Old Company, New Scheduler

One of my favorite companies had a newish (since October) scheduler in my area, and now I can't get any of the primo assignments that I was practically guaranteed even back in July. I think I've been through 4 different scheduler changes, but there was always some continuity between them, so my status remained about the same. Recently, I inquired about an assignment, and she asked me if I'd done anything similar. I replied politely but was definitely shouting, "I've worked with your company for 7 years! I've done so many of these already!" But now I'm back in beginners.

<sigh> Thanks for listening.

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I hear ya. One MSC I used to get nice bonuses with got a new scheduler (the previous one got a promotion). The new scheduler treats me like I am an ordinary shopper. I have been with this MSC for almost 20 years and have done thousands of shops for them. I used to have self-assign privileges and she took those away from me.
I've never flaked or been late on a shop, and no rejections, and now I am sometimes picking up stray shops from the job board when other shoppers have flaked or had them rejected. She is also stubborn and doesn't like to bonus shops. I am not an ordinary shopper and I deserve more money, and I should still be allowed to self-assign!
@JASFLALMT wrote:

I am not an ordinary shopper and I deserve more money, and I should still be allowed to self-assign!

Sadly it's supply and demand. If the scheduler can get someone to do it without the bonus, and they are just an OK shopper, the report still goes through and the scheduler gets paid more. Seems to make sense to me, even though it makes some of us upset at times. I am in an area that seems to have a good amount of shoppers for the work I like to do, most of the stuff people on this board brag about 25 dollar bonuses on go off for stock pay in 24 hours here. So, like I said, supply and demand. They don't need the best shopper, they need one just good enough for the report to be accepted.

Orlando - lightly shopping NC


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2019 07:07PM by oteixeira.
I used to do a lot of work for Primo and today I get a message in spam with their name which turned out to be a spam/scam. I went to their site and was told to change my password which I did and no jobs available. What's going on....they only have assisted living homes here.

Live consciously....
@JASFLALMT... The scheduler may not have necessarily turned off your self-assign rights. I'm not completely sure if they are different than us, but sometimes something changes in the client order that makes us have to turn self-assign for that client off (limit of how many shops per month can be completed by each shopper, etc). With 20 years experience and thousands of shops, I would think you should be given first shot at any shops you want though.

@oteixeira and @JASFLALMT... I promise you that, as schedulers, we do not ever set the parameters as to what locations and shops are allowed bonuses, or how much of a bonus, and we certainly do not get paid more if it is done without a bonus. That said, it does make us look better to our boss or our client if a shop that normally requires a bonus gets completed without one, so at times a shopper not asking for one can take precedence.

Edited to add... Even locations that are normally difficult and given bonuses, we generally have to wait until closer to the deadline to be allowed to add the bonus. In other words, we have to try to get it done without, then we can add it later if we fail to do that.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2019 08:07PM by KSSPete.
This particular scheduler is an hourly employee for this MSC and not an independent contractor or a work-from-home scheduler. Her predecessor was able to give me the requested bonuses without having to get anyone's approval. And what I didn't tell you is that I have been communicating with my previous scheduler and the account manager for these shops about it over the past few days. Just yesterday she had 30 shops for this project rejected. I was told that she could have and should have given me the bonus I asked her for most recently for a bundle of shops. Her account manager is going to have a word with her about it, since it's getting close to the end of the month and she is way behind on getting the shops scheduled. He thanked me for being a long-term shopper and told me that yes, I do deserve more money based on my shop history with them. He said that with the amount of rejected shops from shoppers that either flake or don't do them properly, it costs them more money in editing time (they have in-house editors as well) so I am saving them money by getting them done on time and completed correctly. Go ahead and roll your eyes, bestofbothworlds, your opinion means nothing to me unless you are going to give me a bonus for reading your posts, LOL. And watch me get what I deserve.
I wonder if that previous scheduler was there for a very long time? I did work for about 6 months for an actual MSC, and we still had to get approval to bonus any shops (with that MSC, it was usually declined). Schedulers are generally only given so much control, and how much to pay isn't usually one of those powers.
My bonus request wasn't unreasonable. Both the previous scheduler and the account manager were mystified that she didn't give it to me, especially since she has about a week left to get these not only scheduled but all completed and released to the client, and there are lots of them that are still not scheduled. The thing is, the bundle of shops I was going to do were in an area that I was traveling through yesterday. I am not going back that way so now they are just sitting on the job board. And they have a M-F operation there, none of them work weekends, so...
She definitely should have checked with the account manager if she wasn't sure she could do it on her own. Especially in a hard to fill area.

