Me four

AustinMom Wrote:
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> I'm with you, Art. I get a lot of PMs from
> unhappy new shoppers who tell me they did a
> perfect shop and wrote a great report but didn't
> get paid. Then they slowly, over the course of a
> couple of PMs, admit they didn't do some things,
> sometimes big things. But they did "almost
> everything." And they are shocked and amazed not
> to be paid, because - well, they SHOWED UP and
> they "tried" so they should be paid. And even
> though the company wasn't able to use their
> report, so the company won't be paid by the client
> for their work (until the company has another
> shopper do the shop correctly and pays them, then
> bills the client), they still think they should be
> paid. The concept of "as an IC, if you do the job
> wrong, you won't be paid" is way beyond them.

I need to learn to curb my temper - I am actually a much nicer person (and have MUCH better punctuation skills than my posts indicate - but it gets so old, so fast - I see this attitude almost everywhere, FF, banking, parts vendors in my industrial businesses, the list goes on.

Funny thing though - every once in a while you find a star. I was in Maine on vacation last week and got sick - went to a Walgreens for a script - young lady perhaps 18 executed perfectly, chased my out of state insurance info for me, called my mail order prescription plan, and had my meds ready in an hour - just as promised. I complimented her and she honestly did not understand my delight and amazement, since "thats what they pay me to do, sir". This young lady will go far.

CI on my top three list....just finished a great lunch place they introduced me too, and I loved it and wanted to do a great job for them. I got a 10, a nice thank you note and know I am appreciated. You neeed to answer their questions, as in, read the instructions. Showing up and eating isn't enough.

When your learning, chalk a mistake up to experience and learn from it,
of course you have to own your mistake first, which is a measure of maturity.
bad mouthing does no good in dealing with such a reliable good company. I wish they had more jobs, but I'll snatch up this restaurant (near me) in a heartbeat, sorry guys, it's only in L.A. and Ventura county.

Good for you (Barbary), for coming forth and clearing up this problem, hearing both sides paints the full picture, although I knew shopper was in the wrong, and she knew it, saying we'd be all over her. Restaurants are involved, and I think for a new shopper not a good idea, start small and grow,

I am a relatively new Mystery Shopper and have performed at least 3 shops for Customer Impact where my scores were 9/10 after getting a 7/10 on my first "sit alone at the bar" assignment. Comments and evaluation were appreciated and on the mark. A manager took offense at one of my comments but I explained in various emails that I sat next to a wall at the bar where it was nearly impossible to view all that the manager did. On subsequent shops I got higher scores and felt more comfortable performing. Again there were many comments that were praising and helpful. The comment box was always filled. On my last shop, it was another bar sitting or sitting at a table in the bar area right after a wildly popular happy hour. I had a guest and are bill amounted to almost $100--the limit was $130. After spending much time observing and making mental notes and phone messages to myself for details that I might forget, I spent another 2 hours writing up the shop. It was returned and the comments were that I should look at the examples and redo because it was incomplete. The second email from CI said I did not read the instructions and never responded to their comments. I DID I DID I DID!!!! i GREW FRUSTRATED AND TOLD THEM SO AND FELT THEY WERE TRYING NOT TO PAY ME! I told them so and said I could not spend any more time on this because how much can I say about a plate of a salad? (and I said plenty). I reported in detail the service ...and when I reminded them that my shops were 9/10 they said they were 7's. I wnet back to check and my 3 9/10 became 2 9/10 and a 7/10 but the 7/10 comment box was now blank. Needless to say I have original c opies where the boxes were not blank but filled with comments. What does this mean, you may ask? Someone went in there after I complained to alter the scores. I was a Supervsing Librarin and an English teacher and a writer who does mystery shopping as a hobby because I used to also teach Customer Service. I get 10s in all my shops including big restaurant shops. However, WHY SHOUDLN'T I BE REIMBURSED FOR MY FOOD? I am considering legal action...is it worth my time? What do y'all think?

Joisey, my understanding of your post is that your report was never finalized to their satisfaction and they did not accept it as submitted. Since fees and reimbursements are always contingent on an accepted report, legal action would probably not be successful. I'm sorry this happened to you, but most of us have had a few bitter disappointments and were able to move on and keep shopping. This sounds like one of those experiences we have to mark up to the cost of education.

I'm sorry this has happened to you. It sounds like a learning curve. I agree with Mary that if your report was never finalized to their satisfaction then your contract with them was not fulfilled and legal action would not get you paid for the shop. I think legal action would be a waste of time in this case. Your time might be better spent negotiating with the scheduler/editor to see what additional information you might provide to make the report acceptable to them ..... if it is not already too late. They may have already had another shopper reshop it. When a MSC e-mails requesting more information on a shop report, the response that "I could not spend any more time on this because how much can I say about a plate of a salad? (and I said plenty)" is not sufficient. If they ask for more information, they want more information. If you want the report to be accepted, you must provide more information or the report will not be accepted and you will not be paid.

I've done quite a few shops for CI and like them because they usually provide good examples of what they want in the report. I have gotten a couple of 9s on their reports, but I usually get 10s and I haven't found them tremendously difficult to please. They are actually pretty forgiving about small details. If the report took you two hours to write, you may be over-thinking it. I have never spent anywhere near that long on one of their reports. My best advice is to read and re-read the guidelines for a shop to be sure you understand what they want. Don't waste any time on anything they don't emphasize because that's not what they want. Focus your observations on what they want in the report and write your report to those points. Spend the time necessary to cover all the points as they do in their examples. Re-read the examples in the guidelines to be sure your narratives hit the same points as their examples before submitting the report. And I've found them very available by telephone Monday-Friday 8-5. If you get a request for more information, provide more information. If a MSC contacts you for more info, it is worth spending additional time to respond and be sure the response is what they want, because if it is not, they will not accept the report and you will not be paid for the shop or reimbursed for your purchases.

I have spent 2-3 hours on their FD reports. The lunches and dinners were from $100-$180, without bar. I did 20+ shops and my scores are split half between 9s and 10s. I find their report typical of FD and if you follow the instruction, it's easy but time consuming to write. However, I advise newbies not take FD shops.

I agree, The schedulers are top notch! However there is one editor that has managed to put me off taking further shops from this company. She's almost impossible to please!

randamcdonald Wrote:
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> I have never had a problem with this company in
> the many years I have done shops for them. They
> have always been fair, have polite schedulers with
> great communication skills, pay on time, and they
> are a really good company to work with.
>
> I like Austin Mom's suggestions.

I see you only posted once joiseygirl46, so I dont know if you are around anymore...


In any case I believe I know the root of this problem....!!!


joiseygirl46 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am a relatively new Mystery Shopper and have
> performed at least 3 shops for Customer Impact
> where my scores were 9/10 after getting a 7/10 on
> my first "sit alone at the bar" assignment.
> Comments and evaluation were appreciated and on
> the mark. A manager took offense at one of my
> comments but I explained in various emails that I
> sat next to a wall at the bar where it was nearly
> impossible to view all that the manager did. On
> subsequent shops I got higher scores and felt more
> comfortable performing. Again there were many
> comments that were praising and helpful. The
> comment box was always filled. On my last shop, it
> was another bar sitting or sitting at a table in
> the bar area right after a wildly popular happy
> hour. I had a guest and are bill amounted to
> almost $100--the limit was $130. After spending
> much time observing and making mental notes and
> phone messages to myself for details that I might
> forget, I spent another 2 hours writing up the
> shop. It was returned and the comments were that
> I should look at the examples and redo because it
> was incomplete. The second email from CI said I
> did not read the instructions and never responded
> to their comments. I DID I DID I DID!!!! i GREW
> FRUSTRATED AND TOLD THEM SO AND FELT THEY WERE
> TRYING NOT TO PAY ME! I told them so and said I
> could not spend any more time on this because how
> much can I say about a plate of a salad? (and I
> said plenty). I reported in detail the service
> ...and when I reminded them that my shops were
> 9/10 they said they were 7's. I wnet back to check
> and my 3 9/10 became 2 9/10 and a 7/10 but the
> 7/10 comment box was now blank. Needless to say I
> have original c opies where the boxes were not
> blank but filled with comments. What does this
> mean, you may ask? Someone went in there after I
> complained to alter the scores. I was a Supervsing
> Librarin and an English teacher and a writer who
> does mystery shopping as a hobby because I used to
> also teach Customer Service. I get 10s in all my
> shops including big restaurant shops. However, WHY
> SHOUDLN'T I BE REIMBURSED FOR MY FOOD? I am
> considering legal action...is it worth my time?
> What do y'all think?

I have been doing this as a full time job since I retired 10 years ago. I have understood the way this business works from the beginning. I am sorry you lost a lot of money doing that job but you have no one to blame but yourself.
We all make mistakes and I still sometimes make them. I made one this week and thanked the MSC for telling me and that I understood that I will not be paid.
Thank G-D it has never cost me anywhere near what it cost you.
I can only suggest that in the future you read everything and if it does not make sense don't do the shop without clarification. That will minimize your mistakes.

