What does it mean to be deactivated?

I've noticed with some companies I've signed up that I've been deactivated. I don't know why they do this. Unless I've done something wrong, I don't see how this practice helps them get more shops done. Even if a shopper is not active with a company, how would deactivating a shopper help improve the situation? Can anyone shed some light on this? It seems a little discouraging to me, and maybe not the best way to start off a new business relationship, but maybe they don't care. I don't know.

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 Deactivation

When deactivating you, a company is ending the business relationship between you rather than starting a new business relationship. All companies have their own reasons for deactivating a shopper. Without knowing the names of the particular companies that have deactivated you, it wouldn't be possible to shed any light on their reasons. Even knowing which companies, we probably wouldn't have a clue as to the particular reason you personally might have been deactivated.

It's odd that you would have been deactivated by multiple companies. Deactivation is not tremendously common. Having shopped since 2008, I have been deactivated by only one company thus far - as a result of my comments on this forum about the company.

I've been shopping almost full-time for 6 years and have not been deactivated. There are some companies I cannot shop as they know I'm the shopper but that's about it. However, expecting deactivation from Market Force at any time for no known reason...

I also find it puzzling that you were deactivated by multiple companies. I have been deactivated by one company, and I was advised that it was going to happen, and why. I'm not an active shopper with numerous MSCs, and there are MSCs I've been signed with for years, and have yet to shop with them. That hasn't led to deactivation. Have you shopped with any of the MSCs that have deactivated you ~ if so, were there any problems?

I was deactivated by a company that I had signed up with but never performed a shop for them. I've been told that it is good to periodically log on to your account and update your profile even if there are no changes. I guess that lets the MSC know you are still interested.

I think the OP should give us the names of the MSCs, NOT the client names. The seasoned shoppers may be able to shed more light on the situation. It does seem weird that the OP would be deactivated from multiple MSCs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.”
~ Jimi Hendrix

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” ~ Mark Twain

“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” ~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

I think that useful information would be: name of MSC, how long you've been signed up for them, how long since you did an assignment for them.

Intellishop, GFK, and maybe a third company have deactivated me. I'm not sure if there's a third one. (I didn't think I would need to keep track of deactivations when setting up my spreadsheets.)

With Intellishop, and GFK I haven't done shops for either one of them, and in both cases, they have a test for shoppers to take after sign up of which I've skipped in order to browse the job board a couple of times to see what they have to offer. (I'm also weary of taking any test of which I have not been given the opportunity to study or prepare for.) So the only reason I can think of as to why they deactivated me was because I didn't take their test, and apply for shops immediately after creating my account. Though I think it's hardly fair to treat new shoppers like that. I didn't know I was doing anything wrong.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/2013 10:03PM by Snoopy4678.

Usually, those tests that you mentioned are a part of the approval process to be a shopper with them. So probably since you skipped them, they figured you weren't really interested enough in completing the approval process. Just my guess. You COULD ask them but I don't see how that would help. Probably if you re-apply, you can be activated again...assuming you take those tests in a timely fashion.

Are you sure it's an actual test? It may be an extended/detailed profile or validation of some sort. For one MSC, after I got the basic approval, I had to submit a written sample and get a second approval before I was considered a full shopper.

Even if it is a basic new member test, they are usually pretty easy to pass after you have been shopping for a while. I just accidentally took the test without reading all of the study materials (that will teach me to stop trying to take tests on my phone instead of my computer) and passed with a 96%. Most of the questions were general MSC questions ("What do you do if you walk into a store and see your friend is an employee?", "Can you submit reports late?", "Can you fabricate reports?", etc).

Like the others I think they decided you were not serious when you didn't sit the tests. The companies that I signed up with that had a test it was part of being accepted as a shopper. I'm thinking that since you didn't sit the tests you were never accepted as a shopper.

Both companies that you mentioned use SASSIE - Is it possible that your Internet service provider is kicking out emails from them as spam? If this happens several times, the MSC will deactivate you. Are you signed up with other MSCs that use SASSIE that you have not been deactivated from?

I was deactivated by MarketForce, STN, and Gapbuster due to inactivity when I stopped shopping for a year due to an illness. When I started shopping again in 2013 I contacted the MF and STN help desks and they re-instated me with no problem. I never bothered with Gapbuster.

Well, when I log into the shop board on GFK there is a place where it says "there are 8 tests available for you in the shopping testing center". When I look at the jobs, I see where some say auditor pre-qualification is required, and where others do not have this requirement leading me to think you don't need to test until you are ready to perform a particular type of shop with them. When I log into Intellishop, I'm taken to a screen that says "Test: Intro Shopper" with the options of "Take Test" or "Take Later" implying to me that taking it later would be an option, which is the link I click on to then navigate to the job board. So my guess is that these are tests. However, in both cases, no where have I seen that you must take tests XYZ before such and such date, or face deactivation. Only that the tests must be taken before performing shops or certain types of shops.

As for thinking I'm not a serious shopper, if that's the case, I'm still at a lost as to how deactivating me benefits them in any way. I can still do as much as I could before deactivation (with exception of applying for shops). So really, what have they gained here? I had every bit of intention of doing a good job for them, but with a deactivation, how can I?

It just doesn't make any sense to me.

Why are you "afraid" to take a basic shopper test? If it will open doors for you, take as many tests that are available. I have taken tests and passed only to find out that they don't have any of those shops in my area. But then when I plan a route or a road trip, I have already passed the test and can grab the shop while traveling.

TowerOrchard Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are you signed up with other MSCs that use
> SASSIE that you have not been deactivated from?

Yes, there are several other SASSIE companies that I am signed up with that have not deactivated me. So I don't think it's a problem with the internet service provider.