Where is this that I can have weekends off and decide my own bonuses? Asking for a friend... LOL
I am sure she can't decide to go nuts on the bonuses, LOL. But a few more bucks per shop for someone who is willing to take a bundle is doable. Of course I am not going to disclose the name of the MSC. One never knows when a scheduler might be lurking in the forum, aye, Pete?
I’ve mystery shopped for17 or 18 years. I’m MSPA gold, I don’t flake and I write good reports. I’ve done thousands of shops. But with certain MS companies, when a new scheduler comes aboard (at least new to my geographic area), I feel like they ignore all previous history and don’t care about their seasoned shoppers. Tenure does not exist in this business!
@shopsuey wrote:

One of my favorite companies had a newish (since October) scheduler in my area, and now I can't get any of the primo assignments that I was practically guaranteed even back in July. I replied politely but was definitely shouting, "I've worked with your company for 7 years! I've done so many of these already!" But now I'm back in beginners.
Yep. That sucks. I was the go-to for great assignments for one company. Scheduler had a medical emergency and up and left the company. New person almost never assigns me, even though I pointed out my history (including taking last-minute shops). Politely inquired and received a terse reply that "hundreds" of people were applying for the shops. Their loss -- but mine, too.

"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
Obviously to them you ARE an ordinary shopper, because these companies have thousands of shoppers, and don’t think of you as a person. It’s a shame, but that’s how it is....they don’t need you.
JASFLALMT. You come across as very narcisstic, and have a very high opinion of yourself, which while may be warranted, means nothing apparently to the company. You also sound very hostile. Get over it, and find other companies to work with.....there are many.
@LindaK wrote:

JASFLALMT. You come across as very narcisstic, and have a very high opinion of yourself, which while may be warranted, means nothing apparently to the company. You also sound very hostile. Get over it, and find other companies to work with.....there are many.

That sounds very hostile, LindaK. Personal attacks against other posters usually get reported here to the moderators.
JASFLAMT is definitely not narcisstic. She is a very helpful and contributing member of the forum.
I really hate it when that happens. A scheduler and I had a system: at the end of the month, I would text her the dates and locations of the shops I wanted for the following month. She would assign them with a bonus. She knew not to ask me to do less desirable shops. She left, and the next scheduler had to be trained. And the one after that, and the one after that.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
Guess what, LindaK, YOUR opinion means nothing to me. You don't know me at all. Yes, I have a high opinion of myself, so do many other forum members and people who work very hard at being good shoppers. And FYI: I am signed up with over 100 companies and I stay very, very busy. And guess what else: I got the bonus that I asked for for the bundle of shops. I don't need to get over anything regarding my work and my work ethic, and I sure won't have a hard time getting over your nasty comments.

Oh, it would also be great if you are going to insult someone you could learn to spell the insulting word correctly. It's not "narcisstic", it's spelled "narcissistic".

@LindaK wrote:

JASFLALMT. You come across as very narcisstic, and have a very high opinion of yourself, which while may be warranted, means nothing apparently to the company. You also sound very hostile. Get over it, and find other companies to work with.....there are many.
Oh, now I remember LindaK. She is the poster that falsely advised other forum members in another thread that income under $600 does not have to be reported to the IRS: [www.mysteryshopforum.com]
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