For today's afternoon adventure, I emailed a scheduler about a question within the shop guidelines that I needed clarification on. I had read the guidelines several times in order to make sense of it. My question was brief and to the point of one guideline condition.

I get an email reply 15 minutes later that abruptly said "Just read the guidelines." WHAT???!! Ummm, hello, McFly? I was asking you about something in the guidelines that I already read more than once. If only my laptop had the five-fingers-to-the-face function that I could virtually give to this scheduler.

I-yi-yi. Has anyone ever had something happen like this?

Intelllllllll gent schedulers are so intelligent!

Yes, Eric. This happens to me all the time. I will ask a question about the guidelines and then I'll tell the scheduler the day I'm available to shop and I'll get back an email that says something like, "The answer is in the guidelines. What day are you available to shop?" =P

So many times these fingers have typed, "Please read my emails..." and so many times I've deleted them just the same!

Sometimes, I just wonder: Does the scheduler read the guidelines? (the "updated" ones)

I've noticed a new trend with a certain company where the schedulers who are having a hard time filling shops are saying that they had cancellations. I guess that's to make us feel bad so we'll jump on the shops. If it's not true though, it just makes me not want to take the shop.

If I cant get the answer from them, then I dont expect to get "dinged" on it later.

I just emailed a scheduler over the weekend about a receipt upload question (mine had all of my personal info on it). I emailed to ask whether I should a) crop my receipt, b) use a photo of my purchase instead, or c) upload receipt intact and know that they will crop/redact identifying information. I received an email back within minutes. It said "That will be fine." I went with a partially obscured a) and a clear b) to cover my bases since I didn't get the sense that an "I'm sorry, WHICH will be fine?" follow-up email would be welcomed.

You would be surprised how many of those cancellations might be true......

emily.palmer@acloserlook Wrote:
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> You would be surprised how many of those
> cancellations might be true......

It all depends on the type and tone of the email. If I receive a relatively personalized email from a scheduler that is looking to fill one or two shops that are in my immediate vicinity, I'd probably believe the cancellations line.

However, there are companies that send out blanket emails offering multiple shops all across the country stating "We had a lot of cancellations, help us fill these!" every month. I believe these about as much as I believe TV ads that end with "I'm Candidate XYZ and I approve this message".

I actually don't have a problem believing mass cancellations month after month. Many shoppers have a tendency to flake anyway. When shoppers get assigned shops and THEN find out that the shops are misrepresented or the shops pay way too little for the amount of work required, more shoppers cancel.

When an MSC regularly emails about mass cancellations, it usually means there is something wrong with the MSC, the shops, or how the MSC is run (such as not having a good shopper database). Unless I canceled one of those shops or otherwise contributed to the problem, I am not responsible and don't feel guilty. I may sympathize or not, but I will not be guilt-tripped into taking a shop.

emily.palmer@acloserlook Wrote:
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> You would be surprised how many of those
> cancellations might be true......


-- I checked the job board daily for the one in my town, because I was waiting to apply for it until the due date bumped out to a date that I could actually do it. It never came off the job board, but it was in the list of "cancellations." Same scheduling company different scheduler who is new to an account that I was shopping for the past few months, and the old scheduler could never fill the shops. Now I get weekly emails saying I had cancellations please help. I know people flake, and I know stuff happens, but I'm 99% certain that for both of these schedulers the bulk of these shops they are trying to fill are not from cancellations.

I also get the mass cancellations emails. Sometimes they come with a "please help .. oh please please help" cry ... and the 1 or 2 dollar bonus they offer if we take the shop. If there are really those cancellations the bonuses would be higher.

Schedulers sometimes do not read the requirements. By all means, e-mail them with any questions! It memorializes your inquiry. Save that inquiry until the assignment is edited and paid whether they answer you or not. It will serve you well.

tsk Wrote:
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> I just emailed a scheduler over the weekend about a receipt upload question (mine had all of my
> personal info on it). I emailed to ask whether I should a) crop my receipt, b) use a photo of my
> purchase instead, or c) upload receipt intact and know that they will crop/redact identifying
> information. I received an email back within minutes. It said "That will be fine." I went
> with a partially obscured a) and a clear b) to cover my bases since I didn't get the sense that
> an "I'm sorry, WHICH will be fine?" follow-up email would be welcomed.


I've never had a receipt with ALL my personal information on it, but I don't even like the last four digits of my debit card going out into the ether with my name attached. I simply use the 'erase' feature in my photo editing software... *very* simple & quick... and it just leaves a little white spot which blends right in with the receipt background. I would *absolutely* white out my address and/or phone number, whether they liked it or not. That's NOT the information they're *supposed* to be interested in, anyway.

StormCloud Wrote:
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> I've never had a receipt with ALL my personal
> information on it, but I don't even like the last
> four digits of my debit card going out into the
> ether with my name attached. I simply use the
> 'erase' feature in my photo editing software...
> *very* simple & quick... and it just leaves a
> little white spot which blends right in with the
> receipt background. I would *absolutely* white
> out my address and/or phone number, whether they
> liked it or not. That's NOT the information
> they're *supposed* to be interested in, anyway.

