Editor humor

My score was 9 out of 10 because there were "1-3 grammer miss takes" That was the editor's comment for my report.

He/She is just messing with me, right? Anyway, I got a laugh out of it.

Edited for clarity

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/22/2017 04:19AM by ChrisCooper.

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Either that or she is laughing at you and not with you? You write really well from what I have always seen. What could she be referring to?

I don't know what the editor was referring to, but I thought it was funny that the editor wrote just 3 words and had 3 mistakes. Made me wonder what he/she changed in my report...like changing "its" to "it's" or "cannot" to "can not."

This is a favorite pet peeve of mine. Frequently, those MSCs that INSIST on proper grammar and spelling will have numerous mistakes in their guidelines. Should we call them on it? I dunno (I don't know)

I have done that, LOL. I once sent a set of guidelines back to the MSC with corrections (at least 8 errors). They corrected it. What was really funny? They had in the guidelines for the section that needed the most corrections: "example of an exemplary report". Ha!

I send the guideline mistakes from a non-shopping email. Unfortunately not everyone receives constructive criticism well.

"Let me offer you my definition of social justice: I keep what I earn and you keep what you earn. Do you disagree? Well then tell me how much of what I earn belongs to you - and why?” ~Walter Williams

I've sent corrections for guidelines before. One that I sent back in June still hasn't been corrected. The guidelines for a car shop say "NO SATURDAYS". Yet, right there in the guidelines it says "Saturday shops must be conducted before 1 p.m." Another one for the same client/MSC said the pre-visit contact had to be done at least 1 hour before visiting the shop. But elsewhere in the guidelines it specifies that it must be done 24 hours prior. This also still stands despite my pointing it out. Ah well. . .

What's done is done. An egg cracked cannot be cured.
There are 3 kinds of lies. Lies, Damn lies, and statistics.

In the instance where I corrected their guidelines: they updated their guidelines within 72 hours reflecting my corrections.

Huh. I've thought about writing in about some of the mistakes I've seen. One time it was conflicting instructions that I asked about. They came back and said "no the instructions are right!". They weren't, I just made my best guess with it and still got paid. Phew

Well, I can't speak for other companies, but if you ever see a grammar/spelling/typo mistake (or unclear instructions) on the guidelines, shop posting, or score sheet of a Shoppers' View shop, PLEASE email me about them! I read through everything once a month, and sometimes I'll catch something, and go, "Ah, geeze. How long has it been like this?" I'm always appreciative of extra eyes on our work.

Administrative Manager for Shoppers' View
p: 800.264.5677 | e: christinew@shoppersview.com | w: www.shoppersview.com

I learned in college from an English professor that several pairs of eyes are always better than one. Proofread, proofread, and then have a few other people proofread it as well. We all can make mistakes. I am polite when I bring guidelines or shop report form errors to the attention of the MSCs, but I always use my shopping email address and let them know it's me. I have been an editor for two different MSCs and these things just kind of jump out at me. I can't just not say anything about it. If I were the one who wrote the guidelines, I would want to know

I've wondered when I get marked off for small edits, because I am a writer and editor and a good speller. Of course cutting and pasting can lead to errors. What is more likely is a difference in what we call style. I typically use AP (Associated Press) style in my work, but there are many others, such as Chicago style, and many companies have their own in-house style based on their preferences. Guidelines rarely specify style, as far as I've seen.

One difference is spelling out numbers. AP uses numerals for 0-9, then spells out ten and above, whereas other style guides use numerals up to 99. That is probably the type of "miss take" your editor had to change.

@pjmacd wrote:

This is a favorite pet peeve of mine. Frequently, those MSCs that INSIST on proper grammar and spelling will have numerous mistakes in their guidelines. Should we call them on it? I dunno (I don't know)

You can always use a grammar checker on the reports but since they can be used for free your result will vary.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2017 07:56PM by 2stepps.

I do not know. Lol

@ShoppersViewChristine wrote:

Well, I can't speak for other companies, but if you ever see a grammar/spelling/typo mistake (or unclear instructions) on the guidelines, shop posting, or score sheet of a Shoppers' View shop, PLEASE email me about them! I read through everything once a month, and sometimes I'll catch something, and go, "Ah, geeze. How long has it been like this?" I'm always appreciative of extra eyes on our work.

Christine I'm signing up with your company right now just because you wrote that.

