Hi everyone, I just had a question here regarding the doctors office brochures job. I picked one up with a bonus that I was happy with. I called the office 3 times (they didn't return my calls), I showed up (as per instructions), they turned me down, and I filled out the app via the mystery shop company's instructions. Today when I logged in, I noticed that the fee they approved was $10 instead of the bonused amount. I know that I was not able to complete the mission like the company had asked, but since they did not change the pay shortly after the shop was completed, I was a little surprised to find out that it had changed weeks later.

Was I unrealistic for expecting it to be the full amount?

I am curious how to handle this since it's not the first time I have picked up a shop with a bonus, driven out of my way to complete it, not be able to through no fault of my own, and then received significantly less than I expected. If this is just the cost of business, then okay. But if it's not, I want to know when to speak up.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/08/2020 08:14AM by chiffon cupcakes.

I may be wrong, but I think it is the scheduler that doles out the bonuses. Perhaps, it was the scheduler that changed the amount since they didn't get the shop completed to the MSC standards.

You might start there.

I went back and forth with a scheduler for this type of shop. They wouldn't reschedule it in SASSIE (I had set an appointment with the doctor's office after the due date shown) because it is completed in an app, yet the MSC claims that is how I would get paid.

After I completed one, the completed shop was removed from SASSIE. Another I wanted to do was also removed from from my SASSIE list of shops without being rescheduled. I didn't complete that shop, though I wanted to.

Luckily, the MSC saw my post here and is resolving my issue.

i did a few of these a while ago and the same thing happened to me - i couldn’t get in the office. however i had three other offices in the same two mile radius on the same day, so while it was a bummer seeing that shop pay knocked down to $10 a week or two later, the bonus amounts of the other offices i completed more than made up for it.

if it was a one-off within a reasonable driving distance, i’d be frustrated with the missing bonus money but i’d eventually come around to look at it as not doing any work and having my gas to and from the office paid for.

as an aside, i enjoy these shops and i’d love to see these visits be offered at a higher starting pay and become an ongoing project for the shopper who signs up for them and completes them 100% correctly according to the guidelines. a couple of the projects i completed already had shoppers out at the offices who didn’t stock the racks correctly - so in effect, i was out fixing poor work. i saw an email yesterday to schedule an office i completed, where when i visited, the racks were incorrect but i had no materials to work with to fix the issues. my guess is they reshipped materials to the office and now need someone to finish the racks correctly. if the price was right and it was a consistent project, i’d love to go back and fix the rack. but for the first few offers/bonuses, it’s not worth my drive.

So I did a second one, where I ended up calling the office and they told me I was not able to come in. They bumped the pay down from $49 to $3. THREE DOLLARS.

@chiffon cupcakes wrote:

So I did a second one, where I ended up calling the office and they told me I was not able to come in. They bumped the pay down from $49 to $3. THREE DOLLARS.

i mean all you did was make a phone call, dude. the brochure jobs are usually my bread and butter with this MSC but i haven’t done any since corona started. doctors offices are really the only place i’m not comfortable going at this point. am i overthinking it?

i personally don’t see any reason why there would ever be a situation where you can’t get a hold of the office. it’s never happened to me before, and i’ve done a ton of these. as long as you don’t call during their lunch hour of course. most places have those between 12-1. one tip from my experience is to not bother asking for the office manager when you call. they are often not around, and can be flaky. there’s a good chance they won’t call you back. i’m not trying to wait around for days to schedule these things. whoever answers, just politely introduce yourself, say you’re calling on behalf of patient point and ask if you can come in today(or whatever day you want to go) to update the brochures. odds are the secretary will be able to answer you, or she’ll ask someone else who will be able to give an answer. i wouldn’t bother just showing up and asking, because it likely will just lead to rejection. free money is nice, but i value that MSC and know that giving them no results does nothing for them, and could potentially cost them the client.

The four offices I've dealt with have had a certain day or time frame where they don't have patients scheduled. This makes it much easier than trying to refill the racks between patients. I may have to wait until next week, but it makes the job go much quicker.

@jay225 Oh, I meant I got ahold of the office, but the contact would not call me back. Oddly enough, none of the office receptionists were able to help me out.

And thank you for listening and responding. This company really is a great company, and I guess I was just frustrated because I could have used that money. I shouldn't have gotten grumpy so fast.

Once, during a covid surge, a new staff member referred me to the nurses. They were concerned that the nurses might not want vendors generally or to permit vendors to enter patient exam rooms. I left a voice message and then became clever and called the front desk again. I explained that I might not have explained my situation clearly. I began again and was given permission to come to the office. I was willing to be turned away at any point along the way: hospital lobby, front desk of target office, etc. But I passed health muster in the lobby and the nurses allowed me to work in their space. Perhaps they remembered me from earlier visits. Never underestimate the power of their concerns. Let them know you are aware and have plenty of PPE. This keeps them in control while they decide that you apparently pose no risk to them and their space.

@chiffon cupcakes wrote:

@jay225 Oh, I meant I got ahold of the office, but the contact would not call me back. Oddly enough, none of the office receptionists were able to help me out.

And thank you for listening and responding. This company really is a great company, and I guess I was just frustrated because I could have used that money. I shouldn't have gotten grumpy so fast.

@wrosie wrote:

....I went back and forth with a scheduler for this type of shop. They wouldn't reschedule it in SASSIE (I had set an appointment with the doctor's office after the due date shown) because it is completed in an app, yet the MSC claims that is how I would get paid.

After I completed one, the completed shop was removed from SASSIE. Another I wanted to do was also removed from from my SASSIE list of shops without being rescheduled. I didn't complete that shop, though I wanted to.

Luckily, the MSC saw my post here and is resolving my issue.

Got paid today for the shop that I completed but was taken off my list of shops. The MSC had added it back to my shop list and I was excited to get paid so quickly after they fixed their mistake.