So, I've received my first rejection notice. I am unsure how to handle it. Are rejections somewhat common? Does every shopper eventually encounter one? I've only been shopping for a little over a month. I have completed nine shops successfully within that time. I'm a bit floored by this rejection.

Quick synopsis w/o revealing too much: I was to go a make-up counter and inquire about foundation and acne. I followed the scenario precisely and filled the report extensively. However, my shop was rejected because I did not ask the person who helped me if she was in fact an employee of the counter she was working in. I'm confused about this. Does anyone know if beauty consultants will float among the many counters helping with all the brands? I always assumed every employee worked specifically for the counter they were working behind.

Should I contact the scheduler and ask these questions, or do I simply just let this go and move on?

Thanks for advice!

I would ask for a clarification from the scheduler, you may or may not get it, but approach it as "I want to know where I made the mistake so I don't make the same mistake again" rather than a confrontational approach. You may or may not get an answer, although you do know the one flaw you made--failing to ask the employment question. And there are ways to ask the question without directly asking, i.e. can you help me over at the XXX counter?

That is part of the confusion for me as the employee was behind the counter working. This was in a store where all the separate make-up brands had beauty consultants and counters. The interaction I had took place with the employee standing behind the counter I was assigned. She was also wearing a nametag with the brand name. I believe I was supposed to verbalized the question instead of assuming based on her name tag and where she was that she was an employee of the brand. Bleh. I cannot think of a natural way I could have posed the question of her employment. Ha!

"So, I know you're shirt and nametag says you work for [blank], and I know you're working behind the counter, but uh... Do you actually work here?"

Thanks for the advice though, JB. I will likely ask for clarification from the scheduler and I hope I receive it.

Or you could have said something like, "Do you always work at this counter?"

Employees move around. Some are employed by the store, some are employed by a particular brand. For instance, in Best Buy, Samsung employs the people in the Samsung Experience area of the store, and they often have sales reps from LG, Comcast, Sony, etc. in other parts of the store. Vendors even visit places like Walmart and set up tables there.

Generally, but not always, the questions we are told to ask probes something that the MSC or client is trying to figure out. In your case, it must be that sometimes the employee works elsewhere, for a brand-name cosmetic company, or ???

Rejections happen. I have done thousands of shops, and once in awhile it still happens to me because some odd thing happens which is covered in one sentence in a 20 page instruction manual, and because I have done dozens of the same shop, and it never happened, I got complacent and did not spend 20 minutes poring over the manual again. My fault. Or I get so used to shipping boxes to food banks, that when I bought a box at Walmart instead of Staples, the box weighed more, and I didn't weight it. That was a $35 mistake, and one totally under my control. Of course, it was a business expense, and you can still deduct the mileage for going to that cosmetic counter even though you didn't get paid.

Myst - What an excellent way to pose that question! I always thought I was a good improviser. This one got me. In the future, I will definitely use that line. Thanks!

Thanks for the info about the mileage as well. I am using the excel tracker I found on here to notate everything about my shops, but have no idea how taxes will play out. Good to know that tidbit.

I doubt there is anyone who hasn't had a shop or two rejected. We aren't perfect. And yes, the employees at some of the cosmetics counters do float. It is common in my local Dillards where at least one of the brands usually has just one dedicated employee. She can't be there to cover all the hours so many times the only way to get help is from an employee at another brand.

Lisa,

And now that you say that, that makes perfect sense. I love make-up, so I thought this was going to be a breeze! But my make-up knowledge is through ordering online, blogs, and places like Sephora. I didn't know the logistics of a department store. I definitely should have researched that more before doing the shop. Live and learn! I won't make that mistake again. In fact, I may sign up for another at a different location if the scheduler allows me to, just so I can help my bruised ego. Ha ha!

Jayleigh I probably would have made the same mistake. It's a difficult and slightly awkward situation. Don't feel bad about your rejection. When I first shopped I had quite a few rejections and just chalked them up to on-the-job training. Even now after many years I will get the occasional rejection because of some mistake I made. It happens.

