Hi,

Are the Editors freelance or are they a company employee? I have done a number of shops for this one company and have maintained a 10 scoring (this is supposed to be high), and every time I get this one editor they take me through a song and a dance, i.e., grammatical et al. Getting confused! Do I write different for every company? I am a Newbie by the way.

Thanks,

Savana23

Welcome Newbie! Some editors are company employees and some are freelance. Some are excellent and some are Real Butt Heads! My 2c...

When I first started I did a report for one company and got immediate feedback that my report was excellent and got an A. The next day I got an email from someone else saying that commas were used wrong etc and dropped me to a C!!

That's just wrong! =(

In the spring of 2006, I completed my first and only shop for BARE. It was a register/bar integrity job that required an exhaustive report, which the scheduler praised. My next contact was with the editor, who deemed my work unacceptable and scored me a 4, which is by far my all time low. I requested the assistance of the scheduler, but it wasn't forthcoming. Next, I attempted to settle this situation with the company ombudsperson. When that failed, I requested de-activation, was paid both the fee of $30 and reimbursement and have never looked back.

Some would question my haste in discharging this MSC, but when a line of communication is muddled, I choice to move on. By the time I entered my 60s, I only permitted aggravation when being adequately compensated; shopping fees definitely don't meet that condition.

I think the rating can sometimes be unfair because there is a little room for discretion by the editor. Editors are given the briefing on the expectation from the client all the way down to how many spaces they want between sentences. Some editors seem to just check grammar and punctuation without really even reading the reports. Some read the reports as if they are applications for admission into law school and scrutinize every tiny little thing.
I have received similar contradictions within the same company for my report ratings. I will get 10's and then out of nowhere get a 6 or 7. I asked about the last big discrepancy and the scheduler said the editor notes read that there was significant spelling and punctuation errors. HUH? I always type my narratives in MS Word (one too many internet shut downs taught me that valuable lesson!), which highlights words that are not spelled correctly as well as missing punctuation. Besides all that, I AM an editor and am hyper-sensitive to those two areas. I just let it go because I was not going to make a big fuss over it and get into a near backyard brawl with someone over a low score on one report.

As an editor, I have seen the range of editing and scoring. Some editors are very good at English and expect the same of others. They have to do more work, so they give lower scores. Other editors have high standards but don't expect shoppers to, so they edit heavily but score more leniently. Some editors don't know how to use a comma, so they don't see errors and score highly because they do little with the report.

It seems like clients don't complain, maybe because they get the required information or maybe because they don't know proper grammar, punctuation, etc., either. My point is that you can write the same way and get different scores from different editors depending on their proficiency, standards, and leniency.

As I've mentioned before on this forum, different companies (MSCs and clients) have different expectations/standards as well. Some will accept contractions. Some won't. Some want paragraphs. Some don't. Some want numbers under 10 spelled out. Some don't.

When I shop, if I know the MSC's expectations/standards, I will adhere to them. For those who don't know, your best bet is to crank out the best work that you can.

Thanks to everyone so far that have given me some great experience/feedback. Have a great day!
Savana23

I'm experiencing this on the other end. I'm a newbie who was with just one company and got medium scores. I changed to a new company and got great scores. I then added a third and did 9 out of 11 shops before I heard back from them on the 1st shop. Their complaint is I don't spell well or know my grammar. Is this a problem? ...yep. You see I have to change my software which is British bought and find the American grammar/spelling. It's nearly life & death for colour, neighbourhood, aluminium,and theatre, centre, and most importantly criticise to be spelt correctly for this company. Oh just learned a new one kerb. Not sure how you spell it.....

