Start off I'm a newbie so please don't attack me if I'm not writing in the right place. Now on to my venting. I have been a housewife for almost 30 years. I have paying bills, signing my name, nursing, cooking, cleaning you name I'm an expect. Over the years I have lost my writing skills. Sometimes I forget how to spell simple words. Anyways, needless to say when I decided to start MS yes I read where you need to write etc. I figured I had this. With that said I have never been so humiliated and felt like an idiot when I got my feed back. Did a great job other than grammar. Then I would get 7 out 10. That would hurt but I still would get paid my few dollars. I have been doing this for almost 7 months now. This is my only downfall. I'm very good at the shops I do, I give it my all.
Since I started I have been working with several different companies then some how I stumble across M cx and have been quite busy with gas station audits. Which I will get back to that in a minute.
I noticed a atv shop for a price I thought was pretty good so I got it. Easy shop, I get home I start doing the paper work. All the questions pretty well sum the shop up. In the comment section I really didn't think I needed to write much more. Well this was a shop you fill out then wait 48 hours to see if they contact you. Before I would just save it, but I received an email saying summit then they will send it back to me. #1. They were late sending it back to me and of course had me filling the narrative out to all 500 questions. I didn't get the email till late last night so by time I finished it it was early Wednesday morning. Today I get a email telling how horrible I am at writing blah blah IT BEING LATE and they gave me a 7 out 10. That I'm use to but what struck a nerve was when it stated if the company excepts it if I get paid or not. Really! How can they have you do all that work and not pay you? That really bother me, I have been paid so far with all shops so if they come back and not pay me.
Anyways I'm sorry this was long and I'm typing in a hurry. This is my first type writing on here so I hope I can find any responses I might get. I'm not sure how to do that. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated alone with and not even sure but would like to talk to someone privately about a fair price on a shop.

Shame on the editor for telling you that you are terrible! Please take a deep breath and know that you are not alone. I am participating in a set of closed forums (not part of THESE forums) where a lot of editors hang out. Recently one of them asked all the editors to say which they would prefer in a shopper: total reliability with lots of spelling and/or grammar fixes needed or reports needing almost no edits but from shoppers who had a history of being late and/or had some reliability issues. At last count 35+ had replied and the vote was unanimous: reliability won hands down.

First of all, a 7 is NOT a horrible mark. It is a perfectly respectable mark and it will keep you qualified to do most shops in the industry. Being reliable and on time will get you a long way in MS and you will be a valued shopper. Meanwhile, if you have a grammar checking function in your word processing program, I suggest that you make sure that it is activated. If you are not drafting your narratives in a word processing program and then pasting them into the survey form, you can probably gain a full point by doing that and looking at/making the suggested corrections before doing the cut and paste.

I am a very poor typist and my spelling is not always the best, so I know that without using good spell-checker and grammar checker, I would be losing at least a point on many, many reports.

I do all my work on an I pad so I'm not sure what a word processing program is. Do they have that for the pad. I use the spelling check all the time my main issue is sentence structure and placing commas etc.
I really enjoy some of these shops but I do think they forget we are not getting paid much at all so for them to act like we are making bank is ridiculous.
I really hope I don't sound rude, I'm really a laid back person.
Thanks for the reply

@nwgal, if it makes you feel any better, every topic you touched on has been discussed already in this forum. The problems you mentioned are legion! Spelling and grammar are skills that improve with use. Keep reading this forum because successful shoppers often share their tips on report writing. There are also some current and former editors who post here. It's an easy way to learn.

Another way to improve one's writing is to do more reading. Some MSCs write up guidelines for shoppers. Google "mystery shop report writing" to get an idea of what is expected in comments and narrative. Keep in mind that every MSC's reporting style is different, but the spelling and grammar tips are universal.

As far as not being paid if the client doesn't accept your report, that's a sore spot for everyone. If we do the shop and submit the report to the MSC's satisfaction, then we should be paid because we fulfilled our obligation. However, if the client doesn't accept the report, then the MSC doesn't get paid, and therefore we don't get paid. Some MSCs will pay the shopper anyway, some won't. My point here is that you shouldn't take that comment personally.