That's what I do, too. Or smear it with a smudge feature. I've never had a MSP complain about it. Plus, I always have the original if they need to see it.

BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz Wrote:
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> Unless I canceled one of those shops or otherwise
> contributed to the problem, I am not responsible
> and don't feel guilty. I may sympathize or not,
> but I will not be guilt-tripped into taking a
> shop.

The first thing that popped into my head made me chuckle. If you called a plumber and said the one you originally booked had cancelled, how guilty would they feel? Would they feel so bad that they would squeeze you into their schedule for less than their normal fee? Many service providers charge additional for emergencies

Thanks to both of you! I have always been hesitant to "mess with" a receipt in any way, but this one had my entire name/address/phone and last 4 of CC number. He had stapled the credit card receipt on top of the detailed receipt so it was already obscured so I just photographed it like that and sent it in. I haven't heard anything (either way) so I'm hoping all is well. Going forward I will blur it out and keep an original scan and the original receipt just in case.
Jamiesan Wrote:
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> StormCloud Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > I've never had a receipt with ALL my personal
> > information on it, but I don't even like the
> last
> > four digits of my debit card going out into the
> > ether with my name attached. I simply use the
> > 'erase' feature in my photo editing software...
> > *very* simple & quick... and it just leaves a
> > little white spot which blends right in with
> the
> > receipt background. I would *absolutely* white
> > out my address and/or phone number, whether
> they
> > liked it or not. That's NOT the information
> > they're *supposed* to be interested in, anyway.
>
> That's what I do, too. Or smear it with a smudge
> feature. I've never had a MSP complain about it.
> Plus, I always have the original if they need to
> see it.

One time I had an editor email me for clarification on something. I completely could not understand what they were looking for in their question as I felt it was all covered in the report. I emailed back trying to figure out what they were looking for, and the response was to send the original email question in ALL CAPS. I'm not sure how that was supposed to help.

Shelly Wrote:
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> One time I had an editor email me for
> clarification on something. I completely could not
> understand what they were looking for in their
> question as I felt it was all covered in the
> report. I emailed back trying to figure out what
> they were looking for, and the response was to
> send the original email question in ALL CAPS. I'm
> not sure how that was supposed to help.


Ooh, that would tick me off. My boss sometimes sends me emails with no background and ambiguously worded so that I have no idea what this relates to and what she wants. That your editor repeated herself in all caps was really unprofessional IMO.

Shelly Wrote:
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> One time I had an editor email me for
> clarification on something. I completely could not
> understand what they were looking for in their
> question as I felt it was all covered in the
> report. I emailed back trying to figure out what
> they were looking for, and the response was to
> send the original email question in ALL CAPS. I'm
> not sure how that was supposed to help.

That possibly helped the editor feel superior but that was about it.

For months I've gotten the same email for a shop that says "BRAND NEW SHOP". Really? How long is something brand new?

AndrewTX Wrote:
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> For months I've gotten the same email for a shop
> that says "BRAND NEW SHOP". Really? How long is
> something brand new?


--
I think I keep getting that same thing! I laugh every time I see it. If it's the same shop, there is no way I'm ever doing it again. It took four months to make those people stop calling me back!

@ Storm...can I ask what kind of editing program you use that you can white that info out on a receipt once you take the photo/scan the receipt? That sounds interesting. Then you aren't messing with the original receipt. Hmmm

Hey Cindy!

I've been using Adobe Photoshop Elements. It scans my receipts and then I can 'erase' that little tiny part, and then save as jpg. I like this software for scanning, because I can preview the scan before actually scanning it. Without previewing, for some reason, my scanner will cut off the edges almost right into the printing. And sometimes, if there's a lot of white space after the main body of the receipt, and then a little line or two of stuff at the bottom (usually with all the coding they want), my scanner will just scan the main part and leave off that little line after all the white space. But whatever.

HOWEVER... MSPaint will do the same thing if you've already got your jpg file from whatever source (scanning, taking a photo of the receipt, etc.). I just tested it, even, to make sure! Everyone has Paint, I think? Unless you have an Apple, of course. hee.

For editing receipts, you can use the newest Microsoft Word...I think 2010 will do it to.

As for cancellations/flakes. October honestly was horrible for flakes and cancellations. A peer had one shop scheduled 5 times before her 6th shopper FINALLY got it done.

A shop will be brand new until whoever releases the shops clues into what it says and updates the builder for the shop.

And please excuse us schedulers, most of us work on multiple accounts, and I know that I usually fly through the guidelines at the start of a project, and if the questions never come up, I'll ask you "Is it in the guidelines by chance, I'm not sure and just want to confirm before I ask my manager". So, if you ask me a question about a parking shop, I'll probably have to look it up as I haven't read them since I wrote them in March.

As for my experience with schedulers with this. I don't take their abuse. I one had a scheduler tell me "Read the guidelines, they're in there", my response "How about YOU read them, because it's not.", she then responded an hour later with an answer to my question