What time is lunch?

When you accept a lunch shop at a sit down restaurant that does not specify the hours of lunchtime, what would you consider to be the window in which you can arrive. This is for a restaurant that has an all day menu and opens around 11:30 AM and stays open until late at night. I know some places close at 3 or 4 and reopen or switch at 5 to a different menu in which case I would personally consider "lunch" to be anytime before the menu ends. I have contacted the scheduler about this but got a very vague answer.

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Hi i would say 11am-2pm but I would def. reach out to the scheduler (again)

I was faced with just such a situation of being unable to ascertain the hrs. for a late night shop at a popular, at that time, shake eatery. Having zero desire to waste a drive, time and expense, I cancelled with an explanation. I was quickly provided the hrs. and an apology to reconsider.

In this case I already asked twice of a scheduler many people on the forum seem to have issues with. I have had only good experiences myself but I dont want to ask a third time and be an annoyance.

Most of the sit down restaurant shops specify 11:00 - 15:00 or 16:00. The QSR shops usually specify 11:00 - 14:00.

@sandyf wrote:

In this case I already asked twice of a scheduler many people on the forum seem to have issues with. I have had only good experiences myself but I dont want to ask a third time and be an annoyance.

Did you just ask ? I would reach out again and not assume you are being annoying. I have had asked 2 schedulers to change a date and they asked me to reach back out the first of the month due to the end of the month was crazy. For me if I saw lunch hours I would assume like 11am-2pm if the guidelines don't state (although they should)

Curious, did Ipsos provide any answer or were they as vague as you were? What was their vague answer so we can perhaps provide some insight? You mentioning "I know some places close at 3 or 4 and reopen or switch at 5 to a different menu in which case I would personally consider 'lunch' to be anytime before the menu ends" is only material if this specific dining establishment does the same. Did you call the restaurant to find out when lunch is served? Seems like that could be a clue.

I'd call the restaurant and ask how late they serve lunch. Then, email the scheduler with that information and ask if it is acceptable to go at (insert time). Be direct and specific so you have it in writing if there is any issue later.

A follow up. As a note it was not an IPSOS shop. I did in fact ask a direct question twice. I was vague on the forum as I do not want to mention or hint who this person is or which company. It is a niche restaurant that I believe has only a handful of locations. I did check with the restaurant first as I mentioned and they do not actually have a weekday lunch menu. As it happened the scheduler reached out to me this afternoon on a different subject so I took the opportunity to I ask specifically again and was able to get a firm answer. Thanks everyone. In this case I was told arrive 2:30 at the latest and stay as long after as I need.

I don't understand why you had to ask 3 times to get an answer. What time do I need to arrive by? Pretty simple question. If they couldn't answer it until the 3rd ask, I would hesitate doing work for that company. What other requirements are they forgetting to mention or don't "know" about.

@87Supra wrote:

I don't understand why you had to ask 3 times to get an answer. What time do I need to arrive by? Pretty simple question. If they couldn't answer it until the 3rd ask, I would hesitate doing work for that company. What other requirements are they forgetting to mention or don't "know" about.

I don't understand either as to why. I thought my question was pretty straightforward. I had selected Friday as the place opens at 11:30.AM. Sat and Sunday they also open early and have a brunch menu. When I asked the first time I mentioned the hours and that I had been accepted to do it on Friday when there was an all day menu starting at 11:30 AM. The answer from the scheduler suggested I do the shop on Saturday or Sunday. The job posting allowed me to choose Thursday,. friday, Saturday or Sunday. I asked again , again mentioning they are open from 11:30 AM on Friday and I said I wanted to know what hours they considered lunch. The answer was that I should go for lunch on Friday. The third time was a charm. I got the impression that different locations of this restaurant had different hours. I looked at a few other locations and they were not open at all on weekdays for lunch. So I think the scheduler originally had it in her brain that they did not serve lunch on Fridays.
Yes I suppose my question was not direct enough but it was crystal clear to me.

If they don't all keep a uniform schedule then it makes a bit more sense to me.
I have also fought/argued with companies regarding vague directions over the years. A few times it boiled down to me saying "if I do it this way will I get paid". That usually got me an answer I could live with.

The problem now is that @sandyf has provided enough detail in these postings that the scheduler could easily know who it was :-P

Were you trying to go as late as possible so that this shop could be an early dinner? I am confused as to why this was a big deal. I understand the frustration, but it seems like if there was some vagueness, why not just go at 11:30-noon?

Interesting thought Gigi. However I am not a shopper interested in making a living on fees. I am a lifestyle shopper. That means I shop most for reimbursements for things I might actually want and at times when I actually dont mind doing a shop. I acually like eating out and almost never accept a shop with a small window of time to do it. I like being flexible and there is no flexibility baked into having my meal time dictated to me. Had this shop been advertised as 11:30 AM I never would have taken it. But is is an open time shop just saying Lunch time. For me personally lunch time is mid to late afternoon. But I do want to follow the rules and not break them so was just trying to ascertain what they consider lunch. That fits my lifestyle!
There are many reasons people do shops.

@gigishopper wrote:

Were you trying to go as late as possible so that this shop could be an early dinner? I am confused as to why this was a big deal. I understand the frustration, but it seems like if there was some vagueness, why not just go at 11:30-noon?

I’m pretty sure I know the scheduler and small chain. Amazing when you can’t just get a simple question answered. Hope you enjoyed it. If my assumption is right, I did one for dinner and enjoyed it but didn’t enjoy trying to get my questions answered ahead of time!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2025 02:32AM by olympia tennenbaum.

I don't mind if the scheduler knows who I am. My name I use on the forum is actually my real name so if the scheduler is trolling it will be seen anyway. I was not complaining about the scheduler just trying to see what time most people thought "lunch" would be in case I did not get an answer in time. It was the other shoppers who are reading this who I want to not disclose the scheduler to as this is not a complaint against the scheduler. So any shopper that figures out which restaurant I am talking about would probably live in my city . From what I can tell there are only 8 locations nationwide and if they have seen the shop or done it will know the scheduler assuming one person schedules all of them.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

The problem now is that @sandyf has provided enough detail in these postings that the scheduler could easily know who it was :-P

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