Most misleading assignment you found?

Stay safe out there in New England!

Okay so I open up a merchandising app and there was this new assignment: Restock and Audit Chobani I looked at the estimated time per store ~8 minutes. Paid 12 dollars per store. I went all gung-ho without looking at the instructions and I requested 14 stores so I can do an easy route on the weekend. I then looked at the project preview. Oh hail no. Mother of Jesus. It looks like at least a minimum of 45 minutes and another 15-20 for the report.

What is one of your most misleading assignment you cum across?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/2018 07:58PM by DavePi.

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Seriously Dave? Your next to last word? I try not to be the spelling/grammar police anymore but that one? <SMH>
Anyway to your question, I think it's a toss up for me between a Simon Property Group property audit that took me 2 1/2 hours plus report time with no hint in the description that it was that involved (it only paid $10). It could have been worse though, they had another one in my area at a MUCH bigger property for the same price. It probably would have taken 4 hours. My other choice is the Jenn-Air shops also $10. They were supposed to be EASY. But having to ask about 3 different appliances and brands and get recommendations etc. 1 and 1/2 hour in store, 1 hour report. Nothing easy about it.

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

Guessing it wasn't an accident.

"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 usually avoid those app assignments because they pay super low, but sometimes I give in. One of them said go in and buy a pizza, and just give my opinions about the pizza. Easy peasy, right? I kind of figured they would want a photo of the pizza, but when I finally accepted the shop, it turned out they wanted inside menu photos basically for just pizza reimbursement. I couldn't hit cancel fast enough that time. Another time they wanted one photo of a dispenser, along with the prices listed. Fine. I went in, sneakily took the photo in a super-slow store, memorized the prices, and then went to my car to finish. On the last screen (or maybe there were more) they asked for the serial number, which should be located near the back of the machine. Canceled that one quick, too. Not doing a reveal for single digit pay.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/08/2018 12:56PM by mystery2me.

An easy bed shop. I'm glad I took it though. I learned early on to avoid shops with "EASY" in the email subject!

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

@HonnyBrown wrote:

An easy bed shop. I'm glad I took it though. I learned early on to avoid shops with "EASY" in the email subject!

Some MSC's are worse about the "easy" lie than others without a doubt.

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

There is one company that blasts out advertisements saying 'EASY' and 'FUN'. I don't see what is fun about spending 20-30 minutes in an appliance store for $17.50 or what is fun about doing bar/restaurant shops for basically reimbursement only.

@7star wrote:

There is one company that blasts out advertisements saying 'EASY' and 'FUN'. I don't see what is fun about spending 20-30 minutes in an appliance store for $17.50 or what is fun about doing bar/restaurant shops for basically reimbursement only.

I agree about the appliance store. The bar/restaurant shops for reimbursement only, it depends on the restaurant. Roadhouse good. Village Inn not so much.

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

I think I did a big box 'easy' television assignment once. Lousy pay (9 dollars maybe) but I was going to the store anyway so what the heck.

Trying to hunt down a salesperson, I get the chattiest Cathy on the planet, and I'm out of the store 45 minutes later. Report took 45 minutes with lots of narrative (I'm a pretty quick typist!) I stopped all notifications from that company. The scheduler for the company definitely used deception in an attempt to schedule.

After that shop I made decisions about my time and value and set a minimum rate for myself. Always a lesson!

Evaluating and mailing packages since 1994. I am an undercover connoisseur of customer service, a master of disguise in the aisles, and a sworn enemy of subpar experiences. I blend in, observe, and report—because excellence should never be a mystery.

BTW sassy, if you had not made a big deal about Dave's spelling "error," I would not have noticed. I think most of us tend to skim over posts. The same thing happened before the censorship feature of the forum. The occasional F bomb was dropped yet very few people even realized until one or several people would get their panties in a bunch.

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.

ACL offers only Reimbursement only. They seem to be able to do that. Too many takers, huh? Mostly new shoppers, perhaps, who just wants to get a free meal. Actually, I paid out of pocket many, many times because of all the requirements. For example, you are required to order a Signature cocktail at the bar, and you can only go in after 6:00 PM, which is after no longer Happy Hour. Guess how much those Signature cocktails cost - $12-14. Nothing cheap there. And you are also required to order another alcoholic drink at the table, 1 appetizer, 2 entrees, and a dessert whether you want dessert or not. And on this particular shop, Parking for only $5 was both bar and dinner. Well....the service was slow, we went over the 2 hours, and was charged $7, but ACL only reimburse $5 and we went above the dinner reimbursement as well. All in all, we were out of pocket $17.

Was spending $17 worth it to you ? If not, at least you know for future shops. To some people it's worth it for them to get a heavily discounted meal for doing a report afterwards. I find most of their shops like this to be not worth it, considering some of these places get lousy online reviews.

