I sent the following email question to a scheduler.
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What does it mean when it states "Self Assign (qualified)"?

Does it mean that one is qualified to Self Assign that shop?

Does it mean that one needs to be qualified to Self Assign that shop?

In the case of the latter, how does one know that one is qualified?


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His answer was, "Self assigning is being able to assign a shop to yourself, without having to apply."

That was not what I asked. I know what self assign means. I asked about what it meant when it stated "Self Assign (qualified)"

It is as if they read about half of the message. My theory is that they are reading the messages on their phones and do not read the entire message. It is really annoying and shows me that they are not that attentive. Of course, then there is the problem of so many of them not answering at all.

Can anybody answer the question that I asked this guy? I think that it should mean that I am qualified to self assign a particular shop. If I was not qualified then it would state, "apply". Am I right?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2016 09:07PM by indy101.

The (qualified) in parenthesis means that you're qualified to self-assign the shop.

If it states self assign (qualified), you are qualified to self assign.

A job frequently has parameters such as 'must be between the ages of 25 and 45', 'must not have shopped this location within the past 60 days'. What I have always found is that if I fit the parameters I can self assign the shop. But if it has only been 48 days since I last shopped the location it will be flagged as ineligible when I attempt to self assign.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

If it states self assign (qualified), you are qualified to self assign.

That is what I thought.

This is the mostly generic email message that I received from the Field Director of the MSC in response to my initial question. She was the first person I contacted. I had advised her that it stated that I was qualified to self assign, but that it was not working when I tried to assign myself. She would not acknowledge that it showed that I was qualified. Instead, she responded with some generic double talk. For the purpose of this post, my comments are in parentheses.

"We appreciate your assistance in shopping with ................................

(This is the part that really makes no sense.)
You are unable to self assign due to your rating. While the ratings do exist, they are only used for editing purposes.Therefore, we do not offer shoppers their numerical rating. Instead we offer you feedback on how to improve your reports.

(Huh?)

This feedback can be found on your log. We also offer a writing guide on our site with helpful tips on how to write a great report! Please note that all reports are sent directly to our clients, so they must be as accurate and concise as possible.

(Of course, and so what is the problem?)

Also another factor that affects your rating, is not completing shops by their assigned due date. We have deadlines to meet for each shop. Therefore when a shop is not completed by its due date, our deadlines are gravely affected.

(No kidding.)

If you are interested in raising your rating, please take a look at the feedback on your log. Also check out our helpful writing guide and if you do pick up any shops, please submit them by their assigned due date.

(I always complete the reports by the due date. The only problems that I have are with messages that I receive from Field Directors and schedulers that do not make any sense.)

As of now you can pick up shops by applying to them or emailing the appropriate scheduler and they will assign you to the shop, if possible. If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact me.

(I asked her again why it states that I am qualified to self-assign,, but I can not self-assign. She did not answer that question.).

Thank you."

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2016 05:07AM by indy101.

Some shops show that option even if it might not apply to you at this time. Basically, if you read the parameters and are in rotation for the shop, you should be able to self assign. Try it....if it doesn't allow you to self assign, you just try again with the "apply" option.

I can't imagine contacting a scheduler about 'Self assign (qualified)' unless I was obviously qualified and when I went to self assign there was a rejection that was unexplainable. My contact would be asking if there was some additional qualification requirement that had not been mentioned.

I would have replied the same way as the scheduler and then not answered any further emails. Is that how it went? They don't have time for that.

Did you try to self-assign or are you just asking theoretically?

@Flash wrote:

I can't imagine contacting a scheduler about 'Self assign (qualified)' unless I was obviously qualified and when I went to self assign there was a rejection that was unexplainable. My contact would be asking if there was some additional qualification requirement that had not been mentioned.

I had already done one shop that was successful. The reason I contacted her was because it stated self assign but it didn't work. There was no option to merely apply either. Her response made no sense. I have posted one of them elsewhere on this thread.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2016 05:12AM by indy101.

@OCyou2 wrote:

Some shops show that option even if it might not apply to you at this time. Basically, if you read the parameters and are in rotation for the shop, you should be able to self assign. Try it....if it doesn't allow you to self assign, you just try again with the "apply" option.

I only have the self-assign (qualified) option.

It says right in the post that she DID try to Self-Assign and it didn't work.

