Hypothetical situation based on something that just happend.

You have a regular shop that you've been doing and you know it like the back of your hand. A scheduler calls you in the evening and asks you if you would please cover 3 shops for her (1 the next morning, 2 the day after). They are out of your way but you agree to do her the favor.

You get off the phone and check your account but don't see the jobs. You send a quick email to the scheduler and she assures you that she assigned them to you, quotes your shopper ID in the email, and tells you to look again. Once again you don't see them so you send another email, but she's already gone for the night.

In the morning you still don't see the jobs in your account but go ahead and do them since you've never had issue with this MSC before. You get home and are finally able to see the jobs in your account. But guess what - the requirements have now changed from what they have always been. You submit the job and later on get a message that you're not going to be paid because you didn't do the job right.

You ask the scheduler to make an exception because you had no idea the requirments had changed since she didn't mention that on the phone and you couldn't see the jobs in your account. She says her manager said they can't pay you and you have to do the job again. The kicker is, the cost of the item you now have to buy is a lot more than the old item. To help this scheduler, you'd actually lose money.

Would you do the jobs and lose money? Or tell her you can't do them because you accepted the jobs based on inadequate information from her?

One time I was on the road and got a call to do an emergency shop. There would be no time to go home and get the paperwork. So I asked the scheduler if ANYTHING changed about this certain shop? She said "no" I asked for her NAME and her assurance that nothing changed...I went and did the shop and thankfully all went well....

I would ASK for her name and employee ID if she has one. You need some leverage when a *not so bright scheduler* promises you things like the job has not changed and it "HAS" changed...

I would not re-shop, nor would I in the future do any shop unless you get email confirmation.

I would definitely not re-shop. I would also be on the fence about doing the other remaining shops. There are a lot of schedulers who take the whole "do me a favor" thing way too far, IMO. I can see from the scheduler's viewpoint that it doesn't do them any good to have shops turned in that they can't use, but I cannot count the number of times I've had schedulers call me at the last minute (so much so that I've had to take off without the jobs being in my profile in order to get them done on the day they've been assigned) and if they can't be bothered to get you the job to review or mention that something has changed, I don't see how that can possibly be on you. For me, they'd need to pay me for the first botched shop, then pay me for the re-shop and future ones as well in order for me to feel comfortable. Otherwise, they're just wasting my time.

Hope you find a good resolution to this issue!

Jen

With few exceptions, I want some type of written confirmation. If a job is not in my shop log, then an e-mail. There are a few schedulers and companies I feel totally comfortable with, but it ends up they are the ones most likely to provide e-mail confirmation anyway.

"Would you do the jobs and lose money? Or tell her you can't do them because you accepted the jobs based on inadequate information from her?"

No. Yes.

The Scheduler withheld information? Next you will be telling me there is no Santa Clause or Easter Bunny!

If it is not in writing I get it in writing. The days of a handshake sealing the deal was two centuries ago

Even with email confirmation, the problem would still be that the job was't done in accordance with the new requirements. Even when I'm familiar with a shop, I always look at the requirements, as they definitely can change month to month. On a few occasions, I've received a heads-up from the scheduler, or the instructions warn that the guidelines have been revised, but definitely not always. I wouldn't do a shop without receiving a confirmation email and being able to access instructions.

Get it in writing. I would decline the reshop and ask that the other two shops be reassigned since you cannot accept the newly revealed conditions.

I decided to cancel all 3 shops. I really believe the scheduler should have told me that the shops had changed or emailed me a copy of the job before she left for the evening.

The job normally paid $7 and reimbursement was $6 for a purchase of $6.57. With their revised purchase requirements, the purchase now costs $8.32. Plus, they used to be flexible with what you could purchase. Now they want you to purchase something specific, which I cannot use. The distance to the jobs she asked me to take was far enough to make me lose money on the shop (because of gas).

It's sad that I may lose a MSC that, up until now, I have been very happy with. But I cannot do a favor for her under those circumstances. It's also sad that from now on, I will not accept a job on short notice so I can have time to look over the requirments thoroughly.

Yes, she should have done that, definitely. Not that it makes anything more excusable (it doesn't), but it's possible she didn't know they've changed. If you've had a good relationship with the MSC, I wouldn't burn a bridge. Perhaps you can have another exchange with the scheduler, chalk it up to an unfortunate set of circumstances, and ask her to keep you in mind in the event a bonused shop comes up, so you can at least make up some of your losses.

Nicely, because it's the weekend, she doesn't even know yet that I declined the shops. I'm sure she'll be unhappy on Monday when she finds out she has to reschedule them. I didn't want to burn bridges, but I have a feeling I did.

