Warning: Don't warn a scheduler of car problems that are being fixed

I had an assignment due 8 pm on the 23rd of May. The place closed early that day at 5 pm. My car broke down in front of my son's school a few days earlier. I went on YouTube and the internet and learned how to change the serpentine belt as it had shredded and come off, I knew that was the problem. So on the 23rd I have finally gotten the belt and am changing it on the street. Because I was not sure how long the repair would take, me not being a mechanic, I had my partner call the scheduler to give her a heads-up. Well, she cancelled the job while I was working on the car. I finished the repair and was going to make it in time to the job before the place closed. I tried getting the scheduler to reinstate the job but she did not reply. With the cancellation came a huge point deduction. I reassigned myself the job, which I did later in the week. I showed her the emails and how she cancelled the job before I even had a chance to be late or flake. She won't return my points or fix my score. My partner had points fixed for a similar circumstance so I know it can be done. I suppose I should not warn the scheduler in the future that I am having problems? I have always thought that was the correct thing to do, and responsible. But now I don't know.

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First thing's first:

1. Was the shop accepted and do you expect to be paid?
2. Will this shop affect your overall rating where it'll hold you back from certain privileges such as self-assigning, signing up for jobs requiring a minimum rating of __?

If yes to #1 and no to #2 to the above, I'd just bite the bullet and move on.

If it's the opposite, I'd explain the situation in detail once more and how it would affect your experience with the MSC by not finding a middle ground. See what response that'll get. If no response or the situation doesn't get any better, I'd take up to the next level and contact someone above the scheduler's authority. Of course, this will also depend on how important this MSC and their clients are to you as well.

Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!

Sometimes, we give out too much information and it doesn't benefit us. Sorry this happened to you. I guess the next time you won't say anything. I would not. I understand why you did though.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2015 03:01PM by Canuck.

The reassigned shop was accepted and I will be paid. My points are lowered for the entire iSecretShop platform because of this. The deduction is visible to all the companies on iSecretShop and the circumstances of the cancellation are not told to them. They only see me as a canceller or flake.

How do you know for sure exactly what your 'partner' said?

It might be understandable that the scheduler thought you meant to cancel the shop.

As a scheduler, I would be concerned about a partner calling instead unless it was an actually emergency (you were actually incapacitated or there was a real life and death emergency in your family).

I had a car problem a few days before a deadline for an open assignment. I immediately notified the MSC, requesting a one day extension if possible. I did not think it would be right to wait until the last day, then ask.

Things may have worked better for you if you had also shared your problem with the MSC in advance.

My posts are solely based on my opinions and for my entertainment, contact a professional if you need real advice.

When you get in debt you become a slave. - Andrew Jackson

Because she was standing right next to me. I had my hands in the engine and full of grease.

isaiah, I happened to accept the assignment the same day the car broke. I thought that would be even weirder to tell them then. I thought I would have it repaired by the deadline.

I think the problem here it that you called to give them a heads up and I would have done exactly the same thing but I would have added a request for an extension. You thought you could get the car fixed but you weren't sure or you wouldn't have called. If they were deadlined on the shop that day I can see why they pulled it. If they weren't deadlined I think they acted prematurely. If they had some more time I feel they should have OFFERED you an extension. Just my two cents which won't buy anything.

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

Here's my 2 cents. You seem to have accepted and scheduled the job the day of the fix knowing you still had to fix the car, the store was closing at 5 PM and you had no idea how long it would take you to fix the car. And then later in the day you called to give a heads up as you were still not sure you would finish in time. Had you scheduled the job a few days earlier and then found you were not able to fix the car until the day of the job then I could see you calling about an update. But in your case it sounds as though you had scheduled the job hoping you would finish your car in time. If my car was not working and I had no idea if I could get it fixed in time I would not have scheduled a job cutting it that close. And I can imagine the scheduler seeing that you had accepted a job even though you might not be able to do it. If I were that scheduler it is your timing of accepting in the first place without being sure you could do it that would bother me.

Can you tell us the name of the MSC that did this to you? This information will be useful to determine whether or not we want to be forthcoming ourselves.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2015 02:00PM by jrwb6e.

@HorseFeathers wrote:

The reassigned shop was accepted and I will be paid. My points are lowered for the entire iSecretShop platform because of this. The deduction is visible to all the companies on iSecretShop and the circumstances of the cancellation are not told to them. They only see me as a canceller or flake.

Hello, missing one shop and even having a -30 score is not really a huge deal to getting other jobs, once you get around -100 then start to worry. If this was the only shop that was canceled I wouldn't worry about it. I would have canceled the shop too if you were having car problems on the day of the shop, but if you completed the shop later in the week I would have adjusted your points (I would have adjusted the points at the time of cancelation but that's me and I'm too nice apparently LOL).

I can't speak for other schedulers, have you emailed them and nicely asked since you ended up completing the shop later can they restore your points?

I have to disagree completely with not worrying about a flake that shows up to more than the company in question and is not accompanied by any type of explanation. That is one of the worst labels a mystery shopper can get in a business where your reputation is your primary selling point. How many times might the OP have to explain the actual circumstances to other schedulers? How many schedulers might decide it is not even worth asking?

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.

I can only go by my own experience, I routinely give shops to shoppers with a -90 score, how else can they improve their score without getting shops? I also look at the history, sometimes you see 3 cancelations on one day but the rest of the history is all completed shops, maybe something happened that day? I do notice most of the schedulers on iSecretShop give shops to shoppers with slight negative point values. I almost always take a chance in the beginning of the month because then I have time to find another body if it becomes a pattern. If someone is truly a flake it will show up pretty soon and then no more shopping for them. YMMV

Also have you already taken the two tests, the link is "iSS Prep" when you log in...you do a quick tutorial and then take a test, passing both tests is worth 125 points which would make this whole point thing moot.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2015 06:54PM by JulieJ.

I scheduled it several days earlier when the car was working perfectly and actually had just had the engine completed rebuilt. I thought it was in perfect condition. However the serpentine belt broke, and I had just spent all my funds on the engine so I was stuck fixing it myself. I didn't wan't to cancel unless I knew i absolutely couldn't do it.

This happened through Mystery Shopper Services, which seems to be the new name for Business Evaluation Services from years ago. I explained everything to the scheduler through email and by voicemail yet received absolutely no response whatsoever. I contacted another person at the company in charge of payroll and she said that what I told her conflicted with her notes and so she couldn't/wouldn't do anything. However, she wrote this before I sent screen shots proving how it all went down, showing the job was cancelled before the location was even closed for the day. Never heard back from her after that either.

I just took and passed the test recommended and said to be worth 125 points but my score didn't change.

Now my score has risen 75 points....???

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Warning: Don't warn a scheduler of car problems that are being fixed

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