I don't get it. I went through two deaths in my family recently. So I thought okay I will give this a try. I do not think the editors read there own requirements. 50% of these get rejected. One got rejected because I said this was for my father, the editor said I should have used the word relative, that is not what the requirements said and its not natural. Another one I should have said it this way not that, I not supposed to use the word Near Need not in the requirement, I paused to listen to the person on the phone he asked if I was still there I said I am listening, rejected because he thought I hung up. Now this one ticked me off. Your supposed to find a hospital close by on google which I did.

I get Rejected why the editor professional says Sorry as the location of your loved one, which used to be an alcohol rehabilitation center and do not seem to be operational now, and the associate busted you as a shopper because of this, this shop has been excluded without pay he never busted me. That alcohol rehabilitation center was in another state with the same city name. Maybe the call taker was new to the area.


I dont get it what is the key. I never encountered this. It is a waste of my time. I think they still use the reports. The scheduler is like the no help desk.

One this time I was told in the future I need to ask for pricing..I did 3 times I went back to listen again to the call and all 3 times he either said we cant discuss pricing over the pone you need to come in or referred Me to price shopping on their website ......grrr.

As far as hospitals I only use ones that have religion in their names like I will say my family member is in Baptist or first Presbyterian
(if there is one close) and for a believable address I google the high school in that town find a close street and if asked i say oh i live over by the high school on so and so street...So it just flows in conversation.....

That is the point I am following the directions. I googled and found the right hospital and the editor told me it was a drug rehab facility that it was closed and I was busted. Like is this a high school student editing this I got busted.

There was no rehab place with that city name in my state. I looked it up, it was in another state with the same city name. They are bouncing all around at random. I peeved to say the least. First don't use my dad then don't use the name relative, its not consistent I think they are keeping the reports. So if you do four they pay you for two.

I have a good track record so smells fishy when of 50% gets cancelled. I think I choose not to do these any more.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/09/2014 07:40PM by Xzodx.

I did the funeral shops once and will never do them again. Absolutely not worth the commission they pay.

When people stop doing them, they'll have to try something else to get the shops done -- like not being ridiculous about it.

say "relative" not "father"?" who the hell would say, "I need to make funeral arrangements for a relative?" you'd say, "My father just passed and I need to make arrangements." Or "My aunt/uncle/cousin, brother-in-law died; I need to make arrangements." The only time you'd use the word "relative" would be in connection with the word "distant" and would be for the purpose of communicating, "I got stuck making the arrangements and no, I do not want the super deluxe slumber special heavenly cloud package, give me a pine box and your cheapest headstone and call it good, he left nothing and I haven't seen him in 40 years when he borrowed $1000 and never repaid it. Do you take Mastercard?"

I just love these comments because I just finished doing 9 of these phone shops over 3 days (in a row, ugh.) I agree that the upfront prep. of googling to find hotels nearby, hospitals nearby, setting up the scenarios, etc. takes a good 5 minutes per shop. Then preparing yourself to make sure you follow the guidelines is another, what? 5 to 10 minutes. Okay, make the call and that can last anywhere from 10 to 18+ minutes (in my experience). So here is my track record:

First day, scored two "10's" and one "8" (here is what the editor said on the 8: Instead of saying you want to make "arrangements", try to specify that you want "cemetery arrangements" to ensure you receive the correct information on cemetery shops. In the future, do not ask for information on funeral homes on cemetery shops since this will prolong the call. Per the guidelines, avoid telling the associate that you will be calling back, as this can end the call early. Also per the guidelines, choose either burial or cremation when asked, as this will allow the associate to focus his presentation. Thank you for the shop. Okay, I struggled with the Cemetary shop vs the Funeral Home, so I deserved this one.

Second day, scored three "10"'s - yee haw!

Third day, scored a "10" and two "8"'s - comments:

1) Thank you. ! In the future, please avoid asking about permits, as this affects the associate's score.

2) In the future, please avoid leading the associate by asking about specific items in the package that she has not mentioned yet as this can reveal you as a mystery shopper. Also, while you don't have to give out your phone number please try to come up with a realistic objection for not giving one. For example, simply saying you would rather not give out your number at this time is probably better than trying to explain that you don't have any phone numbers and that you are borrowing the phone you are calling from. Thanks for the shop!

Here's the thing - I consider it rude to say that I would rather not give out my number when they politely ask, "May I have your number in case we get disconnected?" So, what's wrong with saying I am using a friends cell and don't know what the number is? Really editor? You dinged me for being polite (and creative)? Oh, and on the shops that I got a "10" for - I used the same cell phone excuse for not giving my phone number.

End result, I have not signed up for any more of these shops. 9 times hearing, "I am sorry for your loss" is enough for now.

I would have flipped my s if my Dad died and I did one of these shops and it was rejected... Ouch. I realize that the guidelines probably specify relative over a specific person but come on.. Its natural to say your ___ died.

Agree that people should stop doing them. They are the worst paying phone shop out there not to mention depressing as hell

Back in early to mid-October did anyone notice that MSC clogged up the job board for pages by listing in every city within that radius. Flag! That company may have been seeking shoppers in advance of a possible purge of shoppers or preparing for yet another learning curve with a new crop of shoppers. First the fee gets cut. That was when I stopped doing the calls. Now they seem to have editors that may have a directive to reject. Another Flag! The learning curve has less credibility since a qualified shopper is at 50% paid.

It boils down to what it is it worth to you. Simple report; listen to the first couple of minutes of the recorded call to check for quality; wait the allotted time (taking into consideration listening to the length of the recording and adding that time in before submitting). For me it's not worth less than $5 and only as a filler is it worth $5. The MSC does pay quickly. Let's see if that changes.

They tend to disallow the shops often. Makes you wonder if they are really accepted?

I've done about a dozen of these and all were approved. Can't do them during the school year. Dropping the pay to $4 is pretty annoying.

I wonder if the scenario has changed since summer. Certainly I was to say a specific family member and be ready with their birthday, etc. So sayinga relative would not have been acceptable.
And I had to leave a phone number if they asked so I could answer whether they called me back.

I am probably going to deactivate with the MSC that does these...it seems like it is the only account they have. I am sick of seeing the email they send (4) times a day, everyday, begging people to take their crappy $4 shops.

DNinCA you did much better than me I was getting 8 - 0 8 - 9 -0 8- 0 8 - 9 -0 BS, first time last time. You all are great!!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/11/2014 05:40AM by Xzodx.

I did the funeral shop once. I will never do them again. It is definitely not worth the pay. This is one shop where I feel I am really wasting someone's time when they could really be helping someone in need.

I did it once, one of two times that I've had a shop rejected. To be fair, I didn't follow the guidelines.. but the person on the other end would not allow me to follow the guidelines, she was very pushy. The guidelines state not to give names of the relative that died. The lady kept asking me for it and would not move on. First, I just changed the subject by asking a question. Second, I told her that I wasn't ready to give that out yet, that I was just gathering information. Third, she told me that she would not talk to me without a name. So I made one up. Yea, it broke the guidelines but I had no idea what else to do. I guess maybe I should've just gotten off the phone with her? I don't know. It was a long time ago.

I guess I have quite different guidelines. I have to give their name and be ready to say birthday, maiden name, what they did for a living. Etc.