1. Forums
  2. Mystery Shopping Discussion

Who is at Fault here?

November 17, 2019 05:21PM
Hello Everyone,

So I was contacted by a scheduler to complete a shop that was not posted, I accepted. I drove to the location and turned out there was a concert at the event and there would be an additional entry fee. I emailed the scheduler asking what I should do, after waiting for about 30 minutes with no response I left.
I finally received a response three days later asking me to attempt to complete the shop on another day. I was provided dates that the client provided to the scheduler, and I picked a date. This time I decided to check if there were any events happening on the day I chose and sure enough there was. So I emailed the scheduler back so that I could pick a different day.
Fast forward to the day we both agreed to and the bar is closed. I emailed the scheduler again to let them know this and of course it has been two days and no response.
I'm not sure what to do here. I am no longer interested in completing this shop as I have spent almost 3 hours (driving there and back on two occasions, waiting in line on the initial day) trying to complete this shop. Should I ask for some sort of compensation for my efforts or chuck it up as a lesson learned?
Reply
Log In
x

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

Already a member? Log In.

November 17, 2019 06:15PM
Lesson learned, IMHO. The general rule is: always call ahead to check when a place is open to the public and/or there is no cover charge.

I would email the scheduler and tell them that you want them to reassign the shop, and suggest that the guidelines include a statement that, due to concerts and other events that may pose issues, the shopper needs to call a few days in advance.

btw, if you tell us which MSC, members may know how to "gently" suggest this to a project manager there.

As for fault; no one needs to be called out over this. Chalk it up to education. And, as my momma always told me, "Education is expensive. But, still a good investment."

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Reply
November 17, 2019 06:43PM
Thanks for your response! The MSC is SQM.
Reply
November 17, 2019 07:40PM
Hmmm. I think I know who is likely to be scheduling that. In this case, I might (but read further, please) try to work with the scheduler until you can finish the shop successfully. She is more responsive to phone calls, in my experience. The kind of shops that you have are the best gateway to better compensated shops. However, all of their shops are very narrative intensive.

Their hotel shops (not the half price ones) are awesome hotels, excellent meals included. However, if you are not an experienced high end hotel shopper, they would NOT be a good place to start. Get some simple hotel shops under your belt, even with no fee, before moving up to SQM's high end hotels.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Reply
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login