There is one MSC that I work for that has the craziest scheduler on the planet, and it's honestly an amazement to me that she still has a job. I sent her a message that said, "I just realized the Pizza Luche I'm at isn't technically Lyndale. Is there a Richfield pizza luche off 66th st?" and she sent me a reply back saying, "You keep saying LUNCH but after 4:30 is DINNER?"

I must have read her email four or five times before I finally decided she must be confusing LUCHE with LUNCH. I suppose she was probably reading my email on her phone with small text, but she's been scheduling doing Pizza Luche shops long enough to know that was the name of the restaurant. As if that weren't bad enough, her responses to me are written in Internet slang. The comment from her on my last assignment for helpful hints read, "gOOD THANK YO U" (no transcribing—straight copy and pasting there). While I only have access to more recent shops, her comments prior to that was equally unprofessionally written and ironically had something to say about MY English. I think I LOLed a little bit on that one.

Finally, this MSC doesn't have a job board—only emails—and her email is always one inconsistent mismash of crazy different colors, different fonts and like items aren't even grouped together. I don't even read the emails half the time because it's next to impossible to decipher what shops are where. There's a whole other list of things that are wrong with her, but bottom line, she drives me nuts! Under most circumstances, I would have dropped this company for all the problems I've had surrounding this scheduler, but it's about the only company I've worked with that not only pays within two weeks, but pays by check, not via PayPal, which takes several days to reach my bank account.

Anyone else have schedulers they really want to tell the MSC company about? Or better yet, stories of MSCs that actually got rid of their schedulers after they told the company how incompetent the scheduler was?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/2013 03:49AM by CAscotch.

I'm still shaking my head at "Pizza LUNCH". I swear I've been shaking my head without cessation since I read that email...

Wow, what is the hiring process for these schedulers? She sounds absolutely unprofessional on many levels..

I have no idea who the scheduler is but, IMO, the title of the thread is unjustified. I wonder how you would feel if a scheduler created a thread about you and entitled the thread "Bat**** crazy shopper."

pixie_dust_711 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There is one MSC that I work for that has the
> craziest scheduler on the planet, and it's
> honestly an amazement to me that she still has a
> job. I sent her a message that said, "I just
> realized the Pizza Luche I'm at isn't technically
> Lyndale. Is there a Richfield pizza luche off 66th
> st?" and she sent me a reply back saying, "You
> keep saying LUNCH but after 4:30 is DINNER?"
>
> I must have read her email four or five times
> before I finally decided she must be confusing
> LUCHE with LUNCH. I suppose she was probably
> reading my email on her phone with small text, but
> she's been scheduling doing Pizza Luche shops long
> enough to know that was the name of the

Mmmm. It was possible that she was confused because you wrote "Pizza Luche" instead of "Pizza Lucé." If she schedules both lunch and dinner pizza shops, her confusion was understandable.

There is a Pizza Lucé at 3200 Lyndale Ave S. It looks like you went to the one at 800 W 66th St.

> restaurant. As if that weren't bad enough, her
> responses to me are written in Internet slang. The
> comment from her on my last assignment for helpful
> hints read, "gOOD THANK YO U" (no
> transcribing—straight copy and pasting there).

How on earth was that Internet slang? It looks like she had her Caps Lock key on and made some mistakes. Again, I wonder how you would feel if she pointed out your mistakes in spelling and syntax and characterized you as bat**** crazy as a result.

> While I only have access to more recent shops, her
> comments prior to that was equally
> unprofessionally written and ironically had
> something to say about MY English. I think I LOLed
> a little bit on that one.
>

Irony. Yes, indeed.

> Finally, this MSC doesn't have a job board—only
> emails—and her email is always one inconsistent
> mismash of crazy different colors, different fonts
> and like items aren't even grouped together. I
> don't even read the emails half the time because
> it's next to impossible to decipher what shops are
> where. There's a whole other list of things that
> are wrong with her, but bottom line, she drives me
> nuts! Under most circumstances, I would have
> dropped this company for all the problems I've had
> surrounding this scheduler, but it's about the
> only company I've worked with that not only pays
> within two weeks, but pays by check, not via
> PayPal, which takes several days to reach my bank
> account.
>

I sympathize with your point about crazy fonts, etc. However, I still think you are being way too harsh about the scheduler.

