Disputing a report rejection

Hi all -

Hoping for some suggestions on how to handle an issue with a shop rejection.

I recently completed two online shops that required interacting with a help chat agent based on an assigned scenario. The scenario assigned included my budget, whether or not I’m a current customer, and what I currently own. The shop instructions contradicted one aspect of my assigned scenario; specifically, it said that I am to pose as a non-customer, while also instructing me to present as wanting an upgrade.

I followed my assigned scenario as a non-customer and my shops were rejected because I didn’t indicate I was looking to upgrade. In this particular industry, you would only contact a provider for an upgrade if you are a current customer.

My attempts to resolve this have been met with silence from the mystery shopping company, which is known for being unresponsive. I’ve been in this industry for a while now and I understand mistakes happen, but the lack of communication here is frustrating and baffling.

Any advice for handling this is greatly appreciated.

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I suspect you are viewing non-customer and upgrade too narrowly. I don't know the nature of the product you are referring to, but I could see owning Brand X and wanting to upgrade to Brand Y while not being a customer of Brand Y. I could have purchased or acquired a used Brand Y and be a non-customer wanting to upgrade to another Brand Y. Clearly you identified the two parts of the shop and if you only did one part I don't know that you have a leg to stand on and argue, even if they communicate.

Whenever there are any conflicts in the scenario, STOP and get clarification IN WRITING from the scheduler before proceeding with a shop. Every experienced shopper has had to learn this hard lesson. And some of us have had to learn it more than once (ouch!).

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.

I'm not sure how specific I can get, but I'll clarify that the companies being contacted for these shops are providers of a service and are not tied to one brand.

Example (not the actual industry of these shops): I'm a current customer of Geico, and want to update/extend my policy coverage. Being a customer of Geico, I wouldn't contact Allstate to extend my policy coverage.

I agree with walesmaven and Flash.

Also, you can name the industry.

I can think of many scenarios where you can want an upgrade but are not a current customer. Take cell phones, for example. I can own a lower-end or older Samsung phone and be a T-Mobile customer. I can be interested in switching to AT&T and upgrading to a higher-end or newer Samsung phone.

You can be a Geico customer. You can shop Allstate and upgrade to a policy that has higher liability limits for bodily injury and property damage.

Wanting an upgrade and not being a customer is not mutually exclusive.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/2022 04:08PM by BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz.

Sadly, it's not unusual to find conflicting instructions on almost any type of shop. I would echo walesmaven's comment, though, that assuming you saw the conflict prior to doing the shop, don't do it until you get clarification.

It sounds like this was maybe a cell-phone shop? You could be upgrading just your phone while not being a current customer of the service provider. Or was it a non-customer looking to upgrade the service, not the phone? That would indeed be a conflict. It sounds as if the company is one notorious for not making it easy to contact anyone! With this company, if it's the one I'm thinking of, the only luck I've had in even getting the name of someone to contact to dispute a rejected shop is through the scheduler. There seems to be no way to directly contact the MSC! The email they give on the site rejects emails sent to it, and there's no good phone number.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/2022 07:56PM by BirdyC.

First, read what Wales posted. Next, read it again. Finally, re-read for another time.

I this very week had such a situation. The general guidelines stated that after the web contact, I was to wait for a call from the target for at least 24 hrs., but the specific guidelines, in bold type, mentioned the waiting period to be 48 hrs. As there was not any verbiage dealing with one having priority, I stopped working the shop, contacted the scheduler and awaited her reply.

I appreciate the insights offered by everyone who has taken the time to respond. The attempts to resolve the situation I referenced in my original post include contacting the scheduler for clarification before completing the shops and following up after the rejection. I never received a response. I agree with Flash and Busybee; it is possible to upgrade without being a current customer. My earlier assertion otherwise was in the context of these shops and I should have been more clear about that.

Yes, this is a cell phone shop. The shop instructions described the upgrade scenario as someone who is an “existing customer of carrier staying with same carrier.” The other scenario is described as an “existing customer of another carrier planning to switch carriers.” Both scenarios required expressing interest in a new phone, and I followed this. The instructions at the top of my report said “You will pose as a non-customer.” This was my point of contention with the rejection. Wales and shopperbob - I agree, and if I find myself in this situation again I will not go ahead with the shop if I don’t hear back from the scheduler.

BirdyC - It does seem like we are talking about the same company. Thank you for your kind words :-)

Thanks for your follow-up! I'd say that based on the instructions you quoted, you did the shop correctly. It appears that the "upgrade" instruction applied only to the existing customer scenario. I suspect an editor who did not thoroughly read both scenarios! I'd suggest calling the MSC, but I've tried that before, and there's no good number available to reach anyone who can help. The only number I found was for accounting, which, believe it or not, was unable to transfer me to the right department--because they couldn't find it!

On the plus side, I did have my report rejection overturned, so if you can reach somebody about this, you might have success. I'd try your scheduler again or maybe another scheduler with the same company who could direct you to the editing department.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

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Disputing a report rejection

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