Due to the fact that this industry is so unique, I believe that it is of utmost importance for shoppers and MSCs to work together to make it the best that it can be. I don't know that all MSCs agree with my viewpoint, but it just makes sense to me for us to work as a team as much as we can. I've gained many, many, many ideas already from this board and others like it.

One thing that seems to be repeated over and over is that shoppers do not like it when representatives of the MSCs come on here "wanting something" from the shoppers. I hope this will not be perceived as me "wanting" something from you, but rather a place where we can all exchange ideas and where MSCs can learn, right from the source, how we can make your jobs better, more fulfilling, and hopefully easier. I don't know about you, but I am a more valuable contributor in my job if I am enjoying what I am doing.


In a perfect world, how would the mystery shopping experience work for you?

In your responses, think about the following things:

- Payment for assignments completed
- Notifications about shops (System generated & Scheduler emails/calls)
- Scheduler/Editor/Account Manager relationships
- Shop instructions
- Shop forms/reports
- Shop grades/editor comments
- MSC websites and scheduling software (ease of & features)


Feel free to talk about anything else that you can think of as well.

To the above my response is: In a perfect world of shoppers, please let the MS companies schedule promptly, so we, can schedule a little ahead of time, and plan our day out. I can name three companies that let you hang on and on.

In a perfect world, let the reports be less repetative, same thing over and over is not necessary.

In a perfect world, let us make more $$ if we continue to maintain a 10, and be responsible shoppers, what's wrong with a little incentive.

In a perfect world, please stop sending 6 emails daily about jobs not only out of your area, but out of your state.

I hear the "no news is good news" gripe a lot. How do you suggest MSCs fix that?

Would it make sense for MSCs to notify you of each step of the process: application for shop, acceptance of shop, reminder of shop, reminder to submit shop, verification of submitted shop, verification of accepted shop, etc?

I think there is a fine line between too many notifications/reminders/verifications and "no news is good news", but I wonder where it is.

Thank you for your input!

Reminder of shop is great, that's it.....each step of the way is saying the shopper has no intelligence, how many emails for one shop is necessary, I say one will do.

Amy,

Let's make this a two-way conversation so all participating can learn from it.

In a perfect world, what do you want/expect from your shoppers?

As far as what I expect from a MSC, there are a few things on top of my list:

-Pay me within 30 days without me having to follow up on payment.
-Fully reimburse for an average experience during my evaluation (that includes travel, parking, meal and tip) for restaurant assignments.
-Answer my questions (via email or phone call) within 24 hours.

Steve,

Great idea - I will put some ideas together and respond in a bit.

Thanks for your input.

I started a thread about communicating a few minutes before I saw this one.

In a perfect shopper/MSC world, telephones would be available and used.

If I need to cancel a shop, wouldn't the MSC want it back on the board right away? When I write in to cancel, sometimes I get 6-8 notices over a three day period telling me I'm late, when I cancelled the shop three days ago.

If I need to reschedule the shop (s) I need to do it now while I have my calendar open and can be actively planning for my shops to come in on time. When I have to reschedule by email, I don't often hear back and frequently the deadline passes and then here come those late notices and the dings against my fee!!! A phone call would have kept the train from going off the track!

If I have a question that needs to be resolved while I'm on the right side of town.... An email that doesn't come for hours or days doesn't help me not to have to go back, costing me gas, wear and tear on my car, feet, energy level and blood pressure level.

If you don't have a phone, then please process email quickly!!! Not communicating costs you money too...in cancelled shops, late shops and disgruntled shoppers that just have to wait and not be productive for you.

Thanks for listening to my beef from a very frustrating day.

I have phone numbers from Bestmark, Trendsource and EPMS and I only use them when I need an answer quickly. I use email for everything else.

That's a really valuable piece of advice. We always answer our phones during business hours. However, if something happens after business hours, we would prefer an email so there is a record of what transpired during the communication. That is the number one reason why email is so preferred.

AMelanson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Due to the fact that this industry is so unique, I
> believe that it is of utmost importance for
> shoppers and MSCs to work together to make it the
> best that it can be. I don't know that all MSCs
> agree with my viewpoint, but it just makes sense
> to me for us to work as a team as much as we can.
> I've gained many, many, many ideas already from
> this board and others like it.
>
> One thing that seems to be repeated over and over
> is that shoppers do not like it when
> representatives of the MSCs come on here "wanting
> something" from the shoppers. I hope this will
> not be perceived as me "wanting" something from
> you, but rather a place where we can all exchange
> ideas and where MSCs can learn, right from the
> source, how we can make your jobs better, more
> fulfilling, and hopefully easier. I don't know
> about you, but I am a more valuable contributor in
> my job if I am enjoying what I am doing.
>
>
> In a perfect world, how would the mystery shopping
> experience work for you?
>
> In your responses, think about the following
> things:
>
> - Payment for assignments completed
> - Notifications about shops (System generated &
> Scheduler emails/calls)
> - Scheduler/Editor/Account Manager relationships
> - Shop instructions
> - Shop forms/reports
> - Shop grades/editor comments
> - MSC websites and scheduling software (ease of &
> features)
>
>
> Feel free to talk about anything else that you can
> think of as well.


