canceled due to weather

Had to cancel a shop yesterday due to weather conditions. The assignment was only a 5.00 reimbustment plus small fee-just didn't feel it was worth risking. I have never had to cancel and now I am worried the company is going to frown upon this and not give me more work.
Thoughts, comments?
dee

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

More About Cancelling Assignments

I don't know where you are, but even here in Florida we are aware of the ice storms in MA. I would assume that most any company worth working with has at least some awareness of what the weather is doing around the country. Some of them indicate that you should not put yourself in jeopardy to do a shop.

While I will go out with a rain storm here, I will let them know when we are expecting a hit from a hurricane. Generally a request to reschedule due to bad/dangerous weather is preferable to a straight cancellation.

I have never cancelled a shop due to weather until last Thursday. We had a storm blow through here dumping huge downpours. Roads were closed, people were asked to stay of the road, flood watches, people's cars and houses were taken but the flows. The latter was not near me, but on the island. The part of the island I needed to go to. I wrote to the 3 schedulers and said this, and that I did not feel comfortable doing the shops due to that. I asked to reschedule and everyone did. One, I had only done one shop for previously, but still, she was nice about it and pushed the date. Its still been wet here off and on, more dry today, but more rain due Wed-on. Its tough here right now between the economy and the weather. Billions were lost by many last Thursday due to flood damage.

**********************************************************************
“Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling."
~Gilbert K. Chesterton

I had to get an extention twice this week on shops because of the weather. When I would call my scheduler she was waiting for the call. They watch the weather also and know basically which shops will not be able to be done anywhere in the US. I have never had any problem getting extentions. I don't cancel if I don't have to. If you ask for an extention instead they are very understanding.

I have also sent schedulers emails asking whether they wanted me to postpone or report the shop as 'unable to do because location closed' when the police were doing a drug bust at a gas station I was to shop and when sheet flow after heavy storms had another location under 3' of water. Luckily my local television stations are always anxious to be the first to report the disasters, so by the time I get home there is usually a link at least in the 'Breaking News' section of their website that I can include in the email so they don't think I'm just pulling excuses out of thin air.

I apologize I shouldn't have used the word "cancel" "reschedule" would have been the proper word to use and thats exactly what I did ... reschedule and my scheduler was very understanding and even gave me a new assignment for later in the week....love working for this particular company.
When I e-mailed them to let them know of our weather conditions I also sent a pic of me standing in 4" of snow w/ snow still falling....they loved it.
dee

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/16/2008 11:05PM by msplantladi.

Certainly the way to approach it!

I have had to cancel due to weather conditions. We had power outage, could not use computer either. Company did reschedule for me. Weather conditions are beyond our control, and most companies know this. If you have a company that frowns on that, then thank God, they are not the only shopping company for your survival. That door might close, yes, but God will always open another door. New companies are starting up everyday also. So don't worry, just be happy. smile.

I just rescheduled 3 shops in Rochester for Saturday afternoon. There's snow coming -- 6 inches of it. I think I'll take the 2 delivery pizza shops instead!

Does it make me selfish to reschedule for weather reasons and then take a shop where I don't have to leave the house?

Yes. But hey, maybe they will say they can't deliver. What happens then? Serious inquiry, not faking.

Two pizza delivery shops heavily bonused because they have to be completed by 12/28. We have several inches of snow and another storm coming so should be interesting...........

I spent an hour trying to decide if should reschedule a late afternoon shop because of three inches of ice on the road and 26 degrees outside. The other facter was it had taken me 1 and 1/2 hours to drive a 25 min drive to work. I decided to call and see if it could not be rescheduled and they said if I could not do it they would have to call someone else, then said they would call me back when they decided what to do.

I heard nothing for an over an hour. I decided, as isolated as I live, I was going home in the daylight. If I slide off the road I am stuck and have a long walk home. If I got dropped I got dropped by them but I still felt bad. I finally reached someone and told them I could not do it. It was a different scheduler and seemed to understand more so he rescheduled.

Do they so many shoppers who want to reschedule or cancell on a whim that they suspect the reason if anyone calls. They are really lovey dovey when they want/need a reschedule and then we will call you back when I have a problem and I only call if I have a BIG problem. Oh well all is well, I did not get dropped and I did the shop the next day and will keep doing them if the ice does not get me again.

Deech...I can so relate to the "all lovey dovey" attitudes...down right pisses me off when they want something they are all over you then when the assigment is completed I e-mail them asking a question.....Nothing, no response, can't get them to response and then you are forced to just sit back and wait to see if you are going to get pd.
Grrrr...they aren't all like that thank goodness.
Happ holidays
dee
cedar city ut.

I ended up with the car in a ditch once while out doing shops. Marketforce threatened to deactivate if I reschedule so dummy me went out and did the fool thing. I had my camera and took a photo of the car in the ditch and the wrecker pulling it out. That plus a photocopy of the bill got sent to their headquarters and they're still acting snippy to me.

I advise anyone with the brutal weather we've had to not risk your neck for these diddly shops.

Her Serene Majesty, Cettie - Goat Queen of Zoltar, Sublime Empress of Her Caprine Domain

Cettie so sorry that happened to you, been there done that very scary. Since this is my first winter here i have already had my near scar so I am not going to put myself in danger so i am on MS vacation for now.
Happy Holidays

And another one of those strange anomalies. Companies are looking for shoppers with good judgment and problem solving skills since obviously not all sets of instructions work for all outlets of the client. We do not control what the employees we shop will do, we are there to see and report what they do to an unidentified customer under a specified type of scenario. When you think about it, a whole lot is left to our good judgment, creativity and perceptiveness. If we are trusted with that, one would think we could also be trusted to know when to come in out of the rain or stay in out of dangerous conditions.

The problem is that the companies do not care one farthing about the shopper, they care only about the bottom line and how nicely lined their pockets are. I realize this is business and what it's all about but the problem is we have a human element to factor in and they don't do it. Even a machine in a factory breaks down sometimes and they don't get mad at the machine.

Her Serene Majesty, Cettie - Goat Queen of Zoltar, Sublime Empress of Her Caprine Domain

Cettie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The problem is that the companies do not care one
> farthing about the shopper, they care only about
> the bottom line and how nicely lined their pockets
> are. I realize this is business and what it's all
> about but the problem is we have a human element
> to factor in and they don't do it. Even a machine
> in a factory breaks down sometimes and they don't
> get mad at the machine.

Are you sure about that last part? At the computer companies I worked for they did! :-)

Cetti wrote: "The problem is that the companies do not care one farthing about the shopper, they care only about the bottom line and how nicely lined their pockets are. I realize this is business and what it's all about but the problem is we have a human element to factor in and they don't "

I have found this to very true working w/ alot of corp. companies. But that being said when I ran my own service biz for 17 yrs I felt bad when my employees had personal problems but bottom line I had a biz to run and clients depending on me so I understand both sides.
dee

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

canceled due to weather

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine