What shops have you had rejected?

I've had a my share of rejections. Happens to everyone now and then. Luckily the money lost was minimal fast food or grocery type of stuff.

The ones that really sting are when you are at the shop site and have to make a judgement call when something goes not according to script.

I had a grocery shop rejected once b/c I used self checkout instead of a cashier. I was told to use self checkout that day b/c the low volume in the store demanded that no cashiers be stationed.

Rejections while painful, prepare you for the next time. Get the taste out of your mouth by doing another shop soon after and doing it right.

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I agree with the above post. If you have been doing this for some time and have not had a shop rejected - you are lucky and one of the very few. The hope is a $10 shop and not a $300 shop is rejected.

Know that company exactly. And they do not believe in real life things happening in line.
Not at all. I avoid them for sure.

@SoCalDude wrote:

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

@Rho* wrote:

The personal pizza shop where I was asked to re-verify the timing for assembling and baking the pizza. No one else was in line and the pizza was baked in record time. I was told there was no way pizza could have baked so fast. I went back and spoke with manager who confirmed my timings could have been correct. I was not blowing any cover because I will never return there even on my own dime. Pizza is overpriced and not so tasty.
If they would have pulled the video tape, they would have seen your pizza was handed to you in record time.

I did a visit once where there was also no one in line. I ordered my pizza and while they were assembling it one of the employees said to come to the register and pay for it now. When you MS you need to act like a normal customer and so I did it. I paid for the pizza before it was done thus throwing off the time of when I received it. I just noted all of the times and made sure to explain everything to the Nth degree. Visit was accepted only because I spent a good 10+ minutes longer than usual doing it to make sure I covered my.............

I did a "targeted" apartment shop and will never do another! Made an appointment to be shown around by the leasing agent, I show up and they tell me she is sick, but this other agent will show me around...no, I'll come back...another appointment, I show up and she left early for the day, so can x show you around? At this point, I agree, write a detailed report and am rejected. You KNOW they used that report for the other employee!

Kona Kathie

When I first started mystery shopping I did two apartment shops for the same company. The first shop was rejected because they said I talked too much. The second shop was rejected because, they said I didn't talk enough. How do they know what was said? None of the shops are recorded. I never did another shop for them again. I learned later many shoppers would not work for them. They took 4 months or longer to pay.

I once had a shop ignored. It was Ikea. I had to go to many different sections of the store which i found confusing. I wasn't happy with my report but i did my best and submitted it. They ignored it, no response at all.

@kathierost wrote:

I did a "targeted" apartment shop and will never do another! Made an appointment to be shown around by the leasing agent, I show up and they tell me she is sick, but this other agent will show me around...no, I'll come back...another appointment, I show up and she left early for the day, so can x show you around? At this point, I agree, write a detailed report and am rejected. You KNOW they used that report for the other employee!

That is the reason I don't do "Targeted" shops. I show up and the "Target" is not there so I won't get paid but then have to come back again and hope or else come back again and again and again and............. NO THANKS! The only way I'll do a Targeted shop is if the target is not there I will do the shop or I will get paid to go home. If I am to do a Target shop and the Target is not there and I have to come back and back and back and....to get paid for ONE fee - NOPE!

One apartment shop, they wanted you to call 12 times. If the target doesn't answer, you just hang up. Some of these apartment offices have a secretary that answers calls. I won't do those. Plus many places have caller ID. I don't want the cops showing up at my place.

i love church's, esp over popeyes and kfc. unfortunately, they are not where I live now.. neither is In n out, good Times, Texas RH, Longhorn steak.................etc.

I always pay for my pizza when I arrive, then wait for the pizza.

@CANADAMOMMY wrote:

Know that company exactly. And they do not believe in real life things happening in line.
Not at all. I avoid them for sure.

@SoCalDude wrote:

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

@Rho* wrote:

The personal pizza shop where I was asked to re-verify the timing for assembling and baking the pizza. No one else was in line and the pizza was baked in record time. I was told there was no way pizza could have baked so fast. I went back and spoke with manager who confirmed my timings could have been correct. I was not blowing any cover because I will never return there even on my own dime. Pizza is overpriced and not so tasty.
If they would have pulled the video tape, they would have seen your pizza was handed to you in record time.

