Number one pet peeve as a mystery shopper...

Hidden restrictions. You check your calendar to find a time that will work. You try to assign a shop without success. After contacting the scheduler you learn there is a 60 day (unwritten) rotation. Or ALL of the possible dates end up being locked out because they are too close to other shoppers' dates.

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The text I just got begging me to do a shop 40 miles one way. I texted back asking her not to text me, the job is too far and I applied for two (same jobs) in my town and didn't get them....more than annoying....

Live consciously....

Uploading a perfectly in-focus and readable receipt image only for the reviewer to say it's illegible. Then you upload the exact same image, submit again, and they say "Thanks!" I've had this happen twice with the same MSC and they ding my rating for this crap.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/13/2018 04:19PM by quovatis.

Irene, yesterday I got a $75 bonus for something like that. Don't burn your bridges!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/13/2018 04:50PM by Threemom.

@Threemom wrote:

Irene, yesterday I got a $75 bonus for something like that. Don't burn your bridges!

I was offered 10.00 bonus, tops...I live in L.a. shoppers up the gazoo, no bridges being burned.

Live consciously....

I don’t mind discussing topics that have been covered before. There’s always something new. My current top two peeves:

1. Multiple specific photos required inside a location. I generally don’t mind taking photos, but it can be delicate matter to take bunches of photos inside the store.

2. Having to extract the name of an employee not wearing a name tag, in an establishment where I feel awkward introducing myself or asking their name outright. This is the worst. Honestly, I’d rather take a photo...

Being a senior helps with getting a name, as it may be considered "old-fashioned" and the server's just give it with a smile, and for that, I may just tip a bit more....ending it by saying, thanks Jennifer, great lunch or
I'll be back, always stay positive. Definitely not a peeve.

Live consciously....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/14/2018 02:30PM by Irene_L.A..

I know this has been said before: getting 10 emails from a scheduler within an hour or so about the same type of job but different locations. Prophet in particular sends them out automatically so it's out of the scheduler's control. I mean, delete is my friend, but c'mon! This past week I got over 30 emails from the same company in a span of 24 hours, all about the same client jobs but in cities that were between 100-200 miles away. Not one of them was in my city or even close. Oh, and on a related note, some schedulers send an email where you not only have to open the email to find out where the shop is and how much it pays (might be nice if it was in the subject line, I know some do that), but you actually have to click the link inside of the email and go to the assignment page to find out this info, only to find it was a waste of your time.

I think in and around LA driving 40 miles one way is an eternity most of time! From what I have heard, that could take nearly 2 hours each way depending on time of day, and if there is an accident or something else...you could be stuck for even longer. Houston and other big cities are like that, too. My brother lives in Houston, and after my mom died we were driving to his house from Tallahassee and 20 miles from his house there was an accident on a bridge. It took us 3 hours to get to his house!

I got an offer to do the Tesla shop with a bonus of $75 in a city 40 miles away and turned it down, too far and too much time involved. If the shop was only a 15-20 minute shop with a short write-up and I could find other shops nearby or on the way, I might consider it.

@Threemom wrote:

Irene, yesterday I got a $75 bonus for something like that. Don't burn your bridges!

The thing is 30 miles into the great mall in Woodland hills, I'm able to take the 118 it's doable, easy freeway.
The devil is the 405 into the city, past the Getty center and all that traffic...you never know what political person is in town raising money, construction and a myraid of things + parking. Obama was loved and always here, streets closed, etc. I used to do it, because I needed my city fix and always did 4 jobs, was fun and worth it then, things have changed and traffic has grown, just too much of a hassle for me now. I can make an easy 30.00 in my town doing a couple jobs with no driving.....doing a dealership for 65.00, learning to say no is a big asset.

Live consciously....

2 pet peeves: not getting target's work schedule & shop instructions which require clarification and unable to reach scheduler. as for low paying shops, I just do not accept them.

