Here is my problem, I have a scheduler that I really, really like but they have hired some new editors that are causing a problem for me because they are asking for things that are not in the guidelines. It's not about grammatical errors, it's not about not following the guidelines, it's about rejecting shops for things that were not in the guidelines. I love this company, love my scheduler, new editors not so much right now. Have any of you had this experience, and if so, how did you handle it?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/15/2016 03:56PM by pammie8223.

I have come across this problem recently also. I always know when there are new editors since suddenly there are returns in my inbox. Don't know about anyone else but I just cringe when I see a return. Once I hit submit I am done with that shop in my head and really do not want to see it again - haha. I just answer any questions quickly and politely while hoping that the learning curve for the new editors is quick.

I've been dealing with this very issue for some time with one MSC. I have spoken with the corporate office several times. Each time I'm told that they are training their proofreaders. NOT MY PROBLEM. I finally have a scheduler that I'm building a rapport with at this company.

This morning I received my first rejected report. The scheduler is currently fighting the battle to have the report reinstated as he is in total agreement with how I handled the shop. IF the scheduler gets the report reversed, I will be indebted to him and have to work more shops with this pain-in-the-arse editor.

I am so tired of editors over-stepping their boundaries. I've had some make up their own rules to the shop just to show authority over someone. They aren't shoppers' bosses. Shops can't be done without shoppers. But can be done without editors. Anyone can proofread a shop.

@ValG wrote:

I've been dealing with this very issue for some time with one MSC. I have spoken with the corporate office several times. Each time I'm told that they are training their proofreaders. NOT MY PROBLEM. I finally have a scheduler that I'm building a rapport with at this company.

This morning I received my first rejected report. The scheduler is currently fighting the battle to have the report reinstated as he is in total agreement with how I handled the shop. IF the scheduler gets the report reversed, I will be indebted to him and have to work more shops with this pain-in-the-arse editor.

I am so glad that I am not the only one that has had this experience. I adore my scheduler, I have been working with her for years and she keeps me busy but the editor ugh! It would be different if I were being dinged for grammar, spelling, syntax etc but that's not it, you are dinging me for something that I wasn't even supposed to do.

I have not had this problem yet! I guess it depends on the company. If all of you that have never had these problems in the past, couldn't all of you email a letter to the MSC? I don't believe that the schedulers have enough authority to do this for you.

@shopper8 wrote:

I have not had this problem yet! I guess it depends on the company. If all of you that have never had these problems in the past, couldn't all of you email a letter to the MSC? I don't believe that the schedulers have enough authority to do this for you.

What I would ordinarily do in a case like this is just to not take any shops from this MSC, however I really like the scheduler and she has been really nice to me and it's not her fault. I don't want to go to the MSC just yet

I just dropped a company for this. If your instructions read one thing, and you ask for the complete opposite, that's on you. If a reasonable person would interpret said instructions to mean [x], but what you really meant was [y], that's your poor communication skills. Don't, however, expect an editor's boss to side with you. It's a lot easier for him to find another shopper than to hire someone at what he's paying.

"Don't, however, expect an editor's boss to side with you."

I don't agree. When in the right, I have gotten shops an editor invalidated overturned. To me it is worth a shot if you feel the instructions were carried out or something was out of your control and you handled it the best way you could at the time. Sometimes an editor is working with a narrow set of parameters. A project manager or MSC owner can evaluate based on the bigger picture.

I had a problem last year when I felt the editor was single-handedly reducing my rating to less than 90%. I decided to just not do any shops for the MSC. The scheduler wondered why I was not doing any shops for them. I told her I did not want to spoil my record with them because I may end up having a failing grade if the same person edits my work. I did not mention the editor.

The scheduler said it was fine to take a break. Then she emailed me that the recent ratings were overturned because I was right. She said she told the editor to watch it when she graded reports because her editing in some cases were erroneous. She told her she should be careful when placing everyone in the same category just because a batch of reports were problematic.

I am of the opinion that some editors maybe editing the reports in a rush and just grade a whole bundle the same way, just to get their quota. It would be just your luck if you are in that group because he/she may have a set comment. And, as in everything, some editors may also be bias
and do not like the way a shopper writes a report. Just based on my observation. Don't get upset if you do not agree with me.