PS - She did know of the change.

Really sorry to hear confirmation of her being that unresponsible.

Thank you. I guess everything happens for a reason....

Personally, I would NOT do them, I would tell the scheduler exactly what you said and then ask to speak to "her" boss. Then explain what happened.
That is not right and I'm sorry you had that issue.


carscheles Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hypothetical situation based on something that
> just happend.
>
> You have a regular shop that you've been doing and
> you know it like the back of your hand. A
> scheduler calls you in the evening and asks you if
> you would please cover 3 shops for her (1 the next
> morning, 2 the day after). They are out of your
> way but you agree to do her the favor.
>
> You get off the phone and check your account but
> don't see the jobs. You send a quick email to the
> scheduler and she assures you that she assigned
> them to you, quotes your shopper ID in the email,
> and tells you to look again. Once again you don't
> see them so you send another email, but she's
> already gone for the night.
>
> In the morning you still don't see the jobs in
> your account but go ahead and do them since you've
> never had issue with this MSC before. You get
> home and are finally able to see the jobs in your
> account. But guess what - the requirements have
> now changed from what they have always been. You
> submit the job and later on get a message that
> you're not going to be paid because you didn't do
> the job right.
>
> You ask the scheduler to make an exception because
> you had no idea the requirments had changed since
> she didn't mention that on the phone and you
> couldn't see the jobs in your account. She says
> her manager said they can't pay you and you have
> to do the job again. The kicker is, the cost of
> the item you now have to buy is a lot more than
> the old item. To help this scheduler, you'd
> actually lose money.
>
> Would you do the jobs and lose money? Or tell her
> you can't do them because you accepted the jobs
> based on inadequate information from her?

Something similar to this happened to me. The shop had three days window. So I did the shop on the first day and since it was a high-end shop, I had to purchase something expensive. I was about to make a report when I received a message from my scheduler that the scenario has changed. I was furious but she explained to me that the client decided to change it and she could not do anything about it. She was very apologetic.

I have a symbiotic relationship with this MSC so I decided to do it again. While quietly fuming, I told her I would go back and follow the new scenario and would make the visit and return of both items on other shift times to avoid getting the same associate. So I bought another expensive item and I was surprised that it did not bother me that much. It had something to do with that special relationship I had with the company and the scheduler. It's like bending over backwards for a friend. I don't think I would have done that for any other company. I probably would delete the company from my list.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/2012 05:52PM by risinghorizon.

It's perfectly understandable that you did the shops without the confirmation on your board. However, I would never perform a shop that wasn't on my job board because I don't trust the schedulers!

I received a generic email this morning, regarding the same shop, that said they have had quite a few cancellations in August and they have over 900 shops available. Ouch! I kind of feel sorry for them (the company - not the scheduler). Now it makes me wonder if the scheduler tried to intentionally trick me since nobody wants to take the jobs with their new requirements.

I take my laptop with me when on going on shops, I can usually find a "hotspot" at a McD's or Starbucks, sometimes I've checked and found new jobs in the area I can get with a quick email. If you have a laptop, it might have saved you in this case,
if not, then this isn't much help!

That is a tough call. I think you have to do whatever you can justify in your mind as proper, under the circumstances.

I believe, if I did not have the assignment in my in-box, and fulfilled the assignment according to the schedule assigned, and it was done before delivery of the actual posting to your in-box, you should get paid and not be responsible to do the shop again.

This is just my opinion.

On the other hand, regardless of the circumstances, I just could not let this get in the way of maintaining a good "flake-free" record. But I would have a bad feeling towards the scheduler for not backing me on my decision to try and fill the time commitment established on the phone.

(Kinda crappy deal)

Kriscor Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I take my laptop with me when on going on shops, I
> can usually find a "hotspot" at a McD's or
> Starbucks, sometimes I've checked and found new
> jobs in the area I can get with a quick email. If
> you have a laptop, it might have saved you in this
> case,
> if not, then this isn't much help!


The laptop wouldn't have done much good. The instructions weren't online till after the time frame to do the shop.

But I do have a laptop and it comes in handy for most shops.

