I used to do a lot of shops for THE fast food company; the one with the drive-thru and walk-in. Last August I had several shops set up and the MSC sent me an e-mail that all had been cancelled. After that, I know longer received the availability to sign up for those shops; they didn't even show up anymore. I asked a couple of times what had happened, but was never given an answer. Until reading some of the discussions on this site, I thought maybe that MSC no longer did them, but from discussions on here I think they still do them. Can anyone tell me what might have happened? I never got negative feedback on these shops and was always paid. Thanks.

Maybe a different MSC got this client.

Sounds like you were dumped from that client. Could be you got ID'd, gave a negative report, had longer timings than optimal, or just reached the limit on allowable shops. The MSC doesn't have to tell you and they probably won't. They seem to think every one of their decisions regarding ICs is a matter of national security.

Did you accidentally decline all shops? I thought I declined another type of shop but they said I selected the fast food one. Maybe I did or maybe there was a glitch in the code that pulled the wrong ones out.

What about them wanting a fresh shopper?

Some don't want us to become stale. Same shopper. Same client. You know.....

Thanks for your input. You could all be right!! lol

I had this happen to me with Wingstop. I shopped the only one near me about 6 times in 8 months (they only came up once a month that I ever saw). I have not seen it for about 4 months now but it still appears on my daughter's list. I didn't bother asking why this happened because I know they won't tell me. Maybe I reached my lifetime limit for them....LOL.

Awww Wingstop...YUM. Haven't heard of those since I lived in Texas.

Reading this forum takes me on a trip across memory lane from places I lived and the good food there. Lol.

Wingstop! Did someone say Wingstop? Lol. I love them but not the locations near me. I'd love to know who shops them...might save me some money lol

LisaSTL Wrote:
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> Sounds like you were dumped from that client.
> Could be you got ID'd, gave a negative report, had
> longer timings than optimal, or just reached the
> limit on allowable shops. The MSC doesn't have to
> tell you and they probably won't. They seem to
> think every one of their decisions regarding ICs
> is a matter of national security.

--------------------------------


Why would a negative report cause you to be removed from list of eligible shoppers? Is this something we should avoid doing? Pointing out bad employees or discriminating on the cleanliness of the store too much or what?

Early on, I made a comment about the shops that I didn't like. It was a rookie mistake, I suppose. I asked a question and expressed frustration with the answer. By expressing frustration, they removed me from all of those shops.

Several months later, I saw people talking about them and I asked a scheduler if I could have one. I don't remember if it was on the phone or via their help desk. Regardless, it was confirmed that they removed me from those shops because I had expressed frustration. I simply asked to be re-instated and they did. I've been shopping that client now for at least a few years. I'm still fatter than I should be as a result, by the way.

So, it could be that you were ID'ed. Or you could have been deactivated for another reason. You could always asked to be reinstated for that particular client and see what they say.

dbcoop, my list of possibilities was just off the top of my head and designed to point out the MSC appears to deactivate without rhyme or reason.

dbcoop Wrote:
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> Why would a negative report cause you to be
> removed from list of eligible shoppers? Is this
> something we should avoid doing? Pointing out bad
> employees or discriminating on the cleanliness of
> the store too much or what?


A negative report alone should not get you removed from a list of eligible shoppers. But a negative report without good explanations or without objectivity might.

As an example, when you turn in a report to a MSC, an editor edits it. I'm proud of my reports and I'm pretty sensitive when the editors edit me. If they give me a 10 (maybe a 9 if the MSC has a rep as a "hard-grader", I don't really care if they explain the rating to me. But if I were to get an 8 - or, gasp! lower - I would want very detailed explanations of anything that lowered my grade. And if I believed the explanations were subjective or incorrect, I might think about arguing. Reading on the forum, there are plenty of complaints from shoppers who don't like being graded when the grade is not great and want to dispute the grade the editor has given. Managers of the places we shop are just like that. A less-than-perfect score can cost them a promotion, a bonus, a good grade on a performance evaluation, or even just upset them, so if a report does not completely explain negatives, with no emotion or subjectivity, giving details, many will argue. Because the MSC wants to avoid arguments after they submit reports to the client, they are ultra-sensitive to negative reports.

Does this mean we should not write bad reports? No. It means we should write honest reports, whether they are bad or good, but we should keep in mind that a negative report is much, much harder to write than a good report because we have to paint a picture that will be understood by the MSC and the client. I've written a lot of negative reports (and I HATE to write negative reports, it totally annoys me) and I have never had one refused by an MSC and I have not been blocked from any clients after writing a negative. But they are much, much harder to write. And, if the MSC is one with a very simple, fast report, it is very difficult to get across objective explanations of a bad report because there simply isn't enough narrative. Keep in mind, if the report is negative, be very, VERY sure that everything in the report is absolutely correct - your timings, what you did, what you said - because the manager may very well pull the video and watch your shop.

Personally, on the report grading... as long as I'm eligible to take more shops and I get paid on the shop I'm not particularly concerned with my grade. Most of the time, the grade requirement is just to weed out either shoppers new to a company or particularly sloppy shoppers who get 7 and below on a regular basis.

Steri rates everything 5 stars unless you goof, right?

I was "dumped" from these fast food shops after sending in a report stating I did not like a certain chicken sandwich. The reason I gave was "it was dry." It was 2 years before I was able to get the restriction from these shops lifted. During the burger wars of late last year, some of the shops were paying $70. I will use my shop fees for a gym membership.