I saw while searching that there were a few comments about this shop posted to a thread about another one, but couldn't find a dedicated thread.

There's one around 25 miles from me at a whopping good fee. I read over the material and think I could pull it off (my husband was a landscape crew supervisor and although he can't come with me, he can explain before I a few things I might get stuck on).

Those who have done one: How did it go? Was it worth the fee? Do the salespeople care or not if you have in-depth knowledge? One of the scenarios would be easy for me to pull off, but I could get a bit stuck on some of the technical details. Usually I just shut my mouth and let the salesperson yak, nod my head, and ask a question only when I know the subject matter enough to sound like I know what I'm talking about, even if I don't ....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2024 03:08AM by BirdyC.

I didn't end up doing any, but I researched it and thought about it real hard. (By the time the fees got high enough I was too busy.) I figured if things got too technical, I would say I'm just doing the purchasing and my partner or boss does the other stuff. For what they are paying now, I would go for it. What's the worse that could happen?

@mystery2me wrote:

I figured if things got too technical, I would say I'm just doing the purchasing and my partner or boss does the other stuff.

Thank you; that's exactly what I was thinking! This shop is in a large metropolitan area where there are a lot of shoppers, and I'm really surprised it's sitting at this price.

Don't bother. The company offering these will use your information and make ypu waste time and effort and then not pay you. I took one of these and performed the assignment exactly according to the instructions and the first excuse not to pay me was that I didn't make an appointment.

When I showed the guidelines which I print out and also save to my phone for every shop, where the guidelines say NOT to make an appointment, just to go to the location after first calling, they came up with a different false excuse not to pay me. The scheduler said I didn't get confirmation that the two models were carried. Since when is "Yes." And then them adding that they carry that equipment, not a confirmation?
I went to the site wasted my time with the salesman, got the information they needed about having to order or get a quote from another location out of town and have the equipment sent there for pickup.
I went back and forth with the scheduler on this, and finally she gave me some man's name and said he's the project manager and "If he decides to pay you for the shop, he'll reach out to you." I emailed him 3 or 4 times and he never even responded which is something a reputable company would surely have the professionalism to do. Scammers. This is the only company, (starts with an Ip and ends with a sos) that I have been scammed by in over 30 years of mystery shopping and audits.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2024 02:12PM by Demicher.

I second Demicher. I have had FOUR out of Four rejected--for various BS reasons. So very frustrating.

Oh damn and here I was feeling stupid for not taking them at the prices they are offering. Sorry they have not paid for these, I have a handful of jobs from that side of the platform that I did not get paid for and it makes me reluctant to take jobs for them.

Wow. Sorry to read you all had your reports rejected. I thought about doing a few of them and am now glad I passed.

I am wondering if the MSC is offering the insanely high rates so that folks will pick the shops up, then "not be able to use the report."

It's a classic move.

Hi - please remember that if guidelines are not followed, shops just cannot be accepted. It is frustrating for everyone because then no one gets paid, but really the goal is to take every shop if there is any way possible.

Karen. It sounds like Demicher exactly followed the guidelines. They saved a copy of the guidelines and says they followed them and can quote the specifics that the guidelines were followed for each reason for denial. What is going on here. Nikki21 also states she had all her shops rejected. If the company can't adequately explain legitimate reasons for rejection, it does appear very fishy.

Hello, I am not going to comment on specifics here of course, but if all guidelines were met, the shops would have been paid. For all of these particular shops if there was any way we could get them fixed up with what the client needed, we have done that. The last thing that anyone wanted was to have to reject any shops, particularly this project. You do have to understand that there are always 2 sides to every story and in the end what the mystery shopping company has to go with is what the client requires. No one benefits at all when a shop cannot be accepted - the client doesn't get that report, and no one gets paid - from the shopper to the editor, scheduler, or mystery shopping company. I know it is upsetting, I have had shops rejected for what I felt maybe were small things that didn't matter - but they did matter and I couldn't be paid.

The things that matter should be stated clearly in the guidelines and I can tell you from other projects that they are often not. For example:

1. One gas station brand offers a photo example of a reader board in the guidelines but the photo is of the entire storefront with no reader board.

2. Marathon branding on an Exxon pump is acceptable, according to the guidelines which show a Marathon bank stop payment notice decal on an Exxon pump.

3. One gas brand specifies in the instructions that the number of the pump should be included in its photo, IF it is on the pump. Yet a shop will be rejected if the number is not on the pump.

These are only a few examples of the Ipsos trickiness that has become the norm.

