I was such a dummy yesterday. I did one of the smartphone purchase and return shops and went to the a carrier with a veeeerrrry similar name in town! Bought a phone and a plan and everything! Out $12 for a restocking fee, wasted everyone’s time, and the shop at the right location was another whole story!! Anyone else?

Edit: out $70, not 12. At least the right shop was approved. Expensive lesson! *facepalm*

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/05/2025 03:52PM by Antipopbritt.

Oh yes, I did this for a bonused shop once and I was so mad at myself. I didn't even check the address like an idiot. I just typed in the name and town and from what I initially saw, there was only one. Turns out, there were 3. It is a hard less to learn, especially when it is a bonused shop that paid really well.

Guilty as charged. Once completed a shop a day early, had a similar shop the next day. Got ok from MSC rep. to swap shops. They dropped the ball in coordinating the swap. I ate it, literally.

Ive only done this once. It was Lids in a mall in my city. I had no idea there were two Lids locations in the same mall. Luckily, the shop was accepted by the company (I was shocked!).

Oh, yes.

Yep very first chipotle shop I ever completed. The MSC accepted and paid me, as the shopper assigned the shop hadn't visited yet, and had me complete a shop at the correct location. But I felt like such an idiot. (The addresses were 323 Any Street and 2323 Any Street. I missed the first 2 in the address some how.

Loving the stories, gang and feeling less alone. It was a hard lesson but I’m sure I’ll never do it again

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I once called the MSC because the garage I was shopping was closed. I found parking and went on to my brunch shop returning afterwards to confirm it was closed only to recognize I was at the wrong location (1050 18th st rather than 1050 Connecticut Ave -- which has it's garage entrance on 18th st). I felt ridiculous and then completed the shop at the correct location. I will say it would be nice if they listed garages by their physical address rather than the front door to the building they are under.

I went to the wrong K store for a pickup shop. I clicked that I had arrived and started my timer. Waited and waited. My phone rang and it was the correct store helpfully letting me know that they had my order but didn't find me in the space indicated. I was able to salvage it because I did triple check when placing the order and had at least ordered from the right place. There are just two stores unusually close together.

How about when the MSC thinks you are at the wrong location, but you are correct?

I had that happen for a shop at a crossroad. The address on the receipt showed one address street, while the MSC had the address being on the intersecting street.

Inspected the wrong gas station in my first couple months of doing it. GPS did say "you have reached your destination", so I didn't think anything of it. The whole thing was weird right from the start when the clerk told me, "already? we just re-opened last week," but I was too new to doing these to think anything of that. Completed the shop, and when I was taking pictures of the receipts, I saw the address was off a bit. Still wasn't greatly concerned until I pulled out of the parking lot, drove a block down the road, and saw the location I was supposed to do. Fortunately, I had an extra authorization letter with me. There was not an available shop at the location I did incorrectly.

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I did the counter at DQ instead of the drive through.
Realized when i got to the question,"How many cars ahead of you?"
They were closed by then, and we were traveling home early the next morning, so no salvaging it.

I'm sure I've shopped the wrong location altogether, but no stories come to mind.



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My first time, I think, was for a nicely bonused gas station. I had to call the ladies at Maritz and ask for extension so I could go back and do it. When I explained what happened, they said oh well it looks like the one you actually did is on the board too, I'll assign it to you. Grrr. My first base rate gas station.

Back when McDonald's was shopped, I shopped the wrong location in Boston Logan Airport. We were on vacation and I was so jazzed to get a bonused McD shop while we were killing time in the airport that it never occurred to me that there might be another McDonald's in a different terminal.

I had a minor gas station mix up, but I was only out a $5 purchase and a $5 fee. My son recently had to eat a $300 dining tab though, and didn't realize his error until after he had written and submitted the COYLE REPORT!!!

@maverick1 wrote:

How about when the MSC thinks you are at the wrong location, but you are correct?

I had that happen for a shop at a crossroad. The address on the receipt showed one address street, while the MSC had the address being on the intersecting street.

