I'm probably going to end up on the bottom of a dogpile for this but here goes.

Not wanting to point out certain posts or members, I decided to start a new thread about this topic in general. I have noticed a lot of posts complaining about editors being too picky and giving low shop scores or shops being rejected for no legitimate reason. Now, I'm not talking about the posts that explain in detail what the problem was; I am referring to those who post vague complaints and call out specific MSCs or editors. I notice a lot of grammatical errors in those rants and can't help but wonder if their low scores are simply the result of a poorly written report.

Before you argue that this is a forum, and we are more relaxed here and don't proofread what we write, I agree - to a point. If I were going to complain about low scores or rejected shops, I'd be darn sure I took the time to draft a well-written post. Much of the grammar I see here is atrocious, but I barely raise an eyebrow until the author starts in with the complaints about picky editors.

Am I alone in my line of thought?

<Curling up in the fetal position under my table...>... okay.... go!

i do'nt no why, i ca'nt never get no ten's from them at Intilleshop's: but there not the only one's what give me pour mark's they all do it and if it keep's hapening............... me and them are gonna half to talk!

I do'nt want to argu, Kin you hulp me.

(hart)

LMAOOOOOOOO

It's obvious Stilllearning is a woman. She remembers EVERYTHING and uses it against you later.

Touché.

LJ Wrote:
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> It's obvious Stilllearning is a woman. She
> remembers EVERYTHING and uses it against you
> later.
>
> Touché.

You're saying that like it's a bad thing.

(heart)

Nope. In fact I was pretty impressed. :-p

LJ, you are definitely not alone. While I don't believe perfect grammar is necessary, some of what we see here would not be acceptable in a report.

MDavisnowell Wrote:
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> LJ, you are definitely not alone. While I don't
> believe perfect grammar is necessary, some of what
> we see here would not be acceptable in a report.


I actually like to practice writing with good grammar, spelling and punctuation and I would welcome anyone correcting me if I make a mistake. After all we are in a business where observation and good writing skills are a must so I figure that practice makes perfect. I even write correct spellings when I write a text message. I'm not perfect and I know that I make mistakes but I do try.

I guess it depends on how you define "low score"...to me that is a 7 . It's the inconsistency of the editors that frustrates me with a couple companies. Same shop, same level of detail in the narrative, no missed answers...one gets a 10, one gets a 7--and that 7 is generally after the editor has taken out information and then turns around and asks me to clarify the exact information that was edited out of my report--yes, I save copies .

RIMS Wrote:
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> I guess it depends on how you define "low score"...to me that is a 7 . It's the
> inconsistency of the editors that frustrates me with a couple companies. Same shop, same level of detail in the narrative, no missed answers...one
> gets a 10, one gets a 7--and that 7 is generally after the editor has taken out information andI can understand how that would be annoying. then turns around and asks me to clarify the exact information that was edited out of my report--yes, I save copies .


I understand how that would be annoying. I would be irritated by it, but I have never had that happen with any MSC. I very, very seldom get questions. The few questions I've gotten have asked an additional detail about my report or I've forgotten to repeat a no answer in my narrative. I encourage everyone to keep copies of reports. It surprises and perplexes me to hear the volume of difficulties.shoppers report with editing.

Everybody makes an occasional typo, or a rare misspelling when typing fast. Those are always overlooked if you otherwise express yourself clearly the rest of the time.

It is the posters that regularly display atrocious spelling and grammar errors - like not knowing the difference between their and there - that makes it hard not to correct them. If they spell and write poorly on the forum, they spell and write poorly in their reports.

That old excuse of this being an "informal" setting doesn't cut it.

I understand the fact that different environments call for different use of language. I will speak differently at the office than I do at a bar with friends or when I'm out on a date. Similarly, emails to clients get a different degree of proofreading than emails to my sister. That said, there's a difference between writing (or speaking) casually and making grammatical and syntactical errors.

Not having polished writing skills doesn't make someone a bad person, but it sure does make it harder for them to be a good shopper.

When I see a post here complaining about a low score that includes writing mistakes, I am quick (maybe too quick?) to assume the author was as careless with their report as they were with their forum post.

CapitalJay Wrote:
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>
> When I see a post here complaining about a low
> score that includes writing mistakes, I am quick
> (maybe too quick?) to assume the author was as
> careless with their report as they were with their
> forum post.


That's really what I was trying to say in my OP but you said it better and without all the tap-dancing.

I have been "dinged" for spelling errors in both reports which I have received a Grade on, same company. Still got a 9 and a 8.88 on them. But the perfectionist in me wants a 10 every time. That second report I read and reread 20 times. (Took me that long to find the 2 questions I missed) I still missed spelling errors (or maybe just typos.) But I am still kicking myself. I knew I should have taken everyone's advice, CUT and PASTE and do not send in your report until after you have put it aside and reread it with fresh eyes.

