This forum has a personality I would not want to see changed. Doesn't mean there's not room for improvement. Cut and paste responses, to me, feel detached, impersonal, and may throw a roadblock to communication. There are a gazillion references all over the forum suggesting members use the Search feature. Some members start turning the pages, some don't/won't/can't. Moderation or deletion should be reserved for violating guidelines, spam, abusive or potentially damaging, unsubstantiated posts. I like the idea of a waiting period for new members before posting privileges are permitted. If they wait it out, then post, we then do what we always do.

For what it is worth, I don't think the 72 hour waiting period is a good idea. A lot of time newer shoppers find this forum when they are in a panic about how or what to do on a shop or report. They can register and post here and seasoned shoppers are always on and willing to help. A waiting period does not do them any good.

Huh. Good point. That didn't even cross my mind.

Failure to pay does not always equal lack of understanding or following the MSC rules on the shoppers part. Some shoppers have been and continue to get scammed by the MSC's.There are shady MSC's out there and new ones crop up each day
You can bury your head in the sand all you want assuming that well if am getting paid this msc cannot be bad until it happens to you, .Those of us who have an open mind will continue to read this posts.This is a buyer beware industry.Stop crucifying shoppers who vent not all of them are inexperienced simply because they do not have expert or star ratings.Not everyone has time to keep posting on the board they are busy shopping while the rest of you are busy hating.

whoa there pickyshopper!!
Name calling will get you nowhere fast here. Stating a cogent case that an MSC is not living up to its responsibilities has never caused any push back here. It is unsubstantiated rants that we are considering as a problem. The forum members that you accuse are the ones who have helped move heaven and earth to inform other shoppers, and the MSC corporate community of the really bad apples among MSCs.

Hello Picky - It's always good to get another opinion. You posted yours, and here’s mine.

I know you would never intentionally crucify other shoppers or accuse them of burying their heads in the sand because they don't agree with you. That would not be having an open mind; that would be having a closed mind.

I agree with you absolutely that everyone who vents is not an inexperienced shopper. I do think that sometimes those who vent are enraged shoppers, and that's not an open minded state. That's a closed minded state. Rage is never objective, and makes it really hard to help people. I have a new policy. I'll take one or two shots at an enraged shopper and if I can't help, I'll back off and they can eat their own liver. Not my problem.

But I digress, as I often do. I apologize to everyone (and that specifically includes you) whom I may have offended as a result of having opinions and daring to post them. I also want to apologize for my hot temper, my unreasonable bias, and my rattlesnake disposition. I think that covers it, or at least somewhat.

I also apologize for having time in my life to do exactly as I please, including hanging on this board all day during my annual July/August vacation. I’m so sorry you still have to get out there and hustle for a living like almost everyone else. Please get back with me when you’re 74 and you have worked 60 years and let me know if you have time in your life (at last) to hang on this board if you choose. Can’t wait.

By the way, I did several hundred shops last year and I already have 75 booked for September. How are you doing with September, Picky? Considering I’m not really shopping, I’m thinking if I have 75 booked you must have thousands. If you have thousands booked, I can see you don’t have much time to post.

Just how busy are you? Is there any way I can help you get busier? Not that I don’t want you to post. After all, everyone should have the right to post within the guidelines and I’m sure your post was helpful to many forum members. Not everyone would feel weirdly insulted.

I am stating my opinion about all this, as you stated yours. That should be fair enough.

Mary, "eat your own liver"...how the heck did you come up with that one...OMG
Picky, listen to Mary, you WILL learn how to be a forum player, which is most important if you want to post. There are a few mean girls here that stick up for fair play, don't like bullies, but know how to get their points across,
Mary being the leader. I have done my share of venting when justified, but also done my share of praising, as in msing, give a negative, then a positive, although 6 posts does not a shopper make, we do give free helpful advice to newcomers, and welcome you only if you play nice.

My new motto....."For those that choose to suck the life out of me, please take some fat with you".



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2012 10:24PM by Irene_L.A..

Irene_L.A. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------


>
> My new motto....."For those that choose to suck
> the life out of me, please take some fat with
> you".

Great motto, Irene. Love it. May I suggest something a little more descriptive, as in "For those who suck the life out of me, please take three pounds off my right butt cheek."

picky shopper threads

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

in fact all 6 of picky shoppers posts have been paragrahless (is that a real word?) rants.

This might sound harsh but reading picky shoppers posts he/she just comes across as a nutjob. Sorry.

I personally think a number of these accounts are the same person just looking to troll or maybe lower the quality of the forum.

As much as some hate the term moderation, without it you just lower the overall quality of the discussions.

While reasonably experienced shoppers can tell that a lot of these rant posts make no sense, the new members are not experienced to know that when a crazy person says "XYZ is a rip off" that they are clearly full of it.

Its not about reasonble debate being stifled, nobody would moderate a reasonable post with all the facts laid out.

I think the ranting will be obvious to all if you reference the posts that dwater lined to...

