I have working for Ellis Property Mystery Shopping for over 3 years now but as of August I was not able to pull up any shops in the shop log. Finally, around October, the scheduler that I usually dealt with emailed me and told me that I was on the 'don't use' list for most of the management companies..though she was not able to tell me why. I asked and asked but she finally emailed me back and told me that allowing me that information could jeopardize her job so she could not give me anything else and would never respond to any of my emails after that. I phoned the company and told the girl who answered the phone my dilemma and I wanted to speak with someone who could tell me why I was no longer being used. I was given a name of someone I worked for before so she knew me, I was happy to be able to contact someone that did and hoping to finally get an answer. I sent her three email messages with no response. Finally I spoke with one of the schedulers that I am friends with on Facebook and she told me who I should contact at the company. I finally got a very nice email from a lady named Tassy who told me I had been marked as a shopper by the management companies because they knew I was a shopper (just a few weeks ago in January). I asked how and she told me they probably figured it out being that I had shopped many of them more than once, but since I had been tagged, I was basically unusable as a shopper with the company anymore since I had been marked. I have sent an email into them about the phone shops because with a fake name because I can't possibly be recognized. I have yet to hear back about that. I loved shopping for that company and loved all the schedulers more importantly. If I were a new shopper again, I would gladly sign on with EPMS and work for them as much as possible. They are the reason I knew how to operate a PV-500 and why I purchased one for myself! I made a lot of money working for them through the years and I loved doing those shops too. I guess I am hurt that after all the work I have done for them and the fact I was always their "go to girl" that I was very hurt that no one would answer me when I asked why I was not getting jobs any longer. The regional supervisor and I had a great rapport and it really hurt me that she could not tell me why I was not being used. It seems that a simple email or phone call should have been made allowing me to know I was tagged as a shopper in the system of the management companies as a shopper one so I unfortunately could no longer be used. I understand this, but they way they went about letting me know was hurtful and frustrating. I most definitely not trying to dissuade anyone from working for them, they are truly one of the best companies I have ever worked with and I will always have fond memories of working with them. Robert, the man over the video department, even gave me a rave review to another company about my video skills and I so appreciated that. Even though you could not tell me goodbye in a nicer or more efficient way...goodbye EPMS and thanks for all the information I have learned along the way! Has anyone else ever had this happen to them? Were you notified?

As painful as it is, it makes sense. If the location(s) recognize you as a shopper, they cannot use you in future shops for that client..

Not "telling you why" has been debated quite a bit, but because you are an independent contractor, this company has decided they don't need to tell you why you are not able to shop that particular client. (not saying that is fair) but this follows a few of the MSC's and how they deal with shoppers they can't or won't use anymore for a particular client.

Does this company have other types of shops, like restaurants or retail?

As far as I know Ellis does property management shops exclusively. They have a ton of them but they don't pay much compared to other video MSCs, so you may just want to move on. Are you signed up with all of the MSCs that sponsor VSN? [www.videoshoppingnetwork.org] Plus Elite Shopper Force? They will all have a variety of video work.

Not hard to guess that one, .... With very few exceptions all apartment shops you need to leave your ID. They can match you up. the shopping companies know that. And for all who say leaving that ID is totally safe think again, most apt complex offices have a copy machine or a cell phone and take a pic of the ID.

Where is the guy that was offering fake ID'S and Driver License when you need him?

It sounds as if the OP totally understands why she can no longer be used as a shopper. It's unfortunate, but it happens.... I agree with her, though, that after years of good reporting, she should have been advised as to the reason. It wouldn't have killed someone at Ellis to write a simple note of explanation, with a thanks for her past service. It's not like their reason was capricious or not for cause (even though the cause was not the shopper's fault). Although many companies today are lawsuit paranoid, this doesn't seem as if it could possibly trigger a lawsuit. I don't shop for this MSC, but I think many I.C. contracts state that if you are identified as a shopper, your report will be rejected and you may be deactivated. Maybe Ellis's contract is even more detailed on that point.

It seems ludicrous to me that a higher-up at the company couldn't have the decency to provide a simple, concise explanation. I understand the lower-ranking employees wouldn't be anxious to share this information, but the OP shouldn't have had to pull teeth, in my opinion, to get an answer.

CanadaMommy, yes you have to show and leave your ID for the safety of the leasing agent. Since my cover story is often divorce. my chosen alias has been put into every customer card except for one. I also pay attention to what is done with my ID. Not once has a leasing agent made a copy. Could another agent have done so while I was gone, it's possible. OTOH, most of the time my ID is locked up. If an agent is lax and starts to just leave it on a desk, I'm not shy about objecting so they secure it before we leave for our tour.

@LisaSTL wrote:

CanadaMommy, yes you have to show and leave your ID for the safety of the leasing agent. Since my cover story is often divorce. my chosen alias has been put into every customer card except for one. I also pay attention to what is done with my ID. Not once has a leasing agent made a copy. Could another agent have done so while I was gone, it's possible. OTOH, most of the time my ID is locked up. If an agent is lax and starts to just leave it on a desk, I'm not shy about objecting so they secure it before we leave for our tour.

I've performed 3 or 4 apt shops & the agent has always made a copy of my ID. Sometimes they hand the ID back to me right away & sometimes they lock up & give back at end of visit. I spread out my apt shops & shop different management companies & use different MSCS so I don't get caught as a shopper.

I've performed 300 to 400 in at least six different states. None have ever copied and returned my ID before the tour. Keeping the ID in the office is the policy of most management companies.

No they just do apartments.

Yes but I have not certified with VSN yet. How do I do that?