As many here know, I'm pretty vocal (okay, REALLY vocal, LOL) about not liking it when MSC's come here trying to sell us on something or feed us a bunch of BS. Usually when they come here there is some sort of manipulative effort involved.

On the other hand, I don't view asking for shopper feedback about issues that would improve conditions for shoppers as even close to that. I really appreciate you asking...

I use surveys in my teaching career - I give them after each module we cover, to try and make mid-stream corrections, if needed. The thing with surveys is that you need to give the respondents the answers that you got...which is kind of a non-issue for the public ones, but if you get PM'd ones, too, then we don't see those. And then you have to come back and tell people how you are going to address the results.

From what I have seen from you, both in my personal experience with you as well as your presence here, you seem open to that. I applaud you.

Amy asked about shopper preferences on these items. Here are mine:

- Payment for assignments completed:

I want to be paid on time, per the terms on the contract to which I agreed.

I use MS'ing to repay my college loans. You can bet they want their money each month, and will charge me $$$ fees if I cannot pay them on time. If I am going to be paid late, I expect you to pay interest to me; I have to pay interest to the companies to which I owe the that money you owe me. Why do shopping firms use late payments to shoppers as if shoppers were their own personal interest free bank loan?

If I am going to be paid late, I don't want to have to nag you to be told when I will be paid. I expect that you will communicate with me *ahead of time, telling me when I can expect to be paid, what the issue is, and how much interest I will earn.* You expect me to communicate ahead if I am not going to be able to do a shop; it is even more important to communicate up front about financial issues.


- Notifications about shops (System generated & Scheduler emails/calls)

I want to get a email notice when you have posted shops. I don't want to get that same notice multiple times per day. Or worse, multiple times per hours.

Use the SW you are given correctly, and use it's features. Not all zip codes originating with a 9 are in HI and not all zip codes originating with a 9 are in CA. Send them only to people who actually live in a doable shopping radius of the shop location.

Use a map. No, I cannot drive from Honolulu to Lahaina. There is no bridge here. If you send me a notice for a shop like that, then expect to pay my airfare. Otherwise, please limit posting it to just your Maui shoppers.

Make sure it tells payment info, and if there is a bonus, bonus info as well.

Do NOT use the words FUN and EASY unless it involves something that truly would be considered FUN and EASY by a majority of the population of the United States. We know those words are cues for "Its neither, AND it pays crap." For me, it is a cue to delete without reading.

Give the exact location.

Tell us the name of the business. Nothing worse than accepting a shop only to find out you cannot do it as a relative or friend works there.


- Scheduler/Editor/Account Manager relationships

I prefer people to have real names. I hate getting reports from some nameless editor. I want these emails to come from an official address at the company. I realize most editors work from home and at their own timeframe, but geez. Take a minute and log in to make it official. My companies are whitelisted. Your urgent request that comes via comcast.com might just go to spam. (And My favorite three that do this type of work, I am FB friends with using my real life, not my shopper name. Naturally they all work for the same favorite company. Anyone else I am FB friends with it is with my shopper FB account.)

I want to know how to contact you by phone, should I need to, but I strongly prefer to use email. I only call when it is an emergency, like I am at the location and something has gone wildly wrong.


- Shop instructions

Free of typos. Clear, concise, accurate. And also be clear how you want to be notified about events outside of the norm that may occur.

- Shop forms/reports
Free of typos. Clear, concise, accurate. Do not have repetition. Have an extra box that is between the shopper and the MSC for the shopper to notify you about events outside of the norm that may occur, issues in reporting, etc.

- Shop grades/editor comments

USEABLE FEEDBACK!

- MSC websites and scheduling software (ease of & features)

My preference is Sassie. I know others feel the same thing for Prophet.
Have the SW give a downloadable pdf at the end. MSC websites should be on fast servers and be shopper friendly. Should have an excellent user interface that is professionally designed.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2010 09:55PM by dee shops.

Okay now for MY perfect world...

In a perfect world, shoppers would:

-Respond to all ads and notifications with the information that we ask for. I've learned to be very specific in asking for what I need in order to schedule someone for a shop. Not everybody does things the way I do, but I ask for the 4 pieces of information I need:

Restaurant Name:
Shop Location:
Date you would like to schedule: (from the list of available dates)
Backup Date: (from the list of available dates)

Probably 25% of the time people respond with the above, the rest of the time I get responses like this one I got today, Subject: interested in work Body: Pick contact me.


-Read all of our instructions AND preview the form immediately after accepting the shop (unfortunately, you cannot view the form before accepting it with Prophet, as far as I know) to make sure that this is really something they want to do and can handle. It is very frustrating when shoppers accept shops when we first post them, for a date two weeks from then, and don't look at anything until the day of, and realize they need a guest and they don't have one, or realize that the form is much longer than expected and they don't want to do that much, so they cancel.

