So here's what happened. I had a straight forward customer service evaluation shop to do. Nothing extravagant, low pay. I basically needed to visit the info booth of a mall and evaluate the representative. If the rep would do everything correctly (in compliance with a list that I had) then I would hand him over a winning certificate for his good work. All is good so far.

When I downloaded the certificate, I realized that there was information on there that I did not have. So I wrote to the scheduler asking to have the information, in the eventuality that the rep would win it, at least I would have the right information to fill out the form. I never got a reply!

I also had noticed that the questions that should be asked to the rep, differed from the scenario sheet to the instructions sheet. So I also wrote to the scheduler to understand which of these questions I needed to ask or if I should ask all of them. I never got a reply!

Initially, this shop included a voucher purchase that would be reimbursed. However a day prior to the shop, surprise! surprise! the scheduler sends me an e-mail informing me that the purchase will not be necessary but that I should still ask about the vouchers. (Still never got any replies to my above questions).

Finally the day of the shop came. I ended up asking all questions mentioned on all documents. The rep won his certificate so I kindly asked him to help me fill it out because I did not have all the information. Luckily he had all the info so I was able to fill the darn certificate with him. Shop done and over with, I sent my report the same day.

The following day, my report is returned to me, asking me to include the receipt of the purchase of the voucher! I replied stating that I had received an e-mail a day prior to the shop informing me that I should not make the purchase, therefore I did not have any receipt. I got an answer quite quickly asking for my apologies and telling me that the report would be sent as complete. Thank goodness about that!

But NO. The next day I get the same report returned to me AGAIN. Asking me for more info on a specific question. When I opened the report to add the information they requested, the QUESTION HAD BEEN AMENDED BY ADDING SOMETHING SPECIFIC WHICH I WASN'T INFORMED OF TO BEGIN WITH. I freaked! I couldn't believe it! What could I do? So I basically answered in the comments that this info in my questionnaire had been amended and that I did not have this information at the time of the shop.

Finally I get the grade for my completed report : 7!

7 may not be bad, but it's not 10 as I'm used to getting. What pisses me off is that I made no mistake with this shop for which I had little clarification. And as it turned out, the scheduler made numerous mistakes! Yet I am the one getting a 7? Seriously?

I will not be contesting this in any way, I did want to share it with the forum and I do wonder if this type of unfairness happens a lot.

Sorry for the lengthy post, thanks if you got this far!

The only score I care about is the dollar amount I receive via PayPal, direct deposit, or check. 10s are nice but I don't sweat lower scores.

mystique,
I have very seldom had such a frustrating experience with a scheduler in just over 10 years as a very active shopper. My advice is that, instead of dwelling on your score, you need to consider whether or not you will ever accept a shop again from the scheduler. Make you decision and then, regardless of what it is, take a deep breath and move on. Anger takes up too much energy if you give it a place in your life.

I feel your pain. :-)

I had a series of shops about ten years ago where I was supposed to hand out prizes that would be delivered via DHL. DHL contractors only came to my town twice or three times a week, (at some point during the day, their discretion…) and I was expected to be home to sign for the prizes. On a DHL delivery day I was actually home, and the driver stated I was not, and the prizes were returned… the scheduler was furious, but I could not do the shops as scheduled since I had no prizes to give in time. The prizes finally did come, a week or so later, and I did add the shops to another route. After that, that project was on my ten-foot-pole list.

@GMooneyhan MBSC wrote:

The only score I care about is the dollar amount I receive via PayPal, direct deposit, or check. 10s are nice but I don't sweat lower scores.

Yes, the bottom line is your paycheck. However, when they lower your score because they had to contact you because THEIR instructions are not clear and THEIR scheduler doesn't reply when you ask for clarification, it lowers your overall rating which will bar you from future shops (because of a low overall rating).

Over the years I have had issues with outside schedulers, which is why I tend to want to work directly with the MSC. A scheduler had given me the wrong instructions in an email, which I questioned and was told to follow the email. I laid out more than $60 and the shop was rejected. The scheduler would not respond. Eventually I took my case to another scheduler, including the email thread of instructions and all subsequent unanswered emails with mentions of unanswered phone messages. The second scheduler was a good guy and took it to the company. I got paid and the original scheduler sent me a pouty email that, "If you had a problem, you should have contacted me!" Grrrr. 5 weeks of emails and 6 messages left in her voice mail. 10' list for that scheduler.

Scores matter because they may influence acceptance for future shops, but a reasonable record with the company one would hope would count for a whole lot more.

Heartland, I remember waiting around all day to sign for prizes that weren't delivered--in fact they weren't even shipped until a few days after my shop deadline and the tracking information indicated mine had been sent to another shopper in another state. I agreed to do the shop on a later date and then noises were being made on forums that 'they claim they did not get the unused prizes back' or 'they claim I only returned 4, but I returned 7'. I had 1 shop, 1 possible prize to award, they sent 10 prizes. My location did not win a prize. I had a witness observe that there were 10 prizes returned and sealed into the envelope and sent with the return label. I had the tracking number and got to go through several weeks of them claiming I had not sent the prizes back even though from the shipper website I could tell them who signed for them on what day. 10' list for shops with prizes to be sent out.

Pretty much the same thing happened to me this past weekend. They need to get things right..they sure expect us to be perfect

I have been shopping since 2009. Some schedulers do not know how to work with shoppers. Please remember this is your work that pays the scheduler. i rarely have concerns anymore. If the score is lower, then it matters for two seconds to my ego and that that thought is gone. My high score when I see that dollars in my Pay Pal account. Schedulers are human just like we are; nobody is perfect in this industry. It is truly a learning experience. I have learned not to lay out much money. Time and money are the only value that we have.

I have learned the hard way not to proceed with shops when I have unanswered questions. Last thing I need is to conduct a shop as thoroughly as possible, then not get paid because of inadequate communication from the MSC/scheduler. Sorry for your poor score, I also do not like receiving 7s. But happy you are getting paid.

Shop scores are a double edged sword. Yes a 6 pays the same as a 10 and we all accept some MSCs treat 10s like they are gold and some editors seem to be working on the concept of job security. Most of the time I just let it go. This 7 for a shop that was thoroughly cocked up by the scheduler and/or editor would be one I would be inclined to challenge. Often 8 is the magic number for being able to self-assign. Unless you perform hundreds of shops for the company or every other shop is always a 10, a 7 could adversely impact you over the long haul. If it is later that the score comes into play, it may be too late for a challenge. So while getting higher blood pressure over a score isn't recommended, addressing the issue now doesn't have to be a bad thing. If you do it professionally it shouldn't impact you more than the score itself. Plus, being proactive may just make you feel better even if it doesn't yield any results.

When you have problems like this, I would make a phone call, Half the time I don't believe the editors understand what you are telling them and only want all questions directed at finishing the report. It does get aggravating when you tell one person one thing and they don't pass it on...someone else picks it up when returned...and repeats the same request..It's then when you need the name of the Project Manager...so you don't give up..in the beginning when this nonsense went on, I would just abandon the project, too discouraging. But I learned when it gets too frustrating make a call...!1