I don't make so much fuss but I slowly stay away from that MSC because they are not all the same. Mystery shopping should also be fun but we have to be prepared to be judged as we do our evaluation of the client. And if we feel strongly about it, we should voice out in a courteous way. But as in court, know when...Sometimes the battle is not worth it.

@risinghorizon wrote:

I had a problem last year when I felt the editor was single-handedly reducing my rating to less than 90%. I decided to just not do any shops for the MSC. The scheduler wondered why I was not doing any shops for them. I told her I did not want to spoil my record with them because I may end up having a failing grade if the same person edits my work. I did not mention the editor.

The scheduler said it was fine to take a break. Then she emailed me that the recent ratings were overturned because I was right. She said she told the editor to watch it when she graded reports because her editing in some cases were erroneous. She told her she should be careful when placing everyone in the same category just because a batch of reports were problematic.

I am of the opinion that some editors maybe editing the reports in a rush and just grade a whole bundle the same way, just to get their quota. It would be just your luck if you are in that group because he/she may have a set comment. And, as in everything, some editors may also be bias
and do not like the way a shopper writes a report. Just based on my observation. Don't get upset if you do not agree with me.

I don't make so much fuss but I slowly stay away from that MSC because they are not all the same. Mystery shopping should also be fun but we have to be prepared to be judged as we do our evaluation of the client. And if we feel strongly about it, we should voice out in a courteous way. But as in court, know when...Sometimes the battle is not worth it.

Great post, I'm glad that things turned out so well for you. This kind of thing can happen when an editor is new as well. It seems that they sometimes have to prove themselves.

@jjk3995 wrote:

I am so tired of editors over-stepping their boundaries. I've had some make up their own rules to the shop just to show authority over someone. They aren't shoppers' bosses. Shops can't be done without shoppers. But can be done without editors. Anyone can proofread a shop.

Mystery shopping would quickly cease to exist without editors. Editors are in place to clean up grammar, review guidelines, catch inconsistencies, and even prevent outright fraud. If shop reports went directly to the client with no oversight, it wouldn't take long for most clients to cancel their shopping programs entirely. And if the client was the one who decided if you would be paid for your efforts, you'd be rejected more often. They wouldn't take the time to ask for clarification to try to "save" the shop. They'd just tell you that you didn't do it right and not pay you.

@elynbeth wrote:

@jjk3995 wrote:

I am so tired of editors over-stepping their boundaries. I've had some make up their own rules to the shop just to show authority over someone. They aren't shoppers' bosses. Shops can't be done without shoppers. But can be done without editors. Anyone can proofread a shop.

Mystery shopping would quickly cease to exist without editors. Editors are in place to clean up grammar, review guidelines, catch inconsistencies, and even prevent outright fraud. If shop reports went directly to the client with no oversight, it wouldn't take long for most clients to cancel their shopping programs entirely. And if the client was the one who decided if you would be paid for your efforts, you'd be rejected more often. They wouldn't take the time to ask for clarification to try to "save" the shop. They'd just tell you that you didn't do it right and not pay you.

Or they could ding you for not doing something in that was not in the guidelines and sent you through hassle and still not pay you.

Are editors paid extra for returning a report;-) jk, but sometimes it seems that way. One editor questioned and downgraded every single report and her questions weren't covered by the guidelines. She also made contradictory statements and when I emailed back to her a previous email she sent me, things got worse. But, I finally told the scheduler I couldn't shop for the company any more when the editor sent me a sample of writing that she wanted me to emulate. It read in part "the associate twirled around in her chair and deftly took the key from her top drawer. She confidently led the way across the room to the front door smiling the entire way." Yuk. P.S. I'm doing shops for this company again, but they usually bonus it now.

@EmmaRed wrote:

Are editors paid extra for returning a report;-) jk, but sometimes it seems that way. One editor questioned and downgraded every single report and her questions weren't covered by the guidelines. She also made contradictory statements and when I emailed back to her a previous email she sent me, things got worse. But, I finally told the scheduler I couldn't shop for the company any more when the editor sent me a sample of writing that she wanted me to emulate. It read in part "the associate twirled around in her chair and deftly took the key from her top drawer. She confidently led the way across the room to the front door smiling the entire way." Yuk. P.S. I'm doing shops for this company again, but they usually bonus it now.