What is hypothetical (hypothetical is what I assume you meant) about that ?

>>>>I had advised her that it stated that I was qualified to self assign, but that it was not working when I tried to assign myself.<<<<

@SoCalMama wrote:

Did you try to self-assign or are you just asking theoretically?

@Boutique wrote:

It says right in the post that she DID try to Self-Assign and it didn't work.

What is hypothetical (hypothetical is what I assume you meant) about that ?

>>>>I had advised her that it stated that I was qualified to self assign, but that it was not working when I tried to assign myself.<<<<

@SoCalMama wrote:

Did you try to self-assign or are you just asking theoretically?

Yes, sorry. Hypothetically.

As a former scheduler, here is what I would want to see:

Hi Queen of all Schedulers,

I can't self-assign. Can you see if I am qualified? Can you help me?

Thank you,

Shopper who is mindful of my time.

I didn't have time or energy to be reading multiple choice emails. That's just me though.
Isn't that what OP wanted originally? "Why can't I self assign?"
When you get 100 emails, there isn't time for that.


Ah, I see the OP's second post now. They are rated too low to self-assign. That's not good. You will be their choice if there is no other qualified shopper. That's what the email says. (Per the email, if you are interested, email the scheduler.)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2016 05:45AM by SoCalMama.

@SoCalMama wrote:

@Boutique wrote:

It says right in the post that she DID try to Self-Assign and it didn't work.

What is hypothetical (hypothetical is what I assume you meant) about that ?

>>>>I had advised her that it stated that I was qualified to self assign, but that it was not working when I tried to assign myself.<<<<

@SoCalMama wrote:

Did you try to self-assign or are you just asking theoretically?

Yes, sorry. Hypothetically.

As a former scheduler, here is what I would want to see:

Hi Queen of all Schedulers,

I can't self-assign. Can you see if I am qualified? Can you help me?

Thank you,

Shopper who is mindful of my time.

I didn't have time or energy to be reading multiple choice emails. That's just me though.
Isn't that what OP wanted originally? "Why can't I self assign?"
When you get 100 emails, there isn't time for that.


Ah, I see the OP's second post now. They are rated too low to self-assign. That's not good. You will be their choice if there is no other qualified shopper. That's what the email says. (Per the email, if you are interested, email the scheduler.)

Hey, your highness,
I stated that is what she said. I am not buying it. When I asked why I was showing the option of self-assigning, she did not respond. I also asked her to further explain the low rating because I had done one for the company, and it was well received. That is when she came back with the double talk about having ratings but they are not shown because they are only used for editing purposes.

My time is valuable too. And if they can not handle responding to the shoppers, they need more schedulers. However, I have the choice to not do business with these, to use one of their terms, flakes.

@SoCalMama wrote:

I would have replied the same way as the scheduler and then not answered any further emails. Is that how it went? They don't have time for that.

Did you try to self-assign or are you just asking theoretically?

Well, the scheduler did not answer the question that I asked. They don't have time to answer questions? Who the heck is going to answer questions then. I think you mean hypothetically. No, it is not hypothetical.

@indy101 wrote:

@Flash wrote:

I can't imagine contacting a scheduler about 'Self assign (qualified)' unless I was obviously qualified and when I went to self assign there was a rejection that was unexplainable. My contact would be asking if there was some additional qualification requirement that had not been mentioned.

I had already done one shop that was successful. The reason I contacted her was because it stated self assign but it didn't work. There was no option to merely apply either. Her response made no sense. I have posted one of them elsewhere on this thread.

Two people responded to this post by telling me that if it says Self Assign (qualified) then it means that I am qualified. That made sense to me.

However, one person told me that it will state Self Assign (qualified) even if I am not qualified.

The scheduler would have answered my question if she had responded with one of these two answers. See how easy that was?

However, since I received two different answers, I still do not know for certain which is correct. It doesn't make sense to me why it would mention anything about self assigning and qualified if I was not qualified. But, oh well.

It also would have been helpful if this company would have provided the information in their FAQs, seeing that is what FAQs are for. I am certain that I am not the only person who has questions about this subject. Then the scheduler or schedulers could have kept on doing what they do that keeps them so busy that they can not afford the time to respond to a lowly shopper such as myself.

