so I may not get paid

September 25, 2011 07:13AM

After about 80 plus Applebee's shops, I can do them pretty routinely. But tonight I forgot about the manager. We had my daughter and son in law along, and so I was kind of involved with talking with them, but still doing timings, etc. I just never saw a manager on the floor to jog my memory. While filling out the report, I discovered my lack of information. I called the restaurant and spoke to the manager, asking a question about reserverations for a group, so I have a name and the fact that she was courteous and professional on the phone. But no description either of her appearance or her actions this evening in the restaurant. I wonder if they will thorw this out. Everything else is great. I've been told I do an excellent job on these shops. Dang, I just never thought about it, and never saw her and I asked my husband if he ever saw her and he also said no.

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September 25, 2011 02:12PM

I forgot a manager on a different dining shop last week myself. Something I have never done...must be the season.

Liz

September 25, 2011 03:26PM

If you explain that you did not observe the manager and later forgot to ask for the manager (if that was required) and that after the shop you called and the manager was ____, who was polite and professional on the phone, you may indeed be able to salvage the shop, depending on the company you are doing it for. But it certainly is one of those reasons why most restaurant shops restrict the group size. I once did a restaurant shop with 7. Luckily 3 of us were routinely mystery shoppers and 2 more were occasional mystery shoppers, so although we had a good time visiting, I also got good descriptions of everything served. I also got to observe server response to an improperly prepared meal, a manager visit to a large table, teamwork in getting all meals to the table at the same time and all those other good things.

September 25, 2011 07:39PM

Can you just say that the manager was not available while you were dining? And that you did ask to speak to the manager, but the employees told you that the manager was not available.

September 25, 2011 07:43PM

But that is not what happened and you can get in a whole world of difficulty for fabricating 'facts'.

September 25, 2011 08:00PM

Hi Flash. You are absolutely right. Fabricating facts is not what we should be doing. I do remember when I did forget to get an employee's name at one of my shops, and I was honest and mentioned that in my report. I still got paid for the shop, but I was deducted a point from my rating, and the editor did remind me that I was required to get the employee's name and to remember to do that in the future.

September 25, 2011 08:11PM

Thanks for the help and advice all. I shall just see what happens and let you know.

Carol

September 26, 2011 12:08AM

I would definitely say that you need to be honest. If they have video proof that the manager was a presence on the floor and you state she wasn't that puts you at risk for being unable to complete these shops in the future. It is really unfair to the manager to say she wasn't visible at all you really are not certain. There is always the risk of the employee getting reprimanded or worse and I would not want to be in the position where I fabricated some facts in order to get paid that has significant negative consequences for someone else.

With the company that I see doing Applebee's shops around here, they seem to be more likely to dock you a few dollars than completely refuse payment.

September 26, 2011 01:13AM

What company has Applebees? I am in the West TN area and am amazed at the limited amount of shopping opportunites are here.

September 26, 2011 02:21AM

In this case I would just put down that you did not observe the manager... Simple as that I would not put down that u forgot to observe the manager... regardless of forgetting or not u still did not see one

If I forget something I just give them a positive score on that area... I call it giving someone the benefit of the doubt... if u tell them u forgot something oftem u are sent back which higjtens the chance of being tagged and increases ur expenses... Or they have to get someone else to do the shop at times for a bonus and at the very least spend more time and money... On top of that whos to say they wont get a positive score in that same area?

The question is simply a moral one...when u really break things down... And how you feel about breaking ur contract if it benefits u in some way...

shopping north west PA and south west ny

September 27, 2011 02:49AM

Well just got the first e-mail. "You didn't identify a manager. Did you ask to see a manger? How long did you wait? Who did you speak to?"

A: I completely forgot to identify a manger. I did not see one at any time. I called afterwards to speak with her. Again, I completely forgot this part after 80 plus Applebee's shops.

September 27, 2011 03:11AM

The guidelines can be exacting. If you don't see a manager, you are required to ask to see one. The client wants to insure the manager is available and on task.

Owning a mistake is the only way. I would follow the same process that Carol has.

September 27, 2011 03:15AM

Thanks, Mert.

September 27, 2011 04:25AM

If you have been shopping this client/msc for this incredibly long I would be very dissapointed if they gave you grief about it no matter what. You have to respect your shoppers. Let us know.

September 27, 2011 06:29PM

Carol, I'm a Quality Editor with ..., and I've reviewed your Applebee's shop. Thank you for taking the time to complete the shop and fill out the survey form. However, we are not able to use your survey, and the shop has been cancelled. The reason for cancellation is that you did not identify the manager, and that is part of the shop requirement. If you have any further quesitons, please contact your dispatcher at the BestMark offices.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/27/2011 06:56PM by 57carol.

September 27, 2011 06:35PM

So the previous message was in my in box. I am angry that they are calling this a cancellation on my part so it affects my percentage.

Carol

September 27, 2011 06:49PM

That would really make me angry, actually and I tend to be overly forgiving of MSC antics. I'd expect to have a penalty, maybe even no reimbursement given at all but cancel the shop to impact my %? Not ok.

(Also - you should edit out the MSC name)

September 27, 2011 06:49PM

I would call in and argue.

~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~* Shoppin' Mama of 4 lovely & unique girls and Nana to Bella, Delilah and Lincoln, shopping in Oregon and parts of Washington

September 27, 2011 06:57PM

Have left a message for the great dispatcher who is always very kind to me. See if she can fix it.

Carol

September 28, 2011 01:56AM

I wish you good luck, Carol. I would have been surprised had the shop been accepted. For me, the lesson is if there has been an oversight on my part, contact the scheduler and explain ~ ~ ~ before taking the time to complete the report. Take my licks, or offer to reshop if I really want to protect my status.

"Cancellation" would get to me also. I don't cancel. BestMark appears to use this term as it applies to a rejected shop as well as a flaked shop. If your cancellation is 50% or less, or one or no shops have been cancelled within 30 days, your ability to accept and self-assign appears to be unaffected.

Don't beat your human self up.

September 28, 2011 06:53AM

thanks Mert, and everyone. My wonderful scheduler explained that although this is considered "cancelled" and I now have a 9% cancellation rate instead of my previous 4%, that anyone will see that I did do the shop and forgot a section, not just flaked. She assured me several times that I am a great shopper for them, and that she felt bad that this happened, and that I was only human.

Carol

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