I think that if I wrote like that the people that consistently edit my shops would wonder if I was smoking something :-). However, if that's the way that they want it written, I can do that, but don't give me instructions to do things one way then complain when I don't do something that you didn't even ask me to do.

I had a shop which was ill prepared and I was asking for something which the client said was still too early to process. The editor contacted me a number of times and I told her or them that I was told they could not process it because it ahead of time. This went on and on with the same question. The shop was really so simple but I could not manufacture anything that was not available, even if it was on the Guidelines.

Earlier, the scheduler even rescheduled it for the next period and had to cancel my shop. I stupidly accepted the rescheduled one and obviously, it was ill timed and really should have been in my 10-foot pole. I don't know why they thought I could change my answer. After numerous emails and responses, I asked them to remove my name from their d/base. Having had a very clean record, I did not want to do it (plus I was paid for the shop) but this time it was the scheduler who made me do it. She got very upset when I thanked her and yes, I am off the MSC and I have no regrets, after many years. She had a number of times given me shops just because I asked where they were located. The difference Pammie, in my case, was that it was the scheduler I was not at all happy with. The editors and other schedulers were fine. The MSC was fine but the scheduler had a bad attitude and caught me at the wrong time. I have never done that again.

To answer the OP, I simply quote the guidelines back to the editor when they question my submission, and copy the scheduler so that they are aware of the problem.

I had a shop last week that had a specific guideline that read: "Do NOT use quotes on this survey....."

I paraphrased the greetings from all of the employees I interacted with only to receive an email this morning from the editor asking for quotes. Now, I have the quotes, but I'm not going to type them all up without at least an apology and/or explanation for why I'm being asked to provided something specifically prohibited by the guidelines.

Editors are not paid more for returning shops. They get paid a set fee. If they return it, it just takes more time out of their day and they only get paid once.

@jcscbrown wrote:

They get paid a set fee.

That's not true for all editors. Some get paid an hourly fee, and I feel like that's often the circumstance when I get a lot of pushback from certain editors on good reports that might otherwise sail right through if they were paid a flat rate.

@jjk3995 wrote:

I am so tired of editors over-stepping their boundaries. I've had some make up their own rules to the shop just to show authority over someone. They aren't shoppers' bosses. Shops can't be done without shoppers. But can be done without editors. Anyone can proofread a shop.

"They aren't shoppers' bosses."
But they are a step higher up on the MSP's totem pole than shoppers.

"But can be done without editors."
Yes, the shops can be done without editors, but you'd see clients dropping MSP's left and right if reports were sent to them as-is.

"Anyone can proofread a shop."
An editor's job involves an immense amount more than just proof reading.

I have never considered a scheduler or editor to be a step above me and never considered myself a step above them. What happened to providing the client with a quality assignment from shop to report being a partnership?

@jjk3995 wrote:

They aren't shoppers' bosses.

@Inside Evaluators wrote:

But they are a step higher up on the MSP's totem pole than shoppers.

While I find the initial post pretty short-sighted, and on the verge of insulting to editors (well, it's just straight up insulting), I think Joan is expressing her own person experience with her answer. That's not the case with all MSCs.

Most of the companies I work for treat me with respect and if I have an issue with an editor, they will often take my side if I bring the issue to them.

Ultimately I agree with Lisa, though. We each have a job to do and it works best if we just work together in a professional manner. We are business associates.

What really bothers me is taking a shop that you normally wouldn't because a scheduler you like is getting desperate, and then having some 22-year old who majored in Womyn's Studies or Theater make useless comments or "corrections," and then dock you several points. I know the points don't matter ("just like Blair Witch 2" - Drew Carey), but it's annoying. This time I let the scheduler know why I won't be taking her hard-to-fill shop. Maybe it will make it easier for the next shopper.

I experienced this with one MSC. I only conducted two shops for them. One of the shops I received a 10, The second Shop (same type of shop) was returned. I was asked for things that were not even in the instructions. The sad thing was I kept my commitment in a snow storm and I terminated my relationship with them.

Sentry....NUMEROUS times they have kicked back the report saying I wrote something wrong when I didn't. Once I had followed their sample response exactly and the editor said I was missing info. I sent it back exactly as it was originally and it was accepted, but I was still admonished for not doing it right the first time...another time they told me to re write different from the directions.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2016 05:52PM by jmitw.

