Ok, before anyone flames me, I am NOT actually considering doing this, even though I was recently ripped off by a MSC. I followed the shop guidelines to the letter, the MSC denied payment, and I have no doubt whatsover that they sold the shop data to the client and simply pocketed the money.

Just wondering if any shoppers have done this and what the result was?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2016 07:33PM by BlueMoose.

@BlueMoose wrote:

Ok, before anyone flames me, I am NOT actually considering doing this, even though I was recently ripped off by a MSC. I followed the shop guidelines to the letter, the MSC denied payment, and I have no doubt whatsover that they sold the shop data to the client and simply pocketed the money.

Just wondering if any shoppers have done this and what the result was?

Why is your title so inflaming?

Why didn't you entitle it honestly: "I was not paid for a shop because I did something wrong."

Mystery shopping companies do not "keep" the report and send it to the client. They lose and so do you, when they have to send out another shopper out to redo your shop, often at a bonus.

Be honest: Your report was unusable due to errors in your performance of the shop.

Both the MSC and I agree that I made no errors.

@BlueMoose wrote:

I followed the shop guidelines to the letter, the MSC denied payment, and I have no doubt whatsover that they sold the shop data to the client and simply pocketed the money.

I wish I had a dime for every time a new mystery shopper posted that he followed the guidelines to the letter and has no doubt his report is being used after being denied. And, of course, they never provide any details. Even though I have never had a report denied that was not due to me not following the guidelines, I used to anxiously watch the posts and ask questions to try to figure out which MSC and why it would have happened. And the result has always been that it didn't happen. The newbie did NOT follow the guidelines to the letter. Usually it involved a "little" mistake the newbie made that he thought didn't matter. Or something required that the newbie didn't feel like doing.

Reputable MSCs deal with thousands of mystery shoppers across the country. The cost of one mystery shop is a drop in the bucket. A mystery shopping company does not select one shopper and one report and say "Gee, we've been paying all our shoppers for the last ten years. Just for the heck of it, let's avoid paying BlueMoose and save a couple of bucks." When a company is paying thousands of shoppers, why would the company just randomly pick a shopper to rip off to save a couple of bucks at the cost of their reputation?

Go back and read the guidelines again, very carefully. What did you not do? And, if you think you did it just perfect, did you contact the company to discuss it? If you contacted the company, what did they say?

X2 to what SunnyDays said: Take responsibility. Learn from your mistakes.

Once again, I made no mistakes. The MSC admits this.

@BlueMoose wrote:

Once again, I made no mistakes. The MSC admits this.

Can you provide additional details? Why did the MSC tell you that they were denying your payment despite your following the rules of the shop perfectly?

@BlueMoose wrote:

Once again, I made no mistakes. The MSC admits this.

If you made no mistakes, then the money should be in your account soon, right?

This makes no sense. The only thing that would make sense is if the client cancelled the shop (business reasons) and you went and performed the shop but were denied acceptance of the report due to cancellation. You never said: "I went to a shop that was cancelled, now I won't be paid." (So please come up with the truth here).

I am trying to figure out why both YOU and THEM agreed it was a great shop but you won't be paid?? Explain that, since you started this about doing everything right and you won't be paid.

Usually, a shopper with little experience believes their (denied) shops are sent to the client and the client and the MSC pocket the shop/evaluations, leaving the shopper with no payment. This is NEVER true.

The shop guidelines specified to go to a certain department of a big box store and WAIT to be assisted by an associate. The guidelines explicitly said NOT to go looking for an associate, NOT to go to customer service, not to do ANYTHING except wait for an associate to approach ME.

The purpose of the shop, as clearly stated in the guidelines, was to evaluate how promptly the employees noticed a customer waiting to be assisted. I waited for over 30 minutes, no associate ever came, because apparently they were short-staffed or the associate who was supposed to be working that department had either called in sick, quit or been fired.

I exited the store and prepared my report, detailing what had occurred. The MSC denied payment, stating that because I had not "interacted with an associate", the shop could not be paid. They admit that I followed the shop guidelines exactly but that I would not be paid because the client needed the exact number of minutes it took for an associate to assist me.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2016 08:38PM by BlueMoose.

@BlueMoose wrote:

The shop guidelines specified to go to a certain department of a big box store and WAIT to be assisted by an associate. The guidelines explicitly said NOT to go looking for an associate, NOT to go to customer service, not to do ANYTHING except wait for an associate to approach ME.

The purpose of the shop, as clearly stated in the guidelines, was to evaluate how promptly the employees noticed a customer waiting to be assisted. I waited for over 30 minutes, no associate ever came, because apparently they were short-staffed or the associate who was supposed to be working that department had either called in sick, quit or been fired.

I exited the store and prepared my report, detailing what had occurred. The MSC denied payment, stating that because I had not "interacted with an associate", the shop could not be paid.

In many cases, you might want to re-read your guidelines. On a popular printer shop, you are to decline any help, see if they come back and then accept help. If no-one comes back in 10 minutes, then you are to look for help. Your shop is based on you interacting with someone. The guidelines should have said, "If after 30 minutes you are not helped, get a business card and exit the store." If THIS were the case, you would have been paid. You were not paid because you did not interact with the associate. (think about that for a minute, that was the whole point of the shop, the total outcome..... was to interact with the associate)

So, I am thinking you WERE supposed to actively LOOK for an associate after so many minutes. If you have your guidelines, read them again. Other than a cell phone shop .....where it says if no-one helps you in 30 minutes, get a business card and leave. I can't think of that many shops where you can walk in, browse and leave without an interaction. The whole point of your shop was to try and interact with someone so the client could grade the associate on his/her performance.

