I have had a trouble with the same scheduler, not a fan. You did not ask for 2 jobs and she could have removed your app, and should have. Work with me and I will work with you!

I apologize for the delay in my response to this thread. A collegue informed me of this just this morning. My original email asking if you could do both shops did not say both were required. I wanted to follow up with you all on the email that I sent the OP on 4/11/16:

From: Tracy Ziemendorf [mailto:tziemendorf@realitybasedgroup.com]
Sent: Monday, April 11, 2016 6:36 AM
To: 'xxxxx@gmail.com'
Subject: RE: Your [client name] shop application

[shopper name removed by mod]
I received an email from our office that you were unhappy with your citation. Please be assured, I don’t “retaliate” against shoppers. When you said that you didn’t want to do the valet parking shop right now, I assigned you the [client name] shop anyway. You’re a new shopper with us and I like to give shops to new shoppers to help build their portfolio with us.

Everyone that misses a shop gets a citation on their account noting the missed shop, it wasn’t personal. I don’t assign shops in the middle of the night (I have 3 kids, I’m definitely sleeping ) I assigned you on 4/7 for the date you chose, 4/8. I’m thinking that you didn’t check email earlier in the day or didn’t know you were assigned until you saw the citation. I removed the citation, so it’s no longer there.

My apologies for any misunderstanding on what happened here. Feel free to reach out to schedulers directly with concerns, we’re always happy to help.

Tracy



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/2016 06:04PM by TracyZSchedules.

@TracyZSchedules wrote:

I apologize for the delay in my response to this thread. A collegue informed me of this just this morning. My original email asking if you could do both shops did not say both were required. I wanted to follow up with you all on the email that I sent the OP on 4/11/16:

{PERSONAL NAME PROVIDED PUBLICLY BY SCHEDULER REDACTED},
I received an email from our office that you were unhappy with your citation. Please be assured, I don’t “retaliate” against shoppers. When you said that you didn’t want to do the valet parking shop right now, I assigned you the [client name} shop anyway. You’re a new shopper with us and I like to give shops to new shoppers to help build their portfolio with us.

Everyone that misses a shop gets a citation on their account noting the missed shop, it wasn’t personal. I don’t assign shops in the middle of the night (I have 3 kids, I’m definitely sleeping ) I assigned you on 4/7 for the date you chose, 4/8. I’m thinking that you didn’t check email earlier in the day or didn’t know you were assigned until you saw the citation. I removed the citation, so it’s no longer there.

My apologies for any misunderstanding on what happened here. Feel free to reach out to schedulers directly with concerns, we’re always happy to help.

Tracy

More vindictive behavior? Putting the OP's name on the internet?

It is good that you removed the citation. I hope the OP will come back and confirm that for us.

I apologize for leaving the shopper's first name in the greeting of the email, it was unintentional.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/2016 04:55PM by TracyZSchedules.

It does happen that an MSC CLAIMS they notified a shopper of something..but didn't. I had an experience with one company who claimed they emailed me and changed the date..BUT, i never got any email (i do check spam and don't delete unread spam..and it stays around for a few days until it self deletes-and with this time frame it would have still been there even in spam)....AND the website still had the original date I planned listed.....

@jmitw wrote:

It does happen that an MSC CLAIMS they notified a shopper of something..but didn't. I had an experience with one company who claimed they emailed me and changed the date..BUT, i never got any email (i do check spam and don't delete unread spam..and it stays around for a few days until it self deletes-and with this time frame it would have still been there even in spam)....AND the website still had the original date I planned listed.....

"Everyone that misses a shop gets a citation?" Holy Moses! Regardless of the situation or circumstances? In OP's case, it was obvious where
the problem originated and was elevated into a 'citation.'

I am experiencing similar situaton right now despite updating the scheduler about the status of my shop. It was a different MSC and and of course, a different scheduler. It is schedulers like that which makes me apprehensive about shops or schedulers that/who are disorganized or ill planned. The shopper almost always gets the brunt of the failure of the shop. Most often than not, the shopper suffers.

There is a connotation of 'Justice delayed is justice denied' because of the length of time this was resolved. We all have our own responsibilities in life. We cannot use that as a crutch to lessen the impact of an error which could affect another person's record or status or peace of mind. Why couldn't be an effort made, asap, to alleviate the negative effect of that error or misunderstanding. It is not rocket science. It is common sense.

OP, I am glad the negative citation was lifted.

Edited because in my previous posts, I repeatedly said, it was a misunderstanding. I was wrong! "Everyone that misses a shop gets a citation" completely changed my analysis of the situation.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/2016 08:10PM by risinghorizon.

I do want to clarify, not everyone who misses a shop gets a citation. Circumstances are always a factor of course.

@TracyZSchedules wrote:

I do want to clarify, not everyone who misses a shop gets a citation. Circumstances are always a factor of course.

Apparently, complaining is a factor, especially escalating the complaint to someone in the office other than the scheduler. Because it sounds as though the citation was given early in the morning on Saturday 4/9 and it was only removed on Monday 4/11 after Tracy stated she was notified by someone else in the office that the OP had escalated her complaint about the citation.

@roflwofl wrote:

@TracyZSchedules wrote:

I do want to clarify, not everyone who misses a shop gets a citation. Circumstances are always a factor of course.

Apparently, complaining is a factor, especially escalating the complaint to someone in the office other than the scheduler. Because it sounds as though the citation was given early in the morning on Saturday 4/9 and it was only removed on Monday 4/11 after Tracy stated she was notified by someone else in the office that the OP had escalated her complaint about the citation.

What you have to realize is that the OP never came to me with her concerns. From my end, I assigned her the shop that she applied for, it wasn't completed and it was removed once overdue and a citation for a missed shop was noted. Three days later our office said that she had emailed and was unhappy about the citation, it was then that I reached out to her with the above email.

I honestly don't know what more to say. This is all that occurred. This has really been blown out of proportion.

I'm not going to continue to follow this thread any longer. We'll all continue to go around and around, when there isn't anything more to it.

Kind regards,
Tracy

I'm glad it was taken care of. This scheduler is a good scheduler. I try to send emails through email and the MSP portal to alert them of situations.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/18/2016 03:27PM by cakerladi.

@roflwofl: I fully agree that if the complaint was not lodged to the higher authority, the citation would stay 'til time immemorial. Why is that? Either the citation was warranted or not. An undeserved negative citation can never be blown out of proportion.

I hate to be in OP's shoes and have that experience. A good or bad scheduler is in the eye of the beholder. Right now this thread has taught me a lot. Let's shop but watch out!

For a different MSC, one that only works with high-end clients, I put my applicationin for a fancy restaurant shop in on a Wednesday, and requested the shop for the Saturday 3 days later. I heard nothing. On Saturday I checked my email repeatedly to see if it had been assigned to me, and nothing. After noon, I quit checking. At 7:00 pm, I did one final check, "just in case..." And sure enough, at 2:00 p.m. they assigned it to me, never called to let me know, and so I undid the plans I made because I thought I did NOT have a shop, quick did the shop so as to finish by 9:00 p.m, the end time required. And after I submitted it, a whole committee needed me to reply to an email asking why I did not use cash at the bar.

I let them have it - told them about the short notice, even though my application had been sitting untouched for 3 days. Told them of the scheduler who sent me an email asking if I was available to do the shop (at 1:30 p.m. I received that email although I did not see it until 7p.m.). I did not respond to her, AND SHE STILL ASSIGNED IT TO ME ANYWAY. Oh... I was pissed.

In the end, I got an 8/10 for the review.

The next time they called, desperate for someone to shop this fancy restaurant that takes 3 hours to make the report, I told her that I would be glad to do it for $100 plus reimbursement for food (for all of the stress involved...) They told me they could not pay that kind of money, and I didn't fret over it one bit!

Same thing again over my Spring Break (I am a high school teacher.) I went on their website the week before Spring Break and requested 2 resort shops within a day's drive - because it was my spring break and I would have had time. I checked the website every day up until the last day of my break, a Sunday. No one touched my applications, and I had to delete them because my break was over and it won't be until summer break when I will have time again.

I pretty much don't plan on doing any more shops for this high-brow MSC that starts with a "C".

@vicvee. I had similar experience with an MSC and all because of the scheduler, I asked them to remove my name. But only after I successfully completed the shops she assigned me without any consideration for my time. I have had no regrets. When invited again, I declined.

@vicvee wrote:

And after I submitted it, a whole committee needed me to reply to an email asking why I did not use cash at the bar.