Yes, definitely being a senior helps with getting a name. I actually have zero problem asking a name in a sit down restaurant, that doesn’t seem awkward at all to me. Lots of people introduce themselves to servers, I think it’s nice. What is sometimes odd is asking a store employee their name when I know it’s not a common occurrence, and makes me stand out (I’m in my 40s). I do a franchise regularly where most store require name tags but some do not, and it’s frustrating for me when they don’t. Usually I ask if their name is ———? Nine times out of ten, they will reply with their name, but there’s always that one.

Having an opening in your schedule on the weekend, seeing a great shop you can now do but since it's not self-assign, won't be able to do it because there is no one around on the weekend to assign it to you.

Kim

@HonnyBrown wrote:

My pet peeve: guideline requirements that make shoppers stand out

Yes, this! I dislike having to ask gas station cashiers their names (just an example) and having to take tons of pictures because I feel it makes me more memorable and that’s never my goal.

Earlier this year, I accepted a food truck evaluation. Fun, right? The hitch was that the client wanted photos of the front of the truck, the back and both sides, the cashier, the condiment station, of course the food, and I can’t recall what else. I tried twice on two different occasions. I felt like I was stalking the food truck. I couldn’t do it! There was no mystery in the shop at that point.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/16/2018 12:38AM by Stephanieteaches.

The food truck sounded fun until now.

We can't reveal that we are shoppers; that makes sense. At the same time, don't have guideline requirements that will make us memorable. I take pictures of the menus and sometimes the trucks that stop outside of my job. No way would I need to take a pic of the condiments. I can't see that.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

Hotels that advertise "High Speed Internet" when I later find that my 25 minute video takes two hours to upload.... Of course, I encounter this when I have seven or eight such videos to upload....

Hard work builds character and homework is good for your soul.

I did a steakhouse shop this week. Today, I noticed the same location was listed on one of the many emails sent out by the scheduler. I asked her about it (my shop was approved). She said that these locations get shopped multiple time per month. That was news to me.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

It used to be very annoying when people played 'the name game'. For example, how would I determine which name to write in a report when an employee first appeared with the 'Harold' name tag and later showed up with the 'Maude' name tag? Now it is just amusing. How far do they think they should go? Do they really think that we will confront them? Recently, an imposter was wearing a familiar name. Another employee called this poser by another name when I was in earshot Shortly after that, the real So-and-So was seen in another part of the location. To my credit, I did not use my very best game show announcer voice and demand. "Will the real So-and-So please stand?". For one thing, they might not have been familiar with 'To Tell the Truth'. I merely observed the differences between real and fake So-and-So and silently congratulated myself for remembering those details. Maybe payback is a beeatch/bastard. After all, I often use fake names when I am working. Hmm.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2018 08:42PM by Shop-et-al.

Another pet peeve, company out there doing cell phone's says it does a soft credit check that won't effect your credit, but the phone company, Sprint and others then do a hard check which does effect your credit. Problem being, company lied and their "soft" credit check does effect your credit...two checks..happened to a friend.

Live consciously....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/28/2018 03:48PM by Irene_L.A..

Pet peeves:
—when you point out an error in the survey such as linked questions that never get fixed even though you have emailed helpdesk and stated it in comments section repeatedly!

#1 pet peeve!!—calls and text messages before 8 AM—Have some respect!! Check the time difference! Honestly I live in Alaska and got calls at 4:05 AM from one specific company until I literally had to put zero’s in for my phone number but that did not work as a number of schedulers had my number in their phones so I had to ask the schedulers to delete my phone number from their phones because they kept texting or calling even when the last text message said “Do Not text or call me due to 4 hour time difference!!!” Then the schedulers just shared my number with coworker and had them call/text!! Then when I’d ask how they got my number they would hem and haw over their answer. As if I’d accept a job from someone who deliberately called me so early!! It was so frustrating I had to quit working for the company!!

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Number one pet peeve as a mystery shopper...

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