This is what really bothered me about this situation. I wrote to the scheduler and said that they would not let me in, and she told me to check the guidelines because there was an option to have them do the change out themselves. But in that case, I was still only going to get $3. So basically she should have told me to submit it that way and not waste any more of my time on it. The company who sends out the brochures should have one of their own employees call those offices on their own dime. Telling me to do more work and then not pay me for anything beyond the first call is just ridiculous.@Shop-et-al wrote:
I think it is best for staff to complete that task because it is easier for them to find little moments of time in their work days than it is for them to accommodate our presence in their workplaces.
The scheduler sent me a copy of the terms for the shop which say that you will be paid a reduced rate, but it does not say what that rate is. Anyway, I am done with them, this company isn't doing mystery shops anymore, anyway.@sestrahelena wrote:
The reduced pay clause might be in the ICA or general contract that you've agreed to (just guessing).
When I checked their website recently (the piece that is for prospective clients), I only saw merchandising and similar projects listed, not mystery shopping.@NinS wrote:
This MSC is certainly doing merchandising and other revealed assignments, and in fact just sent me multiple assignment offers this afternoon. Their current lack of non-revealed mystery shops is surely a matter of current client needs, not some permanent policy moving forward.
I was told on my first call that I would not be allowed in and told the scheduler. She told me to look at the guidelines and call back and see if I could convince them to do it themselves. I called back and was told that I needed to speak to the office manager, and it took several calls to get in touch with him. The previous visit attempt from two or three months earlier had also been told that they could not visit, so to be honest they never should have assigned this again. And I definitely should have stopped after that first call, submitted it and been done with it. Then the $3 payment would not have stung so much.@1cent wrote:
That said, if you had reviewed the assignment in the app, you'd have seen the option to indicate that you made an appointment and were denied access at the time of the visit. You also don't have to do more than make three phone calls to try to make an appointment OR you reach someone and they decline. There's no reason to do more than that, but I can understand why that also isn't 100% clear.
@MisterBill wrote:
Hopefully I have warned a few people not to deal with these assignments.
Yes, I guess I should say to warn people not to make more than one call if it's evident that they will not let you go.@1cent wrote:
@MisterBill wrote:
Hopefully I have warned a few people not to deal with these assignments.
This is weird to me. It’s very helpful to share experiences but this isn’t exactly a job to avoid. More like “proceed with caution,” no? Your assignment could have been super easy.
$3 is always disappointing but it’s not the worst for making a quick phone call.
I did not ask to speak to the manager originally. It was only when I asked if they could do it themselves that I was told that I needed to speak to him. The only other person who could have allowed me in was the doctor, who had told the staff that no outsiders were allowed (although I'm sure that was from above since it's part of a very large medical group).@jay225 wrote:
by the way, the phone calls are a lot more productive when you don’t ask to speak to the office manager. there are normally other people there who have some say. it can be a real hassle sometimes to get a hold of the elusive manager.
@MisterBill wrote:
I did not ask to speak to the manager originally. It was only when I asked if they could do it themselves that I was told that I needed to speak to him. The only other person who could have allowed me in was the doctor, who had told the staff that no outsiders were allowed (although I'm sure that was from above since it's part of a very large medical group).@jay225 wrote:
by the way, the phone calls are a lot more productive when you don’t ask to speak to the office manager. there are normally other people there who have some say. it can be a real hassle sometimes to get a hold of the elusive manager.
@MisterBill wrote:
Yes, I guess I should say to warn people not to make more than one call if it's evident that they will not let you go.@1cent wrote:
@MisterBill wrote:
Hopefully I have warned a few people not to deal with these assignments.
This is weird to me. It’s very helpful to share experiences but this isn’t exactly a job to avoid. More like “proceed with caution,” no? Your assignment could have been super easy.
$3 is always disappointing but it’s not the worst for making a quick phone call.
Should also say that I do not take $3 phone call shops.
I did get in touch with someone on my first call, and they told me that I could not visit. The scheduler told me to call back and try to get them to do it themselves, which resulted in several calls trying to get in touch with the office manager, who once again told me that I could not come in.@LuvsTraveling wrote:
You are supposed to make THREE attempts and then submit if you don't reach anyone or no one returns your calls. If you make ONE attempt and are told that you will not be allowed to visit the office then you don't call again and go ahead and submit your report. With the last round, you are NOT supposed to just show up if you are in the area. You need to be familiar with the current guidelines since everything is in flux these days.
But that would be dishonest since the guidelines clearly stated that you could not show up at the office without having an actual appointment. I did double-digit offices during the last round and only a handful would not allow me to schedule an appointment at all. Making a couple of quick phone calls from the comfort of your house with no gas or car expenses... I really don't understand what the problem is.@MisterBill wrote:
I only mentioned going in person because that way I would have received $10 instead of the $3.
The problem is that it took me four attempts to get in touch with the office manager (after my initial call when they told me I could not visit), then spent 20 minutes on the phone with him trying to convince him to do the switch himself. Had I realized that my total payment was going to be $3 I would not have put any effort info it beyond the first call once I realized that I wasn't going to be paid for the additional effort, and certainly not made multiple attempts to contact the office manager.@LuvsTraveling wrote:
But that would be dishonest since the guidelines clearly stated that you could not show up at the office without having an actual appointment. I did double-digit offices during the last round and only a handful would not allow me to schedule an appointment at all. Making a couple of quick phone calls from the comfort of your house with no gas or car expenses... I really don't understand what the problem is.@MisterBill wrote:
I only mentioned going in person because that way I would have received $10 instead of the $3.
THEY DO! I am one of those people.@charleybuddy wrote:
if shoppers were able to get first dibs on offices they had completed in the past as to build a rapport with an office, the company doing these replenishments might get a better response/completion rate?
@LuvsTraveling wrote:
THEY DO! I am one of those people.
Maybe you rocked the boat too much or maybe there were complaints from the office staff about you or your work. And a re-visit is totally different than a new round of locations months later.@charleybuddy wrote:
@LuvsTraveling wrote:
THEY DO! I am one of those people.
interesting! after successfully completing a bunch, i even suggested to the scheduler in a recap email that for a couple of the offices that would have needed a re-visit (not enough materials sent, broken plastic covers, missing ad panels etc.) that i would be interested in doing the follow up visits.
he kind of sidestepped around that, and thanked me for being part of the project.
later in 2020 when the re-visits were being scheduled i never heard back from him when the follow up visits for the same locations were put on the board. strange.