Apparently, and I am still not convinced, I even put the wrong receipt total on one of those reports. But then again I once had a Professor of English, who admitted she could never spell a certain word right, and she always marked my correct spelling of that word wrong. Sometimes we see what we want to see. (That word by the way was alcohol, and maybe if she drank a little more.....umm...she would have lightened up...or at least learned the correct spelling...)

Lady Marius,
Canadian Mystery Shopper

Anyone who has ever read any of my posts will know that I am horrible at grammar. If I ever do those shops, and I don't usually, I have someone in the house who was a grammar major and she edits my reports for me. I do this for hotels and high end restaurant shops.

For all the others... I'll take the 7 and not think twice about it. Most of those shops are not worth my time and effort of having them edited.

I get paid, they get their report. Nuff said.

Kathee70 Wrote:
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> Anyone who has ever read any of my posts will know
> that I am horrible at grammar. If I ever do those
> shops, and I don't usually, I have someone in the
> house who was a grammar major and she edits my
> reports for me. I do this for hotels and high end
> restaurant shops.
>
> For all the others... I'll take the 7 and not
> think twice about it. Most of those shops are not
> worth my time and effort of having them edited.
>
> I get paid, they get their report. Nuff said.

Do you pay her for editing your reports?

I once was so fed up with an editor who chided me for "non-standard English" meaning it was correctly written and evidently used words she didn't understand. I sent it back to her with a copy of the narrative and also the narrative parsed out in diagrammed sentences.

Kathee70 Wrote:
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> ... I'll take the 7 and not think twice about it.

Exactly. You aren't on here complaining about your 7 either.
ETA: It's kind of like the annual obstacle course we had to complete for jobs. We had 7 minutes to do it. The young bucks tried to see who could do it the fastest. They'd do it in 2 1/3 - 4 minutes. I rolled my fat butt in in 6 minutes and still got my paycheck.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/05/2014 02:49AM by LJ.

LOL Cettie. I used to ask my English teacher for sentences to diagram just for fun. I wish I remembered how to do it now. I remember really enjoying it as a simple puzzle.

A book about diagramming came out a few years ago. I didn't get to read it. The title was something like "Miss __'s Sentences". I found out when my family moved in the middle of a school year that the two teachers diagrammed sentences differently. (?)

There are a few companies where I'll get a 8/10 with no explanation. To me, that's a low score, if there's no explanation provided. I pride myself on my 10/10s.

I've only had one shop rejected, and at first, it was seriously for no reason. I followed the guidelines exactly, and wrote up my report exactly as events happened. My report made it through initial editing and receipt verification, but got denied at the final step. This was a MSP that runs your reports by the client for final verification/approval, before your check is cut. This was a two-part shop, and my report got denied because my report on Part One was awful. The client didn't want to believe one of their employees would go so far against company policy to cut corners, and use foul language on top of that. My shop was denied because they basically said "There's no way things happened that way."

After I disputed the shop rejection, the client, to their credit, suspended my rejection and requested a Part One (phone shop) to be performed by another shopper, on the same location, same employee, using the same information I gave, and.... the employee cut the same corners again. They couldn't dispute it that time. I ended up receiving a double shop fee for the hassle, delayed pay, and verbal abuse I received at the hands of the employee.

I had the best fun diagramming sentences when I was a kid and THEN to my joy found one course in diagramming in college which was intended for those who planned to teach English. I took it for the fun of it and the final exam was to diagram a chaper from a book as a take-home exam.

Thank you for starting this thread, LJ.

Mistakes happen, be it typos or interrupted thoughts as one writes. Most editors will not hold these against you. It's the epic run-on sentences without the slightest intention of punctuation. It's the sentences so poorly written they make absolutely no sense.

Editors polish a lot of rough work, but sometimes it's evident the shoppers are thrusting their projects into the hands of others without care. It's a dangerous game. If you don't care about the work you submit, don't expect MSCs or their clients to care. It may be a side job and not a goal in your life, but that doesn't mean you exert little to no effort. To quote Hunter S. Thompson's paraphrase of the Philip Stanhope, "Anything worth doing is worth doing right." If your mystery shop isn't worth your time, you're in the wrong place.

This is No. 2 on my blog about ways to have your mystery shop declined. [www.acemysteryshopping.com]

We all make mistakes and few are perfect. Nobody asks for perfection, but it doesn't hurt to show you made an effort.

Good advice, Jesse. I clicked on your link to look over your blog; I really like its layout. In fact, I liked what I read so much, I signed up as a shopper.

Wow, LJ.

I will take that as high praise. I appreciate your kind words. I'm sure it will be a pleasure working with you.

JesseACE,

How do the billboards taste?

Kimmiemae,

They're dry and rather chewy, but they have a pleasant cilantro-lime finish.

I've thought about this often, LJ. Thanks for having the guts to start this thread!

Another thing I've noticed is that the worst grammar and spelling is often in the
posts of those asking which companies shop what businesses. I find that
correlation telling.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/05/2014 08:12PM by SandiAigo.

Cettie: Seriously, no one diagrams sentences for fun!!! That was trauma for me!!!

One person's trauma is another person's treasure! I think diagramming is fun!