Seven out of 10 isn't a terrible score, so don't beat yourself up about it. The editor who made a personal judgment must have had a bad day. That type of comment is unusual and uncalled for. You can play the little mind game I play. My first report for an MSC came back with the comment that I needed to their ESL class. I chose to believe the comment was meant for another shopper, and was attached to my report by mistake.

Last, the grammar police patrol the forum. Take their comments in the spirit of helpfulness in which it is offered.

NWGAL, check the App Store for a program.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2017 12:38AM by HonnyBrown.

Hi. I don't mean to be rude but I also noticed in your opening post, that you get the type of words that sound similar mixed up. "That I'm use to but what struck a nerve was when it stated if the company excepts it if I get paid or not." Excepts for accepts. When I am unsure of the meaning of a word while I'm filling out a report, I would open another tab, enter the word in question and google it. I believe that the computer I'm using have spell check but sometimes I need the definition for clarification. It is just easy for me to go through google to find the correct word for my definition.

Welcome to the forum, NWGAL. There are grammatical sites and apps. However, I have tried them and found them faulty and generally worthless. Some MSCs provide writing samples, which are helpful. Spell checking is built in with most browsers, which is great. They work well. However, they cannot differentiate between homophones ~ new/knew, their/there/they're, heir/air, etc. That is up to the shopper. I am a fast typist, and sometimes my fingers speed past grammatical errors. Before submitting a report, I suggest you proof read carefully, and read narratives aloud, paying attention to each word and correct punctuation. As you get more shops under your belt, I bet that your written communication skills will return.

Thank you all for the tips.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2017 04:06AM by NWGAL.

Try not to let the scores bother you too much. There are 2 msc that I can think of that will give me 9s every single time with no explanation. My opinion is that as long as I get paid, I'm not going to lose any sleep over an 8 or 9. Is there a spouse or anyone who could perhaps proof-read your narrative before you submit? Simple things like writing "could of" instead of "could have" and "except" instead of "accept" can bring your scores down and wouldn't be detected on spell-check. Good luck, try not to let it get to you. You'll most likely improve the more reports you write.

I was an editor for 2 different MSCs, neither of which had a numerical grading system. I am sad to hear that any editor wrote such mean-spirited comments to you. When I was editing, I was always just glad if all the required info was there. Editing it into proper sentence structure was the easy part for me and that was my job. My reply was something like: "Thank you for your report. It contained useful information. Please watch for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors in the future." Saying you are terrible is wrong and counter-productive.

No one's perfect and we all make mistakes. I've made 7s before, though I got a few 8s and lots of 9s and 10s. But, I've been doing this for 16 years. I also took some English courses at our local college before eventually working towards a degree. If you have time it might be worth it to take a class or two. Usually it's something you can do online. Business English is a good start. Depending on your income, you might be able to get classes for free with the Pell Grant.

Do you have Mozilla Firefox on your iPad? It has a built in spell checker. Other posters In here gave you excellent advice about looking up things if you're not sure. There are helpful grammar websites too. I would include a URL for you but I'm posting from my phone. Later when I switch to my desktop I'll find them and paste them in for you. Just keep doing shops and trying your best. I wish you luck!

Thank you

This is the absolute best website for help with your grammar. It's what college students use all of the time, and I still refer to it occasionally: [owl.english.purdue.edu]

I've never used grammarly but I have heard others state it's a very helpful site: www.grammarly.com/

Several years ago I used grammar girl, but I don't think she is free anymore. Apparently she now charges for services. I still say you should spare a few hours a week for an online English course. Who knows, you might decide to pursue a degree in something. There are so many choices in pursuing higher education. And keep reading and posting in the forum.

Welcome to shopping, and like others said, don't let the score bother you. It isn't ideal to have an editor berate you, but don't let i bother you too much. Said editor could have been on his/her last assignment of a stack of 20, and had been having a bad day themselves. They may have just opted to take it out on you. If they gave you any constructive criticism though, look at that and learn.
In addition to web resources readily available, many communities, and area colleges have continuing education type classes. Check around, there may be a composition type class in your area you can take relatively inexpensive. If you enjoy shopping, you may find the cost of the class worth it, as let's say you found a class that costs $100, you can make that in one good shop, and heck if you do a lot of shopping it may be possible to have the cost of the class as a tax deduction (I don't know, I'm no tax expert).