I have performed several of these types of shops. Some are shopping the employee of the department store; some are shopping the employee of the cosmetic line; some are shopping competitors. The department store employees will usually have the department store name tag; the cosmetic line employees will usually have a plain name tag (meaning no company listed.) And at this time of year, there are many seasonal "employees" along with many floaters. Usually a cosmetic line employee will push their line of products whereas the department store employee is usually more flexible among the products.

Jayleigh,

The only thing to add to the comments above is that the question you did not ask was probably a make or break question for the shop. The shop called for an employee of a certain company to be shopped. As makeup counters sometimes have people from different companies working there, the uncertainty about employment of the the person you shopped seems the reason for the rejection. It is also possible the MSP or client checked the employee list and did not find yours there.

Rejections are much less common with experience. We learn to identify and focus on the most important part of the shop and do not leave the store without getting that right. Lesser mistakes or missed observations might be overlooked, but not big ones like shopping the right address, or the right employee. On a personal note, with nearly 1200 shops my rejection rate is at or below 1%. Most of those were early in my career.

The best shoppers learn from their mistakes and use those experiences to avoid similar mistakes in the future. Asking the question here clearly shows you are on that road.

Good luck!

My problem with rejections is some are done without clarification, and can be final. Some do ask, and will adjust accordingly (obviously giving you chance to correct "mistake". I understand that editors do not necessary have the time to "re-edit" as it were, but still.

i have one I am working on still awaiting an answer. it was rejected because I didn't ask the specific model question. But I did. The bride even called to clarify the item was out of stock (a just in case call).
But the MSC stated they called and were told the item was in stock. That I sent back may be possible if it can in after my visit, which I found it did not.
In any case, I recorded the visit with my USB device, and offered to send them copy. Still have not received a response.

DeaconJohn,

Some rejections are for shopper error, and some for issues at the company. If you are having a problem with a perfectly executed shop, consider the fact there are hundreds of other companies to work for in the future. If you want suggestions with your problem from shoppers that are familiar with your MSP, I suggest you name the MSP. You might get an idea or two to help you out.

Thanks vlade! Yes, I am aware of the difference. Shopper error is "easy" to understand. The other not so much. Not knowing is even worse.
I try not to name names, as you never know and of course I could be wrong. But a clue: it is in Europe some where, with 3 words in the name.

And finally of course you are right. If a company is that difficult to work with, there are others, and I have done that already. Can't do them all, and I have "matured" over the years to do the best for me, and mix in the others to keep the toes warm.

You could ask for a business card so that you can contact the associate if you have any questions.

I did a cosmetics shop for About Face that spelled out in the guidelines to be sure that i was meeting with the xxyy representative. It suggested calling ahead to make sure the rep would be there. You just have to say something like my friend told me the xxyy rep was the best, so I want to make sure I get that person.

Jayleighhes Wrote:
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> In fact, I may sign up for another at a different
> location if the scheduler allows me to, just so I
> can help my bruised ego.

Atta girl! Get back up on that horse. You have a great attitude.

I have been shopping for almost 3 years and have had 2 rejected shops - both my fault. No one was my fault- I refuse to put Papa John's into the rejected shops since it happens to almost everyone. Last week I shopped a store that was not the correct location. It was more than the location - it was not even the right store. I did the whole report and even made a follow up call before I submitted the receipt. The editor called and told me the receipt is not from the correct store then it all made sense. They were both postal stores and in the same strip mall but it was stupid me that did not double check the address. As I was walking around the tiny store all I could think about was where all the goodies are that I have read about on the forum. All this store had was mailing supplies. That should have been a hint but I was tired and just wanted to get the job done. So I am shopping the correct location today. Time is money in mystery shopping so I really screwed up but it happens to everyone and now I know to always double check.

Well.... After reviewing the details for the umpteenth time, I see exactly where I went wrong. It was completely my fault and could have been prevented. I will chalk this up as a lesson-learned.

LJ,

Thanks! Hopefully the scheduler will think the same way!