-Complete assignments on time OR contact us to let us know if there is going to be a delay of any sort. It is refreshing to look at my list of overdue reports and to be able to check off each one as accounted for because my shoppers have all emailed me to warn me of a potential delay. It is very frustrating to have to reach out to each person individually to follow up on delays. I'm always for giving the shopper the benefit of the doubt, despite how many times I've been burned, but a little communication goes a long way. If you forgot all about it, just let me know, it happens. Fessing up to missing a shop is much more respected than just falling off the face of the earth.

-Essentially, follow the instructions. If the shop is date/time specific, do it on the assigned date/time. If the shop needs a guest, bring a guest. If the shop requires that you order two different entrees, order two different entrees. You would be surprised to see how many shoppers make their own rules. I'm completely aware that situations can arise where the shopper is faced with a choice that the instructions might not prepare you for, but that's not what I'm talking about here. Many people will just order two of the same entree because "I didn't like anything else on the menu." or "I'm vegetarian and they only had choices with meat so I only ordered dessert." While I can empathize with the difficulties of being vegetarian (or just picky) while eating out, but that is something that should have been researched prior to conducting the shop.

-For report writing, it would be lovely if everyone wrote in complete sentences. "Bar was clean." is not a complete sentence, but "The bar was clean." is. "Textspeak" as I call it, has completely swept the nation, and it drives me crazy. U is not the same as you. The word "see" does not consist simply of the letter C. Periods at the end of sentences would be an added bonus.

-Lastly, for now, would be the same as you have requested of us, turnaround time for requests and questions should never be more than 1 business day. If I have a question for clarification on a shop report, I do expect an answer within a day. My client doesn't care what I have to do to produce all of the information that they are expecting, but they do expect it within the 1-3 day turnaround time we've promised them. I know that not everybody checks their email every day, I know that I don't check my personal email daily, but I think that as an IC in this business, you owe the courtesy to those you work for to be available for questions as soon as possible.

AMelanson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Okay now for MY perfect world...
>
> In a perfect world, shoppers would:
>
> -Respond to all ads and notifications with the
> information that we ask for. I've learned to be
> very specific in asking for what I need in order
> to schedule someone for a shop. Not everybody
> does things the way I do, but I ask for the 4
> pieces of information I need:
>
> Restaurant Name:
> Shop Location:
> Date you would like to schedule: (from the list of
> available dates)
> Backup Date: (from the list of available dates)

Quite reasonable.

> The rest of the time I get responses like
> this one I got today, Subject: interested in work
> Body: Pick contact me.

LMAO. But that is quite sad. Unsurprising, though, since we see stuff like that here, and I definitely see it in the emails I get from many of my students.
>
>
> -Read all of our instructions AND preview the form
> immediately after accepting the shop
> (unfortunately, you cannot view the form before
> accepting it with Prophet, as far as I know) to
> make sure that this is really something they want
> to do and can handle. It is very frustrating when
> shoppers accept shops when we first post them, for
> a date two weeks from then, and don't look at
> anything until the day of, and realize they need a
> guest and they don't have one, or realize that the
> form is much longer than expected and they don't
> want to do that much, so they cancel.

Well, maybe not IMMEDIATELY after, but within a 24 hour period would be reasonable. I might accept from my iPhone while at work between teaching classes. Can't always log in and read at the exact time I accepted.


> -Complete assignments on time OR contact us to let
> us know if there is going to be a delay of any
> sort. It is refreshing to look at my list of
> overdue reports and to be able to check off each
> one as accounted for because my shoppers have all
> emailed me to warn me of a potential delay. It is
> very frustrating to have to reach out to each
> person individually to follow up on delays. I'm
> always for giving the shopper the benefit of the
> doubt, despite how many times I've been burned,
> but a little communication goes a long way. If
> you forgot all about it, just let me know, it
> happens. Fessing up to missing a shop is much
> more respected than just falling off the face of
> the earth.

Yes on all counts. I totally agree.

>
> -Essentially, follow the instructions. If the
> shop is date/time specific, do it on the assigned
> date/time. If the shop needs a guest, bring a
> guest. If the shop requires that you order two
> different entrees, order two different entrees.
> You would be surprised to see how many shoppers
> make their own rules. I'm completely aware that
> situations can arise where the shopper is faced
> with a choice that the instructions might not
> prepare you for, but that's not what I'm talking
> about here. Many people will just order two of
> the same entree because "I didn't like anything
> else on the menu." or "I'm vegetarian and they
> only had choices with meat so I only ordered
> dessert." While I can empathize with the
> difficulties of being vegetarian (or just picky)
> while eating out, but that is something that
> should have been researched prior to conducting
> the shop.
>

Yes, agree again.