Getting reactivated could be as simple as contacting them, and asking to be reactivated. However, I still can not understand why they would want to discourage or prevent any desirable shopper behavior such as logging in, taking the tests, and doing the shops. If you've deactivated me, you've discouraged me from logging in, discouraged me from taking the tests, and prevented me from doing the shops. Maybe the point here is to get me to email them to ask for reactivation, but even still, I would think surely there has to be better ways to communicate than this.

Shop2LiveinFL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why are you "afraid" to take a basic shopper test?

Without looking more into what a particular tests entails, I'm afraid I might fail it, and not be given a second chance. So it's not a matter of me not wanting doors to open up. It's a matter of me not wanting them to be permanently slammed shut. Some tests I believe only allow for a certain number of attempts.

I believe most tests allow you to take them a total of three times. Varies per MSC and client. Some tests will tell you which question(s) you got wrong and since most of them are multiple choice, it is pretty easy to choose the correct answer within three attempts.

And as far as I know, they don't deactivate you for not passing a test. You may not be eligible for a particular shop for a certain time period but you can almost always retake the test at a future date.

Shop2LiveinFL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I believe most tests allow you to take them a
> total of three times...
> And as far as I know, they don't deactivate you
> for not passing a test.

I think you are right. I just didn't realize they can and do deactivate people for not taking tests within what I'll call the "invisible deadline", if that's the case. (I call it the invisible deadline because it's the deadline you don't see coming.)

I received an email from a company I had signed up with maybe two weeks earlier - not Service Check, I don't think, but a name similar to that. It said they did not need shoppers (or perhaps it was shoppers in my demographic ) in my area, and so were removing me from their database. It was odd and a little annoying (after all, I did take the time and effort to fill out their app), but I didn't have any kind of relationship with them, so I knew it wasn't personal.

There was one place that deactivated me after my emails started bouncing (I stopped shopping for 6-7 years when my kids were little...deactivated myself in many cases, but forgot in some others). I emailed and was reactivated nearly instantly.

Of course, there was one other place where I deactivated in the same manner, who hasn't responded to my email about the issue - will write them again after the new year to make sure I didn't just get lost in the shuffle.

"I would think surely there has to be better ways to communicate than this."

Email them and ask them. You are not communicating until you do. You've been given some excellent advice from your fellow shoppers.

I understand that it may not be anything personal, and that I have a responsibility to communicate with the company or companies if I want to resolve anything. I just think it's odd that a company would deactivate a shopper for inactivity if there were no benefit in doing so. If it were for misconduct, I could see that, but just for inactivity, I don't understand that. I don't see any benefit in it.

Either way, I think this will work itself out. This will get resolved when I kindly ask them to reactivate me, or what I need to do in order to get reactivated, and it won't be that big of a deal, or they'll provide me with no means of getting reactivated, and I'll just work for other companies. There are many to choose from, and this is precisely why I hadn't been more active with them since signing up in the first place. (I was busy learning about, and working for the many other companies that are out there.)

Snoopy4678 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've noticed with some companies I've signed up
> that I've been deactivated. I don't know why they
> do this. Unless I've done something wrong, I don't
> see how this practice helps them get more shops
> done. Even if a shopper is not active with a
> company, how would deactivating a shopper help
> improve the situation? Can anyone shed some light
> on this? It seems a little discouraging to me, and
> maybe not the best way to start off a new business
> relationship, but maybe they don't care. I don't
> know.

If your info is out of date some companies will deactivate you. Usually it is not permanent, though; get in touch with them and ask to be reactivated, or look to see if they did the deactivation as a self deactivation (which you can just reverse).

You're probably right about tests. I just checked my GFK account and found out that I am deactivated. I have not taken their tests or completed any shops since I signed up about a month ago.

Snoopy4678 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Intellishop, GFK, and maybe a third company have
> deactivated me. I'm not sure if there's a third
> one. (I didn't think I would need to keep track of
> deactivations when setting up my spreadsheets.)
>
> With Intellishop, and GFK I haven't done shops for
> either one of them, and in both cases, they have a
> test for shoppers to take after sign up of which
> I've skipped in order to browse the job board a
> couple of times to see what they have to offer.
> (I'm also weary of taking any test of which I have
> not been given the opportunity to study or prepare
> for.) So the only reason I can think of as to why
> they deactivated me was because I didn't take
> their test, and apply for shops immediately after
> creating my account. Though I think it's hardly
> fair to treat new shoppers like that. I didn't
> know I was doing anything wrong.

Snoopy,

If you are deactivated you should find out why. Go into your profile, make sure it is up-to -date. There might be a question near the top and you can check off that you want their emails.

I got deactivated many years ago from a good company. The editor didn't like me questioning her and deactivated me. She got fired. I went to the top in the company. I am still working for the same company and receive a 10 for almost all shops. I have shopped almost 1000 shops for the same company. I've been shopping for almost 8 years.

You have the right to know why you are deactivated. I suggest that you also get MSPA silver certified. Be sure you know how to write an excellent narrative. Write your narrative in WORD and save it. Most companies want a narrative when you sign up. Save one that you receive a 10 on.

A saved narrative from another shop cannot be submitted as written to other MSCs as a sample.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

Holy ICA violation Batman!

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

I've used a previous narrative as a base to go on for a sample, but change all the pertinent details to make it a work of fiction. But at least I have a structure to work with.

Practitioner of the Nerdly Arts.

@bgriffin - ICA violation? Where?

I believe Lisa's post..

Shopper8's advice about using a narrative from an actual shop would be a violation. After a report is submitted the client "owns" that narrative. Video shoppers cannot submit one from an actual shop as a sample to another company for the same reason.

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

What does it mean to be deactivated?

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine