I am hoping I can get some good feedback on this one. I had a shop that I was doing for a great deal of time with secretshopper.com. They switched to a mobile device and right off the bat the app was creating some issues (no surprise for a app launch...pretty standard), but I was in contact with schedulers and we got it all worked out. Then all the kinks were worked out and on life went. I continued to do the shop continuously and was getting perfect scores (3 out of 3). Then in April, the shop disappeared, being that this used to be a primary shop of mine I emailed. I was told that the shop was undergoing some adjustments and it would be back in a few months. Great! No problem! Then in the last month I have seen the posting come up for jobslinger, but the shop has been gone when I go into the database. Secretshopper.com shows shops that are already scheduled as well. I am in the interface pretty regularly and look through assigned shops to see what I need to try to snag up...this stores name has not shown up. I started to get suspicious and emailed the coordinator about the shop saying I couldn't see it, I received a email back saying it was assigned, I emailed back asking how come I haven't seen it at all, no response. This was last week, I emailed yesterday by forwarding my last email saying "following up"....crickets...

Today I called and got a woman who seemed very secretive. She seemed like she did not want to give me any information. She first said the shop had been completed and that is why I haven't seen it. Hmmm....nope...I told her I have been in the system on a regular basis and it has NEVER shown up, even when it was posted that it needed to be completed. She then said that the shop has a mobile component which I don't have the ability to complete, I told her that isn't the case and I should have complete ability to do shop since I have the app, then she tells me that there were problems with past shops and I was restricted from the shop. I have my account open and start looking at dates and scores and explain I am confused because I am showing perfect scores with great feedback...where was the issue? I haven't received any issues with my shops, so why was I restricted. She says that the person who restricted me is not in the office today and that they will get in contact with me. I ask for the name and she hesitates and says again that they will get in contact with me...why was she trying to hide who this person is?! So I ask if I can at least leave a voicemail, long pause, and a annoyed sounded yes....

I then go on to leave a voicemail for a Tyler saying I had just spoken with someone and they said I had been restricted and I am trying to figure out what the issue is and how to resolve it as I had received perfect scores on the shops.

I am a little confused...perfect scores...so where is the issue? Why was I restricted? Why wouldn't they tell me if there was a issue and why would they give me perfect scores if there was a issue?

Has anyone had this situation or similar? Does anyone have any advice on to how to resolve this situation?

Thanks in advance!

Hmmmm...very interesting. I can only speculate. Is it possible that you were "outed" as a shopper? Or could you have possibly done so many of the shops that you were restricted so as to get other viewpoints?

This is evidence of yet another reason why shoppers should build variety and not "assume" they have a lock on a particular assignment.

I actually just got another call from them and they said "they have discussed as a team and the restriction will not be lifted".

I went over the facts again calling out success messages and perfect scores. She kept saying the same thing over and over again. I would ask her WHY it cant be lifted, what the issues were. She stated I did not read the instructions and was not able to submit the shop correctly. I would then ask if that is the case, why would I have received a perfect score and shouldn't that have been communicated to me in a manner rather than saying "good job". She would have a long pause...nothing...

I kept asking questions and she wouldn't answer them. She would not give me an example of a shop that was invalidated because my inability to perform the shop correctly and agreed she saw the shops all had perfect scores.

This company used to be amazing! Best one in my books...but they are employeeing people like this!?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/30/2014 06:59AM by mysteryshoppinggurl.

For some reason(s), that sounds like a very bad idea. It might be wiser to wait a week and see what transpires, if anything. It will also enable other experienced forum members to share their experiences and advice, which in the end will allow you to make an informed decision about how best to proceed.

(heart)

I agree...I also have other shops on my docket. But in my research, I am finding it very challenging to locate someone to speak with. I have a strong feeling the coordinator name was the generic female name given...that is not uncommon when working with email or such, they will all use the same fake name to allow person to person to take over the communication if needed.

I am just incredibly peeved by the lack of information being shared...if there was a issue, shouldn't they let me know...especially if it was a issue with checking in on my phone...I would really like to know this so I can solve this and figure it out...but when I receive perfect scores and no issues are brought up...shouldn't I be informed?!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/30/2014 07:00AM by mysteryshoppinggurl.

I agree with Stilllearning. Sit down, relax, have a glass of wine, or some of your favorite adult beverage, and think about this for a week or so. It's obvious from your last post that your emotions are just below the surface, you need time to calm down. I'm not trying to be judgmental here, but your forcing the issue during the call probably did contribute to the rudeness...and admitting that you got a "little heated"...I suspect your voice probably projected some rudeness too.

Overall, it might be best for this to be water over the dam and let it go. Pursuing it could result in other MSCs being told about the problems you have exacerbated with this one particular client. It could cause you more problems in the long run than it's worth.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/2014 09:13PM by James Bond 007.5.

I think you're making a mountain out of a mole hill and assuring you'll never get another gig with this company, mysteryshopgurl. There are hundreds of companies out there that will treat you with respect. Lick your wounds for a day or two and then ... Just. Move. On.

admittedly, I likely do develop a tone, after I ask several questions that get no answers...it still doesn't make any sense...perfect scores...restricted for not doing it correctly...there is something that isn't making a spec of sense....

That is exactly why it is not worth spending your time trying to decipher! Thanksgiving is in two days, mysteryshoppinggurl; time to move on and count your blessings and not dwell on your losses and, in the long run, this might be something for which you are thankful, next year.

(heart)

Mysteryshoppinggurl, if it helps at all, you have every right to feel frustrated and angry. I understand that sometimes we just can't do certain shops any more for a variety of reasons, but to not know why would be frustrating. Then to be told it was because you did something wrong, but not be told what would really make me angry. I think most of us would feel the exact same way. It's so wrong.

That being said, I agree with the others. Just wait it out for now. You're angry - justifiably - but that anger will cloud your judgment.

If you think you can try again in a week or so to get to the bottom of it all without biting off your nose to spite your face, then go for it. Otherwise do what my dogs do when they poop. Kick some dirt over that chit and walk away with your tail held high.

Sorry you had this difficulty, but this is obviously something they don't want to explain. They don't want you to do these anymore, regardless of your performance or scores, so what's the upside of arguing and insisting on a full explanation? What would be the benefit of going over there and having a face to face row? I know you didn't intend to make this worse, but letting it go now would be your best next move.

I think something just feels really off with the entire scenario...why were they so resistant to tell me who restricted me or even let me speak to them to get the reason in the first place. I called today initially and was very calm, thinking maybe there was a issues with my account that could logically be adjusted and boom everything is all fixed, but then I could tell I was starting to get strange answers...finally the girl stated someone had restricted me from those shops but she didn't have the information why. I asked calmly if I could speak to that person and get the information in which they said they were out of the office...fine, I get it...no biggy...anyone else? No?

I think where it gets frustrating is I like to know if I actually did someone wrong so I know to fix it in the future. I like that even when I get a 9 out of 10, there is still information given as to what would have given me a 10 out of 10. We as shoppers are learning and things are constantly evolving...but if you say there was a issue, why would you give me perfect scores? Why not just tell me where the issues are so I can be better next time and thus giving you a better piece to give to the client?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/30/2014 07:01AM by mysteryshoppinggurl.

MDavisnowell Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sorry you had this difficulty, but this is
> obviously something they don't want to explain.
> They don't want you to do these anymore,
> regardless of your performance or scores, so
> what's the upside of arguing and insisting on a
> full explanation? What would be the benefit of
> going over there and having a face to face row? I
> know you didn't intend to make this worse, but
> letting it go now would be your best next move.

I want to add, that I rarely, if ever, contact any of my MSC companies. I don't ask about where my check is because eventually it will come around. (now if it's really late, longer than 90 days I might give a shout out but it usually shows up)... The ONLY time I contact them is: If there is a serious problem with the shop, grossly-off receipt time, no business card given, employee's refusal to give his/her name, when it's required and they are wearing no name tag. )...ANYTHING that could get my shop rejected: Other than that, I don't bother them.

My MAIN point. You are not an employee. You are an indepedant contractor. They are not obligated to tell you WHY they no longer need your services on a particular shop or a whole slew of shops.

They are not required to tell you why they deactivated you or punished you with a low score. It would be "nice" to know but they don't have to tell you anything. From all your back and forth, they clearly, for whatever reason, do NOT want you to perform that particular shop.

Everything and I mean EVERYTHING is all about the "client's interests" If the client contests your report, or you put personal opinions in the report, or you are LATE turning in a report, the client is "dissatisfied" and they likely do not want shopper #32354 performing any more shops for them...

Actually, the "client" is really your employer:-so-to-speak...They are who you bust your ass for, no shopper advocate, editor or scheduler will be the final determination: The "client" will make all determinations.

Have a glass of wine, relax and promise yourself that you will never bother the MSC's again like that, otherwise, you could find your shops and your status GONE.

I notice your blog url in your siggy line. I've never been there ... but is it possible there might be something you posted over there that could have been derogatory, or that revealed some confidential information about one of the shops?

Just a thought.

But I think it has been pretty universal here that it is extremely rare to ever get an explanation of why a shopper has been barred from certain shops or deactivated. They just don't tell us. Period. Plenty of people have been dumped from Market Force without warning, explanation, or any history of flakes or other issues.

I sympathize with the frustration with the runaround. Really I do. But at this point you're beating a dead horse... and the horse doesn't like it.

