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Msc's that understand that life happens...

October 02, 2018 06:11AM
Hey...so been semi seriously shopping for about a year now with very little hiccups..I currently have about 4 mscs I check first because they are my favorite..and I'll rotate new mscs in to try one shop to see if I like them before committing fully. So this post isn't about making excuses but just opinions on which mscs are the most understanding when life happens..this is what happened I scheduled 3 shops on Saturday. My car was working on Friday. I go to leave Saturday to complete the shops and my car won't start. I emailed all 3 mscs to let them know I can't complete the shops and explain what is going on..one of the mscs still hasnt reached out to me...another one who shall be un named just cancelled the shop..no follow up..I actually had to reach out to them to doublecheck if it would be possible to complete the shop today...the only one who seemed to care on a human level was customer impact..they asked for an update..I told them my situation and they actually apologized for not getting back to me sooner..they allowed me to shop and showed empathy for my situation...
This is the type of msc I want to work for..so was curious have you been in the same boat and which mscs understand that life happens sometimes...

Shopping Idaho and Oregon/Idaho border region.
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October 02, 2018 08:37AM
There are plenty other MSCs that have compassion for life's unexpected emergencies. I, too have mechanical problems with my vehicle. I try to keep up the maintenance on my vehicle but since I drive to many locations it does put alot of wear and tear on it. I had established a reliable reputation with many MSC, they understood and allow me to re-schedule my shops within a reasonable time period.
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October 02, 2018 02:57PM
I've had medical emergencies in the past month come up. I don't know which 2 of the 3 did not seem to show any empathy to the OP, but the 3 I had to contact were all very understanding. They were all the schedulers for grocery shops that each of these MSCs do, so I'm not sure if that makes any difference. But they were Confero, MF, and Trendsource. All 3 were very understanding, and I appreciate that!!
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October 02, 2018 03:45PM
Just have to agree about Customer Impact - love that Texas company! Accessible and approachable - I wish I could afford to take all the assignments they offer in a 100 mi radius of me!
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October 02, 2018 04:46PM
Really? I'm only ok on Customer Impact. That has more to do with getting shops than anything though. I've done half a dozen shops for them with all 10's except a couple of 9s and have only gotten 1 of the dozen or so shops I've applied for in the last 2 years. And that was in the middle of nowhere.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
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October 02, 2018 07:58PM
I have had great experiences with my scheduler from Business Observations and ACL. Late last year I had to cancel a route with Business Observations due to me having to fly to FL to be with my mom (she had just gotten diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was scheduled for surgery within a week - my flight was booked the same day we found out the surgery was scheduled). My scheduler was so sweet and understanding - she even included my mom in a prayer and followed up with me to see how my mom was doing. Had a lunch scheduled with ACL today actually and Phoenix got flooded out (roads looked like rivers here today) and I was rescheduled almost immediately with no problems. Thus far, I have been very fortunate and not had any issues with any of my schedulers *knocks on wood*
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October 03, 2018 02:36AM
I have been fortunate and only have needed to reschedule once due to an emergency.. It was the month I started shopping for ACL and it was my second shop ever for them... my dog, who I consider my child, had kidney failure and had a seizure on the day of an ACL shop and needed to go to the vet ASAP, I called my scheduler and explained the situation and she wished me and my doggy well and rescheduled the shop with no issues. She treated me as a human and with much compassion. Luckily, I have been able to self reschedule all my other shops I’ve needed moved here or there.
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October 03, 2018 05:14PM
This discussion is at such a high level it reminds me of a conversation I had yesterday with a loved but flakey friend. She told me she would be a great mystery shopper as she is very good at details. She was insulted when I said I did not think she was a good fit for mystery shopping. I explained it had nothing to do with her abilities but just not a good fit with her personality and then went on to explain (gently as to not offend her greatly) that you are expected to do the shop you agree to within sometimes a very tight time frame and not be late or you will not be paid. Her response...oh I am sure if you had a cold or something you could call them and they would give you more time. This is why so many new shoppers fall by the wayside. Sorry for all your bad luck but kudos to all of you for being great shoppers and only using real emergencies. I am happy to hear most companies are sympathetic.
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October 04, 2018 01:07AM
I think most of shoppers, schedulers and editors are willing to do the good work and help when needed. MSC usually can tell the difference between the flake and serious shopper. Dawnhu, it may be your good history with MSC, way you communicated with them and dedication that MSC noticed.
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October 04, 2018 02:11AM
I just started shopping with Customer Impact and have been very impressed. They respond to e-mails quickly and are very friendly. I had some questions today on some guidelines and the individual was so helpful. Glad to hear you had a good experience with them!
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October 05, 2018 02:55AM
Thanks for the feedback everyone..@miknv..I've done around 4 shops for customer impact but I deliver great reports that score pretty high and I turn them in way before deadline..the thing I struggled with alot with customer impact is not being detailed enough where they want extreme detail and vica versa..the other 2 msc I've completed close to 20 shops for with no issue..thankfully they were not new mscs for me
@sandyf..I think you have in part really like shopping or really like reports..its going to sound weird but I hate shopping for leisure but for some reason I enjoy shopping when it's shopping them for msc's..and I dont mean that at all in a vindictive way..if it came off like that..I also like the reports if they are reasonable but I'm more of a narative geared shopper ...
@Lissymaree...hope your dog made it through okay
@bgriffin..that is really weird..did they ever tell you why?

Shopping Idaho and Oregon/Idaho border region.
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October 05, 2018 01:23PM
It's not the MSC so much as the scheduler. Having a good relationship with the schedulers can do a lot of good.

I had a great relationship with the previous ACL scheduler. She knew I was a reliable shopper. She was very accommodating if I needed to change a shop date.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
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October 06, 2018 03:51AM
Okay, so step back and think it over for a bit. Last Saturday would have been both End of Month AND End of Quarter. That is an extremely tough time for schedulers in general, but on a weekend it’s even worse because they also have to try and communicate with their project managers and clients. They may not have time to send a reply if they need the shop done and are trying to find a replacement at the last minute. Shops have to be canceled before they can be reassigned. Rescheduling may not be an option for many shops during that time period.
As long as you notified the scheduler in a timely manner, which it sounds like you did, don’t worry about getting a personalized response. It doesn’t mean they are not sympathetic to or not understanding. It just means they are busy.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2018 03:52AM by TroyHawkins.
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