57carol Wrote:
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> It is not acceptable because I didn't write the project number on each
> paper. I didn't see that part at all.

That actually was not even a requirement when they were first listed. I had 20 of them scheduled so I went ahead and wrote the numbers on the booklets and papers out of habit, but when the directions were first posted, that was not a requirement.

Carol, I feel your frustration with Maritz. I actually do like working for them and have found them quite easy to communicate with, unlike others (Market Force comes to mind, gag). I too tried a few of the $7 bank jobs based on them bugging me and promising that the reports were very quick and easy. But they somehow failed to mention the ridiculous photo requirements--write the job number on each of 4 documents, photograph same, rename the photos to the assignment number, suffixed with the question numbers that they refer to, etc. I can barely justify the time and driving for $7 much less taking more time for the photos and reporting than the actually work itself. Clearly they are deceptive in calling the reports short and easy. But, to be fair to Maritz, the requirements were clearly listed in the instructions, ridiculous or not, and they clearly said that you are not allowed to reuse any photographs for multiple jobs, nor photograph the same paperwork more than once. How can they tell? The brochures that I picked up were not the exact same color of blue, the rate sheets were photocopies of inconsistent quality. If you look hard enough at the various pictures you could clearly tell the differences.

And I loved Maritz up until this point. It just wasn't worth it to me. I missed that whole section, and wouldn't have taken the jobs probably if I had seen it. Yes, it is deceptive to advertise as quick and easy, in and out jobs.

JudeFM Wrote:
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> Wow, I got my first denied report. I was
> underwhelmed, to say the least. I spent about 3
> hours on it as it entailed my visiting a very
> large Canadian department store with evaluations
> in four different areas plus a final evaluation of
> a cashier.
>
> It is not MY fault that the store was dismally
> understaffed and that the associate I was
> attempting to get assistance from pointedly
> ignored me twice! And by ignored, I mean I
> actually 'chased' her across the department to try
> and get her attention as she zipped past me
> without as much as a sideways glance in my
> direction. She then disappeared into some other
> area of the store. Did I mention this store is
> large??
>
> When the MSC sent me a note rejecting my report it
> said that I didn't follow the scenario as I did
> not approach the associate after five minutes and
> ask for help. I responded that the only way I
> would have been able to get her attention was if I
> physically tackled her in the aisle.
>
> I was in the middle of completing three of these
> large assignments and two smaller ones for this
> MSC. I finished the report for the one I completed
> just before receiving the lovely email and then
> said I was canceling the other two jobs if an
> agreement regarding the declined shop wasn't
> reached. I haven't heard back so I requested they
> deactivate me.
>
> I only do this as a fun hobby and to add a bit of
> extra cash to an almost-enough-but-not-quite
> monthly income. I refuse to work for any company
> that would immediately disqualify my work for them
> before contacting me for clarification.
>
> This has left a really bad taste in my mouth and I
> won't be accepting any further work from ANY MSC
> for a while. I don't know how any of you keep your
> cool when you know you've done a shop to the best
> of your ability and it's still rejected, but I
> applaud your dedication.


I wonder if it's the same MSC I'm having a problem with. But this one asks me for clarification of my summary. But yet they said my summary was too long. They asked 10 clarification questions all of which were in my summary. I know it's frustrating to do your very best and take the lengthly time to be concise and detailed and then get a bunch of BS from the editor. I think I'll do what you did. FIRE the MSC....he he he.

Almost the exact same thing happened to me! I was doing a 5-part grocery store shop and I was denied payment because I never had an associate help me in floral. There was someone in floral--an employee was on the phone making a personal phone call (and I mean personal), and I walked by him several times, making eye contact several times, and once he finished his conversation, he walked away without so much as looking my way. Firstly, doesn't eye contact count as interaction? It may not be a verbal conversation, but it's still interaction. Furthermore, I assumed that the company would have wanted to know how rude their employees were.