> -For report writing, it would be lovely if
> everyone wrote in complete sentences. "Bar was
> clean." is not a complete sentence, but "The bar
> was clean." is. "Textspeak" as I call it, has
> completely swept the nation, and it drives me
> crazy. U is not the same as you. The word "see"
> does not consist simply of the letter C. Periods
> at the end of sentences would be an added bonus.

I actually have to write into college level writing assignment, "No texting lingo. This is a formal writing assignment." This drives me crazy. Who actually thinks it is fine to write formal essays or reports as if they were texts to a friend? Apparently, almost everyone enrolled in college art classes!


>
> -Lastly, for now, would be the same as you have
> requested of us, turnaround time for requests and
> questions should never be more than 1 business
> day. If I have a question for clarification on a
> shop report, I do expect an answer within a day.
> My client doesn't care what I have to do to
> produce all of the information that they are
> expecting, but they do expect it within the 1-3
> day turnaround time we've promised them. I know
> that not everybody checks their email every day, I
> know that I don't check my personal email daily,
> but I think that as an IC in this business, you
> owe the courtesy to those you work for to be
> available for questions as soon as possible.

Absolutely fair.

Amy, you are not expecting that much from us. :-)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2010 09:59PM by dee shops.

Agreed, Amy's list is very do-able.

I think the fact that shops I have seen from Amy's company don't meet my guidelines for a 'perfect world' scenario have something to do with the quality (or lack thereof) of shoppers applying.

Give us full reimbursement in 30 days, Amy, and you may be surprised at how the quality of available shoppers will rise.

Amy, can you please clone yourself? :-D I'm really impressed with your questions and attitude. You've honestly already caused me to feel a bit better about Goodwin.

I'm sure that some of this will just be reiterating what others have said, but at the risk of being redundant, here's my two cents:

- Payment for assignments completed:

Obviously, sooner is better than later, but at the very LEAST, let shoppers know what they're in for before they accept an assignment. In Goodwin's case, I always read the 60-90 day window as more of a "we'll pay you at the last minute", I don't mean to sound unkind in saying that, but you wanted the truth. And of course, if it weren't for our communication today, I wouldn't know that you're currently paying shoppers upon request -- I do thank you for that, but as I suggested to you privately, it would be helpful to have that on the site.

Also, specifically regarding Goodwin, the fee for the big restaurant shop in my area doesn't cover the cost of everything that needs to be ordered. That, coupled with the fact that it's not a place I'd actively seek out to eat, makes it unlikely that I'll apply for another one of those shops.

- Scheduler/Editor/Account Manager relationships

In the relatively short period I've been shopping, the difference in communication has been astounding. Reps at some companies are uncommunicative and/or have attitude, while others are receptive and pleasant. The companies I look forward to working with are those who treat me seriously and with respect. I look at us as having a common goal, to do a shop well and ultimately give the client what they want to be happy. The behavior of some companies makes me wonder about how they see the shopper's role, treating us as if we're insignificant.

- Shop instructionss

So often they're not clear! And if we're expected to spell properly and be grammatically correct....! There's one company whose instructions about a shop are completely incorrect. I contacted them, and since learned that others did, too. The incorrect instructions remain to this day.

- Shop forms/reports

Even as a relative newbie, they often do NOT match the shop. There's one company who has a space at the end of the form where you can tell them anything you want to about the shop. (It doesn't go to the client.) I've used this on at least one occasion to comment about the form. Also, I was recently contacted by a company, specifically asking for input, on the client's behalf. I did remember some things about the form that did not match the experience and was impressed that they asked.

Also -- it would be ideal if everything was succinct, matched up and was in the same place. I did my first shop for a new company today, and in reviewing the shop instructions, form and GENERAL company guidelines, noticed that I neglected to give the associate's description. This ONLY appeared in the company's general shop reporting guidelines. Nothing in the instructions, and the shop form did NOT ask for it (it was name specific). Thankfully, I hadn't yet submitted the shop, so I added his description in one of the narratives. Now, chances are, they don't even realize this themselves, but I've become very cautious! I've heard too many stories that make me believe that there really ARE certain companies who purposely try to trip you up so they don't have to pay.

- Shop grades/editor comments

If my score is not perfect, I do appreciate feedback. I got an A- for a shop recently and wanted to know what I could have done to make it perfect. It was my first shop for the company so I really wanted to learn what they expect. I asked the scheduler, who said that they don't even tell her! Also, some of these deductions or non-accepted shop stories are ridiculous! I thankfully haven't had any, but what I've read has astounded me! If there's any way there could have been a misunderstanding or it honestly looks like a silly mistake, Why not give the shopper a chance to correct it within a stipulated time period?

- MSC websites and scheduling software (ease of & features)

Most of the companies with whom I work have been okay on this front. Although, the ones that look a little less secure (ie; amateur) make me feel uneasy.

