@krattner wrote:

@luckygirl0100 I must disagree with you here. A shopper can write an excellent report but then the client watches the video and the report is a complete fabrication. I’ve also seen the rare shopper who uses the same report for multiple locations. If it’s different editors they may not catch it right away. These are the exceptions to the rule, but there are others as well.

Huh?
That is 100% AGREEMENT with what I said....

Are you saying that the MSC SHOULD pay for this fraud?

@heywave
Huh?
I was talking about shopper fraud where the editor grades the report as wonderful and then it's shown to be fabricated.

@heywave wrote:

@luckygirl0100 I think you are incorrect. A few months ago you brought up the same point -- ICs are not protected. The Americans with Disabilities Act does not just cover employees, but also prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all public and private places that are open to the general public.

Specifically to your point, mystery shoppers are independent contractors. PGA golfers are also independent contractors. With the ADA, a golfer successfully sued the PGA Tour to use a golf cart to accommodate his disability. As a spectator of golf, I did not agree with the Supreme Court's decision to rule in the golfer's favor to use a golf cart during pro tournaments.

I recall bringing up the point that a company, whom I have terminated their contract (thank you @shopperbob), prohibited anyone requiring the use of a scooter or mobility device to perform their storage audits. @luckygirl0100 was quick to say ICs are not protected which is not true. I still think that company should remove that language. If the right/wrong person saw it, they could sue, but let's be honest who wants to work for someone that pays 100 days after the work has been done.

@F and L TeleComm I think the jean co. had a mystery shop looking for larger size people. I think it was men's 40 waist and above and I forgot what it was for ladies.

@luckygirl0100 I was replying to your statement:

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

Actually they can tell you this. As an IC you are NOT protected and absolutely ZERO accommodations must be made.

when you were replying to @F and L TeleComm

I don't see you mentioning anything about fraud until later in the thread.

This was from the post [www.mysteryshopforum.com]

@heywave wrote:

@luckygirl0100 I was replying to your statement:

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

Actually they can tell you this. As an IC you are NOT protected and absolutely ZERO accommodations must be made.

when you were replying to @F and L TeleComm

I don't see you mentioning anything about fraud until later in the thread.

This was from the post [www.mysteryshopforum.com]

Gotcha... change of topics within a thread...


I believe the location would be the one that needs to be ADA compliant, not the MSC. Unless the location was grandfathered in such as a historic building. I know of a few restaurants in my area that are not wheelchair accessible due to being located in 100+ year old buildings.
As an IC you are responsible for completing the job, however that gets done. So if you show up in a motorized scooter because you can't walk then so be it. (And the location would need to be accessible as long as they aren't exempt for some reason like I stated above)
The MSC does NOT need to provide the scooter. Just like a plumber or painter they are required to bring their own ladder/ tools/etc. It is not the client (customers) job to provide it.

The MSC is OUR client.

heywave shares--As a spectator of golf, I did not agree with the Supreme Court's decision to rule in the golfer's favor to use a Bobgolf cart during pro tournaments.

Bob adds--As a participating powerlifter, I definitely do not agree with the Supreme Counts recent decision to permit males, who claim they are women, to compete in the females classes. I am not in the slightest prejudiced against trans people, but this is, in my opinion, a ridiculous accommodation and totally inequitable to female lifters.

Wow. What is this thread about, again? LOL

724- Sorry to be so long in responding. I lost track of this topic/post, and just now read your response....
SL said that I should have called the morning of the shop, and then I would have known the store was closed, and therefore I would not get paid!

That makes sense. If it were me and I had called a couple days before going, I still would've confirmed they were open by calling again on the scheduled day. I generally always call on the same day, especially if a call beforehand is required, or the weather is bad, I have to drive a fair distance, etc. That's just how I've always done it. Even if I call a place that has an IVR telling me the store hours for the day, I make whatever selection necessary to speak to someone in the store just to be sure.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/2023 08:05PM by shopnyc.

ShopperBob: This industry has changed a lot over the last 30 years. From the days of an MSC being required to be a valid P.I. in their state, with accommodations (in writing) from states in which the MSC did business....to now where any swinging d... can do a shop, and the "client" then uses the shop however they see fit, disregarding fair play and applicable laws. A full time corporate manager from Intellishop once queried me on a bar shop/valet parking shop, saying (and I paraphrase), 'How do you (meaning me) feel about this employee being fired because of your report.' I then told the Intellishop manager that it was currently against the law for his client to use my mystery shopping report in ANY disciplinary manner with an employee, in any way, and he stammered and stuttered, and mumbled something which clearly indicated to me that he did not KNOW squat.
I am still a licensed P.I. in my state, and have been for 30 years; retired now but fairly up-to-date on the law as it pertains to this industry. The only state which really enforces existing law (and the court's interpretation of those laws) is Nevada (for obvious reasons...gaming). MSC's and this industry are a prime example of companies taking advantage of the independent contractor; examples are 1)paying lower than minimum wages, 2)not paying for work performed (even when directions are followed) and 3)failing to pay overtime. IMHO, the pendulum has swung the other way.
That said, you are right in that we are Independent Contractors, and often, the best course is simply to walk away from a particular MSC. It is far too costly to push a "wrong" (as you so aptly put it) and incur the expense of suing an MSC (which also, effectively, ends one's career with that MSC, if not the industry). But, it is a fact that MOST MSCs abuse the current "state" of the Independent Contractor's status. They really don't need to, and are taking the path of least resistance with their clients.
I could go on for pages on this topic, but will refrain!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/2023 08:13PM by salisburync.

@luckygirl0100 sorry! The paragraph saying the shopper should be paid was in the response you wrote, and I missed your reply after it.

I should NOT be paid for this comment lol ????

@shopnyc If the shop says call ahead of time and I call a couple of days before, I am with @salisburync and I am not going to call the day of to confirm what I already found out from them. If the guidelines say you must call the day of (guessing the MSC did not state that) to confirm they are open, then that is a different deal.

Perhaps I am thinking from the standpoint of the type of shops I tend to do are usually open every day, the part of the country I am in, or that so many of these places I work never answer the phone. I was doing a shop that did not have hours listed online, so I called the number several times during the day and there was never an answer and no recording. When I got there, I had to confirm the phone number. When the manager told me the number, I said I dialed that number and proceeded to call it and he says, "yeah, that is the number, but I don't know where it rings too. We use cell phones."

What do you do if they never answer the phone to confirm store hours? Do you drop the shop?

@krattner wrote:

@luckygirl0100 sorry! The paragraph saying the shopper should be paid was in the response you wrote, and I missed your reply after it.

I should NOT be paid for this comment lol ????

You're good.
Sometimes the quote feature on this site gets real funky.