Move on.

To be honest: If I were deactivated by any MSC I would ask "why" (natural curiosity) but I would have to settle for whatever answer they gave me, whether it be an "honest evaluation" of my performance or a simply "throw me under the bus with no explanation" empty email.

OP, you are obsessing and on the verge of becoming a stalker. MSCs owners, editors and schedulers talk to each other. You are burning bridges here. For the amount of time you have spent on this obsession, you could have registered with many new companies or applied for several new shops. Like another poster said, it is time to move on.

And you are an independent contractor so a MSC can choose to not work with you anymore and they are under no obligation to give you a reason.

dspeakes-Nothing in the blog has been said in a derogatory manner or revealing any confidential information about the shops. I haven't been doing many shops for them recently given the "restriction" that was given. Even in light of the lack of information and inconsistent information (perfect scores yet restricted from the shops) I have not put that in the blog. This apparently happened before the blog was even started, I had been told in a email back in may the shops were being reshaped and would reappear in my queue soon...however in todays conversations, this seems to not be the case. There are evaluations in the blog about MSC' (not many at this point) and even they scored pretty darn well and even keel with the others thus far. I have very little negative to say about any of the MSC's I have worked with.

Overall, I am very disappointed by all of this that has happened. Yes I was definitely heated earlier in the day because the lack of information given. Even the lack of sheer unprofessionalism displayed by them. I have been accustomed to MSC's that provide feedback in regards to shops that have errors and have been very appreciative if they provide feedback. For example, one MSC requires a photo to show the location, everything on my end shows that it houses that information (I also did get a new phone recently and this was the first shop of this kind with this phone after a history of success with my old phone). The MSC said they needed to reject the shop because it didn't house the location information, we emailed back and forth and I gave evidence that on my end it was showing it had that information, but I appreciated the information they gave. They provided me with the information they use to get the location to help see if we can resolve it in the future. Providing this feedback allows me to take a deeper dive on my end to improve my deliverables for the client. Same goes for when a MSC provides me with a score of 9 out of 10, it will say it was a good report but for it to be scored with a 10 it needs <insert reason here> which I then take that feedback and push forward. I am also very accustomed to interactions with msc's on the phone being very professional. I had another MSC that I got put on probation because a receipt came through blurry, I thought I had submitted the new one and it sat pending for 3 months (completely my bad, while I had a lot of life stuff happening, I take full responsibility that I should have been on top of this), I gave them a call to see what was going on with my account and they explained that I had been put on probation, I then had regular conversations with them in regards to my status to get off probation (pretty standard, pick up shops that are emailed out and then do a good job), they assured me on I was on my way and doing a good job and off probation I went and have been smooth sailing with them in our blissful relationship that we have. With this situation I was just baffled...I thought I had a great relationship with this MSC. I had been scoring well with them since the beginning and it just baffled me. I wasn't sure what was going on, so I figured I would give them a call to determine what was going on and thought it would be a simple fix of "oh something got checked in you profile accidently, here let me fix it, there you go"...but this was just so strange! SO VERY STRANGE!

It's time to get over it and quit trying to justify it, msgurl. We've all been there at one time or another. Move on.

Valid point to all saying to just move on. I was seeing if anyone had any success or insight in regards to how to handle this situation. I didn't know if there was a solve that some more experienced shoppers had to resolve this type of a situation.

Lesson learned today for sure...bummer...

So, the Company is in your area.

The shops are in your area.

Ashley probably lives in your area.

Ashley has friends.

Perhaps Ashley has given those shops to a freind of hers?

Is so, they are NOT going to tell you that.

Just a thought.

I'm a Realtor, 30+ years. I can tell you it took me a long long time to be able to shake off rejection, put my head down and concentrate on finding better buyers or sellers.

Hope you can let this go, put it behind you and find better opportunities. I've only been shopping for 2 months and love this site. Your posts stand out. Mysteryshoppingurl, I bet you rise to the top in anything you tackle. Let it gooooooo Let it goooooooo

mysteryshoppinggurl:

As others have said it is best to put it behind you and as they say in jerey fa-get-a-bout it. By pressuring the MSP anymore you risk losing other work with that msp and possible that they share with other msps and you lose other work as well. I recently had an issue where I was dropped from a certain MSP where I had perfect scores for dozen of shops and a great rating but almost out of the blew unable to self-assign even thou I was qualified and no response to emails. I am assuming it was because I had questioned pay on a shop which was reduced to a low rate as it was a kiosk and not a full store. I am not positive but highly sure this was why. Their loss I had to accept the explanation of we decided to no longer work with you with no reason given and we won't because that is our policy. I did not press as I did not want to tarnish my name or ability to work with other msps and their schedules who were independent and may work for other msps. In my experience if a company does this to many shoppers they start to lose clients and eventually get bought out or fold. Also you know shops change from msp to msp and you may see it again somewhere else some day.