P.S. Apologies in advance for any typos. I just finished a shop and I'm tired of proofreading! :-D

SteveSoCal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Agreed, Amy's list is very do-able.
>
> I think the fact that shops I have seen from Amy's
> company don't meet my guidelines for a 'perfect
> world' scenario have something to do with the
> quality (or lack thereof) of shoppers applying.
>
> Give us full reimbursement in 30 days, Amy, and
> you may be surprised at how the quality of
> available shoppers will rise.


Steve,

I'm extremely well aware that you are completely correct. Even if my only intentions of being involved in this industry the way that I am was purely for the purposes of generating profit, that would still stand out at obvious.

Good shoppers shop for good companies because they more than likely have the option to. A "good company" has a different definition for everybody. The key is to do more of the things that define one as a good company. You can't please everybody, but you can try hard to make things as copacetic as possible for as many people as possible.

The more people that consider us a good company by their standards, the more shoppers we will have, and by default almost, we'll have more good shoppers. The more good shoppers we have, the easier our jobs will be because good shoppers are responsible and would help us get closer to the "perfect world" scenario. The easier our jobs are, the more efficient everything is. When things are efficient, they are much more likely to be cost effective. So, even if all I cared about was money, it's easy to see that MSCs and shoppers working side by side makes a whole lot more sense than anything else.

I can't do a whole lot about shop payments and reimbursement amounts, but most of the other stuff I do have the ability to influence. This dialogue is most helpful with - creating a task list of sorts.

Thanks All -

Earlier, I posted almost at the same time as dee so I didn't get to comment so I will now.

dee shops Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You expect me to communicate ahead if I am
> not going to be able to do a shop; it is even more
> important to communicate up front about financial
> issues.

You aren't the first to suggest this, but my question is this: If a scheduler called you to do a shop, and at the end, said "Our payment terms are such, but we might not be able to pay you by that point." Would you be inclined to do the shop at all? Of course the company would still have their standby shoppers who stick by regardless of payment terms, but that population is not enough to execute the number of shops necessary. At the end of the day, the company needs to execute all shops, regardless.


> I want to get a email notice when you have posted
> shops. I don't want to get that same notice
> multiple times per day. Or worse, multiple times
> per hours.

I'm not sure what, if anything, you guys know about the other side of the SW, but I can speak from what I know about Prophet. When we create a batch of visits we tell the system to email x people per day about the visit. The max number, per location, is 15 shoppers per day. The downfall is, the locations don't take each other into consideration, so you might get the same email five times, because you live within five different locations. There's no way to stop that (right now), but I've often sent suggestions to the developers of Prophet so I can definitely ask them if there's a way to make the locations consider each others recipients. There are other ways we can search for shoppers and create lists of people to email and we do honestly do our best not to overlap areas, but sometimes the 5-10 mile radius of two locations overlap, but we cannot risk not getting every single person that we can because you never know if that last 1 mile will find you the shopper that wants the shop.


>
> Use a map. No, I cannot drive from Honolulu to
> Lahaina. There is no bridge here. If you send me
> a notice for a shop like that, then expect to pay
> my airfare. Otherwise, please limit posting it to
> just your Maui shoppers.

I've definitely been guilty of this one. Again, we often use the radius, and islands are just another breed entirely when it comes to that. I have no idea how many miles kailua kona is from the end of the island and again, I need to get as many miles as I can. My wish is that an error message would pop up if I try to jump islands.


> Do NOT use the words FUN and EASY unless it
> involves something that truly would be considered
> FUN and EASY by a majority of the population of
> the United States. We know those words are cues
> for "Its neither, AND it pays crap." For me, it
> is a cue to delete without reading.

Ouch. Guilty again. You mean that doesn't work ;-)




> I want to know how to contact you by phone, should
> I need to, but I strongly prefer to use email. I
> only call when it is an emergency, like I am at
> the location and something has gone wildly wrong.

I think it's strange that I'm hearing so often that there are no phone numbers to reach people. I strongly prefer email for tracking purposes, and even advise in my voice mail to send an email if at all possible. However, for last minute stuff I can certainly understand the need for a phone conversation.


>And also be clear how you want to be notified about events outside of the norm >that may occur.

This makes sense.



> Have the SW give a downloadable pdf at the end.

Good idea, I'll check that one out too.



Thanks!

nicelytwicely Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The companies I look
> forward to working with are those who treat me
> seriously and with respect. I look at us as
> having a common goal, to do a shop well and
> ultimately give the client what they want to be
> happy. The behavior of some companies makes me
> wonder about how they see the shopper's role,
> treating us as if we're insignificant.

I completely agree. I just think that society as a whole just seems to have a such a lack of respect for each other. I see it every day and I just don't understand it. What happened to manners and respect?


> - Shop forms/reports

> Also, I was
> recently contacted by a company, specifically
> asking for input, on the client's behalf. I did
> remember some things about the form that did not
> match the experience and was impressed that they
> asked.

I think that this needs to happen a lot more. Bring the Client, MSC, and shopper full circle.



I have more to say about the rest of your post, but I don't have time at this moment.