Thanks for the heads up about VSN. I do shop for Elite and several other MSC's but I think that I just overdid it over three years. Heck I was really pulling in the $$$ for a time. I have used the divorce cover before, even used fake names because sometimes they did not even look at the id. Just happened. But I like the comment, I should not have to have pulled teeth to get an answer. It just really hurt my feelings more than anything.

I have never said anything to a leasing agent when they have not secured my ID, but I do mention it in the report.

As far as Ellis and the OP, personally I would not have pursued it. We're independent contractors. The MSCs are under no obligation to tell us why they don't want to use our services if they've made that decision. The flip side of the coin is that we don't have to work for a MSC if we don't want to. I rarely do shops for Ellis anymore because I feel the report is too arduous for the fee. But that's just my opinion and that and a couple of bucks, will get you a cup of coffee.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2016 12:24PM by GMooneyhan MBSC.

Has anyone ever been called by a leasing agent for an apartment AFTER the shop so she can try to talk you about your "mystery shop?" and her score... Ugh...

Nope! I use unique phone numbers and the recorded messages from those come to my email. I then forward them to the editor/scheduler. I never leave my personal phone number.

Actually you do not know that as a fact. Can prove it was NOT copied, no. You are hoping and thinking it was not. Just because you do not see fraud now does not mean it was not copied. In my area it is a law that it IS copied in case of incident during a tour. There have been known violence during tours and local ordinances have made the copy mantantory.

@LisaSTL wrote:

I've performed 300 to 400 in at least six different states. None have ever copied and returned my ID before the tour. Keeping the ID in the office is the policy of most management companies.

Ninja..so you are setting yourself up for identity theft.

quote=MSNinja]

@LisaSTL wrote:

CanadaMommy, yes you have to show and leave your ID for the safety of the leasing agent. Since my cover story is often divorce. my chosen alias has been put into every customer card except for one. I also pay attention to what is done with my ID. Not once has a leasing agent made a copy. Could another agent have done so while I was gone, it's possible. OTOH, most of the time my ID is locked up. If an agent is lax and starts to just leave it on a desk, I'm not shy about objecting so they secure it before we leave for our tour.

I've performed 3 or 4 apt shops & the agent has always made a copy of my ID. Sometimes they hand the ID back to me right away & sometimes they lock up & give back at end of visit. I spread out my apt shops & shop different management companies & use different MSCS so I don't get caught as a shopper.[/quote]

Not often, but my license has been copied, and then immediately returned to me. I sometimes wonder if the agent would research my address, then realize that I am the homeowner. They would then know that I do not lease, my house has not just sold, or whatever my cover story was. Also, there are a few management companies that require the agent to send a written note as follow-up. I guess there are a few. I have only received one written note in the mail over the years, so maybe there's only one.

With EPMS, some management companies require an alias be used, middle name, last name, initials, or some such. EPMS keeps a record, and when I'm eligible to shop the management company again, all my prior aliases are provided, so I can pick a new one. That's helpful. Also, their rotations are helpful against being ID'd. I never intentionally shop a target that I have previously shopped, which is not always tracked.

While I would also regret being removed, more troublesome to me would be to know that I had been identified by "management companies". I would be thinking long and hard on that.

So I don't know they haven't copied my DL AND returned it to me prior to the tour? Maybe I should go back and check the video. I would remember if my ID was returned just like I remember each and every vehicle test drive shop that didn't ask for my license, because it would have been so odd. I also find it interesting "your area" has all these odd little laws. Since you don't even identify your state I guess there is no way to check. Obviously you are not in one of the 15 or 16 states I've shopped.

Rather than be so damn quick to jump on people you can actually read what they wrote. As long as I have visited this forum you have been a Chicken Little about IDs and audio/video shops. Identities can be stolen by almost everything and anything we do on a daily basis. Don't you ever shop online or use a debit/credit card? Have you decided to live without health insurance in case the provider's database is hacked?

Canadamommy is well know to predict mayhem when shops are recorded or ID required. Those of us who have, collectively, done thousands upon thousands of such shops have not had any of her dire predictions come true. Because I am active in shopper conferences as well as in the rather small video shopper community, I hear from and about video shoppers and shoppers who do the kinds of shops that require unique aliases and follow-up information. I even teach workshops on how to develop and manage aliases and unique phone numbers and emails. So, I come into contact, in person or via forums and emails with far more shoppers doing these sorts of shops than you can imagine. No one goes very long doing apartment shops for the same management company if they give out real emails and/or their actual phone numbers. But working emails and phone numbers are required. In addition, many shoppers use their passports (which do not contain an address unless the holder has elected to insert it by hand). Even if one uses a driver's license, as a woman, stating that you have just come through a nasty divorce, the home has been sold, and will change the DL when you know your new address, makes perfect sense. This is not rocket science, folks.

Even though local law and the leasing agent's employment agreement may require that ID be checked (or even copied) leasing agents absolutely ignore this a very high percentage of the time. Why do you think that nearly 100% of leasing companies require that question on the survey?

Finally, the only shoppers that I have heard of/from who have gotten creepy or harassing personal emails, etc. from leasing agents typically gave their true email and/or phone number. The rare exception was a shopper where the target got a friend at the police to look up her auto registration by supplying the license late number. (Not the info from her driving license.) How often is THAT going to happen?

Canadamommy will ask how I KNOW. I know because I interact regularly with the most active schedulers of such shops as well as with hundreds of such shoppers, and dozens of folks who train shoppers at conferences, every year. We all talk shop.

Could you recommend any other video shopping comanies for me in the south eastern region? Of course I was shopping for EPMS, now I shop for Elite, Shadow, and Clear Evaluations. I have checked out the above mentioned videoshoppingnetwork.com but I never see any jobs on their board. Since you have been around and are so seasoned, I was hoping if you had any ideas where I could get more video shops at or through? thanks in advance!