I did this once. I took a shop out of my way, in a snow storm. I almost got hit during the test drive when another driver ran a red light. The editor came back and told me I had to put certain terms into my shop about the car. Thinking it was something that the salesperson was talking about, I did. then they rejected it saying those things don't exist. I won't even work for that company anymore. Terrible ethical standards and their pay is way below this business standards. I got an email today from them wanting to shop an entire mall. It involved evaluating the restroom, several mall staff members, all areas of the mall and parking lot. etc. It was about an hour long shop I'm sure the form was even more in depth. All this for $5. And the same company posted a casino shop. It was numerous interactions and I'm sure that form was a couple hours to submit. That shop paid $20. I'm sure the editors would be extra picky on that one. Are they delusional?

I literally had an editor demand things above what the shop required. I've been doing these shops for 13 plus years. The narrative said to keep comments under 200 words or 1000 characters. I wrote several sentences about my interaction. A full paragraph. It's all I have ever done. He edited my shop, writing 3 long paragraphs of comments he wanted to see. I wrote back saying there is a character limit to the amount I can put in the box. He actually wrote back telling me how many characters I had entered and how many more I could add in an extreme condescending manner. Who has the time or nerve to demand that? Shoppers shouldn't be treated like that. It was a $3 shop. It more than filled the requirements. I have actually done thousands of those shops with perfect scores. Why fight over something so stupid? Then he gave me a rating of a 4 just to act smart. Get a life.
He wasn't trying to get a better shop at all.

Oh and I'd like to point out in his self-glorified 3 paragraphs of what he wanted, his grammar and spelling weren't perfect.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2016 06:40AM by jjk3995.

What would the editors edit if the shoppers didn't do shops? And I don't think I am above an editor, but I don't think they are above me either. I always treat them fine. I don't appreciate all of the condensing way some have recently been editing. Or how 2 shops that were the same can get graded so differently? There is no consistency. Each one wants something different than another editor. None of which is a shop requirement. What really bothers me is when they come back, asking a question that something is clearly stated in the report and then take a point off because they had to contact you. I've had editors apologize for missing it the first time. Isn't that their job?

I posted in other posts that I've had an editor reject a shop just simply because she thought I mis-typed the salesperson's height. He was 6'7". She didn't think anyone could be that tall. She didn't ask me to verify, just rejected it. No other reason. Not only was he about that tall, he was actually exactly that tall because he mentioned it when demonstrating the furniture.
I had to contact the scheduler and she paid me for the shop. There was no need to go through all of that.

I had another editor call and leave a several minute long message, filling up my voicemail. It is not necessary to call. Ever. Send an email. This editor called only to tell me that I was supposed to purchase a pair of footwear during my shop. She was an older woman who arrogantly explained how she doubted that I purchased footwear because she regularly shops at that store and she has never found footwear around $20. She rudely went on and on on my voicemail. She filled up the entire thing, only about buying shoes. I had submitted a clear receipt that showed I purchased footwear with the shop. Yet, she still insisted that I couldn't have possibly found shoes for $20. I did and she demanded that I tell her the style.

It's not necessary for editors to act like this and do these things. I like mystery shopping. I've been doing it full time for 14 plus years. I only have 2 complaints. One is why can't I ever get paid on time? And, the other is these editors.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2016 07:21AM by jjk3995.

I had a not so positive interaction with a scheduler. I had conducted and received a perfect score for a furniture shop that I had done with the MSC before. I had conducted many with other MSC's companies with no issues but had just signed up with them. It was a snow storm but I made a commitment to complete the shop and I went miles out of my way after working my 40 hour job. Once I submitted my report, I felt like I was being bullied by the editor. They asked me for things that were not in the guidelines. They told me that I was not making sense to them it was strange. I told them to cancel my affiliation with them and I will cut my losses.

I try to keep in mind that editors are humans, and humans make mistakes. If they're in training, they're going to make mistakes. I've had luck calmly explaining that a mistake has been made. Sometimes I have to contact a supervisor; sometimes I don't. I agree with others who have said that we're a team: editors, schedulers, shoppers. Teams need to communicate and treat each other fairly and with compassion.

However, because they are humans, there are going to be some rotten experiences too. Some people just suck. It's the same in any industry.