I did a visit once where there was also no one in line. I ordered my pizza and while they were assembling it one of the employees said to come to the register and pay for it now. When you MS you need to act like a normal customer and so I did it. I paid for the pizza before it was done thus throwing off the time of when I received it. I just noted all of the times and made sure to explain everything to the Nth degree. Visit was accepted only because I spent a good 10+ minutes longer than usual doing it to make sure I covered my.............

Had a pizza delivery shop excluded a couple of weeks ago because the photos I took had "a haze" over them, according to the editor or whoever made that determination. They looked no different from photos I submitted for multiple other accepted shops for this same MSC and client (which got 10/10 ratings). Annoyed.

Had a couple A&W rejected. They were both super close to my house so not a huge deal. But the shop was go through drive through, take a picture of the current menu and submit. Your car cannot be in the picture at all, both times my side mirror was in the picture. Fully rejected and was not allowed to go back redo the shop - even though they are 3 and 6 minutes from my house. I did that shop 2 months later, when they offered a $15 bonus on top of the regular shop fee of $10.

I also had one of those pizza shops bounced due to not so great pics. Those hurt especially when you weren't planning on buying stinking papa johns pizza. I've learned to place those pizza's under perfect lighting conditions and take multiples.

@jlovesnyc wrote:

I also had one of those pizza shops bounced due to not so great pics. Those hurt especially when you weren't planning on buying stinking papa johns pizza. I've learned to place those pizza's under perfect lighting conditions and take multiples.

I had one of those two I think everybody that does this project has it happen. And the photos submitted are the same every single time. I think they're just super picky.p

@foodluvr wrote:

@jlovesnyc wrote:

I also had one of those pizza shops bounced due to not so great pics. Those hurt especially when you weren't planning on buying stinking papa johns pizza. I've learned to place those pizza's under perfect lighting conditions and take multiples.

I had one of those too. I think everybody that does this project has it happen. And the photos submitted are the same every single time. I think they're just super picky.p

I live on the west coast. I was doing a report that was due by midnight. Around 9 pm I stopped working on the report. When I went to open it at 10pm I couldn't. I was told my report was rejected for being late. I told them I'm on the west coast, it wasn't midnight yet. They didn't care, you're late. Nothing in the guidelines said anything about your time zone.

I got nabbed by the time zone change once for a shop that I had to finish later. Another time I was nabbed because I had done the shop at 11PM and it was due by midnight of the day the shop was done. Also argued about the time being wrong on the receipt, is it my fault that they are using Florida time in Oklahoma.

@Kristylynnr wrote:

I honestly think sometimes when shops get rejected, our report is still used lol.. just a thought.

I think they use the report too. Not fair.

@Kristylynnr wrote:

I honestly think sometimes when shops get rejected, our report is still used lol.. just a thought.

[/quote]

I went to a gas station in Manchester NH on Pine St and it was a station in Manchester MA on Pine St.

Had a rejected Terra at Eataly last week rejected because I didn't complain about the meal. I can;t complain about perfection and they expected me to get a comped lunch>? I never had a Papa John;s rejected, all delivery shops 7 mile drive , pizza sucked, 4 Ridiculous rejections from Gapbusters. Vowed never to do another but got sucked in last week to test drive the EV. $100 bucks on that one but driving it was so cool I don't care. Got lucky I spent $1500.00 for a 3 night stay plus spa plus steak house plus golf. Went back and forth for 3 days revising report, editor was not pleased so I expected I was out the bux, but 3 weeks later I got a check. wheew

I've had one shop rejected... I forgot to get a parking attendant to sign my receipt. It was a really weird (and newly added) requirement - even the project manager thought it was nutty, but the client had insisted. The MSC didn't pay me for the shop, but they still reimbursed my parking.