I feel for you. Here is feedback I recently received:

Shop Grade: 9

Comments: Thanks for your help in completing this shop for us.
Please use just a single space at the end of each sentence, after all punctuation and between words. Thanks!

Isn't is proper to type two spaces after a period at the end of a sentence? This shopper is confused!

What is truly more frustrating, to me anyway, is not necessarily the typographical and/or grammatical errors in shop guidelines. It is the inconsistency between Guidelines, Additional Comments, and other notes provided for the shop. For example, I did a shop in June for Intelli-shop where the Guidelines stated to "Ask the (location) if there are any events or special programs going on ...". The Shop Comments stated to ask, "Do you give away or sell coupon books?" I reached out to the scheduler before the shop date and didn't receive a return email so I asked both questions to be sure. My shop was rejected without pay. I sent several emails stating the above inconsistencies to the scheduler and to the general email for this MSC. I never received one reply to my many requests for reconsideration for pay based on the inconsistent guidelines/shop comments. I am always quick to respond to editor's requests and all other requests from an MSC.

Christine, I have recently begun doing shops for Shoppers' View and look forward to working with you! Thank you for being open to honest critiques and feedback. I know things slip through the cracks not just for shoppers but for editors, etc. I was always told to proofread my work by reading the lines backward. I just use Grammarly and it works great!

@DNinCA wrote:

I feel for you. Here is feedback I recently received:

Shop Grade: 9

Comments: Thanks for your help in completing this shop for us.
Please use just a single space at the end of each sentence, after all punctuation and between words. Thanks!

Isn't is proper to type two spaces after a period at the end of a sentence? This shopper is confused!

Not for at least 17 years.

What?

Two spaces after a period was the standard when typewriters and word processors were used. Its changed to one space after a period with the proliferation of computers. So, as kryswyn916 said, the style guide for the last 20+ years has been one space. I'm pretty sure it was 2 spaces when I was younger, but by the time I was in college is when it changed.

Interesting. Thank you for the insight. I've never heard this & have never had an editor mention it.

Aw, shucks. Thanks, kryswyn916 and DNinCA! I look forward to working with you. Feel free to give me a call or shoot me an email if you ever have any questions or concerns.

Administrative Manager for Shoppers' View
p: 800.264.5677 | e: christinew@shoppersview.com | w: www.shoppersview.com

I once had an editor point out something I could do to improve my score but when I looked at my score it was a 10 out of 10... Not sure it could really get higher than that.

This just happened to me last week.

@sensei wrote:

I once had an editor point out something I could do to improve my score but when I looked at my score it was a 10 out of 10... Not sure it could really get higher than that.

DNinCA, most editors do not care if you use one or two spaces after a sentence, most are just concerned with punctuation, spelling, and grammar. There is one company (ACL) that used to always prefer two spaces but didn't count off for it if you used only one, and I do think that Service Check wants only one space, not two (and they might count off, I haven't shopped for them in a long time). Sometimes I still use two spaces when I do reports because I am old school and it's a habit, but no one ever says anything about it.

If there are inconsistencies or other problems with the instructions, I check with the scheduler before doing the shop. This gets me the info I need and lets them know there is an issue with the instructions. However, I think I once ran into an assignment that had so many issues between two different instruction sheets and the form that it would have taken more time and effort than the shop was worth to get it clarified, and I just cancelled it. Fortunately not many are that bad.

As far as spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes, I would like to offer another option than pointing them out to an msc that might not take it kindly:

editmob.com

This site accepts corrections to on-line text and submits them under its own name to the offending site. They even have a drawing each month for their contributors, though I think it's just for a small gift card. I find this is a great way to vent frustration with msc double standards without putting my shopper reputation at risk.

You are violating your ICA if you submit portions of a MSC's guidelines to a third party site.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

All that's required is the page designation and one sentence, or even a portion of a sentence--just enough to allow the writer at the publishing site to locate the problem in the text. If a name is included in that sentence, it can be XXXed out. This may technically still be a violation, but there is not enough information included to be of any use to anyone, even if anyone at editmob were actually interested in the content. In other words, I don't believe this sort of submission jeopardizes confidential information, which is the intent of the non-reveal clause. Please check out the site and, if you're still uncomfortable with the idea, don't use it.

Your belief about whether it jeopardizes confidential information is irrelevant. We sign those contracts which are legally binding. You have admitted to violating your agreements. You should not recommend other shoppers do the same.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/02/2017 02:42PM by LisaSTL.

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