Airport Route

I did my first airport route on Friday and spent the weekend doing reports. Call me crazy. Anyway, I couldn't find one of the shops. I looked and walked and looked and asked at the information booth and a couple store associates. Consensus was this shop was not there. So, an email from the scheduler today stating the name of shop was "..." not "..." Could I go back and do that one shop. No, I can't. So he assigned it to someone else. Personally, I don't think it was my fault and it took me time "not" finding it. So, it was taken off my job log Ok. No big loss, but I still think I deserve something? So, all the shops are accepted except for one. I'm supposed to go back in and add to the narrative from 6 of the questions. I read the narrative I wrote and everything was covered. I was also asked to remove a personal comment, ".......". There was no personal comment in the narrative. Am I losing it or am I just not meant to do airport routes.

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It depends on the MSC. You have not named the airport, so you can name the MSC and posters familiar with that company will be able to help.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

Customer Service Experts. The scheduler is great. I'm real curious about the editors. They sent back half the shops to add to the narrative. Everything was in the narrative, but it's like if it is not verbatim they send it back. I ended up just copying the questions exactly into the narrative.

I've done airport routes and sometimes I do have trouble finding the exact location as listed on the paperwork. For example, I was given the specific name of a duty-free store but the signage on the storefront just said duty-free. Since there was no purchase required, I could not get a receipt to confirm the name. There were no business cards either. I confirmed (with a drug dog and his partner) that this was the only duty-free store in this particular concourse in the pre-security area so I continued with the shop. I contacted my scheduler as soon as I got back home and she said that I did the right thing.

OP, this MSC wants you to comment on every single question even if the answer was positive. And your commentaries must agree with the answers in the report. Did you submit all your reports (minus one) on time? I am curious if they will give you the on-time bonus.

I submitted them on time, but it's been a back and forth since then. They gave me a 10/10 on one shop and then sent it back requesting I address Q1, Q2, etc. I guess there is just a learning curve on this and I didn't quite make the curve. I've done a couple hundred shops and I've just never had a problem with my narratives before. Probably more of a pride thing with me. I don't like being told I didn't do it right

@Bramaw wrote:

Customer Service Experts. The scheduler is great. I'm real curious about the editors. They sent back half the shops to add to the narrative. Everything was in the narrative, but it's like if it is not verbatim they send it back. I ended up just copying the questions exactly into the narrative.

Yes their clients want EVERY question addressed in the narrative. The easiest way I found is:I copy the text of the report nto a word document, then I start at the top of the page (ahead of the text I just pasted in) and start with the first question (or sections of questions), when I've typed the information that a question(s) asks for I delete that question (or section). I'm already familiar with the questions because I have completed the form so I have an idea of my narrative and as I write sections of narrative I delete the corresponding section of questions. At the end I have my narrative and none of the shop form questions. This helps to address every question. I do re-order the narrative to flow as the shop did and group like observations together. Plus I've found this method is really helpful for the 'no' questions and by restating the question, using their verbiage, it provides a full, detailed narrative.

Edited for clarity

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/2015 11:37PM by eveb.

There is definitely a learning curve when writing up evaluations for CSE. I repeat the questions into my narrative and can usually hit all the marks in that manner. CSE is a reliable company with on-time pay. They have some lucrative projects that do not show up on the boards. It has been worth it for me to learn the writing style. CSE is a bread and butter MS company for me.

I have done airport work for this MSC as well. I also had a situation where I couldn't find the shop at the airport. One call to the scheduler cleared it up the same day. The shop had changed their name since it had been previously shopped.

I really like this company. I have found them fair and pay on time. And yes, they have sent back reports to me when I haven't commented on each and every no answer.

@eveb wrote:

Yes their clients want EVERY question addressed in the narrative.

No, it is the MSC herself. The majority of the client that they lost, except for the malls (and even those are not as annoying in insisting that every detail is commented upon ad nauseum), have converted in a traditional format that does not require a comment for every single question. There were some shops that I hated doing for them due to the report format but now that other MSCs do them (and for better reimbursement and payment) are an enjoyment. Many times ther editors just sent requests that have no relation to the report and it is clear that their request has nothing to do with that report. I even had requests with what "John" said when the associate was a female, if I listened carefully and just did not hear the music (for an airport cart, in an empty terminal with no sound at all), why there was no comment about the parking lot (again for an airport location of another chain). When you take the time for the reports under consideration, I do not consider their shops worth the time, on or off the board shops too.

I know those shops/reports/editors well. You MUST comment on every question. Once you get used to that, they are a breeze.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

I do reports for that company all the time for a couple of years now. I find it easy now but when I was first getting used to it.... blahhhhhh

O.o o.O

Happily shopping New England and beyond!!!!!

Thank you for all the comments/suggestions. At this point, I have redone every shop. Every time I open my email, there is another shop being sent back. Not for the questions I already fixed, but for the remaining questions. Why weren't they all addressed in one request. I have spent so much time on these narratives, it is ridiculous. At least I now know I could do a report and nail it. I now know I have to repeat each question in the narrative. All the information was in the narrative. Just not the way they wanted it. I am so glad you guys are around to remind me I am not as bad as they make me feel. I had a couple 8/10 and one 7/10 when I first started, but I learned and fixed the problems. I get 10/10 on a regular basis, so I will probably try it again just to prove I can do it. I also appreciate that the scheduler has been great at talking me off the ledge!

CSE has pissed me off more than any other company, including the two that went under without paying me. They love to advertise "easy, fun" shops, then send back narratives three or four times.

"Please review our incredibly idiosyncratic guidelines, then address questions 1,2,3,5,6, and 10 today. We blah blah blah training purposes so this somehow translates to the idea that we must look down on shoppers and act as though they have unlimited time to revise narratives for some editors that make Intellishop look like a Mensa club". Please respond by 3PM today. Thanks!"

I have flamed, ranted, and have straight up lost my @#$%& and insulted a number of their schedulers and editors. They must really need my demographic because they still invite me to shop. I can get the reports through on the first try now, but I usually take an ambien first.

~
up, up, down, down, left, right,left,right, B,A, start.

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