My Stupid Friend Flaked on Me!
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Sorry that happened, Raffles. That's one reason I work alone.
Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.
Since you have not named the client, it might be more helpful to name the MSC. Experienced shoppers can give you a better opinion of their "flake" policy. Do NOT name the MSC and the client's name in the same post or thread. The wrath of the Forum Police will come down on you if you do that.
I've had to do this with a msc because my friend bailed on me. I no longer invite her.
Did you immediately call the scheduler to see if she can reschedule? Many times they will, especially for dining shops.
Did you and your friend still eat lunch? If so, I hope you made her pick up the check. And yes, like Phoebe, I would not invite her again.
Did you and your friend still eat lunch? If so, I hope you made her pick up the check. And yes, like Phoebe, I would not invite her again.
That sucks! I have an extremely reliable friend I take on the fine dining shops. I worry when I ask other people. After one friend cancelled on me, I now explain up front that if something happens and they don't show up, I will likely never be able to work for that company again. I stress that they can't be late and can't cancel. But I mainly stick with the ultra-reliable friend.
This is my greatest fear, that someone you invite to a shop will do a no show and this will hurt your score and credibility with the MSC. I wish I could depend on a certain person that I know when I see the "2 guests required" but since I cannot, I reluctantly do not schedule them. I always think to myself: 'This won't hurt her, it will hurt me, if I can't complete a shop without a guest.' So at this time, I don't take those at all. I wish you the best with the scheduler and hopefully she can reschedule. I don't know the extent of what happened to your friend completely but she was not there when you needed her and it hurt you. Good Luck 
It happens. Even when it is a family member who understands the necessity of showing up on time things can happen. On more than one occasion I have had to reschedule because either I or my guest was ill. My 'backup guest' sometimes can fill in on short notice, but usually a reschedule is needed for him. I have skidded into a dinner shop with minutes to spare on the start time because a car repair took longer than expected. Unfortunately as a first shop it can be a problem, hopefully you will get a second chance.
I have noticed that a lot of people think of mystery shopping as not real or less than a job. They just don't understand that once you schedule a job that you have made a commitment to complete it. My boyfriend used to think that when I first started inviting him to dinners for shops. I still remember him saying at the beginning that he did not feel like sitting at the bar and they wouldn't know if we just decided to sit at a table instead or what if we decided not to do it and go somewhere else instead. He just didn't understand that guidelines needed to be followed. I solved this by showing him fun shops that were for restaurants he liked like BWW and Five Guys. He then learned on his own that the guidelines do matter and now that he understands, I take him on many restaurant shops (including fine dining) and I don't hear the comments anymore.
Shopping across Indiana but mostly around Indianapolis.
When I first started MS, I invited one friend. Well, she was late the first time and bailed on me the second time. Never again. The only other time I invited a friend, it was stressful as I was distracted recording timings and making observations. I now invite the most reliable person on earth......my husband.
That once happened to me, except it was a date. I was going to take someone I was dating to dinner at a good restaurant (don't worry .. she knew that it was going to be a mystery shop, she thought it would be a fun thing to do). I had set this up two weeks before the actual shop. The day of the shop she calls me saying that she doesn't feel anything with me anymore and she wanted to call it off. I tried to figure out what was going on but she didn't say anything. Not only was that a blow to me personally, but also a blow to my rating with the MSC!
Same here, it was supposed to be a date but misunderstood the meeting place. I just called another friend and we had fun. The guy learned that mystery shopping is a serious business. He became more attentive.
@Raffles wrote:
Customer Impact
I find Customer Impact to be one of the most reasonable MSC's out there. Their schedulers are great! I hope you were able to reschedule.
@Madetoshop wrote:
When I first started MS, I invited one friend. Well, she was late the first time and bailed on me the second time. Never again. The only other time I invited a friend, it was stressful as I was distracted recording timings and making observations. I now invite the most reliable person on earth......my husband.