Again, don't let that one editor discourage you. Focus in on your grammar and keep at it.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

This is the absolute best website for help with your grammar. It's what college students use all of the time, and I still refer to it occasionally: [owl.english.purdue.edu]

I've never used grammarly but I have heard others state it's a very helpful site: www.grammarly.com/

Several years ago I used grammar girl, but I don't think she is free anymore. Apparently she now charges for services. I still say you should spare a few hours a week for an online English course. Who knows, you might decide to pursue a degree in something. There are so many choices in pursuing higher education. And keep reading and posting in the forum.

Thank you! I've saved this site to my home screen, I'm sure my editors will thank you.

You probably can qualify for a Pell Grant and take classes for free. File your information on FAFSA: [fafsa.ed.gov]

An English Composition class is generally a course with lots of essays and term papers. English 101 is generally a prerequisite unless you test out with a high score on the entrance placement exams. Without a solid foundation in English, a composition class is not going to be easy or helpful.

You can use Grammarly (https://www.grammarly.com/) for grammar tips! It is super helpful!

Do you have a PC or laptop you can use to fill out reports on? I say that for several reasons. For one, an iPad is a mobile device and just like phones includes autocorrect if I'm not mistaken. Secondly (and it's been awhile since I used my iPad), but I don't remember it having any type of typo or grammar notification. In Edge or IE I get a little squiggly red underline thing when I misspell, which I do often. If you use Word you'll also get a little squiggly green underline thing for grammar.

If that is not an option, I would suggest very close proofreading before submitting reports. For example, in your OP you wrote "you name I'm an expect." I would venture a guess that you attempted to type expert but typed expeft. The f is next to both the r and c and so autocorrect chose the more common word expect and corrected it. A quick proofread might not have noticed it. I wouldn't have noticed it if the sentence were not also missing the word "it" between name and I'm and it caused me to pay more attention to the sentence. A similar thing happened later in your post where you typed "summit" instead of "submit."

When typing on an actual keyboard neither of these mistakes would have been made most likely. I say this not to criticize. I notice them and understand mostly because I have the exact same issues when typing on a mobile keyboard.

As for grammar. I am no grammar expert by any means, but two things I would suggest you pay closer attention to is tense (jump is present, jumped is past, etc) and when to use a or an (a unless the word starts with a vowel sound). Those were the things that stood out to me from your post.

I am a bad writer but my post was horrible. I was in a hurry and was mad, not a good combination to post.
Thank you for the reply.

It's an open forum where many of us are using phones or whatever. Its casual. But, you wrote about getting chastised from editors so people helpfully addressed what they saw in your writing. Don't take it as this forum being full of critical people. Sometimes I post at 4 a.m. from my phone when I can't sleep and my writing is not so great, LOL. Don't knock yourself on your post as being horrible. It really was just like anyone else in a hurry who was upset.

That is not what I was saying. I appreciated all the comments and advice I received.
I was more embarrassed for the misspelled words but was glad I did because this is an issue I overlooked (homonyms). I need to practice what I preach, Don't sweat the small stuff lol

Sometime if I have a really long report I have used the verbal writing on my phone to write out the report in gmail. Sometimes you can just express yourself better verbally than in writing, but if you do be cautious sometimes the spell check places the wrong word in, so you need to read as it writes it for you. I also use a word program to check for spelling or punctuation I know it doesn't catch everything but it makes it a lot better than before.

For long detailed narratives I ALWAYS use Microsoft Word (might not be available for Apple products or mobile devices), set to all of the business and college level grammar settings. I know there are other word processing programs, and grammar checking programs available, and many of them are free, check your app store. Auto-correct is NOT your friend. Using a real keyboard on a desktop or laptop computer will save a lot of that heartache. Even using a USB or Bluetooth keyboard on your iPad will alleviate some of it.

The ones that bug me are the editors that claim my grammar and capitalization had to be edited after I wrote the entire thing in Microsoft Word and checked it with another college level grammar program. I know they are going to extremes or using a different standard to find something wrong so they can give me a lower score.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2017 04:42AM by Morledzep.

I am a long time English tutor and mystery shopper. I was a public relations specialist for eight years. Did you not see the writing webinar that was available to us last month? I guess not. You need to find a writing class through your local high school or community college. I have been shopping for 17 years and writing for that time. The last shop I did I got a 10 because I listened to the writing seminar that was offered to us through MSPA - North America. Keep writing and look for ways to write essays on the internet. Practice, practice, practice. you will get it. The art if the narrative is part of essay writing. Do not give up. Seven is not a bad number. As to the company not paying you. Write the scheduler and say... I was given a seven. I deserve to be paid. If they still will not pay you, consider not working for them. Use a spell checking program and grammarly which is a grammar checking program.

Write short sentences. Jane answered the phone on the third ring. She stated her name. "Can I help you?"
Sign up for www.marketviewpoint.com. They have easy to read newsletters. they cover writing, grammar and other MS topics.

This is what baffles me. Do they get brownie points for finding mistakes? I can understand they want to send a good report to the client but our pay is the same with a 7 or 10.

Google Chrome, if you use that browser has an extension called Grammarly. This extension works with most of my shop forms. It spells checks and checks out corrects grammar and punctuation and allows you to correct it. I'll bet each browser has it free. It really does help. Many shops will add "if the company accepts" Only once has that been an issue due to shadows on a pizza. Good luck.

@NWGAL wrote:

This is what baffles me. Do they get brownie points for finding mistakes? I can understand they want to send a good report to the client but our pay is the same with a 7 or 10.

I did a brief stint as a MSC editor, VERY brief. It was way, way too hard a job, and I quit fast. I was shocked by how terrible the writing was and the number of spelling and grammar errors in the reports I had to edit. I am not a master writer, with outstanding spelling and grammar skills, so I grade easy - I can only imagine what some of the English majors who post here might have thought of the reports! Since I was paid PER REPORT, the time it took me to edit a report made it so not worth it. Believe it or not, many mystery shoppers write as though English was not their first language, requiring massive spelling and grammar errors and a lot of re-writes. Others write beautiful reports. Most shoppers do a good job and their reports require a few edits.

I got paid per report, the same thing, regardless of whether I had to make any edits or not. No extra brownie points for finding mistakes. There were some wonderful shoppers who turned in beautiful reports and I never had to make any editing changes and I loved those reports because I could breeze through pleasantly and quickly.. There were other times when I saw the shopper's name and groaned because I knew it would be an excrutiating editing experience. But I never felt the need to tell anyone they were terrible. I just did my job and corrected the reports and assigned a grade, although shoppers with this MSC never see the grade because the MSC does not publish it. The idea is that if someone consistently writes poor quality reports, they stop getting assignments.

I would say if you continue to get assignments, you are doing okay. Don't worry about the grade. You get paid and that is what is important. That's the reason you are working: the money, not the grade.

Ditto to what Jay wrote. The pay is by report. Back when I was an editor, the pay was $5 per report. Unfortunately, if the editor has to contact the shopper for more info, it could end up taking a lot longer than an hour to edit, which means the editor is making much less than minimum wage. I think I was an editor for the same MSC as you were, Jay.

@NWGAL wrote:

This is what baffles me. Do they get brownie points for finding mistakes? I can understand they want to send a good report to the client but our pay is the same with a 7 or 10.

Are you looking for brownie points or trying to submit a good report with minimum amount of grammatical errors and a narrative that both the Client and MSC can understand?

I would rather get a 10 on a report than a 7. But with both grades I still know I will get paid. With the 7, come suggestions from the editor on how to improve my writing or why I receive a 7 instead of a 10. A 10, usually means ---->your submitted report was sent directly to the Client with no editing needed

Brownie points, nope. Paycheck yes.

I reckon it depends on the editor, luck of the draw who will proofread your report. My editor was one on a power trip that was insulting to make themselves feel important I guess.
I treat and speak to everyone with respect and I sure don't need to insult someone to make myself feel better. I can give criticism without insulting.
Writing skills are not everyone's strong point, but could be outstanding gathering information or the other way round.
I could not understand why this person responding back the way they did hints the brownie points.
A little MS with their customer service might not be a bad idea lol.