> Anyone else have schedulers they really want to
> tell the MSC company about? Or better yet, stories
> of MSCs that actually got rid of their schedulers
> after they told the company how incompetent the
> scheduler was?

Well, I vented about one independent scheduler who was driving me nuts. Later on in that thread, I identified the company. The scheduling manager read the thread. As far as I know, the scheduler who was driving me (and some other shoppers) nuts is no longer scheduling for that company.

How is a check preferable to PayPal? Just because it takes a couple days to reach your bank, it is far quicker than waiting for a check in the mail.

Pixie, you can get a debit card from Paypal that will enable you to use your money immediately. There would be no need to transfer it to a bank account.

It sounds like you and this scheduler are not a good fit. Part of working anywhere is learning to deal with negatives. If that scheduler reads the forum (good chance), you've already identified yourself as a disgruntled shopper and the scheduler may be unwilling to assign more shops. Appreciate the opportunity to work for the company or give them and yourself a break by moving on.

Pixie_Dust,

By chance, was your email sent via cell phone? Maybe the autocorrect changed it from Luche to Lunch. Autocorrect has done some funky stuff on some of my emails and texts.

It was sent from my phone, but I double checked—it says "Luche" not lunch. Normally I wouldn't single out an individual for being unprofessional, but as mentioned, there was a long string of incidences accompanying those I listed. If an individual wrote a post about me in the same manner, I won't lie, I'd be a little angry at first, but then I'd start to look at the facts and see if it was justified.

The fact of the matter is that being a scheduler, you have to know what you're doing. There's more than just you involved, and if the stress of the job is too much, then perhaps it's time to consider stepping down. I've been faced with several such decisions in other fields and have stepped down when I know my quality of work isn't what it should be.

As for Paypal vs. a check, people have preferences. My preference is a check. That doesn't mean I'm right or wrong. It simply means that I like checks better. I guess subconsciously if feels like more of an accomplishment than money I don't physically get to see and hold like a PayPal transfer. Yes, I can get a PayPal debit card, but that doesn't do me any good when it comes to paying my bills. The point was that the money comes quickly, PayPal or not, which is more than I can say for most MSCs that I've worked with which usually take at least 30 days.


Phoebe70 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Pixie_Dust,
>
> By chance, was your email sent via cell phone?
> Maybe the autocorrect changed it from Luche to
> Lunch. Autocorrect has done some funky stuff on
> some of my emails and texts.

I'm confused. Is the correct name of the restaurant Pizza Luce or Pizza Luche?

AustinMom—it is Luce. I guess that was probably cause of confusion since I was spelling it phonetically. I wrote this thread last night in the heat of the moment and maybe didn't think the post through as well as I should have. Even still, I would think that a scheduler that's had that shop on her list for a good long while would be able to reason that I was writing "Pizza Luce", not "Pizza Lunch", being that "Is there a pizza lunch?" isn't really a logical way to arrange a sentence. Either way, I guess I was in the wrong, too.

I'm sorry you've had problems with this scheduler, but I can honestly say that in two years in this business, I have never encountered anyone like the person you're describing. Most are really nice, and some are heroes to me.

Robinv

Paypal works for paying bills online from Paypal to the creditor. You can also pay in person across the counter using your Paypal card.

I guess I didn't know you could pay bills directly from PayPal, but I imagine the turnaround is probably just as bad as a PayPal-account transfer. It's not that I'm not okay with having PayPal, I just think checks are more rewarding, even though they're the same amount of money. I guess I'm just weird like that.

MDavisnowell Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Paypal works for paying bills online from Paypal
> to the creditor. You can also pay in person
> across the counter using your Paypal card.

I'm just the opposite. I'd much rather have a Paypal deposit or a direct deposit to a bank account. Checks can get lost in the mail and from time to time have disappeared on my desk. I remember one instance in particular that I thought Maritz may not have paid me for a bunch of shops, several hundred dollars worth. I couldn't find any trace of the check on my desk or deposited to my bank account, and all the folders were still in my "pending to be paid" file drawer. That conversation went something like this:

Hello, I don't think I've been paid for the period from XXX to XXX and I need to check with you on that.

OK, hold on and I'll look. Well, yes, Mary, we sent you a check on XXX for XXX.

Did it clear?

Yes, it did.

Is my signature on the back?