Tianna

What is kerb? I never heard of that. I'm assuming it is misspelled or I might recognize it. That's part of the problem with misspellings in reports - sometimes the reader has no clue what you are saying. Some of your misspellings are pretty obvious, like colour for color and neighbourhood for neighborhood, but the misspellings would irritate me if I were an editor. It's good that you learned quickly that you need to change software and hopefully that will fix the spelling problem to make your reports acceptable.

kerb, aka pavement aka where people walk.....
I take offense to misspellings...Obviously you missed the first part ...being educated else where means that the English being taught and spoken isn't American. That was the reason Harry Potter came out a full year after the rest of the world and had it's title changed from the Philosophers Stone to the Sorcerers Stone. I have a 2 volume English Dictionary which was a gift to me upon completion of my O and A levels. Writing and SWOTing through exams is something most children do. Don't be so smug thinking you know or understand. I can back up my spelling. The difference is that If an American travels abroad and spells differently allowances are mae. Too bad most Americans don't reciprocate.

Curb! Sorry, now I understand. I would never have guessed that one. And, also, sorry if you believe I am "smug" about your misspellings and that I can't possibly understand. I've been there and I do understand. I worked many years ago for a British company, Edward Bates and Sons, a subsidiary of Bates Bank in London, and I fully remember how difficult it was for me to spell using the British spelling. But, because I worked for a British company, I did have to adhere to the British spelling, at least for the period of time I worked for the company. No allowances were made for me but I managed. It was one of my first jobs after graduating college and I still remember the humiliation of getting back letters with red circles around properly-spelled (if I had been in America) words. I retyped. It got easier. It sounds as though one company made allowances for the differences in your spelling but others have not. Changing the software sounds like the answer, at least for the period of time you work for American companies.

Kerb is curb. =) It's not misspelled, it's just British English.

As an editor, I sometimes love to not edit things I type for personal activities such as this forum. Weird....I know. It does not help that I typically use a tablet with a touch key screen that I have never been fond of using. Combine that with autocorrect and some of my posts are a hot mess! Luckily, you all seem to understand what I was trying to say and continually issue me a hall pass!

Sorry to have reacted so strongly it's that Sister Mary Margaret sitting in a corner with a dunce cap on. By sister I mean nurse not Nun. lol. But thanks to every1 who has help me get back to basics. Microsoft has done the following.

"are you sure you wish to change your core dictionary? Do you wish to edit ALL previous files? We'll keep your personal Dictionary intact.

Which basically null and voids all writings....

So I am doing the following. All edits are now on a flash drive. I will use Word for them and WordPerfect for all my other correspondence.

I'm using it now and all my posts are a red stream.....

Getting the act together one post at a time

Tianna

amie068 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think the rating can sometimes be unfair because
> there is a little room for discretion by the
> editor. Editors are given the briefing on the
> expectation from the client all the way down to
> how many spaces they want between sentences. Some
> editors seem to just check grammar and punctuation
> without really even reading the reports. Some
> read the reports as if they are applications for
> admission into law school and scrutinize every
> tiny little thing.
> I have received similar contradictions within the
> same company for my report ratings. I will get
> 10's and then out of nowhere get a 6 or 7. I
> asked about the last big discrepancy and the
> scheduler said the editor notes read that there
> was significant spelling and punctuation errors.
> HUH? I always type my narratives in MS Word (one
> too many internet shut downs taught me that
> valuable lesson!), which highlights words that are
> not spelled correctly as well as missing
> punctuation. Besides all that, I AM an editor and
> am hyper-sensitive to those two areas. I just let
> it go because I was not going to make a big fuss
> over it and get into a near backyard brawl with
> someone over a low score on one report.



Amie,

I figured you were an editor, but as far as I know you never before introduced yourself as such - tsk tsk on you for the thread: "let's give editors a break"..c'mon, you should have identifed yourself even in that thread, don't you think ?

I've noticed some "editors" don't know the difference between grammar and punctuation.

I wonder how they ever got the jop as editors..correcting people who were English or Jounalism majors. Really.

I'm also one of those who occasionally uses English spelling instead of American, such as moulding instead of molding.

