I am going to be put on the chopping block for this post, but feel the need to throw out the opinion, so here goes. In the scheme of the whole mystery shopping business, we as mystery shoppers are the golden link. Schedulers work to get jobs assigned, which we accept, and editors edit the reports that we submit. In the chain of events that provides an opportunity for us to even do a shop, all three parts have to work. Needless to say, all three players in chain get annoyed with each other. I would hate to think what I would find if there was an editor/scheduler ONLY forum out that that talked out us as shoppers and all of the issues they deal with.
That being said, I think a scheduler has the worst job in the chain. They have to hustle and beg to get shops done at the lowest cost to the client, then cross all fingers an toes hoping the shopper they gave the shop to fulfills their duties completely as the shop instructs. I give them props as I would have not one hair left on my head if I had to beg, hope, pray, and wait to see if "my" job got done. Then there is us as mystery shoppers. We are independent contractors. We take what fits into our schedules, and if you are like me, have had to cancel at the 11th hour because of a personal/family emergency, or, maybe just even forgot that you had the shop. I did that just last week because my schedule was saved on my old computer that died and my written notes were not as extensive as my notes on the computer.
Then, there are the editors. These are the last people in the chain before the report gets sent to the client. They have rigid instructions with minimal room for assumption and tolerance for "iffy" comments. Assumption and "iffyness" (yes, that is my made-up word!) are typically not welcomed by clients. If the client rejects the shop, no one from the scheduler, shopper, or editor gets paid. Editors often have to nit-pick reports because they may know the clients expectations on answers in reports which may not be clearly conveyed in the survey questions. I can say all of this about editors, because I have started editing, and, trust me, it has given me an ENTIRELY NEW OPINION on reporting shops. In some cases, an editor will review and correct the shop. The report is then reviewed by another editor to make sure nothing slipped through the cracks before sending to he client. All this is done to make sure that the client does not reject the report and will not pay for the shop.
So, I think instead of ranting on our schedulers and editors, which I have often done and will surely want to do again before next Wednesday, I would like to at least extend an olive branch to our counterparts in this business and maybe back off a little. Let's face it, as mystery shoppers, we are WHY the business exists. If it were not for us, there would be nothing to schedule and no reports to edit. The other players depend on us to do our jobs. I would like to think devotees of the industry that would research far enough to join a forum like this are pretty damn good shoppers.
How about just for the week of August 12th, we make a conscious effort to not talk about those that begin or end the chain of the mystery shopping experience. Wonder what would happen if we all e-mailed our schedulers immediately after completing a job to say that it was done and would be completed by the end of the day and also quickly gave the editor whatever information was needed without showing some attitude in our replies. I am not saying you all have had attitude in your replies, but I am saying that I have had lots of written attitude on some shops!
That's my soapbox moment for the week. Be easy in your replies....I am a mystery shopper as well, just wanted to throw out a thought!
That being said, I think a scheduler has the worst job in the chain. They have to hustle and beg to get shops done at the lowest cost to the client, then cross all fingers an toes hoping the shopper they gave the shop to fulfills their duties completely as the shop instructs. I give them props as I would have not one hair left on my head if I had to beg, hope, pray, and wait to see if "my" job got done. Then there is us as mystery shoppers. We are independent contractors. We take what fits into our schedules, and if you are like me, have had to cancel at the 11th hour because of a personal/family emergency, or, maybe just even forgot that you had the shop. I did that just last week because my schedule was saved on my old computer that died and my written notes were not as extensive as my notes on the computer.
Then, there are the editors. These are the last people in the chain before the report gets sent to the client. They have rigid instructions with minimal room for assumption and tolerance for "iffy" comments. Assumption and "iffyness" (yes, that is my made-up word!) are typically not welcomed by clients. If the client rejects the shop, no one from the scheduler, shopper, or editor gets paid. Editors often have to nit-pick reports because they may know the clients expectations on answers in reports which may not be clearly conveyed in the survey questions. I can say all of this about editors, because I have started editing, and, trust me, it has given me an ENTIRELY NEW OPINION on reporting shops. In some cases, an editor will review and correct the shop. The report is then reviewed by another editor to make sure nothing slipped through the cracks before sending to he client. All this is done to make sure that the client does not reject the report and will not pay for the shop.
So, I think instead of ranting on our schedulers and editors, which I have often done and will surely want to do again before next Wednesday, I would like to at least extend an olive branch to our counterparts in this business and maybe back off a little. Let's face it, as mystery shoppers, we are WHY the business exists. If it were not for us, there would be nothing to schedule and no reports to edit. The other players depend on us to do our jobs. I would like to think devotees of the industry that would research far enough to join a forum like this are pretty damn good shoppers.
How about just for the week of August 12th, we make a conscious effort to not talk about those that begin or end the chain of the mystery shopping experience. Wonder what would happen if we all e-mailed our schedulers immediately after completing a job to say that it was done and would be completed by the end of the day and also quickly gave the editor whatever information was needed without showing some attitude in our replies. I am not saying you all have had attitude in your replies, but I am saying that I have had lots of written attitude on some shops!
That's my soapbox moment for the week. Be easy in your replies....I am a mystery shopper as well, just wanted to throw out a thought!