Until tomorrow.

One more in a perfect world, when MSC leave a voicemail, it will include details of the assignment. When and/or deadline, where and what is the pay. That is all I need. I now immediately delete voicemails that say "we have great assignments for you... blah blah..". Cut the BS, just tell me the assignment info. Would be nice if email notifications are also like that. Just give me the info so I can decide to take on the assignment or not.

AMelanson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Earlier, I posted almost at the same time as dee
> so I didn't get to comment so I will now.
>
> dee shops Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > You expect me to communicate ahead if I am
> > not going to be able to do a shop; it is even
> more
> > important to communicate up front about
> financial
> > issues.
>
> You aren't the first to suggest this, but my
> question is this: If a scheduler called you to do
> a shop, and at the end, said "Our payment terms
> are such, but we might not be able to pay you by
> that point." Would you be inclined to do the shop
> at all? Of course the company would still have
> their standby shoppers who stick by regardless of
> payment terms, but that population is not enough
> to execute the number of shops necessary. At the
> end of the day, the company needs to execute all
> shops, regardless.

I understand that for you to stay in business, you need revenue stream. But we do, too. Would I still do the shop? Not if I had no relationship with the personnel at that MSC, or had never shopped for them before. Flash has been stating here that she will still shop for one company (that I won't, as they burned me) that she had good experiences with, and will do one shop at at time until their record of payment goes from abysmal to great again. I would put my $ at risk for a company I had a good relationship with that was honest enough to tell me the truth. Yes, I realize it makes your job more difficult. But companies not paying us on time, and even worse, not reimbursing us on time makes our infinitely more so. We are sole proprietors.
>
>
> > I want to get a email notice when you have
> posted
> > shops. I don't want to get that same notice
> > multiple times per day. Or worse, multiple
> times
> > per hours.
>
> I'm not sure what, if anything, you guys know
> about the other side of the SW, but I can speak
> from what I know about Prophet. When we create a
> batch of visits we tell the system to email x
> people per day about the visit. The max number,
> per location, is 15 shoppers per day. The
> downfall is, the locations don't take each other
> into consideration, so you might get the same
> email five times, because you live within five
> different locations. There's no way to stop that
> (right now), but I've often sent suggestions to
> the developers of Prophet so I can definitely ask
> them if there's a way to make the locations
> consider each others recipients. There are other
> ways we can search for shoppers and create lists
> of people to email and we do honestly do our best
> not to overlap areas, but sometimes the 5-10 mile
> radius of two locations overlap, but we cannot
> risk not getting every single person that we can
> because you never know if that last 1 mile will
> find you the shopper that wants the shop.
>

I know nothing about your SW. But when the SW does not support what the shopper needs, it's time to change vendors, IMHO.

>
> >
> > Use a map. No, I cannot drive from Honolulu to
> > Lahaina. There is no bridge here. If you send
> me
> > a notice for a shop like that, then expect to
> pay
> > my airfare. Otherwise, please limit posting it
> to
> > just your Maui shoppers.
>
> I've definitely been guilty of this one. Again,
> we often use the radius, and islands are just
> another breed entirely when it comes to that. I
> have no idea how many miles kailua kona is from
> the end of the island and again, I need to get as
> many miles as I can. My wish is that an error
> message would pop up if I try to jump islands.


At least you are honest. I can go for that.


>
>
> > Do NOT use the words FUN and EASY unless it
> > involves something that truly would be
> considered
> > FUN and EASY by a majority of the population of
> > the United States. We know those words are
> cues
> > for "Its neither, AND it pays crap." For me,
> it
> > is a cue to delete without reading.
>
> Ouch. Guilty again. You mean that doesn't work
> ;-)
>

Same thing here. I don't like it, but you own up to it.

>
>
> > I want to know how to contact you by phone,
> should
> > I need to, but I strongly prefer to use email.
> I
> > only call when it is an emergency, like I am at
> > the location and something has gone wildly
> wrong.
>
> I think it's strange that I'm hearing so often
> that there are no phone numbers to reach people.
> I strongly prefer email for tracking purposes, and
> even advise in my voice mail to send an email if
> at all possible. However, for last minute stuff I
> can certainly understand the need for a phone
> conversation.


Even those like me, who are phone averse, do need to call you on occasion. We need to know how to do so. You know how to call us. We should not have to go on a wild goose chase all over the corporate website looking for numbers that are only published for clients and potential clients to call an MSC about an urgent situation.

dee shops Wrote:

> Even those like me, who are phone averse, do need
> to call you on occasion. We need to know how to
> do so. You know how to call us. We should not
> have to go on a wild goose chase all over the
> corporate website looking for numbers that are
> only published for clients and potential clients
> to call an MSC about an urgent situation.

Completely agree. Where would the most logical place(s) for you be. I have my contact information on all of my outgoing emails, the instructions, the form, and I'm sure it's on our website somewhere. I know there's a contact page on there, but it's probably hard to find. Our direct line should be somewhere pretty obvious, but I will check it out. Perhaps we can put it on the Prophet log in screen too. Hm...