Once again, the MSC agrees that I followed the shop guidelines exactly and made no errors.

Can you please name the client without naming the MSC?

I think it might be more enlightening to name the MSC without naming the client.


edited to add: Sorry, I did not answer the OP's questions. No, I have never been denied payment for a shop I performed completely according to the guidelines. No, I have never believed that a MSC for who I worked used my report and denied payment. And, NO, I have never considered contacting the client.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2016 08:54PM by AustinMom.

So what is the reason they gave for rejecting the shop?

So, judging by your similar comments on another string, the MSC is Maritz?

All these posts do is stir up newbie shoppers emotions by adding more fuel our author experienced a Black Swan event. I personally have had two Black Swans in the business but that was due to the company's financial constraints. No legit MSC is going to risk their reputation, too many good MSC owners have shown up and thoroughly debunked claims.

Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2016 09:35PM by GuyFawkes.

OP-------> If you and the MSC believe you did nothing wrong-------->why don't the MSC pay you a complimentary fee?

@BlueMoose wrote:

Once again, the MSC agrees that I followed the shop guidelines exactly and made no errors.

Mr. Moose: Your statement makes no sense. Your scheduler says you did a perfect shop with no errors. But you will not be paid. I smell a rotten fish here. Can you smell it?

If what you are saying is true, it would be a good idea to contact them in a professional manner rather than making assumptions about them pocketing money etc. Maritz is fair. A little over a year ago I did a lot of preparation and a long training phone call for a program that never came to fruition. I emailed them (in a professional manner) with specific details regarding the time I spent preparing. They contacted me back asking what I felt was a fair payment. I gave them the number and they paid it.

so I guess you were supposed to wait as long as it took? even if it was until the store was closing and you were approached by an associate coming to kick you out....

If this is the MSC I think it is, and the hardware dept. and out of stock item scenario, I believe you are supposed to seek out a red vested employee, if none approaches you, after 5 minutes.

Sometimes the schedulers at Maritz tell the OP something, and it never happens. I was told recently when the scheduler from Martitz CX called me (Yes, they called me requesting help on some remote shops!) that the shops would be assigned to me and placed on "My Current Shops". Doing those three shops made the route I was planning (with another Maritz CX scheduler (different client)) worth doing, Well, long story short...the three "linchpin" shops never got assigned...but the other six did....The first scheduler just didn't do the job. Maritz did not respond to any of my emails (four) or calls (three) in the three days after the problem occurred. so even a pretty solid outfit like Maritz CX occasionally has problems. I can't wait to see how they resolve this.....

Notice me Senpai

They are not going to resolve this. They have refused to answer repeated polite, professional calls and emails requesting payment. It's been 3 months now. Not a single return call or email, and of course, no payment. Needless to say, I have accepted no further shops from this MSC.

I believe it has been asked and not answered, what was the reason given for denying payment?

@LisaSTL wrote:

I believe it has been asked and not answered, what was the reason given for denying payment?

I think he said payment was denied because he did not interact with an employee.

And yes, you did make a mistake if the guidelines said WAIT until an employee approaches than you stand there till closing time & they turn the lights off on you.

The OP also said the shop was performed perfectly according to both him and the MSC. If the shop required an interaction and he did not complete an interaction I'm at a loss as how it could be perfect and why they would deny payment. It just gets curiouser and curiouser.

@BlueMoose wrote:

The shop guidelines specified to go to a certain department of a big box store and WAIT to be assisted by an associate. The guidelines explicitly said NOT to go looking for an associate, NOT to go to customer service, not to do ANYTHING except wait for an associate to approach ME.

Here's what I think happened: The OP waited for over 30 minutes, then assumed that was long enough and left. The instructions (as reported by the OP) say not to look for an associate (the OP didn't), not to go to customer service (the OP didn't... still good), not to do ANYTHING except wait (uh oh... here's where we run into a problem. The OP did do SOMETHING... the OP left the store before an associate approached him or her).

If the MSC mentioned in the guidelines that waiting for 30 minutes and then leaving without getting any evidence like a business card or receipt was fine, then the OP should be good. But I have a feeling those parts of the guidelines would have been mentioned by the OP if they were in there. I also suspect that the MSC didn't really say that the OP had followed the guidelines exactly. That might be what the OP heard, but I'll bet that's not what they said. I'm a 3rd party observer, and I can see where the OP did not follow the guidelines exactly.... he or she left before waiting for an associate to approach him or her.

It stinks. Those guidelines are pretty bad: as I read them, the shopper is basically trapped there for an indeterminate amount of time in order to perform the job correctly, with no ability to go look for help or to call it after a certain maximum amount of time. If the OP is willing, I'd like to hear who the client is (but not the MSC) so that I can be wary if I see these shops posted in my area.

If I accepted a shop and the guidelines said to wait for an associate indefinitely, it would be canceled.

I agree. Bluemoose left the store without any interaction with an associate. You need a business card or a brochure with an associate's name on it to validate your shop. How would the client know that you visited store XYZ? I once waited for an associate to wait on me and it took 45 minutes because there were two customers ahead of me and only one associate in the computer department. They were short handed with the computer associates. I needed to obtain a business card or an informational print out sheet of the product with the associate's name on it to validate the shop and a photo of the exterior of the store. The client can go over your report with a fine tooth comb to make sure all of the guidelines were followed after it had been edited by the proofreader.