I have been a shopper for almost 20 years and this one is a first for me. I would love some feedback from this forum since the MSC rejected my shop and will not return my call or emails. I accepted a taco shop on a college campus to be performed on Sunday 2/27. When I arrived and went in, I was told that I could only order via Grub Hub. I asked twice if they would make an exception since I was really hungry and my phone was dead (my excuse to see if I could fully execute this shop). I was told absolutely no. I was able to evaluate customer service and cleanliness since I went inside. I reported everything and the shop was denied. I even called the company immediately and they have yet to return my call. I emailed and no response. Im stumped since this has been an otherwise reputable company. I scheduled through a platform that hosts many shops from multiple companies. Any thoughts? Its just extremely frustrating to drive to a location, fill out a report and not get at least partial compensation (this was a $20 shop/no reimbursement). *edited to add that Grub Hub was not mentioned in the instructions at all. This was written as a traditional shop with timings, etc.**

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/02/2022 12:03PM by gigishopper.

When they rejected your shop, what reason was provided in the email?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/02/2022 06:05PM by HonnyBrown.

They may need prooof that you were there.. Did you take a picture of the restaurant?

Might be worth it to install and use GPS verifier in such circumstances.

They denied it because I did not purchase a meal. I was unable to purchase a meal as a walk in customer per the instructions.

I recommend installing Timestamp Camera (available for both Android and iOS) which will put the location GPS, time, and date directly on the photo. Recently I have been dealing with closed fast food locations and closed drive-thru bank locations, and I just take a photo with this app and submit it in lieu of a receipt (with an explanation, of course).

The strange circumstances were not your fault. Unfortunately, when things go south on a shop, the burden of loss is often shifted onto the shopper. In this case, the MSC should offer you a closed location fee at least, if the MSC has a closed location fee policy.

@gigishopper wrote:

They denied it because I did not purchase a meal. I was unable to purchase a meal as a walk in customer per the instructions.

I know which one you are talking about.

After the site tells you "no," you have to have your food delivered by Post Mates, Grub Hub or Door Dash.

@gigishopper wrote:

They denied it because I did not purchase a meal. I was unable to purchase a meal as a walk in customer per the instructions.

It's extremely frustrating.

I want to add that the response I received from the MSC was not very nice or helpful:

"We appreciate the time and effort you have spent on this shop, however, we are unable to accept the shop because the shop did not occur. We will only accept a shop where all specific guidelines and instructions are followed and because this didn’t occur, we are unable to use the report, or the data provided. If you are ever unclear on any shop instruction, please don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know. Thank you again for your time, understanding and professionalism."

The words, "shop did not occur," were in bold. The shop did occur! I was there! I tried to order a taco and was not able to! Additionally, this part really gets me: "We will only accept a shop where all specific guidelines and instructions are followed and because this didn’t occur, we are unable to use the report, or the data provided." I did follow all guidelines! Nowhere in the guidelines did it direct me to order via Grub Hub.

I'm blessed to have a full time job with great pay and benefits and this is only a (frustrating at times) hobby. This is very unfair to folks who would truly be at a loss with this shop. For many, this would have meant losing valuable time, money for gas, and possibly out of pocket funds for a Grub Hub meal that could have been denied.

So, beware of this shop! Taco shops on college campuses!

Are you and HonnyBrown talking about the same shop? If you are and if she is correct, then you should not be paid.

The company never mentioned Grub Hub as an option to order. Typically, if something that specific is not mentioned, then one should not assume that is the route one should take. Never assume in MS. I went to the location, entered, evaluated customer service and cleanliness. I was denied an in person order. I have learned my lesson and will not pick up shops from this company again.

I never saw this mentioned in any of the paperwork. Did I miss a guideline?

I have no idea. I am not familiar with this shop. The shop HonnyBrown described seems strange to me though. That shop can turn from a walk-in shop to a delivery shop?

We're talking about the same place. There was no mention in the guidelines that ordering through Grub Hub was an option. The location will not serve a walk in customer, yet the door is open. When I entered, I was told, "we only accept Grub Hub orders." I had no idea if my shop would be accepted by ordering through Grub Hub. I called the company and they were closed. I emailed, no response. I reported what happened and was able to actually complete most of the questions (cleanliness, customer service, etc..). The company refuses to pay. It seems to me that the taco establishment would want to know that this location will not serve a walk in customer at all. The entire situation was strange. I have shopped since 2002. I have never encountered anything quite like this (and I have encountered a lot). One observation that I reported and I thought someone with the company should know is that none of the staff were wearing a mask or gloves while preparing Grub Hub orders and there is a mask mandate on this college campus. Gross....Ok...Im done venting now.

Could Grubhub be mentioned on the report form (instead of in the guidelines)?

@HonnyBrown Where did you see the instructions about using a delivery service?

I saw the delivery services mentioned in the shop description.

gigi, you were required to order a meal up to $35. You didn't. They have no reason to accept your shop or pay you.

If this was the same shop, I agree that the OP should not be paid. I would not have taken it for $20 with no reimbursement in the first place.

We are not talking about the same shop.

That makes a lot more sense.

I wonder if the same MSC offered two different types of shops and got confused about which one you were assigned. Since the client has not been named, will the OP and HonnyBrown please name the MSC?

The one I saw was on Intelli-Shop. It had a $35 reimbursement.

I would think,as mentioned already, that this scenario would be treated like a closed location. During this pandemic lots of out of the ordinary things are happening .

I know that I did not reveal the location name, but to be safe, the company was NOT Intellishop. The company name consisted of numbers that would bring a person full circle.

Got it. Thank you.

I hope this works out for you. They need to provide you with a better explanation if they insist on not paying. They need to point out specifically how you did not follow guidelines. If you followed all the guidelines, they need to pay you something. The dollar amount may not be satisfactory, but at least you won't have to deal with them saying you were at fault.

Good luck.

@gigishopper wrote:

I know that I did not reveal the location name, but to be safe, the company was NOT Intellishop. The company name consisted of numbers that would bring a person full circle.

I just did a sandwich shop for them. I had to place my order on the app. Guidelines state to capture a screenshot it you are unable to place the order. They were not accepting online orders and I took the screenshot and submitted it. I don't see it as being completed and waiting for payment yet. I'm keeping an eye on it in case I need to contact them.

Please report back as to if they accepted the shop. Their communication has been poor with me and they never showed me where it mentioned Grub Hub in the guidelines (it wasn't). This company has been very easy to work with in the past, but this time they seem to be avoiding the fact that this scenario was outside of what was presented to me, the shopper. Greedy company--lesson learned. The job is back on the board. Maybe they have updated the guidelines by now.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2022 05:59PM by gigishopper.

That's too bad Gigi...You were there - ready, willing and able to do the shop. The location wouldn't LET you do the shop, that's not your fault and you'd think that's precisely the kind of thing the company would want to know. That their location is telling paying customers to take a hike. Maybe that's what they want the employees to do, if so, you have still reported valuable information and they pass I guess?

I understand not paying shops where the shopper messes up, but when its the fault of the client location and/ or the instructions? Boo to that.

Unfortunately, I see more MSCs now have an explicit disclaimer that shoppers are to be paid only when the clients accept the reports. This is a shifting any risk of loss from the MSC to the shopper regardless of fault.

I agree! You would think that they would want to know this information!

I am not going to be paid for the attempted sandwich hop.