Well, I just started editing about a month ago, and quite frankly, have really just started getting the hang of it. The level of detail expected, which changes from client to client, has been really tough to get used to. I have sticky notes all over my office wall for each client and specific location that I am editing. Should the shopper space once or twice between sentences? Should they always use the name of the person shopped or only refer to them as "crew member" with all references to gender removed (that is an EASY step to overlook)? I could go on and on. Luckily, I have a very patient supervisor who has just recently made the brave step to let me out on my own without having my edits proofread for editing mistakes! Mystery shopping has been my priority, however, I am trying to expand my horizons so that I can continue to make money while my kids are toddlers and my shopping hours are limited, but fortunately, nap time is 3 hours!
In all seriousness, do I need to add that to my profile somewhere....do I have a profile somewhere???? Editing is not going to pay the bills as mystery shopping does, so I would hate to classify myself as only an editor. Any thoughts are appreciated!!

amie068 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think the rating can sometimes be unfair because
> there is a little room for discretion by the
> editor. Editors are given the briefing on the
> expectation from the client all the way down to
> how many spaces they want between sentences. Some
> editors seem to just check grammar and punctuation
> without really even reading the reports. Some
> read the reports as if they are applications for
> admission into law school and scrutinize every
> tiny little thing.
> I have received similar contradictions within the
> same company for my report ratings. I will get
> 10's and then out of nowhere get a 6 or 7. I
> asked about the last big discrepancy and the
> scheduler said the editor notes read that there
> was significant spelling and punctuation errors.
> HUH? I always type my narratives in MS Word (one
> too many internet shut downs taught me that
> valuable lesson!), which highlights words that are
> not spelled correctly as well as missing
> punctuation. Besides all that, I AM an editor and
> am hyper-sensitive to those two areas. I just let
> it go because I was not going to make a big fuss
> over it and get into a near backyard brawl with
> someone over a low score on one report.


Sometimes I WONDER if the editor is NEW and is "Gung-Ho" about making his or her "mark" at the company... Your post here is a great example. You used your MS Word so you kNOW your spelling is correct.

I think they get new ones in and like another poster said: "Your narrative is scrutinized like admission to Law School."

I had one company, always 10's and then a new editor comes along and writes a "thesis" about what I did wrong...um...okay...lol....

Tianna, I totally get where you're coming from! I'm Canadian, doing shops in Canada. When I do shops for American companies, I have to remember that they don't like the letter "u", i.e. colour etc. When I do reports for Canadian companies, I have to remember to use Canadian/British spelling. Either way, no words are misspelled but some editors like to nitpick and find fault where there isn't any.

I've learned to go with the flow. I've yet to have a report rejected because of (or lack thereof) British spelling. Don't sweat it. Changing your spellcheck to "American English" will make a difference.

Good luck and happy shopping

>In all seriousness, do I need to add that to my profile somewhere....do I have >a profile somewhere???? Editing is not going to pay the bills as mystery >shopping does, so I would hate to classify myself as only an editor. Any >thoughts are appreciated!!

In all seriousness , yes I do think that those who do some editing should place it in their signature line as : "shopper and p/t editor" or "editor" if full time, just as we ask people from MSC's to place the name of the MSC and their title below their name.

Shoppers might want to ask questions about editing,

or it could save some embarassment and identifying also.

Jus thinkin' and sayin'

oops - thundestorm - gotta turn puter off.

In all seriousness, if amie068 is not posting on behalf of her company as an editor, there's no need for a siggy line explaining that. She mentioned it in the post stating, "as an editor," so that her comments made sense in context.

MANY of us work inside the industry at one point or another. They concept behind the identification is to avoid confusion when and MSC representatives are posting in an official capacity. I think you may be interpreting the practice a bit too strictly, shopping. If aime wants to answer questions about editorial, it's her option to jump into the thread. If not, she doesn't need to establish herself as an editor so that other shoppers can lob editorial questions her way.

The siggy also changes dynamically as far as I understand, so it would be possible to cause even more confusion when older posts are now deemed to have come from a professional representative.