I just double checked this to make sure I am right. There is a restaurant shop available that has a 90 day rotation. I did it last month, but when I bring up the shop, it says "self assign (qualified)". When I select it, it tells me that I cannot assign the shop because I did it only 38 days ago.

indy101, maybe it would be clearer if worded "self assign, when qualified".

Yes. You are qualified to self assign when in rotation.

@OCyou2 wrote:

I just double checked this to make sure I am right. There is a restaurant shop available that has a 90 day rotation. I did it last month, but when I bring up the shop, it says "self assign (qualified)". When I select it, it tells me that I cannot assign the shop because I did it only 38 days ago.

Yes, I know. I was using it to illustrate the point to the OP.

@indy101 wrote:

I sent the following email question to a scheduler.

The thing is, you actually sent four questions to the scheduler. You have a to take a little responsibility in not receiving the answer you wanted by recognizing that you may have a sent a somewhat confusing multi-part question.

What other shoppers on a forum tell you that a phrase may mean has no actual bearing on what it means to the MSC. My guess is that it means you may self-assign if you are qualified, but that you were not qualified.

The field director apparently tried to answer all questions in one swipe with a standardized email that they send to unqualified shoppers. You are not due a reason for your lack of qualification, however. Some MSCs may give one, and others may not.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@indy101 wrote:

I sent the following email question to a scheduler.

The thing is, you actually sent four questions to the scheduler. You have a to take a little responsibility in not receiving the answer you wanted by recognizing that you may have a sent a somewhat confusing multi-part question.

What other shoppers on a forum tell you that a phrase may mean has no actual bearing on what it means to the MSC. My guess is that it means you may self-assign if you are qualified, but that you were not qualified.


The field director apparently tried to answer all questions in one swipe with a standardized email that they send to unqualified shoppers. You are not due a reason for your lack of qualification, however. Some MSCs may give one, and others may not.

What does it mean when it states "Self Assign (qualified)"?

Does it mean that one is qualified to Self Assign that shop?

Does it mean that one needs to be qualified to Self Assign that shop?

In the case of the latter, how does one know that one is qualified?



Those are the questions. Yes, there are four but they could have been answered via one answer. However, they were not answered. There is no good reason why I did not receive a definitive answer from the MSC. Being busy is not a good answer. I tried to make the questions as simple as possible.
I do not know how they could have been made simpler. As I stated elsewhere, the answer to such a question should have been spelled out in the FAQs or an introductory section. I looked. There was no information about it at all.

The comment you made about not being due an answer is odd. Are you one of those people who place no value on the shoppers, and thus think that they should not have policies explained? It appears so to me.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Yes. You are qualified to self assign when in rotation.

@OCyou2 wrote:

I just double checked this to make sure I am right. There is a restaurant shop available that has a 90 day rotation. I did it last month, but when I bring up the shop, it says "self assign (qualified)". When I select it, it tells me that I cannot assign the shop because I did it only 38 days ago.

Thank you for taking the time to try an clarify for me. I think that the rotation was OK. It was the same store that I had done a previous shop, but a different department. That is another thing. When I clicked on the self assign, I did not receive any message that I was not qualified. I had received such messages before, such I was too old. The fact that there was no explanation was odd. That is why I didn't buy into the Field Director stating that my rating was too low. It wasn't low when I did the shop prior in a different department, and I received a positive critique for my report. The shop I did not get was going to be the same type too..

I can see bein told that my rating was too low if there was a problem with my previous shop, but there wasn't. And the fact that she claimed that the use the rating only for editing purposes did not make sense.

@indy101 wrote:

The comment you made about not being due an answer is odd. Are you one of those people who place no value on the shoppers, and thus think that they should not have policies explained? It appears so to me.

I think the fact that you cannot see how the question could have been phrased better and immediately take a combative attitude toward any opinion that differs from yours may be part of the issue.

Not being required to answer a serious of questions about a shop you are not qualified to self-assign for an not valuing shoppers are two completely different topics. You seem to have a lack of understanding about how the industry functions from the side of the schedulers and MSC operators. To most schedulers, that gives the impression of someone who may not be the most valuable shopper.

I am someone who places less value on combative and problematic shoppers, so to answer your question; Yes, I feel you are not due an explanation. You have already stated that you do not wish to work for the MSC, so any time and effort spent on answering your question is essentially wasted.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I think the fact that you cannot see how the question could have been phrased better and immediately take a combative attitude toward any opinion that differs from yours may be part of the issue.