After my report was rejected, I contact the scheduler to let her know those points, and she still denied that I was correct. I mean, completely invalidating an ENTIRE report because of one little discrepancy? I could understand a reduction, but be reasonable! I spent MY money on that shop! They should have at least reimbursed me! It was my first time shopping with the company, and they wouldn't make a first timer's exception. Needless to say, that was the last time I'll shop with that company. I'll stick to Sassie shops. They may not pay as quickly, but at least they're reasonable.

Jude, your shop wasn't for CRI, by chance, was it?

I had a shop in a furniture store. The employee had a name tag on, so I knew his first name. He started helping me and then told me that he was being paged by the front desk, so he had to go. He never came back to me. I walked around looking for him, and saw him walking to the back of the store.I did not see him again. I did not have a chance to get his last name before he left. I filled in the shop with a first name and clear description of the employee. I explained all of this in my narrative, but the MSC said that instruction said that I needed a last name. They wanted me to reshop. I had traveled a distance to do the shop the first time, and I also thought I would be recognized if I did the same store again. I again explained that I had no opportunity to get the last name since the employee had disappeared. They said that they were not accepting the shop. I got upset, and said that I would mention what happened on a blog, and the MSC deactivated my account.

Even though my reasons for not having the information may be perfectly valid, I will try my darndest to get the information I need while on site. It may mean, in a furniture store, asking another associate for 'Bill's business card' if Bill was the associate you were working with. I would play with my cell phone and pull some dog and pony show such as 'Bill got called away and now I need to run. He is the tall blonde guy with glasses. Can you give me one of his business cards so I can call him later? He will probably be looking for me when he comes back, so can you tell him that [my kid is sick at school][my dog just got hit and I need to go run her to the vet][my husband's car won't start and I need to get him to his job interview/doctor's appointment]' Staying below the radar of a company keeps you working with them. These days they mostly seem to perceive explanations as excuses and they don't want to hear them. So put on your creativity hat. Call the store and give a brief description with some excuse to try to get a name. Do what you need to do and try not to come up empty.

I agree with Flash. I'd have tried to call the store with some sort of story, even if it doesn't match your experience -- ie; wanting to write a letter to management, because the employee was so helpful.

Especially early on, there have been times I'd forget to do something. I once revisited a location in the morning, saying that I thought I lost an earring so I could check the bathroom. I've sent a friend who lives nearby into a store to check to see if there was an area rug. And yes, on one or two occasions I've called somewhere to obtain extra information. As long as it does not hurt the integrity of the shop, I feel it's okay. But the key is, to make sure you DON'T compromise the shop by doing anything extra.

Yeah, I've called back. My first Blockbuster shop I forgot to view the board of what's going to be released soon. In fact, I didn't even notice the board! So I called back saying, "I was just in there today and forgot to notice what is coming out soon. What does your board say? I want to know what will be available." Listen, I have worked in retail so long that no weird question bothers me too much. It is amazing what people will ask either on the phone or in the shop.

eweeeee I don't even do teller shops or drive thru's for $7. lol Maybe I'm just fortunate that I have access to so many different banks here. I'm opening accounts at several as someone here suggested to me and then when the drive thru and teller shops and call centers come open, I grab em up and go. They are the easy ones for me but they pay from $13-$18 here. I've done as many as 8 in a day. Opening multiple accounts, buying a digital voice recorder and patience are some of the most valuable lessons I've learned here. Thanks y'all!

nicelytwicely Wrote:
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> I've sent a friend who lives nearby into a store
> to check to see if there was an area rug.

LOL! I did that too a few years back. The shop was 30 miles away, but I had others along the way to make it worth it. Anyway, I got caught in very heavy traffic and barely made it before the "30 minutes before closing" arrival time. Did the shop, left the store relieved that I had made it on time, and drove away. When I returned home that evening to start working on my report, I realized that I had totally neglected to look at the landscaping, and there was a question specifically about planters outside. In my rush to get in the store, I hadn't even noticed any planters. Did they even have any planters outside?
Fortunately the report was not due until the next day, so I called a friend who lived within a couple of miles of the store. Lucky for me he had to go to that area, and he emailed me a nice description of the two planters that were on each side of the entrance, with a nice picture in support. Whew!
That little oversight really had me sweating bullets.

