Stressed out about Sentry

Last week I completed a fine dining shop for Sentry. When I applied, there were two locations open. I applied for location A. The scheduler emailed me and asked if I was still available to do location A. I replied that I was and she emailed me that she had assigned it to me. Friday night I did the shop, $170 to meet all the requirements of the shop. Saturday I did the report, longest narrative I've done yet. Yesterday morning I received an email saying my shop was invalid because I was assigned location B and had shopped location A.

I went back and looked through my emails, and even though the scheduler and I discussed location A, what she actually assigned me was location B. Location B is not something I would have ever applied for. I emailed both the scheduler and the person who sent me the email about the invalidation, but as of this morning, I have not heard back from either of them. I am incredibly stressed out about not getting reimbursed. That is a lot of money for me to be out of pocket. :-(

Has anyone experienced this before? How did you resolve it?

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That's terrible. At the very least, it is still a business expense.

I have been asked about doing Location A, agreed, and then been assigned to Location B. That has happened several times over the years with different MSCs. The good thing is that I have always caught the issue when checking the assignment on line. Whole truth - the first time, I didn't catch it. I learned to never assume. This has happened maybe 6 times out of maybe 10,000 or more shops. Each time, it was an error on the part of the scheduler (poor mousing skills) rather than anything sinister. I have created my own fair share of mistakes, with no one to blame but myself.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

Wow. Hopefully the end-result falls into your favor. And hopefully, it was just a scheduling mistake and something that can be resolved for you. Let us know how it turns out!

Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!

Mistakes are made and I am sure Dave will do the right thing.

Shopping Bama and parts of Georgia.
I'm still learning 24/7.

The fact that I haven't heard anything back makes me even more stressed out. Even an email telling me to be patient while they look into would make me feel a little better! I don't want to be annoying, so I will wait until tomorrow morning to email them again. I realize not everyone checks their email 20 times a day!

Dave from Sentry just called me to discuss. I appreciated the phone the personal phone call to bring resolution to the matter.

I love that place! We used to go down to Highlands Ranch for that one off? County Line I think.. back THEN, it was only $25/pp... I hope a VERY nicely, articulate letter MIGHT assist you......

I have looked through this entire thread, and I am completely baffled by how you could identify a particular place and know how much it used to cost based upon what has been discussed here. Maybe I am missing something? Is there a secret code that I don't know about?

@amberngriffinco wrote:

I love that place! We used to go down to Highlands Ranch for that one off? County Line I think.. back THEN, it was only $25/pp... I hope a VERY nicely, articulate letter MIGHT assist you......

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

Well was she right or just responding to the wrong thread?

I've made mistakes and had to eat the shop because it was my fault for not quadruple checking the shop I was awarded. I apologize because $170 is a lot of money for most shoppers because they can't afford to take that kind of hit. Sorry, maybe Dave will help you with other shops by adding some small bonuses until you cover the $170 hit other than Dave's graciousness what can you really do?

Not really a reply. I was just wondering if Sentry was a good place to shop. I have not signed up with them, but I am considering it. Any comments appreciated.

Lotasmon - I shop for Sentry. Some of the rules may appear arbitrary at times, but they are easy (for instance, what sequence to order food and use the restroom) to follow if you read the guidelines and follow them. Some shops are very easy. Some more difficult. I would recommend that you give them a try.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

Depsite this one hiccup, which ended up being my fault in the end, I enjoy shopping for Sentry. They have good shops, many are narrative heavy, but you know that going in to the shop. For the shops I have done, the guidelines have been clear.

@Nova2000 wrote:

Depsite this one hiccup, which ended up being my fault in the end, I enjoy shopping for Sentry. They have good shops, many are narrative heavy, but you know that going in to the shop. For the shops I have done, the guidelines have been clear.

Let me just say I am happy things are working in your favor because I like Dave and his team at Sentry. His Schedulers have been merciful on shoppers who deserved to get their accounts suspended yet they did not do this. Dave is a successful businessman growing his company quick, having Sentry and Dave on your side will provide plenty of future benefits and Sentry are the kind of people who will help offset this loss through future shops.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/15/2016 07:37PM by GuyFawkes.

Talk wirh David. He us awesome and great at straightening things out.

Sentry has pretty good guidelines and does a credible job in editing and feeding back to its mystery shoppers. I have been been working for them for several years and have had a few 'glitches' but most were, in the end, my fault. In my experience, they have been fair in examining and resolving issues. The only thing that 'bugs' me about Sentry is the pay and reimbursement from the time of the shop....50-75 days...sometimes less...however, two months is a looooonnnnnng time.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/20/2016 11:27AM by winemaker.

Have done a few shops for Sentry. One thing I noted is that I have had to keep checking the website to find out if a shop has been approved. I do appreciate it when I get a quick "Thanks, we sent it to the client" note.

Shopping SoCal and Maui.

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Stressed out about Sentry

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