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Store not open during POSTED hours

April 21, 2022 06:58PM
This happens with many different MSC's. But, how much should the shopper be paid for his/her trouble?
The shopper confirms hours of operation via Google and with a call to the location. The location is 'Closed' with a handwritten note on the window saying that 'they' will be back at a certain time. The shopper waits until that time....still no employees/the store is still closed. The shopper takes photos, leaves, and informs the MSC.
Should the entire fee be paid? I would think so...but that is almost always not the case. What is fair?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/2022 06:59PM by salisburync.
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April 21, 2022 08:03PM
In a perfect world, the shopper would receive full pay because they earmarked time, energy, and whatever resources were necessary to get to the location, perform the task, and be able to perform more or less work-- depending on the exact circumstances. in the pre-covid era, someone determined that a few dollars were sufficient to compensate a shopper in this situation, even though clients and/or MSC's were presumed to be able to account for this and pay shoppers the full amount of money. In the covid era, many client locations are not earning much money due to closures and other factors. They might not be able to pay now. But it's the principle of the thing. The shopper risks time, money, and opportunity cost for something that might be or go beyond their control. Their best and reasonable efforts to plan and foresee events might be for naught (or those measly few bucks).. Can the shopper pick up more work on the fly to offset this lost income? What if the situation does not permit any offset?

Fairness might not happen. But the experienced tax preparers here might say something about reduced fees and expenses that might offer some solace. ?
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April 21, 2022 10:38PM
A full fee should not be paid. There was no evaluation or report. If the MSC is nice, maybe they will provide a go fee.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
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April 22, 2022 12:32AM
But you've wasted just as much of your time, sitting there, waiting for people who don't show up.
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April 22, 2022 03:32AM
Is the correct term something like missed opportunity cost?
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April 22, 2022 04:07AM
If you are asking if a missed opportunity cost is tax-deductible, the answer is no. It is not a bad debt. You never had the money (just a hope that you would be paid a particular fee), so you can't deduct it as a loss.

You can deduct the IRS mileage rate for going there, bridge tools, highway tolls, and parking fees.
@Shop-et-al wrote:

Is the correct term something like missed opportunity cost?

Shopping South Jersey, Southeast Pennsylvania, and Delaware above the canal since 2008


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/22/2022 04:08AM by myst4au.
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April 22, 2022 05:17AM
Thank you! I just knew that someone could share some good or at least not too bad businesslike thing that we might need. This information really is helpful, especially now, when it seems that more and more locations are experiencing unforeseeable closures due to staffing and other issues.

We might experience the loss of planned and anticipated income and the amount we paid for fuel and/or transportation costs, but we did not lose a fee.

@myst4au wrote:

If you are asking if a missed opportunity cost is tax-deductible, the answer is no. It is not a bad debt. You never had the money (just a hope that you would be paid a particular fee), so you can't deduct it as a loss.

You can deduct the IRS mileage rate for going there, bridge tools, highway tolls, and parking fees.
@Shop-et-al wrote:

Is the correct term something like missed opportunity cost?


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/22/2022 05:18AM by Shop-et-al.
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April 22, 2022 05:32AM
Yes, it definitely was "missed opportunity"!!!...the location was 63 miles away, or 126 miles round trip, I stayed on site for over an hour, and I invested about an hour in writing and receiving emails from the MSC about just what to do.....So, in total, just over 4 hours for a shop that, if scheduled on a route, should have taken one and one half hours. I took the shop because the MSC sent out one of those "plea" requests. It was a corporate store, blah, blah, blah....I thought it was solid after confirming the store hours! I was surprised when the MSC offered anything, to tell the truth, but I made far less than minimum wage, and incurred gas and vehicle expense. What shocked me more was when the scheduler acted as if I was being greedy! I just was curious as to how other shoppers handle this type of situation.
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April 22, 2022 08:50AM
Probably not work for that company anymore unless this was a one-off issue. You shouldn't get the short end of the stick because the client screwed up.
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April 22, 2022 10:38AM
salisburync inquires-- What shocked me more was when the scheduler acted as if I was being greedy! I just was curious as to how other shoppers handle this type of situation.

Bob replies--When I was contracted with Trendsource, if not always, at least generally, I requested PAD. In the slot where the company inquired as to my reason, I always typed "irrelevant." I have no recollect of ever being asked if I were greedy, but if, in the future, that were to occur my reply would be "of course." Just as greedy as MSCs. To quote Gordon Gekko, "Greed is good."
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April 22, 2022 11:07AM
..

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/22/2022 11:10AM by ReneeHHH.
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April 22, 2022 11:09AM
"...but we did not lose a fee."

In that situation, we lost our time and the fee that we could have earned performing other work.

What is that saying, time equals money?

I believe the full fee should be paid if the guidelines to verify the hours online and via a phone call were met.
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April 22, 2022 11:11AM
Who was the MSC?
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April 22, 2022 01:51PM
In my experience, some mystery shopping companies will still offer full pay, and some half. Anything less than half of the normal pay would really piss me off.
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April 22, 2022 02:53PM
@salisburync wrote:

This happens with many different MSC's. But, how much should the shopper be paid for his/her trouble?
The shopper confirms hours of operation via Google and with a call to the location. The location is 'Closed' with a handwritten note on the window saying that 'they' will be back at a certain time. The shopper waits until that time....still no employees/the store is still closed. The shopper takes photos, leaves, and informs the MSC.
Should the entire fee be paid? I would think so...but that is almost always not the case. What is fair?