I am someone who places less value on combative and problematic shoppers, so to answer your question; Yes, I feel you are not due an explanation. You have already stated that you do not wish to work for the MSC, so any time and effort spent on answering your question is essentially wasted.

This may be an example of a scheduler not answering the question, but it is an even better example of a high-maintenance shopper.

@Mert wrote:

indy101, maybe it would be clearer if worded "self assign, when qualified".

Yes!

@roflwofl wrote:

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I think the fact that you cannot see how the question could have been phrased better and immediately take a combative attitude toward any opinion that differs from yours may be part of the issue.

I am someone who places less value on combative and problematic shoppers, so to answer your question; Yes, I feel you are not due an explanation. You have already stated that you do not wish to work for the MSC, so any time and effort spent on answering your question is essentially wasted.

This may be an example of a scheduler not answering the question, but it is an even better example of a high-maintenance shopper.

Mod note: name calling is inappropriate

@indy101 wrote:

@roflwofl wrote:

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I think the fact that you cannot see how the question could have been phrased better and immediately take a combative attitude toward any opinion that differs from yours may be part of the issue.

I am someone who places less value on combative and problematic shoppers, so to answer your question; Yes, I feel you are not due an explanation. You have already stated that you do not wish to work for the MSC, so any time and effort spent on answering your question is essentially wasted.

This may be an example of a scheduler not answering the question, but it is an even better example of a high-maintenance shopper.

Troll much Steve?

OMG that is funny as hell.

You have been at this six months. Don't even go toe to toe with me or with Steve. That's laughable.
He gave you great advice. You are proving yourself to be high-maintenance and combative. That's a terrible combination.

@SoCalMama wrote:

@indy101 wrote:

@roflwofl wrote:

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I think the fact that you cannot see how the question could have been phrased better and immediately take a combative attitude toward any opinion that differs from yours may be part of the issue.

I am someone who places less value on combative and problematic shoppers, so to answer your question; Yes, I feel you are not due an explanation. You have already stated that you do not wish to work for the MSC, so any time and effort spent on answering your question is essentially wasted.

This may be an example of a scheduler not answering the question, but it is an even better example of a high-maintenance shopper.

Troll much Steve?

OMG that is funny as hell.

You have been at this six months. Don't even go toe to toe with me or with Steve. That's laughable.
He gave you great advice. You are proving yourself to be high-maintenance and combative. That's a terrible combination.

I am not combative. This post was about asking a legitimate question that was not answered by the Field Agent or a Scheduler. I asked the questions in several different ways. Some people even were able to provide an answer, right or wrong, on this thread. They had no trouble understanding the questions. Since I posted this I have found others asking the same question on older posts. So, it ain't just me. Why did you and "Steve" bother to respond to this post? You haven't contributed anything, or did I miss something? However, if trolling is your hobby, go right ahead.

Fortunately, your opinions of me are no more important than my opinions of you, so why do you bother? <3

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/01/2016 10:26PM by indy101.

@indy101 wrote:

@SoCalMama wrote:

@indy101 wrote:

Troll much Steve?

OMG that is funny as hell.

You have been at this six months. Don't even go toe to toe with me or with Steve. That's laughable.
He gave you great advice. You are proving yourself to be high-maintenance and combative. That's a terrible combination.

I am not combative. Why did you and "Steve" bother to respond to this post? You haven't contributed anything, or did I miss something? However, if trolling is your hobby, go right ahead.

OK, I don't have a dog in this hunt, but, to provide another opinion, I think all the opinions provided had some value to the issue you raised. Both Steve and SoCalMama are long-time shoppers and very knowledgeable. I do not always agree with them, and they do not always agree with me, but respect is key. If you open your mind and drop the combative attitude, you might get the value of their responses. In any case, this is an open internet forum and you may not always like some of the answers you get but all posters have a right to post.

A poster who calls others names - like TROLL - is often a troll. Are you a troll? Why would you call others that name? As a new forum member, name-calling and a combative attitude will not win you friends and you may find others are unwilling to respond when you have questions.

Because I am offended by the name-calling in your post, I have given it a thumbs-down and reported it to the moderator. I encourage all forum members who are troubled by the combative attitude and name-calling to also report and give a thumbs-down.