Closed Location Prior to visit?

What would you do if you know a location is closed prior to visiting the location? I just accepted an assignment for a location that I know permanently closed a few month ago. There is no directions in the guidelines for what payment policy is but the instructions state call to verify hours and if you can't reach someone contact scheduler.

Should I let the scheduler know the location is closed prior to the date of my shop?

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Yes, I would notify the scheduler. They will most likely remove it and you'll not receive any pay or maybe they know but need additional confirmation. Sometimes it takes a few cycles for a closed shop to be removed from the client's list of places to shop. They may want you to shop it anyway and report it as a closed location with photos. It's best to contact the scheduler to find out how to proceed. If you do the shop without notifying them prior and find it closed you may not receive pay anyway because you did not call to verify hours since that was in the guidelines.

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The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

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Definitely message them and let them know. Many companies only offer a $1-$3 go-look-fee, or a half-price go look fee, etc. or require a phone call and such. That being said though, I had a little $10 shop with Intelli once upon a time and told them the place was closed. They said the client required a photo of the closed building so I went, snap-snap-snap and I was paid $10 for the visit. Thankfully, I emailed them first to ask because I was about to cancel it out of my shop log. I snagged it up a week before closing and realized afterwards the store would be shut down by the time it was to be started.

MegglesKat

It depends on what mystery shopping company the shop is for. As others have said, some don't pay for the info, some offer only $1 to $3 for the closed location, others pay half price. A few MSCs offer full pay - I have received full pay (including bonuses!) for closed locations from Stericycle, North Fork Research, and Alta 360 Research. Just make sure you get the required photos.

I emailed the scheduler and they said thank you for letting us know, Have a great day

@eyelove2shop wrote:

I emailed the scheduler and they said thank you for letting us know, Have a great day

That's exactly what I would have done.

What do you want? $3 for being helpful?

I'd be richer than heck if I got $3 everytime I was helpful or nice to somebody. SMH

@SoCalMama wrote:

That's exactly what I would have done.

What do you want? $3 for being helpful?

I'd be richer than heck if I got $3 everytime I was helpful or nice to somebody. SMH

I'm guessing you save your niceness for the MSCs?

Don't shake your head too hard, I'd hate for you to break your neck.

@SoCalMama wrote:

@eyelove2shop wrote:

I emailed the scheduler and they said thank you for letting us know, Have a great day

That's exactly what I would have done.

What do you want? $3 for being helpful?

I'd be richer than heck if I got $3 everytime I was helpful or nice to somebody. SMH

@ChrisCooper wrote:

@SoCalMama wrote:

That's exactly what I would have done.

What do you want? $3 for being helpful?

I'd be richer than heck if I got $3 everytime I was helpful or nice to somebody. SMH

I'm guessing you save your niceness for the MSCs?

Common sense.

Sad face not needed.

That's a smiley face. And he's winking, too. He's not sad.

@ChrisCooper wrote:

That's a smiley face. And he's winking, too. He's not sad.

Yes, I know. I am referring to the OP's sad face, which makes it appear that she wanted to be paid for essentially letting the scheduler know that the location was closed.

No. That isn't what happened to me. I picked up a store and realized it had closed one year prior. MF told me to go to the store anyway, verify it was closed and I took a picture. Contact your scheduler and let them know. I know that MF still wanted me to go there and verify it was closed.

Once MF had me go anyway and take the pictures. Another time when I told them a location was closed, they just removed it from my assigned shops without a word.

I had that happen with a pre-security airport shop that I used to do monthly when I'd also get parking lot and shuttle shops. I'm a plane nerd so I always enjoyed the hour or so on the airport grounds. Anyway, the pre-security kiosk would always be closed and I would always take a picture, then one shop it up and disappeared and I took a picture of where it used to be, sent it to the MSC, would get paid for the shop and repeated the procedure for the next three months until they agreed that the location was well and truly closed and the shop stopped coming on the boards. I miss it.

@SoCalMama wrote:

@ChrisCooper wrote:

That's a smiley face. And he's winking, too. He's not sad.

Yes, I know. I am referring to the OP's sad face, which makes it appear that she wanted to be paid for essentially letting the scheduler know that the location was closed.

I provided the scheduler with prevalent information that their client may or may not be aware of.

FWIW, I never stated I expected to be paid, although it would have been nice.

The shop paid a reasonable amount of money so I think a partial payment would be appropriate.

I'm confused to why you would think a partial payment would be appropriate. Did you physically went to the location? If you did, the MSC would probably offered a partial payment but you only informed them that the location was closed and you did not make the phone call prior to visiting the location. You only knew that the location was closed and shared that information with the scheduler.

I did call.

There are two locations with a similar address near each other (same retailer). I knew one of them were closed. When I saw the shop, I picked it up because it was near another shop I have and close to my home. I didn't know this specific location was closed initially. I called and the phone kept ringing. I googled the address and confirmed the location is closed.The other location is still open.

Either way, this was a job and I did conduct a portion of the assignment. As stated, I provided prevalent information to the scheduler for their client. I did not expect payment. I am not upset I did not receive payment.

@catgrannyof5 wrote:

I'm confused to why you would think a partial payment would be appropriate. Did you physically went to the location? If you did, the MSC would probably offered a partial payment but you only informed them that the location was closed and you did not make the phone call prior to visiting the location. You only knew that the location was closed and shared that information with the scheduler.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/2017 01:27PM by eyelove2shop.

Okay, you left out the information about calling the location in your beginning post so that's why I was not clear about your payment inquiry.

I called after I posted the question. I emailed the scheduler after confirming that the location is closed.

@eyelove2shop wrote:

What would you do if you know a location is closed prior to visiting the location? I just accepted an assignment for a location that I know permanently closed a few month ago. There is no directions in the guidelines for what payment policy is but the instructions state call to verify hours and if you can't reach someone contact scheduler.

Should I let the scheduler know the location is closed prior to the date of my shop?

I don't understand why there was even a question about whether to contact the scheduler to let her know the location is closed. The OP said "the instructions state call to verify hours and if you can't reach someone contact scheduler." So, definitely the OP would be required to call the location. If the location is closed, the OP would have been probably unable to reach someone and definitely unable to verify hours (if there are no open hours), so therefore the instructions required that the scheduler be contacted and told the location was closed.

What am I missing here? The instructions seem to me to be very clear that the scheduler would be contacted.

I was wondering if I should do it now or the day of the shop. The shop was scheduled for today.

Since it was addressed in the instructions, I would probably have done it right away. Usually, when the instructions require you to call and verify hours and notify the scheduler if you can't reach someone, it means they do not want you to make a trip to a closed location and they will not pay you. Or that they do not want you to visit the closed location without the scheduler's approval, meaning with the scheduler's approval you will usually be paid something for visiting it.

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