I let them have it - told them about the short notice, even though my application had been sitting untouched for 3 days. Told them of the scheduler who sent me an email asking if I was available to do the shop (at 1:30 p.m. I received that email although I did not see it until 7p.m.). I did not respond to her, AND SHE STILL ASSIGNED IT TO ME ANYWAY. Oh... I was pissed.
.

While I sympathize with your plight and would also be frustrated with a 2pm assignment the day-of, I completely disagree with your view of the post-evaluation question and what you did during the evaluation. If you are going to commit to doing a shop, do it right. Don't do a shop half-assed because a scheduler is _____, and don't spend 5 hours doing a 30 minute report just because the scheduler is nice. The shop and report should be done correctly, and to answer the questions completely, irregardless of the scheduler.

A bar evaluation is usually done specifically to test the honesty of the bartenders with cash handling (among other things to look for, but the cash handling is a major one). If you pay by credit card, then 1/3 (or more) of the entire reason the bar shop is done in the first place is thrown out the window.

Imagine if your student came up to you and said that they didn't like the fact that you assigned a report to be done 2 days before the due date, and that they had other plans, etc....and then turned in the report with 1/3 of it written about something completely irrelevant to the assigned topic. What would your reaction be? What if their defense was "because you assigned it last-minute, you shouldn't care if 1/3 of the report was about something completely irrelevant"?

I always get Robin never any issues.

I read through the posts until it got repetitive and started to grate on my nerves. This was the reason for the disclaimer, as well as to advise that I was addressing the initial post, and not what was "in between". Some posters will become offended if they think a comment is directed their way-so I tried to head that off without slogging through pages of posts. (This a is a reply to the person who indicated I should read all of the comments -not a sour grapes. I appreciate the response, but there sometimes comes a time when you want to respond to the original without addressing everything in between)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/20/2016 04:19PM by jroby1.

I did email it.

I emailed twice.

This posting experience was an eye opener for me. Too much drama all around, particularly on this board. I have time stamped emails so I know what I did and did not do in what timeframe (in regard to the shop).

Thank you for all the private messages; your insights on past experiences were much appreciated. From now on, I think I will use this board only as a resource for company lists!

This month I am sticking with IPSOS and EPMS, as they are known entities to me. Happy April Sunday!

liddlekiddle, can you confirm that the citation was actually removed?

The citation should never have been issued. And many of us believe it happened just as the OP described. The scheduler's story is full holes.

I have not had any trouble with them, thought they don't send me many shops here in the SF Bay Area. They sent some good ones in Oregon. The scheduler may be some body working from home with a kid hanging on their sleeve. If stuff like this happens, I would contact the project manager. They will help sometimes. In some cases, the editors only need an 80% score to pass the test. sooo

I've been with EPMS for about a year now. Do I think there is a vindictive scheduler, YOU BETCHA. I've had so many problems with them. I do this because I like it and it gets me out of the house and the $30 for shops with 20 miles of my home is a good thing. It helps especially if your are retired. I have had them take me from doing as many as 8 shops at a time to only 2 and now I can only be back up for 1 shop at a time. I think its probably time to find a full/part time job with real hours and less vindictive, petty folks running the show. thoughts?

Not knowing where you live, it strikes me you could be out of rotation for a lot of apartments if your were doing that many.

I was doing this many, but they cut me back to 2 active at a time and now 1 backup at a time. its really time to find a full/part time job and communicate to owner my displeasure much as an exit interview. thanks so much for your input however, I appreciate it.

dmystery1257, I am confused by your posts. This thread is not about EPMS. As far as I know, Tracy schedules for RBG, not Ellis.

I thought so, and yet it kept bringing me here. I'm going to bow out of this. thanks.

Since you are not an employee, don't expect an "exit interview." As independent contractors we work for who we want when we want and MSCs choose us when they want without obligation to offer any work at all.

What keeps bringing you here? You decide which threads to read by clicking on them, and you decide which to respond to. I am very confused by your messages.

@dmyster1257 wrote:

I thought so, and yet it kept bringing me here. I'm going to bow out of this. thanks.

@LisaSTL wrote:

Since you are not an employee, don't expect an "exit interview." As independent contractors we work for who we want when we want and MSCs choose us when they want without obligation to offer any work at all.

While that's true, on more than one occasion I have tendered my "resignation" (i.e. asked to be removed from active status) with a MSC and had the owner call me to see what the issue was, and if we could work it out.