Perhaps they changed the shop requirements and you do not meet them anymore. If it was me, I would have just told you what the restriction was but perhaps they did not do that because they are noticing specific behaviour from you. Which seems evident in this thread and I haven't even read your blog yet... I would thread lightly if I were you. It is just one shop, there are many others with different companies. If you do not like this particular MSCs policy, I suggest contracting your services elsewhere.


Edited for auto correct mistake!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/26/2014 02:42PM by dixiewhiskey.

I have had shops restricted and nevr get a reason.
So i just dont do them
However the company Market Force. They were the worst. A few years ago when they changed managment they resricted my ability to shop. no reason given. I called and was told because there were to many shoppers at the same address.I told them well we are a family of shoppers. They said they dont allow more than one shopper at a address. I complained, then they proceded to cancel shopping to all my family and friends i had refered from all states and areas. When i questioned why they did this they said they do not have to tell me. I still have not forgiven this. It is hard when you are a good shopper and always get 10 on reports to be dumped for no reason.

There is the chance that the client wanted new blood/fresh eyes to complete the shops. I had that happen to me many years ago with one of my favorite shops. I had been completing them every quarter they came up. I had been doing them for a number of years until one day I was told I was no longer needed as the client wants the shops rotated between other shoppers. I was devastated because it was a very good source of income and I loved the product. It has been mentioned in a few posts here that the client is our boss and what they say, goes. I just had to accept my fate and move on. I know it's not nice when something like this happens and I don't blame you for wanting to know why you were excluded from the shops. Unfortunately, you will most likely never find out why. I was lucky to have been told why I had been dropped because it is easier to swallow when you know the reason.

Weird stuff happens more often of late. Some (new?) editors ore schedulers are just dumb or malicious.

And some shoppers are just ignorant and mean spirited.

I apologize, that was really nasty. See what happens when name calling starts. It just gets worse.

This would have been better:

I'm sorry you're not having the very best of experiences with editors and schedulers but a positive attitude can have a more desirable outcome in most cases. Although some editors and schedulers may be less agreeable than others, it seems a tad unfair to label "some" as "dumb or malicious". The problem may not be stupidity or malice at all, but may be a problem with the shopper's misunderstanding of the requirements, either due to poor guidelines or to inattention on the part of the shopper. It's hard to say without considering each issue case by case, complete with details.

I hope as a professional group we can give the people we work with the benefit of the doubt and that we can work to resolve our issues so we can maintain ongoing relationships with one another.

Now then, this post and the one that said some shoppers are just ignorant and mean spirited said the same thing, but isn't this one ever so much more agreeable?

mysteryshoppinggurl

-You are just too smart for them. They probably have a pretty low spate of requirements anyway (just guessin')and can't deal with anyone who actually is trying to get an intelligent answer that they probably can't answer.

Mistakes happen. You could never have been disqualified at all. Perhaps you were just forgotten like an old piece of clothing or a cardboard Mc Donald's cup. Sorry to get so graphic.

But, really what do they care about you? Nothing. If a friend or neighbor of one of the schedulers wants to try mystery shopping, don't you think the friend or neighbor will get first crack at doing the job you used to love? Yup. And if you think that anyone is going to tell you a reason like that...So, time to give up and move on. Disgusted but a little smarter perhaps?

Actually, just to chime in briefly--NONE of these people are your employer. YOU are your employer and the MSC is your client. They are under no obligation to tell you ANYTHING and having been on "that side" for more than 30 years, if someone called in and questioned our policy like that I would have issued a directive for all schedulers to simply remove them as a shopper.

One of the software programs that I had written for our company that is still in use today used an algorithm that looked at a respondent's answers (whether a consumer or a shopper) compared it to all others and then estimated the likelihood of any given dataset being contaminated.

Perfect scores almost never exist. Period. And while this does NOT mean a shopper lied--after all, much of what we do is governed by our own interpretation of facts--but it does often single someone out for not being objective enough, or perhaps not paying close enough attention, etc. The bottom line is when someone's answers are flagged like that, the MSC simply moves on to another shopper rather than risk sending contaminated data to their client. This is PRECISELY why we are not employed by these companies but only contract with them.

Clients also would rather have (in most cases) a different shopper each and every time a location is shopped. In a perfectly objective world, none of us would EVER visit the same location a second time.

MDavisnowell Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Now then, this post and the one that said some
> shoppers are just ignorant and mean spirited said
> the same thing, but isn't this one ever so much
> more agreeable?

Actually I prefer your first response. Succinct and to the point. Who has time to read all those long-winded posts?