Or not.

I find it interesting that there is a new scheduler. Maybe that one got herself "deactivated"??

What a nitwit. I'm not 100% certain I won't drop dead when I get up out of my chair in a few minutes. Who the hell is 100% certain of *anything*?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/2015 04:35AM by dspeakes.

Oh lordy!

Canuck, I can't think of a better comment. That's an eye-roller.

I have never shopped for Confero, but I have had to reschedule shops based on the weather. I live in New England and don't know a week ahead of time what will happen. I have a shop Tuesday, I already notified my scheduler and stated that the shop would get done as soon as the roads are clear again. We are due for 1 to 3 feet of snow. I did notice a lot of you are from Texas and their weather has been or will be bad. Our storm starts on Monday night into Wednesday. The MSC knows that I will be reliable and get the shops done. I also mention that if they can get someone closer to the area to do the shops, do what you have to.

You're like me, as soon as I know there is potential for dangerous weather I'm giving schedulers a head's up. For me it's not just ice and snow. I often have to work around thunderstorm and tornado season.

@James Bond 007.5 wrote:

@CANADAMOMMY wrote:

Great attitude bgriffin bgriffin bgriffin
That will surely get you far more shops!

@bgriffin wrote:

I would have meant for it to come across as pissy. The last (and only time) I got an ultimatum like that from a scheduler I told her exactly what I didn't like about her attitude and told her she could deactivate me if she'd like and I'd be glad to forward our entire email conversation to her boss.

Methinks she is just saying what many here are thinking.

I'm confused, not that that's hard to do. Is James saying that CANADAMOMMY is saying what many people are thinking (which is perfectly fine) or is James saying TO CANDADAMOMMY that what I'm saying is what many people are thinking and is referring to me as a she (not cool)?

Texas here...an ice/snow storm hit us a few days ago and went east/north. We get bad storms but it builds up and you all get it much worse.

@bgriffin wrote:

I'm confused, not that that's hard to do. Is James saying that CANADAMOMMY is saying what many people are thinking (which is perfectly fine) or is James saying TO CANDADAMOMMY that what I'm saying is what many people are thinking and is referring to me as a she (not cool)?

Isn't this the second time today that someone has thought you were a woman?

@TanyaBai wrote:

Sorry...I was going to add to this. It would have been physically impossible to complete the shop tomorrow and have it submitted by 4 p.m. Eastern time... due to the location hours of operation, time at actual shop location, travel time home, and filling out the report.

Basically she was saying I needed to do it tonight and by the time she told me this, there was no time to do it anyways.

Wow, I'mglad I've never reallt done anything for Confero. They seem like a bunch of jerks if they're going to deactivate someone over this.

Well technically speaking she is not from Confero... she is a scheduler for another company hired by Confero. My experiences with the other Confero schedulers have been positive.

So you were deactivated from the scheduling company, not from Confero? Or, does an outside scheduler have the clout to deactivate you from an MSC? Weirder and weirder?

It appears it was an independent scheduler under another company that was hired by Confero?

So I am just deactivated by Confero...I am still receiving job offers from other schedulers with the same scheduling company...

Outside schedulers can deactivate someone inside an MSC.
I had an A HOLE Scheduler once deactivate me at an MSC and when I contacted the MSC they WERE PISSED and re activated my account and fired the scheduler for deactivating.
She IGNORED my emails for 5 days straight before deactivating claiming I flaked . ( NOT confero)
A target was no longer employed and I was waiting for instructions on weather to shop someone else or cancel.
She deactivated me for flaking.
I ended up shopping another target.
BTW, that person is STILL a scheduler for other MSC

@jackaroe wrote:

Outside schedulers can deactivate someone inside an MSC.
I had an A HOLE Scheduler once deactivate me at an MSC and when I contacted the MSC they WERE PISSED and re activated my account and fired the scheduler for deactivating.
She IGNORED my emails for 5 days straight before deactivating claiming I flaked . ( NOT confero)
A target was no longer employed and I was waiting for instructions on weather to shop someone else or cancel.
She deactivated me for flaking.
I ended up shopping another target.
BTW, that person is STILL a scheduler for other MSC

This sounds very familar to me. Will you give the initials of that scheduler?

@TanyaBai wrote:

Well technically speaking she is not from Confero... she is a scheduler for another company hired by Confero. My experiences with the other Confero schedulers have been positive.

If you still want to do shops for Confero I would say contact Confero directly. Not a for sure thing, but they may not even know what happened.

OP: Not really actually, never thought about it. In fact the experience of deactivation was liberating and made me stronger and more wealthy haha. I know how much trouble it was for them to get well written reports and to get things done on time. I look at it now as not my mess. No more waiting on cheques or having to call and ask where some of my pay went. Shortly after one of their employees PMd me telling me I would be nothing without their shops, I made over $2K a month later without their lousy shops. The world keeps moving and there are always great opportunities in life.