I just thought of another one. It would be nice if shoppers kept their contact information current and/or put the correct information to begin with. There's nothing worse than calling 100 people a day to fill a shop and have 75 of those be disconnected numbers, wrong numbers, and hang ups. Along with this, it would be nice if those who were no longer interested in shopping would actually unsubscribe from the service. To me, it would seem that it would make sense on both ends. They would stop receiving the emails and calls, and we would stop putting forth the effort to make contact. All it takes is a reply to an email with "unsubscribe."

Irene_L.A. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
<cut>
> In a perfect world, let the reports be less
> repetative, same thing over and over is not
> necessary.

Yes. I never understand scanning the receipt, then have to fill out time, date, day of shop, receipt no, server name. Cant they read these from the receipt?

> In a perfect world, let us make more $$ if we
> continue to maintain a 10, and be responsible
> shoppers, what's wrong with a little incentive.

This is why I NEVER take grading my report seriously. Getting 6/10 and 10/10 is the same as far as I am concerned. Yeah, supposedly they may choose me over other shopper in the next assignment. No offense, I dont want my reward for a current great report is for the next assignment which maybe 6 months or a year from the current one. If you dont want to give extra cash, how about 10/10 = earlier pay than scheduled? This I will take it seriously. I would imagine most shopper would love to get paid early for their 10/10 report.

> In a perfect world, please stop sending 6 emails
> daily about jobs not only out of your area, but
> out of your state.

Yeah, jobs out of state is most annoying. I can live with anything within 100 miles, who knows you might drive there. There has got to be a limit...

sequoia Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This is why I NEVER take grading my report
> seriously. Getting 6/10 and 10/10 is the same as
> far as I am concerned. Yeah, supposedly they may
> choose me over other shopper in the next
> assignment. No offense, I dont want my reward for
> a current great report is for the next assignment
> which maybe 6 months or a year from the current
> one. If you dont want to give extra cash, how
> about 10/10 = earlier pay than scheduled? This I
> will take it seriously. I would imagine most
> shopper would love to get paid early for their
> 10/10 report.

Sequoia makes a good point. Don't punish good shoppers for inadequacies of poor shoppers. Problems with inexperienced or uneducated shoppers is not indicative of a flaw in the shopping population as much as a flaw in the recruitment and selection process of a MSC.

If your company is setting a flat fee per shop, then consider a sliding scale, like Sentry is doing, where high scoring shoppers get a bonus and problematic shoppers receive a deduction.

I can't really stand behind the concept of earlier pay for good shoppers, since I think a basic tenant of being an MSC should be to pay ALL shoppers on time.

I'm trying not to repeat myself, but a discussion about shopper/MSC relations and best practices without bringing up timely payment is like not bringing up the pink elephant in the room. If payment cannot be rendered in 90 days, then make it a 120-day cycle and have shoppers jumping for joy when payment comes in 95 days! Whatever you do, please understand that your ability to follow through on commitments is the absolute #1 factor in building good relationships, for both shoppers and MSCs.

As far as an emergency contact phone number goes; Putting it on both the top and bottom of the assignment page is sufficient. If a shopper can't find it there, they are not following directions.

Regarding the Archon software; I understand a bit about how it functions from the client side and could go on all day about the problems and/or benefits of it, but let me offer a few thoughts:

As a scheduler, I found pretty much across the board that those who worked in the creative arts made better mystery shoppers. It is well known that that macs are the preferred computer for those working in the creative arts. That being said, why would a company that has an interest in developing relationships with creative individuals utilize software that is not 'mac friendly'? I know the short answer is financial, but that's really a short-sighted answer.

For notification purposes, I will make the same point that the software is flawed and not flexible enough. The good news as a scheduler is that you are not required to utilize the shopper notification system. You can export your shopper database and hand-schedule the assignments utilizing a better method of contacting appropriate shoppers, but that's a lot more work. Again, the shoppers bear the burden of dealing with multiple emails because it makes better financial sense.

If shoppers and MSCs are to work together in a constructive environment, then pressure then needs to be applied to the software developer to make the system more friendly for all.

SteveSoCal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> If your company is setting a flat fee per shop,
> then consider a sliding scale, like Sentry is
> doing, where high scoring shoppers get a bonus and
> problematic shoppers receive a deduction.

If it is not against their IC to speak more about this, I am very curious about this concept. How does it work? I can understand how the better shoppers would get a bonus, but how does the deduction work when you are setting a flat rate? Do the "bad" shoppers get the flat rate, or less?

Perhaps Dave can chime in here and promote.....

SteveSoCal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------


>
> As a scheduler, I found pretty much across the
> board that those who worked in the creative arts
> made better mystery shoppers.