This morning I went to do a quick couple of Jack in the box shops. The first location had posted hours of 6AM - 11PM. Google and the Jack website confirmed. Nobody answering at 6:06. I wait to 6:17. Nothing. I move on to the second location.

Second location - gave me a different company's fast food bag!!!! How is this possible? Is somebody messing with me today?

I go to Walmart to do a couple quick APP jobs. The jobs are available. I try to select them. "Sorry, someone else has taken this job." Repeat 4 times. Wasted trip. Go back to original Jack. Employee walking across parking lot with Starbucks, lol.

Ugh.

Wish me better luck today with some fake TV buying.
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April 22, 2022 03:41PM
@HonnyBrown wrote:

A full fee should not be paid. There was no evaluation or report. If the MSC is nice, maybe they will provide a go fee.

The value was the store was closed during regular store hours. It doesn't matter that the client didn't get the actual information they wanted. The contract was to go and collect information. If the other side of the contract prevents the party from performing their part of the contract, the other side of the contract still owes their part of the bargain.
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April 22, 2022 04:07PM
Well said!
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April 22, 2022 08:47PM
A lot of the MSC guidelines I read say to wait 30-45 min before you leave which 98% of the time is triple the time I would be doing the shop if the person was actually there in the 1st place, once we arrive at the location, I think we should be paid in full.
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April 22, 2022 08:51PM
@HonnyBrown wrote:

A full fee should not be paid. There was no evaluation or report. If the MSC is nice, maybe they will provide a go fee
Ive been in situations just like this and each time I had to fill out a report
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April 23, 2022 01:02AM
In this still covid world I find many stores have adjusted their hours,. some time it depends on store traffic lately or it could also depend on how short staffed they are. This is a reality in today's world. I live in a big city where willy nilly hours do not often happen however I have noticed that phone calls often take you to a central operator who has no idea that the hours have changed at your specific location. It might be a good idea to question if they are onsite when you make that call to check opening hours. These are just suggestions. I myself rarely take a shop which may have funny hours as a $3 go fee is never worth my time in case they are closed. And I would never be caught out at 6 AM doing a mystery shop. Those of us who sleep later have a benefit over early risers in this regard.
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April 23, 2022 01:19AM
I believe the full fee should be paid if the shopper did due diligence, both checking the website and calling the store.

Intellishop was kind enough to pay me full fees when a certain fast food restaurant was closed permanently due to a fire. I hadn't called the location to confirm (which I don't think Intellishop requires anyway) because it I never think of it for a fast food joint.
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April 24, 2022 01:04PM
I have been given nothing, to $3 to $5.

I posted about the one where I was not paid. The scheduler was nasty about it. They said I should have called. There was no mention about calling first. I went during business hours. It took an hour of my time and the gas. An employee was at the store, they lost power and decided to close. I went and literally had a conversation. Had I called ahead, they would have been open. It was only after I got there that they had the issue. The scheduler said it was my fault and my problem. I was not paid in any form.

Another was a Five Guys that was supposed to be open. I had called earlier and asked about hours. I was told until 10 PM. They were closed when I went at 4:00 PM. I got paid $3.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/2022 01:10PM by Niner.
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April 24, 2022 04:49PM
@Niner wrote:

I have been given nothing, to $3 to $5.

I posted about the one where I was not paid. The scheduler was nasty about it. They said I should have called. There was no mention about calling first. I went during business hours. It took an hour of my time and the gas. An employee was at the store, they lost power and decided to close. I went and literally had a conversation. Had I called ahead, they would have been open. It was only after I got there that they had the issue. The scheduler said it was my fault and my problem. I was not paid in any form.

Another was a Five Guys that was supposed to be open. I had called earlier and asked about hours. I was told until 10 PM. They were closed when I went at 4:00 PM. I got paid $3.

Sheesh. I’m sorry. I absolutely hate making a special trip, and then losing my gasoline my time my food AND my money.
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April 25, 2022 11:12AM
I see Marketforce trying to get 2 very remote drive-in shops done that have been permanently closed for at least 6 months. I hope the shoppers who take them are not depending on full pay.
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April 27, 2022 11:50PM
@sestrahelena wrote:

I see Marketforce trying to get 2 very remote drive-in shops done that have been permanently closed for at least 6 months. I hope the shoppers who take them are not depending on full pay.
That's an easy closed shop fee for you though. Take the shop and call. They won't answer and you upload a photo of Google that shows them permanently closed in your receipts.
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April 28, 2022 12:52AM
There's a convenience store chain that I shop and lately they've had hand written signs indicating reduced hours, early closures, etc due to staffing issues.
I'll snap a pic of the sign and do the report as best as I can and expect full payment. I attempted to perform the shop in good faith and used my time and resources to do so, it's not in my control if the location wasn't open.
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