My shop tonight which I do every few months, but tonight was my last. I order a beer and wine(per instructions).
The beer which i dislike gives me a headache after one sip, then we go to my second required drink, I order Merlot wine, which puts me to sleep, now I have a headache and am falling asleep. The bartender comes over and says, I'm giving you a credit for this beer, i see you don't care for it...I'm oh no don't worry, it's fine, and he insists. My appetizer arrives, food always helps. End of "fun" shop has me wondering why after so many years they change the drink to beer, .and wine, two drinks I am happy to live without.....great reimbursement...put a fork in me, I'm done.

Live consciously....

It's those shops where you think you have to buy something and report on everything up to the purchase, and then see a few lines at the bottom that say, "and you return the item the same day after at least 30 minutes and report on the return process."

WHAT? Now I have to kill 30 minutes somehow and write basically another shop. It becomes SO much more time consuming and inconvenient. I always feel like they hide that information.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2018 03:54AM by rothers27.

Gas station audit with a huge amount of pumps and racing fuel - never again.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

An easy bed shop. I'm glad I took it though. I learned early on to avoid shops with "EASY" in the email subject!

Is that the mattress shop? I won't do those anymore until they carry a bonus. I like them, but I can't get out of there in less than around 45 minutes! They may be "fun," but they're not easy and they're very time consuming.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

An easy bed shop. I'm glad I took it though. I learned early on to avoid shops with "EASY" in the email subject!

BINGO! "Super Easy" raises all sorts of Red Flags for me because the shops that are "Super Easy" don't have to say this. The shoppers know it and grab it ASAP. "Super Easy" is a MSC way of saying "HELP - NO ONE will do these shops so we have to lie and say they are Easy when they are not."

This also emphasizes my policy on shops I have never done before..........I take ONE and ONLY ONE! This way if they turn out to be what you experienced I am only burned one time. If they are great I can get more later. Minimize your risk and take only ONE - get more later.

Most misleading: As Honey Brown said........Super Easy.......those shops are always the exact opposite

Two come to mind right away. 1) As much as I used to love comics as a kid I stay far away from those assignments any more as once was enough! 2) I'm sure we all remember last year's hotel photo audit requiring no less than a million pics.

SeeLevel had a car shop (no not the price one) and at first they advertised 'no narrative', just yes/ no questions.... NOPE, not true! Drop down boxes galore for 'comments'

I wouldn't say this qualifies as misleading, but I will definitely be smarter about when and where I go in the future. I did a Ross shop recently which I have done many times with no issues, in fact I think they are very easy. However, this time I counted 33 carts in front of me in line to checkout! I will never go around noon in an area heavily populated with tourists who have carts overflowing with stuff! Ugh!!!

"Easy" or "Time consuming"?

Most shop tasks are easy. Some are more time-consuming than others.

Gardening is how I relax. It is another form of creating and playing with colors. - Oscar de la Renta

I as well did a Ross and upon my return, the mean cashier took my purchase receipt and gave me a return receipt not giving back my original and I asked. We have to upload both receipts, so i'm not getting paid. I did a lot of work and time spent on report. I was not able to control cashier who was rude the entire time. I'm ot getting paid anything, and also threw with MSC This is one of those easy jobs.....haha

Live consciously....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2018 03:28AM by Irene_L.A..

The most misleading probably like that:

the main page is saying: time to perform visit "Between the hours of 7am and 4:30 AM Monday thru Friday" but in attachment "You should do your assignment between the hours of 11am and 3:30pm"

Shopping Eastern Pennsylvania since 2009

I did a few Rosses some time ago. As I recall, the instructions then always warned to take a pic of the purchase receipt before doing the return. Good advice for any return shop.

When I did this shop before, I seem to remember that it addressed this possibility and it said something like "the store may keep your original receipt, if they do upload the return receipt to the first link". So you should be okay. They know that this happens so you should be okay.

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

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2018 05:06AM by sassymmmm.

I took pic in the car (always do), but they said it was blurry, and I couldn't re-do it. I do eveything, but she said no....

Live consciously....

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

SeeLevel had a car shop (no not the price one) and at first they advertised 'no narrative', just yes/ no questions.... NOPE, not true! Drop down boxes galore for 'comments'

And when there is a 500 character min, I loose my @#$%&! Thankfully I have a 70-80+ words per minute typing speed or else I'll be working less than minimum wage for most of my assignments. I thank this forum because I type so much bull on a regular basis, it gud pratice.

@Irene_L.A. wrote:

I took pic in the car (always do), but they said it was blurry, and I couldn't re-do it. I do everything, but she said no....

That is why I always take at least 2 pix of everything when pix are needed. This is not the 1980s where we need to take a roll of film in to be developed. I shoot extra pix JUST IN CASE! Then I delete the ones I don't need. That has saved my.........more times than I care to think about

Update: they changed the time from 8 min to 12 min and now it's 40-45min. We did it guys!

I hate when the narratives don't state that there is a maximum character limit. I spend a lot of time getting all the details written just perfectly...and then I have to delete about half of it!

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