Shaka, brah! You rock. :-) Thanks for giving us artists credit. We usually get taken for dumb, as somehow people think being an artist is "easy." The reason, IMHO, that you might find that, is that people in creative jobs are innately attuned to as well as trained to observing as a way of life. You cannot create a novel, an artwork, a play without keenly observing the world.


> It is well known
> that that macs are the preferred computer for
> those working in the creative arts. That being
> said, why would a company that has an interest in
> developing relationships with creative individuals
> utilize software that is not 'mac friendly'? I
> know the short answer is financial, but that's
> really a short-sighted answer.
>


You nailed that one, too.

:-)

Dee dee shops wrote: "Use a map. No, I cannot drive from Honolulu to Lahaina. There is no bridge here. If you send me a notice for a shop like that, then expect to pay my airfare. Otherwise, please limit posting it to just your Maui shoppers. "

Sure there is a bridge, just an underwater one, just get out your mask and snorkles! lol


Well, I think that the schedulers either don't bother to look to see how far you must travel to do a job, or they simply don't care if they are not a good company!

That speaks volumes that they don't want to pay for your travel expenses, i.e. they must pay rent to house their company, don't they expect we'd have to pay gas/airfares to get somewhere far away?

I'm simply tired of all these companies and people who don't care about anyone but themselves. The world has become too selfish a place and that needs to stop!

Perhaps you are all right about NOT shopping a co that pays so low, cuz it forces them to either drop out of the market or increase their wages to something liveable.. but SO many companies are going that route.. not even the MS companies.. so many large corporations make millions upon millions yet, insist on paying their workers min wage, whether they'd had years of exp, education, whatever.. it's called greed!

I don't see getting paid early...payroll goes out at once, and this is physcally impossible. When offering the job to a great (10) shopper, just add a few $'s more for gas. That happens with me working for two companies, one I say, gee whiz, that's a little far for me, and I get an extra 10 for the drive.Good companies do this, and I am loyal to the bone....money talks.

I, too, am not in favor of paying shoppers who score well on a different timetable than those who scored poorly. If the MSC accepted the report, then payment is due per the contract terms. Like Steve, I would like to be paid on a Net 30 basis, but I am willing to live with whatever timetable I agreed to when I accepted the assignment. It's the ones that don't come then that upset me. If you don't pay me when you said, I cannot pay my bills.

I'm not sure what the correct answer is though, for incentive to get the perfect report. I try to reach this peak on every assignment I accept. Sometimes I miss. Would I try harder if there was a bonus for getting a 10? No, because I am already shooting for that. My incentive is in the pay/reimbursement level. That is when you get my attention. I'm as likely to request that high end dining assignment with a $200 reimbursement and no fee as I am to request a $30 purchase and return. Pay me better for the job from the get go. That said, I realize that I represent a small group of shoppers with this kind of work ethic. But I know that of the ones I know with that ethic, many of them are here in this forum. Yet even within the thread we see a totally different point of view (e.g., Sequoia's post.)

AMelanson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> dee shops Wrote:
>
> > Even those like me, who are phone averse, do
> need
> > to call you on occasion. We need to know how
> to
> > do so. You know how to call us. We should not
> > have to go on a wild goose chase all over the
> > corporate website looking for numbers that are
> > only published for clients and potential
> clients
> > to call an MSC about an urgent situation.
>
> Completely agree. Where would the most logical
> place(s) for you be. I have my contact
> information on all of my outgoing emails, the
> instructions, the form, and I'm sure it's on our
> website somewhere. I know there's a contact page
> on there, but it's probably hard to find. Our
> direct line should be somewhere pretty obvious,
> but I will check it out. Perhaps we can put it on
> the Prophet log in screen too. Hm...


That's great, Amy. I wasn't specifically talking about you or Goodwin in this thread, but more about that rose-colored fantasy of the perfect shopping world. :-) LOL. Some firms go out of their way to hide this information from shoppers. I know, it's crazy. But it is what it is. Having a phone in your email works for me, as does having it on the assignment sheet. I just want it to be *somewhere.* Sigh. :-)


>
> I just thought of another one. It would be nice
> if shoppers kept their contact information current
> and/or put the correct information to begin with.
> There's nothing worse than calling 100 people a
> day to fill a shop and have 75 of those be
> disconnected numbers, wrong numbers, and hang ups.
> Along with this, it would be nice if those who
> were no longer interested in shopping would
> actually unsubscribe from the service. To me, it
> would seem that it would make sense on both ends.
> They would stop receiving the emails and calls,
> and we would stop putting forth the effort to make
> contact. All it takes is a reply to an email with
> "unsubscribe."

Yes, I totally agree. You don't need the wild goose chase on calling shoppers any more than we need it when we go to call a firm. Up to date info is important. Maybe your firm can send out one of those notices I get from other firms every once in a while that tells me if I wish to remain active in their database, I need to log in and update my info by some specified date?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/2010 07:55PM by dee shops.

...Schedulers leaving their jobs would leave a list of their most reliable shoppers.
...All editors would work with the same criteria.