Hi, again, I understand the frustration - but why would a mystery shopping company want to trick shoppers? That is where I don't follow. The goal of everyone is to get the shops completed, completed correctly, and sent off to the client - that really is the goal. I can't speak on any guidelines and how they are created, that isn't my area, etc., but I just can't see any mystery shopping company wanting to trick the shoppers.

Because they can. It costs them nothing to reject shops. Apparently it would cost more to examine and write accurate guidelines or update/double check their AI that does it. And there is no way for us to know if those rejected shops are then simply doctored up to meet the clients' demands and sent on to them. I did not believe those who suspected this at first but Ipsos has become alarmingly untrustworthy and greedy from a shopper's perspective that it certainly seems plausible.

I guess we just don't agree there. But I respect your opinion. From my end I just don't see that. There is no way any mystery shopping company would send a rejected shop that a shopper isn't paid for to the client. I have been scheduling for about 15 years with quite a few different companies and have never seen that happen. That is just what I have personally seen.

Although I have not been able to snag one of these mini-excavator shops, I am going to have to agree with Karen on this. There are two sides to every story.

I've done a lot of shops for that company (and worked with Karen a lot) and I totally trust them (and her). I have never been burned by them.

I'm sorry it didn't work out for you, Demicher. I know it sucks.

I understand that the scheduler doesn't write the guidelines.

I have seen where an MSC will pick up a new client and instead of writing new guidelines will just use the guidelines from a " similar" client. The problem is it NEVER seems to work for the shoppers.

It's like trying to put a square peg in a round hole.

I've even had an MSC rewrite the guidelines and report while I was doing the 3 shops covering 3 shifts at a casino!

They were fixing the things I reported were impossible to complete as the original guidelines said. Like evaluating places that weren't open after 10 PM or didn't offer services you were supposed to evaluate.

Needless to say they rejected my 3 shops.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/2024 09:12PM by wrosie.

@KarenSchedulesForIpsos wrote:

I guess we just don't agree there. But I respect your opinion. From my end I just don't see that. There is no way any mystery shopping company would send a rejected shop that a shopper isn't paid for to the client. I have been scheduling for about 15 years with quite a few different companies and have never seen that happen. That is just what I have personally seen.

And I think this is the problem.....even thu you, as the schedule, may not see the problem, it does not mean the problem do not exist. If there's plenty of people complaining about the same issue it could mean the problem actually exist. Of course there's always two side of the stories, and most often it is due to unparallel information received from both sides.

Karen. I know you are ethical and communicative. I respect you. However, who is editing these shops? Are they experienced or contracted Wordsmith editors? I know there are two sides to everything, but reading some of the feedback shoppers have received on shops from this forum, I am skeptical of the quality of editors. Perhaps they are losing money for both the shopper and the company.

@Equine24 wrote:

Karen. I know you are ethical and communicative. I respect you. However, who is editing these shops? Are they experienced or contracted Wordsmith editors? I know there are two sides to everything, but reading some of the feedback shoppers have received on shops from this forum, I am skeptical of the quality of editors. Perhaps they are losing money for both the shopper and the company.

To add to this, who is checking the editor? If a shop gets rejected and a shopper disagrees, who checks that? I have had shops rejected and have had two outcomes. First one is total crickets, no response. While other times, i respond with guideline quotes and my shop gets approved without apology.

Just seems like the QA process needs to improve.

Shop rejections should go to a second editor for another set of eyes.

Hello,
I didn't say that I don't see a problem - for these specific shops, I know for sure that any shops we could accept, we did. I can't speak on anything that I am not involved in.

Hello, there is a quality assurance procedure, and again I can only speak on projects that I am involved in, but there is another layer.

I cannot speak on the policies and procedures for Ipsos, as I am an independent contractor just like the shoppers - but again, the projects that I am involved in, I do know any shops that can be saved are, shops are reviewed more than once before being rejected.

@KarenSchedulesForIpsos wrote:

I cannot speak on the policies and procedures for Ipsos, as I am an independent contractor just like the shoppers - but again, the projects that I am involved in, I do know any shops that can be saved are, shops are reviewed more than once before being rejected.

That is good to know!! Thank you

Regarding Karen's comments about trying to get shops accepted. I can vouch for that. I did several of the excavator shops. A couple reports came back to me more than once to obtain additional information or explanation. I felt like the editor was really working with me to get the report accepted, which I truly appreciated.

I'm seeing a whole slew of those shops. I had no idea that so many places sold them or that so many people would need to buy them. They must be a hot commodity!