1. I completed 8 shops yesterday. Two for Gfk. I also completed six shops for Gfk a couple of days ago.

2. I went to the mall location, took a photo of the entrance I used to get in. Before doing so, I Geoverified my location. I completed the onsite portion of the shop. I went back out to my van and did the online report and uploaded the photos. One photo of the business card and one of the mall entrance. According to shop guidelines, the mall doesn't allow picture taking while inside. So, I couldn't take a picture of the kioske I visited.

After doing the first shop, I repeated the same process, since my second shop was in the same mall. The only difference was instead of uploading a business card, I uploaded a brochure that the associate wrote his name and phone number on. I fully completed the two shops before leaving the parking lot and felt good for doing it. I did do a second Geoverify, and photo of the entrance at a slightly different angle, so as not to jeapordize my shop with duplicate photos, or information. Now I was on to the next 75 miles and six shops that were not related to Gfk.

3. My workday and family time took me well into the early morning hours. At approximately 3:40 AM I decided to look at my email inbox for the last time of my day. I found four emails from the "Proofer" of Gfk indicating I needed to correct the wrong photos I submitted at "item 9.01u." I immediately considered my fault and went to my "Shop Log." Two of the eight total shops I did for Gfk in the past couple of days had an annotation in the "Reviewer Comment." The annotations were exactly as the emails. I re-opened the shop and found the two different photos I took of the mall entrance. At that point I went back to my email inbox and sent a reply to the Proofer indicating why I took the photos of the mall entrance and not of the store inside the mall. My reply was factual only, and carried no emotion with it. I also used the email messaging system attached to the shop: "Help/Contact." This was to let my scheduler know I was on top of the photo issue and could he let me know how to rectify the issue.

I sent my reply to the scheduler within a couple of minutes of the Proofer's email to me. My reply to the Proofer was timestamped at 3:47 AM, which was one minute of the last email was sent to my inbox. Within 5 minutes my inbox was slammed with so many emails telling me the same thing over, and over. It was the exact same email I received from the Proofer. It would not stop coming.

4. I took a "Screen Shot" of my computer using the "Function Key+prt sc" to attach what I was seeing in an email to the scheduler for the shop. I showed how the only email on the whole page of "Old Mail" was the Proofer's email to me. The email to the scheduler gave a run-down of what happened in the past few minutes. It also included the exact view of what I was seeing on my computer monitor. All Proofer emails! Totally jammed up my email box.

5. This morning at 9:00 AM I found two automated emails from Gfk letting me know: "There is no need for your to visit this location." The two shops had been cancelled. I sent another email to the scheduler about this. It looks as though I had never done the shops and they were cancelled due to my lack of responsibility in fulfilling my obligation. I haven't received an type of insight as to why the shops are no longer mine! I expect maybe a reply after the weekend.

Hence my question: "Has anyone completed shops with GfK and had it canceled after the submission?"

Not yet, but now I might be expecting it to happen. You did the right thing by letting the scheduler know. I've found GFK to be a company where it can be absolutely useless dealing with the "proofer" and the scheduler can and will straighten it out for you. It may to do with the proofers being located in the Philippines.

The repeated emails may have been an emailing glitch. I had someone I know send me an email once and I got 18 copies of it before they stopped coming. I know she didn't hit "send" 18 times.

Doesn't explain the canceled shops, but if their email system was blowing up maybe they never got your replies. Hopefully the scheduler can help you.

M Monty - I had a similar experience with these assignments. Instructions stated that either a business card or photo was acceptable, and there was only space allotted for one of them, so for a couple of mine I uploaded the photo rather than the business card. Got a similar email as yours asking for the card instead, which I immediately sent. (Never did find out why they offered an either/or option, then rejected the shops for the "or" - but that is a side bar and is partly why I ended up deactivating myself with them) For the next few days, I kept getting the same email over and over again, and each time I sent another copy of the business cards with no action from the editor. This continued until the shops were ultimately canceled and payment was withheld. The scheduler (Melissa Gaye) had assured me at first that she was taking care of it but she stopped responding as well, so I emailed Donna Goodwin instead, who got it straightened out for me. If your scheduler is not responding or assisting you, try reaching out to Donna instead - she is great to work with. Hope you get it figured out!!

M Monty, did you get this straightened out? In my view, since you completed the shops and submitted them before the cancellation emails went out, they should honor your reports and pay you for your time. Even if the client cancelled the shops, GfK and/or the client should eat the cost as you did what was required within the timeframe alloted, before any cancallation notices were sent. Even if you'd done the reports but not submitted, I personally feel they should honor it because it's your time that was wasted by their lack of notifying you in a timely manner.

As for the repeated emails that clogged your inbox, my guess would also be a computer glitch. Probably something to do with GfK's email server.

Hello AlwaysAngie,

I haven't yet received a response concerning my problem. I will give it until later this evening before sending another email to the scheduler. I believe as you do about being paid. I completed the shops, and my "Shop Log" even showed it as complete. The rest is a mystery to me, but I will inform everyone about the outcome. The email issue could have been a glitch. I would not want to think the Proofer was just being petty, but you never know! Thanks for listening and replying.


AlwaysAngie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> M Monty, did you get this straightened out? In my
> view, since you completed the shops and submitted
> them before the cancellation emails went out, they
> should honor your reports and pay you for your
> time. Even if the client cancelled the shops, GfK
> and/or the client should eat the cost as you did
> what was required within the timeframe alloted,
> before any cancallation notices were sent. Even if
> you'd done the reports but not submitted, I
> personally feel they should honor it because it's
> your time that was wasted by their lack of
> notifying you in a timely manner.
>
> As for the repeated emails that clogged your
> inbox, my guess would also be a computer glitch.
> Probably something to do with GfK's email server.

Just an update about my post concerning the shops that I lost from Gfk. I did sent two more emails to the scheduler about my issue. I have not received a response. I consider this an important issue. I lost money! To have driven fifty plus miles and lose two $11 shops which were done correctly, is a rip-off! I count myself fortunate that I had two other shops in the area to do for another mystery shopping company. So, for the hour and fifteen minutes I was in that town I would have made $42, which would have justified the trip cost.

The mystery shopping companies always threaten us with non-payment for the smallest of infractions. Why can't we be respected with at least the criterior we are held to abide by? Make yourself available for 24-48 hours after the completion of a shop in the event the reviewer needs clarification. How do we get our clarification?

I am getting the feeling of being used. Since I started shopping last Feb. I have done nearly 400 shops. I have only had a scant few issues that are not even worth complaining about. Unfortunately the only complaints I have is to do with non-communication from schedulers, or mystery shopping company reps. It is my intention to start a separate thread about my Measure Consumer Perspective (MCP) issue. Stay tuned! I am on a roll!

Monty,

I do try to read this forum as often as I can to check up on how my schedulers are doing and what's going on. I see that this is sort of an old post and I apologize for that (as you can see my often sometimes isn't too often ), but I just want to know that this did get sorted out. So, did it?

Thanks!
Donna

Donna Goodwin
Scheduling Manager | GfK Mystery Shopping | Consumer Experiences North America
GfK Custom Research, LLC | 401 Park Avenue South, 8th Floor | New York, NY 10016
donna.goodwin@gfk.com
Mystery Shopping Website: www.gfkmysteryshops.com

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