I'm sure anyone who's been doing this long enough has a couple of stories like that.

Ms.V Wrote:
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> nicelytwicely Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > I've sent a friend who lives nearby into a
> store
> > to check to see if there was an area rug.
>
> LOL! I did that too a few years back. The shop was
> 30 miles away, but I had others along the way to
> make it worth it. Anyway, I got caught in very
> heavy traffic and barely made it before the "30
> minutes before closing" arrival time. Did the
> shop, left the store relieved that I had made it
> on time, and drove away. When I returned home that
> evening to start working on my report, I realized
> that I had totally neglected to look at the
> landscaping, and there was a question specifically
> about planters outside. In my rush to get in the
> store, I hadn't even noticed any planters. Did
> they even have any planters outside?
> Fortunately the report was not due until the next
> day, so I called a friend who lived within a
> couple of miles of the store. Lucky for me he had
> to go to that area, and he emailed me a nice
> description of the two planters that were on each
> side of the entrance, with a nice picture in
> support. Whew!
> That little oversight really had me sweating
> bullets.
>
> I'm sure anyone who's been doing this long enough
> has a couple of stories like that.

Ah, Ms. V, nice to know I'm not alone! Yup, when I forget something, it always seems to be the easiest, most blatant things, LOL! On a casual dining shop, there was a question about the cleanliness of ceiling tiles. Of course, one of the options was N/A, in case there WERE no ceiling tiles! I raced back to the store about 11:30 PM and peeked in the window. And I was glad I did -- no ceiling tiles!

Dear Jude,
On my fourth discount department store shop I got rejected. I had three tens before that incident. The reviewer asked for clarification, ignored my explanations that the store had noone working the shoe department and the fitting room. I tried to explain that short of screaming "heads up, I'm a shopper", there was nothing I could do and their rules forbid engaging an associate walking the main aisle which incidentally a regular shopper would have done.
These clients don't realize how much extremely valuable information is kept from them. That's their deserved loss. As far as the MSC, they clearly do not provide the exellent service their name implies. PS the last time I passed that dept.store they were going out of business! However I'm still enjoying the name brand sneakers I bought to satisfy my mandatory purchase, at a serious discount!
The glass is half full! Good luck to you.

Havingto train myself to watch for posted hours on Marathon stations. That's a new question on the report and it's gonna be a bear to go all over creation looking for store hours if I forget. lololol

Put a sticky note on your dashboard saying "HOURS", tie a piece of colored yarn to your car keys to remind you to look for the hours, if you normally pay with a certain credit card, put a sticker on the face of the card, if you normally pay with cash, put the sticker on your wallet. By the time you are ignoring stickers or yarn or the note falls off the dashboard you will probably have incorporated checking hours into your routine.

In answer to Pixie's question....no the MSC is not CRI. It's another set of three letters though.

I have actually taken a long break from shopping. I decided to do some OT at work...the pay for that is an awful lot more than anything we get paid as shoppers.

I have been getting deluged with offers of some really interesting jobs, so I'm most likely going to pick it up again as I do enjoy it! As an aside....I also picked up a new boyfriend so the time it takes to do some of the reporting might get in the way. LOL Decisions, decisions!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/08/2010 12:32PM by JudeFM.

Welcome back JudeFM! It is fascinating how the BF will stay out of the way while you write a report for a dinner he didn't have to pay for :^)

Hey Jude Love that song.

Those really interesting ones are calling your name . . .

Haha, thanks Flash! I didn't think about that part! I'll have to mention that aspect to him.

Mert, Hey Jude is actually my ringtone. And, yes, there are those very interesting ones that have been difficult to ignore!

"The way to a man's heart is through his stomach" and if you can bypass the wallet . . .