Yes, it is.

Does the signature match what I signed on other checks?

Yes, it does.

Did I deposit it or did I cash it?

It looks like you cashed it.

Did I have fun?

We certainly hope so.

Yes - and how many times have we had angry new members post that they were not paid for a shop or shops ...... and then the MSC comes on to tell us they WERE paid and DEPOSITED the check in their account on XXX date. And the poster then realizes they got it and forgot it.....after depositing, of course....

I don't know how some people forget receiving money.. I get maybe forgetting a $5 or $10 cheque but if it's a lumpsum together, I look forward to when the cheque clears..

That is why she or he is scheduler not editor, but that was very funnnnny!!!!

I keep an Excel spreadsheet of all my shops because then I know not only IF I get paid, but when (which tells me how quickly the company pays) and how much I paid versus what the shop actually pays to know if I'm making or losing money. It's useful for determining if certain companies are worth shopping for again. I wouldn't forget receiveing money because of this, and even if I did, I have bank statements that show what I've deposited.

Pixie, I handle payments by pulling out the file folder and sending it to storage. My system broke down when I cashed a check at my bank before pulling the folders. I don't mark my spread sheet whenever I'm paid; instead, my system is to pull the folder.

On the SNAFU I reported above, I later found that check stub and also found that money tucked away.
Very few of my MSCs pay by check. Most of them are set up for automated deposits and I much prefer it.

That's one of my worst fears, when being paid by check: depositing it, forgetting to mark it as paid in my spreadsheet, and then getting upset because I wasn't paid.

Sometimes I'll check the mailbox on my way out of the house, and if I got a check in the mail go deposit it right then. That's when I'm most likely to forget, because I didn't take time to go back inside, fire up my computer, and mark it paid before depositing it.

As for checking your bank statement for deposits afterwards, they usually just show the deposit and amount, not who the check was from. And when you deposit more than one check at a time, the waters get even murkier. It's one of those things that can happen easily.

When I was shopping more or less full time, I liked the paypal payments because I could "recycle" them via the paypal debit for gas shops, then the gas shops would pay by cheque. Now I use paypal payments to shop online.

Have you worked for Intelli-Shop?


robinv Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm sorry you've had problems with this scheduler,
> but I can honestly say that in two years in this
> business, I have never encountered anyone like the
> person you're describing. Most are really nice,
> and some are heroes to me.
>
> Robinv

Unfortunately, this was the first company I ever did mystery shopping with and didn't really know others existed for a good long while. The schedulers are pretty laid back, but the 60+ days it takes for MSS's is beyond ridiculous—especially considering the scope of the company. I would assume that the smaller the company, the more excusable a slow turn around would be, but from my experience, it's usually the opposite.

FLguy65 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Have you worked for Intelli-Shop?
>
>
> robinv Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I'm sorry you've had problems with this
> scheduler,
> > but I can honestly say that in two years in
> this
> > business, I have never encountered anyone like
> the
> > person you're describing. Most are really nice,
> > and some are heroes to me.
> >
> > Robinv

cake... Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sometimes I'll check the mailbox on my way out of
> the house, and if I got a check in the mail go
> deposit it right then. That's when I'm most likely
> to forget, because I didn't take time to go back
> inside, fire up my computer, and mark it paid
> before depositing it.



You could try snapping a photo of it before depositing. I started doing that with the few paper checks I still get just for that purpose!

StormCloud Wrote:

> You could try snapping a photo of it before
> depositing. I started doing that with the few
> paper checks I still get just for that purpose!

That's a good idea. Thankfully my credit union is rolling out mobile deposits this fall, so I won't even have to go to the bank anymore! <happy dance>

AustinMom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes - and how many times have we had angry new
> members post that they were not paid for a shop or
> shops ...... and then the MSC comes on to tell us
> they WERE paid and DEPOSITED the check in their
> account on XXX date. And the poster then realizes
> they got it and forgot it.....after depositing, of
> course....

Oh that was has my personal chagrin all over it. I did try to get payment confirmation from the company, couldn't, and ended up venting on the forum. The company president read it, found I'd been paid, retorted on the forum, and dropped me immediately. I don't blame him. Nor do I miss those shops -- they were always for really bad pizza.

I am also kind of a crazy scheduler. Those of you who work with me already know that. Dawn