And it's the only one of those places in the whole town. And if you Google both addresses, it puts you in exactly the same place. Yep. I'm thinking of one MSC in particular.

I did a sandwich shop on the same street but in neighboring town. GPS brought me there and I did not notice until I left the building and looked at my receipt. The MSC had the shop available for another day and changed the date for me so I could be reimbursed.

Two Marathon stations next to each other with only a street in between. I did not even notice the 2nd one but it was at night at the end of a long day many, many miles from home.

They contacted me a few days later, told me I was not at the right location. Took google earth for me to figure out what I did.

They acted surprised I did not want to make a 400 mile round trip to do the right one.

I remember something about Cricket Store being right next to a Metro PCS. I was doing lots of metro PCS stores at that time. I shopped the Metro PCS and found out later it supposed to be the Cricket. A competitor shop or something. Can't remember who that MSC was, but I shopped every one in the three county area back in the day.

LOL....

There was this convenience store near my house. It was a gas station that featured that red/orange-ish pyramid (they have a big sign at Fenway park). The store was a walking disaster area. You could smell it when you walked in. I got into an argument with the clerk one day. Arizona Iced Tea was marked at 99 cents a can--on the can it said so. The lady tries to charge me $2.29 for a can. I just left it at the counter. Not my proudest moment. Anyway, my GF at the time liked this particular soda called Tahitian Treat. This was the only place where they sold it ($0.99 for a 2L bottle). Somehow they honored the price on the label for it but not the cans of Iced Tea. Go figure.

Anyway, one day, I get a mystery shop for a gas station. Except instead of the orange pyramid...its is for the Circle _ (the letter between J and L). I'm blinded by rage though so I go to the orange pyramid and do the shop instead of the location I'm supposed to go to down the street. I'm going to have my revenge on these people!!!

So I go there and list everything wrong (all legitimate violations of policies). I rip them a new one. It was one of those pop-up weekend shops too that pay pretty well relative to the amount of work you're putting out there...results reported in real time no less.

My scheduler breaks the news to me that I evaluated the wrong location.

I felt so silly.

I have done the wrong store, more than once. One time it was a cell phone store, 2 of them in the same shopping center, same street address, opposite ends of the same shopping mall, same name, same owners. No way to distinguish one from the other, except by the photograph of the front of the store that I didn't have access to. So of course, I was not paid for my efforts.

Another time it was Chevron stations. Same number address, same street, according to google maps, Texaco on the West side of the freeway, Chevron on the East side. Google maps directed me to the Chevron. I ended up having to do the Texaco two weeks later because that was where I was supposed to be to begin with.

Yep. A competitor coffee shop. Out of pocket. At least I like coffee.

I've also mixed dates up and thought it was the following day.

Let’s see…
After shopping since 2008, yes, I’ve done this!

Two coffee shops of the same name on the same street… of course I went to the wrong one.

I thought I was doing so well to pick up a burger shop in a town where I was going to a funeral. I was very unfamiliar with the city. When I checked my GPS, I just navigated to the wrong location in city. Who would’ve dreamed that that city would’ve had two of those burger locations!? That was actually just last year.

That same burger chain has two locations in my area. The name of one of the cities is also the name of the street of the other one. So in my mind, I just have that name not thinking of whether it’s the city or the street. So actually, I went to each of those two locations in air when I was supposed to be going to the other location! At least I was consistent in giving equal time to each location incorrectly ha ha ha ha.

And finally, there used to be an eighth cellular phone store inside the mall and outside the mall. I went to the wrong location once.

So not too bad. I think it’s just those five times. At least I got something to eat. I wasn’t out a lot of money on these. But if it still felt stupid!

Arizona Tea is where it’s at when you go to the convenience stores. With the pre-pricing, it is not legal for them to charge you more. Around here, some of our Arizona Teas are not being pre-priced anymore. I heard an interview with the owner of Arizona Tea a while back and he said he wanted to keep that price point as long as he could.

Is there a separate thread for shopping at the wrong time?

I mystery shopped the restaurant at lunch time - it was supposed to be dinner.

On the upside, at least the meal was nice! :-D

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