Perhaps the point of them being there is so that the rest of us can learn what MSCs have to deal with and a daily basis.

BULLYING does not work for me.Cannot you not tell am cut from a different cloth. As you so stated my posts reflect a nut job who reads this posts to know which MSC's to avoid and completely ignore so called "experienced shoppers" with their uncalled for and unwanted advice. The mind is like a parachute it works best when it is open. By the way am not 70 or any where near that guess that is why I do not latch on to every message or respond to every comment on this blog.I am busy shopping and at that OLD age of 70 I will be enjoying my retirement not bullying "new comers" who have the guts to post negative information about MSC's. There is nothing to
"learn" about posting on this blog .Your so called associations do not work.It is free will and I will post what I think.Shady MSC's crop up every day and shoppers do get scammed . Go ahead and bury your head in the sand. Your perception is your reality not mine.

Hey Picky - I'm so sorry I haven't been latching on to every post this week. My summer vacation is over and I'm pretty busy. I sure hate to let some comments go by without jumping on them, but can't figure out how to work and hang on the board at the same time. The board is a lot of fun and I love to be able to read everything. There's a bunch of stuff on here right now I haven't had time to look over, so I'm going to have a fun time catching up whenever I get a break. I know you are anxious to have all the details about what I'm up to. Well, I've been hitting those jobs like a crazy woman. I had a ton of them scheduled for September and I'm chipping away at them. I can tell from your post that you feel bad I am still working, and you think a person in their seventies should be retired and at home. That's a great idea but I can't make it work. I have retired four times and I'm no good at it. I'm doing my best to write a one paragraph post like you do so we can feel closer and deepen our relationship. I don't know what it is about me that irritates people so much, but it seems to be one of my dominant skills and I am going to work on being a nicer person whenever I get around to it. I think I may need to quit telling people what I think of them even though I try to do it in a subtle and fun way. It seems that so many do not appreciate my sense of humor combined with rather cutting remarks about the many fun and unique posts which appear on the forum. We all have our points of view, right? I mean, you are not here to learn anything right? That's what I understand from the post above - that you are not interested in anything that the experienced shoppers have to say and you just want to find out which companies are the bad companies. Well Picky, if you don't find out from the experienced shoppers who are you hoping will tell you about this. Somebody who never shopped, I guess. But wait, Picky, they would probably not be on this forum, would they? If you are looking for someone who has never shopped to tell you which company to not shop for, maybe you need to be on the Not Shop Forum But Just Free and Useless Advice. I am so sorry that you feel that you cannot deal with what happens when you post something that gets somebody's back up and then you think you've been bullied because everybody doesn't say Oh My Picky you are absolutely right and we have been doing this all wrong, and aren't we lucky now that you're here and you can put us on the straight and narrow. Well, I can certainly tell you Picky that I hang on your every word just as you hang on my every word and I appreciate your positive contributions so much but I just can't find them yet and when I do I'm going to appreciate them. Thank you so much for trying to help me out and for your thoughtful and kind comments and you keep'em coming, please, because I am a real fragile old woman and I need a lot of help, especially from you, so I hope you can bear up to the burden. Please keep in touch and I am so happy that you are here with us to tell us exactly what to do because obviously we don't have a clue or two. And don't you ever let anybody criticise you for not writing in paragraphs. See, this is not in paragraphs and I'm sure it is completely comprehensible, don't you agree. I am so happy you have taught me a new way to write. Thank you so very much. More later.

Silly me. I thought when a poster comes on and asks for advice, that is what they want. Apparently it is not wanted and uncalled for. Now I can spend more time making money, yippee! I also don't have to waste my time lying about a bunch of companies that really haven't paid me just so others will be tricked into working for them.

BTW, this isn't a blog. It is a professional forum made up of professional mystery shoppers. Did ya notice the "professional" part of that statement.

picky shopper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BULLYING does not work for me.Cannot you not tell
> am cut from a different cloth.


Sorry to inform you, but you are being very stereotypical with this comment. We are all woven and cut from the cloth of those willing to take on mystery shops, so it's hard to distinguish what makes you special.... outside of the poor paragraph structure.

Why is it so hard to believe that the perception of a vast majority of people may be accurate? Wouldn't an open mind be able to accept that?

(edit for confusing typo)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/11/2012 04:01PM by SteveSoCal.

Breathe, picky. Breathe.


picky shopper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BULLYING does not work for me.Cannot you not tell
> am cut from a different cloth. As you so stated my
> posts reflect a nut job who reads this posts to
> know which MSC's to avoid and completely ignore so
> called "experienced shoppers" with their uncalled
> for and unwanted advice. The mind is like a
> parachute it works best when it is open. By the
> way am not 70 or any where near that guess that is
> why I do not latch on to every message or respond
> to every comment on this blog.I am busy shopping
> and at that OLD age of 70 I will be enjoying my
> retirement not bullying "new comers" who have the
> guts to post negative information about MSC's.
> There is nothing to
> "learn" about posting on this blog .Your so
> called associations do not work.It is free will
> and I will post what I think.Shady MSC's crop up
> every day and shoppers do get scammed . Go ahead
> and bury your head in the sand. Your perception is
> your reality not mine.