I have had three shops rejected inthelast few months. They are learning experiences and I try not make the same mistake again. Once I went to the wrong restaurant. They have one upstairs and one down. Went to the wrong one. Yesterday I went to a grocery store at the wrong time. My mistake. And one papa johns. Who knows why they reject them but will not do another of those pizza shops again

I just had a bonused FF shop. The one where someone who speaks English as a second language calls you and offers a $3 bonus and you have to ask for a little more. The address of the shop matched when I went to the national website and plugged in the zip code. Then, I clicked on the store website from that link and it had the real address and it was on the same block and the number was off by less than 50.

Knowing this MSC, I called the help desk three times till I got someone on the phone before I submitted the shop receipt. I know they would have rejected the shop the instant the receipt didn't match the address. Little things like this can be aggravating, but being proactive and making sure they know you went to the right location before they reject the shop is better than waiting for them to reject and then have to try to get it overturned.

I then had a cell phone shop and the address on the receipt was for a location that was 10 miles away and it was obvious to me that the owner had the last POS terminal break in a store and moved one from the other location to replace it and never bothered to reprogram it with the information for that location.

Once again, I called the scheduler and explained the situation before I submitted the shop form.

Wrong address is always a shop rejection. You can be in the right shop and still have it appear to happen.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2014 11:35PM by scanman1.

As others have posted, we all have a rejection here and there. My first one came when I had been shopping only three months and I agreed to do a big box store, evaluating an associate in each department. If no one was available I was to return and talk with someone then. The shop took forever and one department (Bakery) would not make eye contact with me nor come to the counter to answer my question. I turned in the report in a timely manner, giving names of associates I had talked with and all other pertinent information. I explained the Bakery situation and my report was summarily rejected.

I have since had calls from schedulers begging me to do the same shop. Ummmmm, nope!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/2014 07:46PM by bestofbothworlds.

bestofbothworlds Wrote:
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one department (Bakery) would not make
> eye contact with me nor come to the counter to
> answer my question.

I have had this happen in a big box store with a bakery.
I would have gotten the bakery worker to the counter to assist me by verbally asking for assistance. Then if that failed, I'd start throwing Italian bread at them like it was a football. While not on a shop, I have had them ignore me up to the point I walked into the bakery behind the counter and tap them on the shoulder. I thought the person may be deaf as they would not turn around and I did everything but yell, "Fire!"

I no longer step foot in this store. There was a shop for an easy $15 inside this store and I just stuck my nose up in the air and hit delete. It's too much aggravation to go there. Just getting a $1 receipt from any exit could take 45 minutes.

Jayleighhes Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well.... After reviewing the details for the
> umpteenth time, I see exactly where I went wrong.
> It was completely my fault and could have been
> prevented. I will chalk this up as a
> lesson-learned.


I have no idea which shop you do or for which MSC but I do a lot of high end cosmetics shops for various MSCs because I fit the required demographic.

In most cases, they want you to shop the "brand expert". So, if you are shopping Clinique (just an example), the sales associate is going to have a Silver "C" pin on her lab coat. Then, I'd ask, "Is that a longevity pin? Do you work only for Clinique? Do you travel top other stores or just work at this store? " ETC. Sometimes, I get actual photos of the reps in advance.

I had to do a job at Nordstrom. The brand expert was on lunch. The other ladies were happy to help, but I needed an expert. It took a minute, but I was able to convince them that they did not know enough to help me. I recall saying something about needing an explanation of how their new anti-aging system worked and how it was different from the other system. Once, the brand expert came back, I reverted to the regular scenario.

Scanman..a wrong address is not always a rejection. Speaking from experience here.

I've shopped 3 shops where the address was not the same on the receipt AND there was a different address for their mailing address, on top of a different address in my guidelines and the door address was wrong.

It all depends on the MSC. This was Market Force.

SoCalMama,

I want to be on your level of awesome!

Jayleighhes you have a wonderful attitude. I have found this thread and my fellow shoppers to be very helpful as usual. I have nothing to add b/c I am perfect and have had no (shop) rejections, just personal ones. jk

Pony123lucy,

I won't reject you.

Pony123Lucy, thank you for making me laugh out loud at the very moment I needed to.

Jayleighhes, thank you for warming my heart just when I needed exactly that.

(heart)

Stilllearning,

Glad I could help!