One thing I do, when I get calls like that, I will ask them to go over the requirements(as I forgot them), get the name of the scheduler, and email confirmation of all particulars if I cannot login to get the info.

carscheles Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hypothetical situation based on something that
> just happend.
>
> You have a regular shop that you've been doing and
> you know it like the back of your hand. A
> scheduler calls you in the evening and asks you if
> you would please cover 3 shops for her (1 the next
> morning, 2 the day after). They are out of your
> way but you agree to do her the favor.
>
> You get off the phone and check your account but
> don't see the jobs. You send a quick email to the
> scheduler and she assures you that she assigned
> them to you, quotes your shopper ID in the email,
> and tells you to look again. Once again you don't
> see them so you send another email, but she's
> already gone for the night.
>
> In the morning you still don't see the jobs in
> your account but go ahead and do them since you've
> never had issue with this MSC before. You get
> home and are finally able to see the jobs in your
> account. But guess what - the requirements have
> now changed from what they have always been. You
> submit the job and later on get a message that
> you're not going to be paid because you didn't do
> the job right.
>
> You ask the scheduler to make an exception because
> you had no idea the requirments had changed since
> she didn't mention that on the phone and you
> couldn't see the jobs in your account. She says
> her manager said they can't pay you and you have
> to do the job again. The kicker is, the cost of
> the item you now have to buy is a lot more than
> the old item. To help this scheduler, you'd
> actually lose money.
>
> Would you do the jobs and lose money? Or tell her
> you can't do them because you accepted the jobs
> based on inadequate information from her?

I may consider doing the reshop for the sake of staying in good standing. However if the other 2 shops would leave you out of pocket I would politely decline the shops with an explanation.
In recent years I have been politely declining jobs with schedulers explaining the amount of work that goes into some jobs. Hopefully by educating schedulers they will have a better understanding as to what field work entails. I do not believe many of the schedulers have ever been out in the field. As well I appreciate there are many shoppers who would be willing to accept jobs which are listed with very little money attached. (I did when I was a newbie.) It constantly surprises when I see a shopper accept a job which will entail a couple of hours work for $5. Ones I wouldn't even consider for less than $25.

If it did not show on your account, and therefore you had no instructions, you probably should not have just "assumed" everything was the same and done it.

Shops can always change, even if only slightly, and therefore you should never assume, and NEVER do a shop without reading instructions. If you dont have any, dont do the shop until you do.

I know the shop and MSC you're referring to, I just spoke to a scheduler by phone this morning re: the new requirements. Last month I found myself in a similar situation, except I failed to double-check the reqs. When I entered the site to complete the report, I realized my mistake and reshopped (it was not due until the following day). My fault completely. But once I learned the new reqs, I realized that the old $6 reimbursement, $7 pay no longer existed; it was a straight $13 pay. And more than $8 of that went towards a specific food and drink.

I expressed my concerns to the scheduler today and advised her that I have not and will not be conducting any more of these shops, as a $4.xx fee doesn't cut it. She pointed out that I still get reimbursed for the required drink and food, but I told her the reimbursement was not as valuable since I couldnot choose what to order. A Carmel iced coffee something or other? Right in the garbage. She thanked me for my feedback and said that the "new" pay schedule was still being tested. Maybe if enough people refuse to do the shops..

Forgive the typos, on my phone at my children's camp

Maricier, you are exactly right. The food and drink aren't something we would choose for ourselves anyway. They'll probably be scrambling at the end of the month for people to do these shops. I have no plans of taking any more of these shops in the near future.

carscheles Wrote:

>
> You get off the phone and check your account but
> don't see the jobs. You send a quick email to the
> scheduler and she assures you that she assigned
> them to you, quotes your shopper ID in the email,
> and tells you to look again. Once again you don't
> see them so you send another email, but she's
> already gone for the night.
>
I would send copies of the emails that went back and forth between you and the scheduler to the scheduler and the payroll department (if you are able to find contact information for them) along with a bill for the services you provided. You may still not get paid, but from here on be very careful and selective when chosing jobs with this company. They have what I call a twentieth century mindset. They have not accepted the fact that the workday, at least in this line of work, does not run Monday through Friday, nine to five. The fact that the scheduler was "gone for the night" is not an excuse. Someone should have responded to your emails or provided you with the information you needed to complete your shops correctly.

Alannajm, that's not a bad idea. Maybe if I get copies of those emails to the right people, they just might reconsider. It's worth a try. Thanks for the idea.

I wouldn't let it end with the scheduler. I'd contact the company and explain the situation. The fact that the shops weren't showing on your account tells me she didn't schedule them when she stated. If they weren't showing, you did her a favor by going and doing them anyway. She would be aware of the change of the shop parameters and should've let you know. I would expect to be paid for my great (not good) faith effort. They can suck up the shop fees this time. It's not like the company never has had to before.

Sh!t happens. Now pay me because it wasn't mine that caused the problem. That'd be my attitude.

AlwaysAngie Wrote:
-----------------------------------------------------
> Sh!t happens. Now pay me because it wasn't mine
> that caused the problem. That'd be my attitude.

Amen!