Just my $.02

SteveSoCal
-Retired shopper
-Retired editor
-Retired scheduler
-Honorary member of the Judgmental @#$%& Club

For what it is worth, I do not edit for a company that does shops in the US. The clients are all in Australia. I wish I could go there to take a tour of the area. Field trip anyone?????

You mean the MSC doesn't fly you out so you can see firsthand what's involved the kangaroo vet shops? (I'm just trying to reference something Australian. I don't know if they offer Kangaroo vet shops).

BTW, I also referenced aime's "Maybe we should give editors and schedulers a break...." post and she was clear at the end about being both an editor and shopper. I don't there was any deception there.

Good lucy with the editing and shopping, amie. Keep me in the loop on the field trip down under...

shoppinalong Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Amie,
>
> I figured you were an editor, but as far as I
> know you never before introduced yourself as such
> - tsk tsk on you for the thread: "let's give
> editors a break"..c'mon, you should have identifed
> yourself even in that thread, don't you think ?



shoppinalong,

In her original post, [www.mysteryshopforum.com], amie068 DID say she had just started editing:

"...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..."

As usual Steve and I agree to disagree.

I still think p/t editors or full time editors and schedules should identify themselves as such, as many do whether in official or unofficial capacity. It is a common courtesy, even though it is not hard to tell when someone is or has been an editor. "Let's give editors a break" LOL , is a big hint.

Consistently correcting the shopper and consistently siding against the shopper's complaint is another.

There's no particular conspiracy to invade the forum and post MSC-centric rhetoric (at least not one that I'm part of).

Once we have to establish who works as an editor, we will have to establish who shops full-time and who does it as a hobby, how long you've shopped, who's certified and who's handicapped, our political affiliation, etc. There may be a thread titled "Shoppers vs. Editors" but that is not the mission of this forum! We are simply here to help and support one another.

How is a freelance editor that makes $5-10 per shop any different than a shopper? Why do we need to delineate that? Is their input not valid?

If someone is getting paid to post here, then they should have a signature that represents that. If someone comes here of their own accord and offers useful insight, they should be welcomed ad the siggy line should be an option. Isn't that your whole platform, shopping? Posters should feel welcome!....or is it just posters with an axe to grind against the MS industry that should feel welcome?

Consider that when I was an editor, my employer forbid me from posting on the forum in an official capicity. I read and posted as a shopper, but by your definition, I should have simply been excluded from participating in the public forum because I would have been fired for putting a signature by my name.

As I've said before, my posting record speaks for itself and it's my impression that a large majority of forum members respect what I have to say. If you have read my entire body of input on this forum and still feel that the majority of my posts are siding with MSCs, I would respect what you have to say about anti-shopper postings. Until then, I think you are full of hot air and putting a rash generalization out there.

I did get docked for the u in honour and centre instead of center. I thought the editor was Canadian because the company was one. It turned out she was an American.

When I moved from the Chicago to Toronto, I was very particular about the differences between American English and British English. But I think an editor should be aware of the differences, and should accommodate it. I am not about to waste my time checking who is editing my report as there are also International MSCs. Hey, this is a mystery shopping report, not a dissertation for my doctorate.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/2012 08:47AM by risinghorizon.

Shoppers v. Editors-- now that's a show I'd watch! It'd be a reality TV show, of course, and it'd be sort of Big Brother style, where there'd be weekly goals. A team of shoppers would have to haggle their schedulers up to a certain dollar amount and then they'd fill out reports with so many grammatical mistakes they'd have to wager on which editor's head would explode first. They'd be like lemmings in the cubicles, their little heads going *POP* *POP*. Confetti all over!

Hmm, I smell a Hollywood hit, here.

I just got a review back from an editor about a phone shop, I usually get 10's but for this shop I got a 7, the editor said that I should have used more information in the narrative so that the reader could feel like they were listening in on the call. That's great, I can do that, but the call was for 3 minutes with a man that had a really strong accent. How on earth do I make this narrative more in depth? I'm trying not to let it bother me and use it as a learning experience. What really gets me though is that it seems that the shops that pay the least sometime want the most information.