Good luck

Josie, If I were you I would move on to other mysteryshopping companies. There are a lot of good ones out there. The way I'm reading your post you DID respond with additional information to their first email when they just said, "read the examples and redo it." First of all, we all get requests for additional information but that was a rare and unprofessional way to ask for it. It was only after the second try triggered a second email that you threw your hands up. My guess is that nothing you could have done would have satisfied them. Something else was going on and the fact that they went in and removed comments on a previously submitted report to make it look worse is unheard of and makes me wonder about anything else they said. Most shoppers don't make copies of their submitted reports and they thought that you didn't, either. That speaks volumes about this outfit.

I print all my reports before submitting them because I can. I've never had a problem with them. In fact, I love this company. Sure, they've emailed me a few times for clarification, but have always paid me.

This speaks volumes about this 'outfit' I believe.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/2013 11:07PM by Canuck.

Different strokes for different folks.....I find Cori impossible to work for, and don't, so, walk away if you feel you can't give them what their asking for, and go elsewhere. I didn't tackle a fine dining shop for awhile, being afraid of losing my reimbursement, it took me 6 months of lunch/dinner shops to be ready for a fine dining, and I've eaten in many a great restaurant before MSing. This company does NOT try and get out of paying, that is really over the top.

Has anyone done their theme park dining evaluations? We will be in FL next month and it would be a nice way to add a little bonus extras to the trip. Are they worth it?

I've shipped for them in the past but not recently.

Thanks!

SteveSoCal Wrote:
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> I would say that it was probably an honest
> misunderstand on your part, computergddess. I'm
> not intending to flame anyone, but explain the
> misunderstanding.
>
> The thing is, we are not employee of these
> companies. We are independent contractors and so
> they are under no obligation to pay if the job was
> not performed to the standards set by them. If
> there was any line in the email or instructions
> that stated the assignment email took precedence
> over any shop instructions, then it seems they
> have a right to deny the shop.
>
> It that confusing?...yes! You can either take it
> as a lesson to be more careful with reading
> assignment emails and understand the way MScs
> work, or decide that MSing is not for you.
>
> Everyone has a story like this. Putting in the
> work then not getting paid sucks. I commiserate
> with you. Stick around here and read other's
> stories and you may find a way work profitably
> within the system.
>
> -Edited for confusing typos.


I do not know law that well, but I think MS are different from regular IC. Last year I had Direct TV sending out a IC to install my dish and after a couple of weeks they had to send out someone else because there was a problem in the installation. I doubt Direct TV told the guy "no I am not going to pay you".
In my country an agreement like the one you sign with the MSC (where it says they can refuse to pay) is illegal. It is called Lion Deal, where one part acts as he wishes on the other. Usually seen when it comes to shares and contolling a company, but the way it works is the same.
But we are in a country where money is power and MSC can use it. But I seriously doubt a company refuses to pay an IC electrician, installer, plumber or any other professional.

If that guy was being paid by the install then they probably did not pay him and/or his company if it was not correct and why should they pay twice for the same job? Likewise if a MSC has to send another shopper there is no reason to pay shopper number one. Occasionally we here about unscrupulous companies managing to submit an "invalid" report to a client. In that case it is probably illegal and most definitely immoral and unethical.

Italano, if you hire an independent contractor to replace your roof, you probably sign a contract with him. The contract specifies how much you will pay him and defines the requirements of the job. Let's say your contractor shows up with some of the necessary material and tears off your existing roof to prepare for installing the new roof. Then for some reason he leaves your home roofless, exposed to the rain, etc. You can't wait too long or things in your home will be damaged, so you must pay someone else to install the roof. The first contractor did not fulfill the terms of your agreement. And you had to pay someone else to roof your home. Would you also feel obligated to pay the 1st contractor because he showed up and he started the work.....although he did not complete the job and you were forced to find someone else to do it?

italiano Wrote:
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> I do not know law that well, but I think MS are
> different from regular IC.

Why would shoppers be different from any other IC's?

You make an agreement to perform a job to a specification and you either deliver on your agreement or not. I consider myself to well versed on contract law in the U.S. and the agreements are pretty straightforward. I've never seen a clause compensating shoppers for trying or doing half the job.

The point of my initial post, if I recall, was that many people come into MSing with an employee mindset, and that does not work well with an IC relationship. You need to think like a business owner and not like an employee if you want to succeed.