It really helps if your guest lives at the same address as you do and you are there to monitor their progress towards leaving on time and coach them as needed to get out the door. And never invite a flaky friend along. Not only will they arrive late but my experience with the flaky friends (that I love as far as friendship goes) is that they chat up the servers incorrectly, ask for all sorts of changes to their order that are not allowed and basically forget about all the rules you just mentioned to them a few minutes ago. The other thing is to be aware of whether the requirement is to do the entire shop within the time frame vs starting the job within the time frame. Most of the jobs I do for fine dining allow me to arrive within the time frame and go past that time to finish eating. In that case if you knew your guest was almost there you could go in at 1:43 PM and let the host know your friend is arriving any minute. In fact for the bar first shops the companies suggest you arrive first and do the bar part while "waiting" for your guest to arrive.
Well, Raffles, it's disappointing to say the least, but I don't think I'd be your friend long if you referred to me as "stupid". Jes' sayin' ...
I agree that Customer Impact is awesome but I have never had to reschedule with them. But they have handled "weird shop situations" in a quick and professional manner.
A far as finding a reliable dining partner, it helps when you can promise them "a special dessert" when you get back home. That is always a good motivator!
A far as finding a reliable dining partner, it helps when you can promise them "a special dessert" when you get back home. That is always a good motivator!
@Sybil2 wrote:
I agree that Customer Impact is awesome but I have never had to reschedule with them. But they have handled "weird shop situations" in a quick and professional manner.
A far as finding a reliable dining partner, it helps when you can promise them "a special dessert" when you get back home. That is always a good motivator!
I'm not even sure that helps. I've had partners suddenly get health conscious and that kind of offer wouldn't help.
Makes me wish my nephew wasn't in Delaware with his dad for the summer. I know he'd vacuum up whatever would come his way. I used to take him on Smashburger shops and after that, they only required one diner's POV, rather than both diners.
Alfred, I think you and Sybil missed each other on the "special dessert".
Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.
You can also do a do-over on another day with some MSC's. My husband and I 'ate our homework' before taking a picture of our meals. I called the scheduler and she let me do the shop again the next week.
MDavis is totally correct; my "special dessert" comment went way over Alfred's head. My "special dessert" can be good exercise for someone on a healthy diet. {halo}
Just wanted to update. The MSC allowed me to reschedule. I am going with a different friend. I'm doing the shop tonight. Crossing my fingers that everything works out.
I recently flaked on a assignment. WHY? Because I was I the hospital (Cardiac Care Unit) for four days. I did not have access to a computer to informed the scheduler nor the MSC. I don't know if I was assigned the shop but I did apply for it. The Scheduling company is usually the one to assign the shops. They require a confirm email. So I am wondering if I was even assigned because I could not get back to confirm. When I did get to a computer, neither company had left me a email. So maybe I did not flake but I might have drawn attention to my shopper profile.
But that particular retail client shows up about three times a year. If it appears again and I assign myself, maybe I'll let the scheduler know what happen by sending them a copy of my discharge paper and dates so if she is in a forgiven mode, I can preform the shop
But that particular retail client shows up about three times a year. If it appears again and I assign myself, maybe I'll let the scheduler know what happen by sending them a copy of my discharge paper and dates so if she is in a forgiven mode, I can preform the shop
Yeah, unless I'm having regular sex with someone, I'm probably not inviting them on a shop. Too risky.
Yes. What I do - and have done - I paid for someone's meal who I noted was sitting alone. They were thrilled and the msc was happy!
I have flaky friends, too. I ALWAYS pick them up for a restaurant shop. I arrive at least 40 minutes before I need to. If they are not ready, I motivate them with the threat of leaving without them or going and picking up a different person. With MS, you have to be the responsible adult, not the nice adult!
yes, most companies will let you re-schedule. Another thing you can do is ask them if they will allow you to do the shop alone. Sometimes they can but won't put that in the guidelines, you have to ask.
My take on restaurant shops requiring more than one person is to take ONLY someone reliable. I have had two flake-outs with supposed "friends" and was lucky enough to be able to reschedule. Guess what? The flake-outs had lame and silly excuses that were obvious lies so I "unfriended" them. If I am not treated like a friend, then I do not consider that person a friend and I do not participate in (to me) toxic relationships. Does this sound harsh? You bet! But when I am dissed and it costs me money as well,I think enough of myself not to allow that behavior. To me, it smacks of abuse.
Unfortunately, my lovely wife passed away this past December, so my best dining partner has gone away. I am lucky enough to have a loyal friend (in the best sense of the word) who can sometimes help me out. It's not the same, but I do get to dine out "for free" occasionally and my friend certainly appreciates it.
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