Was told I am not longer allowed to perform a shop because I brought two kids with me? I don't even have kids.
Warning: For Full Access Please Log In or Create an Account (Free)
I'd join in and walk in the middle. I am 5'3" with waist length hair.
*they're walkin' and they're stoppin', they're phones are surely clockin', they're all out mystery shoppin'* ... insert Addams Family tune.
MegglesKat
Let's make this the official mystery shoppers theme song. It will surely run through my head for now on when I reach for my stopwatch. lol@MountainCacher88 wrote:
*they're walkin' and they're stoppin', they're phones are surely clockin', they're all out mystery shoppin'* ... insert Addams Family tune.
MSPA Gold Certified 2003
I was recently banned for a period because one employee said, "Hi, nice to see you again." They assumed she remembered me from the shop more than a month ago, but when I told her I had just gone on my own the week before, she reversed the ban.
Please keep us posted. If you don't hear back, you might try requesting or self-assigning (as the case may be) for the next eligible shop. Or just ask to talk to a higher-up.
Please keep us posted. If you don't hear back, you might try requesting or self-assigning (as the case may be) for the next eligible shop. Or just ask to talk to a higher-up.
I would not let this go. You might not get shops if other MSC think you bring your kids. Even if you don't get paid I would want to clear this up for future reference.
It sounds like MC stated her case and I think the MSC believes her. It sounds like the client, however, is not going to budge so not much else she can do at this point.
@MountainCacher88 wrote:
*they're walkin' and they're stoppin', they're phones are surely clockin', they're all out mystery shoppin'* ... insert Addams Family tune.
4th line.. "The chicken sleeps alone." (Snap, snap)
I remember doing a "Golden Arches" shop where you must shop alone. I was sitting in the dining room eating, when these two little kids came over and sat at my table! There was some video game TV device at my table and the kids wanted to play with it. I was terrified the surveillance cameras would show me sitting with 2 kids and throw my shop out! Thankfully their Grandma came over, apologized and took the kids to their own table! 
Who knew children could be so scary, LOL.
Hi MountainCacher88. So sorry this happened to you. Just wondering… was there a receipt involved? Most of my restaurant shops require an itemized receipt to be submitted with the report. If so, yours should have confirmed to the client that no kids meals were purchased. And/or, the receipt sometimes even shows how many guests were present. Wow, so hard to believe! Feel so bad for you!
Yes, this is a terrible situation. If you don't get paid, maybe you would consider naming the MSC or the client.
Is there a legitimate issue with the location's surveillance records? Could video segments have become mixed up or could the record of the OP's visit have been misplaced?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2017 04:51PM by Shop-et-al.
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2017 04:51PM by Shop-et-al.
I still haven't found out. I did submit a receipt -- both itemized and credit copy. It lists seat 1 and seat 2. I did the shop through a scheduler service for Business Evaluation Services. I followed up again but no further replies. The scheduler who messaged me said it appeared I would be paid but had no further info for me and told me the best I could hope to do would be contact someone else at MSS/BES but it seems fruitless. I don't know of anything else I shop for them, but it's quite frustrating.
MegglesKat
Did you try calling MSS at 888-300-8292, that's the # I got from the website. Hopefully you'll get paid and be dome with them.
@MountainCacher88 wrote:
So, I went to apply to one of my favorite little lunch shops a couple of days ago. It's a full meal reimbursement really ($35) and you can take a guest. Well, when I clicked the shop and it said it was no longer available to me, I am ineligible, and to contact the MSC for more information... I decided to send an inquiry.
The response I finally received? I was told I was no longer allowed to do these shops because the client reviewed video footage and I brought two small children with me on my last visit. Ummmm, I don't have kids, and I certainly didn't just bring a couple of random ones to work with me.
I wrote back explaining this (not in those words) but was told after reviewing the footage, the client isn't budging because I brought kids. HELLO -- here's my headshot. Here's a photo of my husband and I in street clothes. This is who you're looking for... Who did you watch on video 'cause it wasn't me. I was polite and all through the entire process and haven't heard a peep back since. Meh. The shop only pays $12 but it reimburses enough to pay for a full meal for two and dessert. Someone flupped up.
If you don't mind being outed on national TV tell them you are going to sue for defamation of character and loss of income over the next 20 years judge Judy would probably hear the case. What you think you can pull an Alices restaurant. I do not think so.
