I still have to send the materials back to them. My apartment complex signed for them, so I told them to return the box. I'm on the About Face no fly list.

@vlade5394 wrote:

I have several scheduled. A prior post suggested the hard part was the phone call. For me, this was an understatement. When making the phone calls today, I learned this assignment is mischaracterized. It is not auditing or even merchandising, It is cold calling. The contact persons names and information is outdated or clearly wrong (one listed email address was something like Mickey1234@Donaldduck.com). The people I did speak to treated me like a salesperson rather than a partner. I was hung up on when I told them who I worked for (the phone script called for me to identify the MSP), told I had the wrong number when I asked for the contact person and then hung up on, or told they don't need the materials.

I suppose the absence of a letter of authorization should have alerted me to the fact there is no coordination between the supplier and optician's offices.

In my opinion, it was a very poor choice to have random mystery shoppers do these assignments. They would be much better suited for a salesperson who is well versed in these particular materials and the optician's business.


How long does it take to do? I haven't been on-site yet.

UPDATE: After doing a few, they aren't as bad as the previous post suggested. Let me explain.

The previous post assumed that the MSP would be stickers for getting an appointment and doing all the set up and explanation as asked when much of it relies on permission from an office that is not expecting the call/visit. Furthermore, the first call I made the visit was refused and I was hung up on. Not a good start, eh?

Well, the MSP has adjusted on the fly to take the difficulty of getting an appointment into account and accepted the reality of not always being able to set up some or all of the stuff. They changed the instructions regarding the appointment and allowed shoppers to just go to the store if they can't make an appointment. After the first one, I found responses to be professional. They met with me and allowed me to show them the materials, but not place much in the stores. The MSP accepted the shops as they occurred, including the first refusal. I find they do take about 20 minutes on-site. I'm pleased to report I was wrong to assume the MSP would not account for the unpredictable element of cooperation from the office staff.

So, I went from - I'll do them because I agreed to do them, to they're ok and sometimes enjoyable depending on the employee I meet, to I'll look for more to do as the fees are larger for the ones still on the board. As of today, there are a bunch left of the board. If my earlier post scared you off, I suggest you take a new look at these shops.

Have fun with these.

Thanks for the update! The fees for these got upped by $5 in my area, but they all got grabbed before I could schedule any! The only one left is too far for me to go unless they up the fee again! But if they come back, I'll try a couple!

Easy shop to complete quick. The only thing I did not like was that there was no driving bonus. I was willing to do a huge route until they I was told the price was firm. Sorry however a 5k round trip w/a profit of $300 is not worth it since it means I am not getting reimbursed for my time...

I did seven in one day. Four have been approved, had one returned for clarification, and waiting on the rest to be reviewed. Not too bad.

AboutFace has made tremendous adjustments the above mentioned assignment. The most critical, to allow shoppers to call in and ask to drop off the materials, and then, based on that outcome of that call attempt to display, educate, etc. While any new project, has it's kinks, the staff, and scheduling team has tried to make these more desirable in numerous ways. Even to the point of offering one entry for a $100 gift card PER successful shop completed. AboutFace hopes that these shops will be of interest to you!

As long as the items are returned, there is no issue. The concern stems from accepting the assignment, and having the items shipped by the fulfillment company, and then cancelling the assignment. If the shops are returned this is a non issue. It just puts the company in a bind to have paid for shipping to a shopper for someone to then cancel.

We have had a great deal more assignments where there was an interest, and appreciation for the products and demonstration, than those who have been turned away. The list was provided by the client, and while some of the information was dated in ways, in most cases it was due to one practice being sold to another.