Personal to Mary....thanks for again starting my morning with a laugh......many thanks. Today (for those that care Picky),
I'm doing a yoga place, apartment, eye Dr's appt. to prepare for surgery next week, drops up the gazoo. Although your post was yours, and your entitled to it, I tried to help, only to be called a bully. Put your big boy pants on if you want to continue msing, and do open your mind to learn and grow, sensitivity is sweet, but being open minded better. Listen to Mary, she can be your
Mentor, us 70 somethings have a lot to give...oh, my favorite saying comes to mind, "Youth is wasted on the young".

When you seek advice, be prepared to take both the good and the bad.....life isn't one way.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/11/2012 04:12PM by Irene_L.A..

Good luck on your eye surgery, Irene.

Great post, Mary, and good point about writing in one paragraph (even though reading your paragraph literally gave me a headache but that was the point).

As I was saying............


picky shopper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BULLYING does not work for me.Cannot you not tell
> am cut from a different cloth. As you so stated my
> posts reflect a nut job who reads this posts to
> know which MSC's to avoid and completely ignore so
> called "experienced shoppers" with their uncalled
> for and unwanted advice. The mind is like a
> parachute it works best when it is open. By the
> way am not 70 or any where near that guess that is
> why I do not latch on to every message or respond
> to every comment on this blog.I am busy shopping
> and at that OLD age of 70 I will be enjoying my
> retirement not bullying "new comers" who have the
> guts to post negative information about MSC's.
> There is nothing to
> "learn" about posting on this blog .Your so
> called associations do not work.It is free will
> and I will post what I think.Shady MSC's crop up
> every day and shoppers do get scammed . Go ahead
> and bury your head in the sand. Your perception is
> your reality not mine.

picky shopper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ...Cannot you not tell am cut from a different cloth.

The cloth you are cut from must be scratchy and too tight. That would explain a lot.

Apart from the like/unlike buttons I wish we had some feature that enables us to attach docs/insert graphics, etc to our posts. That could come really helpful when a shopper feels it necessary to not only describe but also illustrate a concrete example from personal experience or to demonstrate a fact one is trying to discuss/ bring across to the community.


Irene_L.A. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I would not like to change the forum for a few
> that choose not to punch it out with their
> schedulers/editors. The freedom of speech we have
> here is priceless, let's not change. Adding an
> unlike button is enough, if we don't answer an
> uncalled for rant, and just hit unlike, they will
> get the hint. There could be on the stickys a
> thread for newcomers with rants to read before
> posting. We privately know the good MSC's without
> need to defend. I get caught up as well, but no
> longer. Perhaps we should encourage the MSC's to
> read the forum and defend themselves, as Sentry
> does.

Keeping my resolution.

Not responding to the nonsense.

Biting my tongue, hard.

There may be freedom of speech in America but this isn't America here its the internet! You may have a god given right and a right from the American constitution for free speech but on the internet those rights are governed by the "rules of the herd". I never will get over the shame I feel for my fellow Americans as I watch them brazenly stomp all over peoples right to free speech in these internet forums.

Interesting analogy, but not entirely correct. We are still not allowed to shout "Fire" in a crowded theater and neither libel nor slander has ever been protected speech. The anonymity of the internet has resulted in a plethora of lies.

Lisa, I loved your verbage.

Anyone can post anything. Freedom of speech lets me post that I don't like what they posted, and to make suggestions about different ways of thinking about things. Freedom of speech lets others jump in there and support the person I disagree with. Just because I disagree with someone doesn't mean I've interfered with their freedom of speech. It means I've exercised my own freedom of speech. We should all exercise it. You know what they say: Use it or lose it.

It's not fair and it's not ethical for anyone to come on the forum and bash MSCs over disputes that should have been settled privately. It's also not smart if a person aspires to earn money mystery shopping. I want to quote my brother quoting John Wayne: "Life is hard, and it's harder if you're stupid."

A lot of posters on the forum try to help new shoppers understand what went wrong when they have a problem. Some want to learn and some just want to rant and rave and rage and run down the companies they don't like. I say settle it with the company or let it go and move on. I want to quote my brother quoting John Wayne: "Life is hard, and it's harder if you're stupid."

I so love the John Wayne quote, Mary! I may have to steal that as my new sig line.

Shopgal, you're welcome to it. It's a family favorite.

I'm astonished that no one has mentioned MF yet.

Mary, I may disagree, I think life could possibly be easier if your stupid, what you don't know won't hurt you, and my dumb friends seem to have things easier than I, who disect's everything and trys to make the puzzle (of life) fit into my everyday stuff.....

MF is not my favorite (the opposite), although it does have plenty of low paying jobs.

True, Irene, sometimes ignorance truly IS bliss.