To all of you that complain about the MSC, no one ever goes to the length to do something about it to prove they are wrong. This industry is not regulated like it should be and there is alot of room for corruption on the companies and the clients. The end result is the shopper that is in the field ends up paying the cost. We as a whole can fix it but would have to join forces to get this industry to have more checks and balances and that would be to be employees. Then they would think twice about screwing you over for a job done correctly.!
I have no desire to be an employee
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
Precisely why I try to take pictires of all people I interect with.
Just out of curiousity, how many entries are on the meal ticket? 2 adult meals? 1 adult meal? Does the MSC really believe that you brought 2 kids and yourself and bought 1 food and 1 drink item (as an example)?
I think that should be enough proof.
Did you take any pictures of the food, or any pictures at all? They should be date-time stamped.
I think that should be enough proof.
Did you take any pictures of the food, or any pictures at all? They should be date-time stamped.
I had a shopper tell me once that no matter how bad the visit is they never speak too harshly against the company/employees because they don't want to be banned or have a shop rejected(lose money). I thought they were insane until I started shopping myself and reading this site.
A client once said that my report was inaccurate because a family with small kids was in the restaurant right before me, and had made a mess. I was the only one there and the dining room was immaculate. I confirmed that my report was correct, and they must have mistaken me for someone else. The editor came back a while later and said that they weren't able to approve the report. Very irritating, especially since I knew the time was correct and a family had come in just as I was leaving.
FloridaResident and winterslike, good points. MC took her spouse. I am sure the receipt showed 2 meals. Laughable to think that the client thought she took two kids and didn't feed them, or put their meals on a separate check. (Told y'all they were ghastly children, LOL).
7star, no reason to be done with the MSC. It was the client's decision, not the MSCs.
2stepps, I don't even know what the heck your post was about. MC was just telling us about what happened. She did not threaten to sue or anything remotely close.
sisterstrollin, I like being my own boss. I am with griff. I don't want to be an employee of anyone else, just myself.
7star, no reason to be done with the MSC. It was the client's decision, not the MSCs.
2stepps, I don't even know what the heck your post was about. MC was just telling us about what happened. She did not threaten to sue or anything remotely close.
sisterstrollin, I like being my own boss. I am with griff. I don't want to be an employee of anyone else, just myself.
JAS - If this happened to me and i didn't get paid and the msc didn't back me up, how could i trust them again with that kind of shop ? Maybe i could do other kinds of shops with them but not that kind. I look at this relationship as a three link chain. If one link is broken it isn't a chain anymore. I understand the msc possibly not wanting to upset the client but MC did nothing wrong and she is penalized for it. It just shows the msc is weak, especially when there is video evidence.
I see your point of view but I look at it a tad differently. I think that most MSCs are not going to go to bat for their shoppers in a situation like this, the client pays them and the shopper does not. If I had been shopping with the MSC for over a decade and done 100s of shops, maybe I would expect them to stand up for me, but what exactly are they supposed to do about it? They may have very well told the client that they believed that Mountain Cacher did not have children with her and the client still refused to accept it. What is the MSC supposed to do, get petulant and tell their client who they have a contract with that they don't want to do business with them anymore? Also, the MSC might have other great clients that I want to do shops for, so I wouldn't let one unpaid shop ruin future opportunities. Plus, MC did not state she wasn't going to get paid for this shop. She just is ineligible to do the shop anymore. I wouldn't get my underwear twisted over that.
@MountainCacher88 wrote:
I still haven't found out. I did submit a receipt -- both itemized and credit copy. It lists seat 1 and seat 2. I did the shop through a scheduler service for Business Evaluation Services. I followed up again but no further replies. The scheduler who messaged me said it appeared I would be paid but had no further info for me and told me the best I could hope to do would be contact someone else at MSS/BES but it seems fruitless. I don't know of anything else I shop for them, but it's quite frustrating.
I hear you and don't disagreee with you at all. It just rubs me the wrong way with the situation and how the shopper is at a disadvantage. If i owned the msc and i saw the videotape i would do the right thing. Is it unreasonable for the msc owner to call the client owner and do the right thing ? This situation is probably in the hands of low level people on both sides though. Integrity goes a long way and I'd rather be known for that. MC is a great shopper and i hated that this happened to her.
Odd, I have recently been banned from shopping a casual restaurant with a $35 reimbursement and a $12 fee. My last visit rated them a really, really poor report. I wonder if it's the same chain? Kinda Southern style food. I really liked them- I have been given no reason other than I am now deactivated.
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.