over three months if my memory serves me correctly. There are so many better shops. Newbies, DO NOT GO THERE!