I did have to re-shop one recently. I had to ask about of of several ad items and, when I chose the item, I must have been hallucinating as I chose something that was not on the approved list.

Both were totally my fault and the MSC's were both great.

Hard work builds character and homework is good for your soul.

My most stupid....Transposed receipts on 2 hardware store shops. Not allowed to unlock or alter any reports? My bonehead mistake.

My runner up... a Chinese takeout shop. Ordered springrolls extra, and included them as a second photo instead of all in one.

Can't be perfect all the time

Part-time shopper based in Delaware

My first apartment shop was rejected. They said I didn't clarify something it was bullshit the report was full of narratives id never do another one for that company.

I will just say that I would lose my @#$%& if a shop got rejected, since I spend a lot of time preparing for a shop and I take shops very seriously. I've had people ask me for more information or clarify something, but I've never had a shop rejected. However, because of how much time and energy I put into a shop, I can NOT do many in one day. I can do three a week, but that's about it. I'm learning so much from you high achieving shoppers.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/16/2018 11:52PM by rothers27.

@rothers27 wrote:

I will just say that I would lose my @#$%& if a shop got rejected, since I spend a lot of time preparing for a shop and I take shops very seriously. I've had people ask me for more information or clarify something, but I've never had a shop rejected. However, because of how much time and energy I put into a shop, I can NOT do many in one day. I can do three a week, but that's about it. I'm learning so much from you high achieving shoppers.

I have been doing this for 20+ years. If you have been doing this for some time and have yet to get a shop rejected consider yourself in the minority.

With a Merc shop I emailed the scheduler and requested a restaurant in the terminal at the airport that I was flying out of. It was assigned and I went and did the shop. It was rejected because the shop put in my assignments was for a different terminal. In the MSC's defense I should have seen the wrong terminal listed and contacted them. I sent them the email thread showing which location I had requested and I ended up getting the full reimbursement and part of the fee, which I thought was an extremely reasonable solution for a situation where we had both goofed and the client wasn't accepting the report. (Both locations were shopped, but the location I went to had already met its report quota for the month.)

I JUST was notified I had a Sonic shop rejected AND I AM SEETHING MAD! I named the client so I can't name the MSC but we all know who it is. I got a "Sonic Blast" as my beverage and I as told that was NOT an "Approved Beverage." That is news to me since I have purchased this too many times to count and never had one rejected and that choice is listed ON THE BLEEPING REPORT! I don't have any Guidelines for this shop saved to my computer. If someone does can you check and let me know if a "Sonic Blast" is an approved beverage - like I think it is. WHEN I am told it is I will then let the MSC know THEY made the mistake in rejecting my shop and I expect to be paid since it was their mistake - not mine.

@SoCalDude wrote:

I JUST was notified I had a Sonic shop rejected AND I AM SEETHING MAD! I named the client so I can't name the MSC but we all know who it is. I got a "Sonic Blast" as my beverage and I as told that was NOT an "Approved Beverage." That is news to me since I have purchased this too many times to count and never had one rejected and that choice is listed ON THE BLEEPING REPORT! I don't have any Guidelines for this shop saved to my computer. If someone does can you check and let me know if a "Sonic Blast" is an approved beverage - like I think it is. WHEN I am told it is I will then let the MSC know THEY made the mistake in rejecting my shop and I expect to be paid since it was their mistake - not mine.

From their guidelines:

Drink  Fountain Drink (e.g., Coke)  Limeade (any flavor)  Shake, Slush  Iced Tea (regular or flavored)  Coffee or Iced Coffee  Juice, Lemonade  Ocean Water

DO NOT ORDER Milk, Water, SONIC Blasts, Custard Concretes, Malts
DO

I've done 39,000 sonic shops and while I don't have the guidelines memorized I know to play it safe and not order anything that might even slightly be against guidelines; that means no drinks that aren't fountain drinks and ZERO customization on any food or drink item. I've screwed up one sonic when I showed up at the wrong time or did a drive thru instead of a drive in, other than that these are hard to screw up.

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