While I have no experience with Confero, count your blessings! There are a ton of understanding MSCs out there. ---- happens! As long as it is not a pattern and I assume that is not the case here then you don't need to waste your time working with bullies. Scheduling is hard but almost all shops have a tiny window for last minute cancellations. And Bill, yes the Scheduler like Lisa said so perfectly can be anyone in the company with little to a lot of authority. I hope you don't let this get you down and keep on going. Trust me there are many opportunities out there! Know your worth!

@N-TownShopper wrote:

"**VERY IMPORTANT** Before applying for these shops you must understand that failure to complete an assignment on time will result in immediate deactivation of your shopper account there are no cancellations or reschedules permitted and the only exception is documented proof the theater is closed or sold out. DO NOT APPLY FOR A SHOP IF YOU ARE NOT 100% CERTAIN YOU CAN COMPLETE AND SUBMIT THE SHOP FORM BY 5PM OF THE DATE ON THE MOVIE TICKET."
.

These types of messages annoy me. No one can be 100% certain they will complete the shop. We can only be 100% certain we INTEND to complete shop.

Stuff happens.

It doesn't even make sense that the form must be completed by 5 p.m. Some of the locations don't even have the bar open early enough to get a drink then watch a movie and come home to submit by 5 p.m....

Unrealistic.

I'm sure there are new schedulers out there...I had (dumb) problems with a few companies that never had before....Mergers etc. might be the culprit.

Hi Tanya,
I schedule shops for Confero through a company called Summit Scheduling. I was not your scheduler for the shop mentioned above and did not know anything about it until reading this thread. I honestly believe it was a bit harsh for you to have been deactivated for what happened. You have a FANTASTIC shopping record with Confero. I realize this happened near the end of the month, and I also know that many of our projects have tight deadlines with no wiggle room. I am also aware that if a shopper is asked to pick a specific date to shop from a three day window, it could very well be because the scheduler is trying to schedule other shops during the same date range, and might have already scheduled for the date that ultimately ended up being the better date for you. I have re-activated your profile and hope that you do still consider shopping for Confero. And, if you come across any other issues, please reach out to me directly. If it is something I can resolve, I will. If it is something that I need to escalate to someone else, please know I will do just that. You may reach me directly at amy@summitscheduling.com.
Thanks,
Amy

Wow!

Still fairly new to this field, but because of excessive rescheduling, I was deactivated by my very first MSC, and at the time, one of the only two companies I was working with. It was definitely my fault. Being new, I took on more than I could physically handle with my medical condition and over time could not continue to carry that heavy of a load. But as they say, When God closes a door, He opens a window. If I hadn't lost that company, I would not have found this forum and the other wonderful MSC's I've been blessed to work with. AND I've learned to pace myself and not overload my schedule. I appreciate everything I learn from you guys. Thanks for all the input.

I noticed that these movie jobs now say "Your movie must complete by 4:20pm, earlier if you do not have a smartphone or tablet..."

They seem to be pretty hard to fill in our area (Chicago suburbs.)

I saw one of their posts yesterday that said something like...
This shop has to be done on this specific date, cannot be rescheduled, and if you missed the date you will be deactivated.
Wow...
While I have never missed a job date with any of my shopping companies,
I simply won't be threatened.
So, while I could have done it, I passed it by!
I'm sure there are a lot of issues with shoppers out there, but I am not 4 years old, I am not a chronic problem,
and don't deserve to be treated like that.

@camper wrote:

I saw one of their posts yesterday that said something like...
This shop has to be done on this specific date, cannot be rescheduled, and if you missed the date you will be deactivated.
Wow...
While I have never missed a job date with any of my shopping companies,
I simply won't be threatened.
So, while I could have done it, I passed it by!
I'm sure there are a lot of issues with shoppers out there, but I am not 4 years old, I am not a chronic problem,
and don't deserve to be treated like that.

I also saw that shop and passed it by, but it wasn't because I felt threatened. I also have never missed a date, and, although I've shopped since 2008, I've rescheduled only a handful of times. I view the e-mail as an address to a large number of shoppers, many of whom do not realize that missing a date or rescheduling is a bad thing. And, this is a shop that specifically will not allow a reschedule. Fair warning. I approve of companies being very specific about what won't get us paid.

The reason I like having a company be very specific (I don't feel I need the warnings) is because of the many posts from new forum members who complain of not being paid for a shop. When asked for details, many reasons emerge: they missed the date, they performed it a day or two late, they did it a day or two early, they reported late, they did not do the shop according to the guidelines, etc. When another forum member points out that they did not perform the shop correctly, many times they are truly perplexed and complain that "no one told me. The MSC NEVER said I wouldn't get paid if I didn't follow ALL directions just like they were stated. I thought they were 'suggestions.' I only did one little thing wrong. Why shouldn't I still be paid?" Or "I was only 24 hours late reporting. Why shouldn't I still be paid? I did the report."

I don't mind a bit when companies list what I must do to get paid. I don't mind when they list what items will keep me from getting paid. I'm not a bit threatened. HOWEVER, I do draw the line at insulting guidelines. There is one company whose guidelines are printed in vivid colors and bold type, and the company warns several times "Don't lie. Don't try to fool us. We have been around a long time. We will catch you." Now, THAT's insulting and threatening.