And more often than not those phone numbers are not shown to the shopper.
I would guess 99% of schedulers rely solely on email.


shopper8 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I learnt the hard way years ago. Always take your
> phone numbers and schedulers numbers with you for
> emergency use. You can always leave a message of
> why you can't shop or have to cancel. We all make
> mistakes and learn from them. I find all of the
> MSC will be thoughtful if you are a good shopper
> for them. Remember they have thousands across the
> country shopping.

I relate to this post, for sure. My house burned down on 2/23/14 and I lost absolutely everything - even my car keys. I had some shops to do for Tracy at Reality Based. The due date was still two weeks away and I was going to do my best to complete them. Tracy contacted me asking for an exact date so I informed her of what just happened and why I couldn't give an exact date but should be able to get them done on time. Without a response, she cancelled all the shops.

I had one Fast Food MSC drop me when illness prevented me from contacting them prior to the shops, I couldn't even remember what happened over a 6 week period. They wouldn't even speak to me or respond to messages. There are plenty of MSCs and no need to beat yourself up if one turns sour. This winter I was on my way to a shop when I slipped and fell on the ice and lay there until help could come. I contacted the scheduler before the due date and she was very kind and was also able to reschedule. There are all types of people out there. God bless the good ones and help those who need help!

sad to think you people are so into shopping that you have a MSC phone number in your phone. Im older, dont have a smart phone, use a home computer to use email and shop when I feel like it not because I have to do it. Its as though some of you guys here are junkies and cannot afford that one moment when someone cannot reach you or vice versa. I feel sorry for those who feel they must comment on every post, Oh by the way I don't use Facebook either, or Twitter, enjoying life, my girlfriend, Beagle and my Fist Social Security check in two weeks, slow down life will pass you by before you know it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had a smart phone just to do the shops, I couldn't figure it out so I gave it to my son.

When I was on my way to a job and got rear ended- they totaled my truck, I sent a copy of the police report to the company's.

Sometimes, proof is what the scheduler's need: a copy of the release form from the hospital, a copy of the death announcement in the paper, police report, etc.

Also, cherub......what ever happened as you wrote the post, it may not have been published completely and you did not add all of the little, fine details. The K.I.S.S format does not apply to the majority of these people. I empathize with you.

it seems there is always Someone who will shred it and tear every little word apart.

I called a scheduler to cancel a shop, because I knew I had to go to the hospital ER. She told me I had nothing to worry about and insisted I hang up and call 911. The scheduler called my cell phone later in the day to see if I was alright. I was in the hospital and happy to take her call. She was sincerely interested in my well being and asked that I call after I felt better. I called her two weeks later and welcomed back to her list of qualified mystery shoppers. Yes, I will giver preference to this scheduler's needs in the future. Some MSC's do care about us. These are the ones we should be working for.

The schedulers I have contacted concerning unforeseen circumstances or other problems have always been responsive and grateful that I communicated. I have never had a negative experience. My advice is to stay in touch with your schedulers and be honest with them. They will go out of their way to help you.

"sad to think you people are so into shopping that you have a MSC phone number in your phone. Im older, dont have a smart phone, use a home computer to use email and shop when I feel like it not because I have to do it. Its as though some of you guys here are junkies and cannot afford that one moment when someone cannot reach you or vice versa."

Congratulations on your retirement. I am certainly no shopping junkie. However, mystery shopping is my business because I am far from retirement age. To me it is only logical to keep track of how to contact my clients and to be sure they can contact me. It is no different than another business of mine and was always expected when I ran businesses for other people.

wow. just wow.

See I hope MSC's are sympathetic and I understand that some shoppers have other agenda's. We live with that in every industry.

My thing is that with multiple sclerosis, a flare up can occur any day and I'd have to cancel. BUT, just like I do everything, it will be taken it stride. I hope I get to know my MSC's well enough to where 1) they can depend on me to be honest with them and 2) they can depend on me to always give them my best.

I also only have a couple of scheduler numbers in my cell phone. Most everything is in my laptop, which I seldom carry with me.

I'm so sorry you had such a bad experience. A few weeks ago I cracked my hipbone. After going home to lie flat for a couple of weeks, I contacted all the folks I had bailed on. (It took several days and doctors to find out what I had done.)I offered to send them the ER papers and appologized and told them when I could start working again.
I must have some fantastic companies. No one complained or griped at me, and they did tell me to get better. In fact I received two shops from one of the schedulers I bailed on at the last minute.
I think you need to sign up with more companies, maybe you'll get some of the good ones!
Hugs and hope you are better!
Annie

cherubino3 Wrote:
------------
>
> Ironically, the shop that they wouldn't reschedule
> just two days out for me is still sitting and
> waiting to be picked up by another shopper. I'm
> disinclined to pick it up again, even though I can
> pick it up if I want. Further, the due date on
> the shop is 4/31. So they certainly could have
> rescheduled it for me.
>
>
> Ishmael Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > After all, how much sympathy do we show when a
> > scheduler says she has to get someone to do
> that
> > two dollar, five interaction, unbonused shop in
> > order to keep her six little children from
> > starving? (I'm exaggerating, of course, but
> there
> > was a thread a few months back about schedulers
> > who use sob stories.)


It is due 4/31???? They will never get it done at that rate. "Thirty days has September, April, June, and November, ect." lol

You got it, I have had to take my elderly Father to the hospital since I am the only caregiver for him on numerous occasions and I let them know the next day. Some are supportive and some are not and once again, if we all were not independent contractors the company would have to obey Federal Laws but instead we get black balled out of companies. Good Luck getting these companies to understand that what comes around will come back to them also.

sspnelson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> sad to think you people are so into shopping that
> you have a MSC phone number in your phone. Im
> older, dont have a smart phone, use a home
> computer to use email and shop when I feel like
> it not because I have to do it. Its as though some
> of you guys here are junkies and cannot afford
> that one moment when someone cannot reach you or
> vice versa. I feel sorry for those who feel they
> must comment on every post, Oh by the way I don't
> use Facebook either, or Twitter, enjoying life, my
> girlfriend, Beagle and my Fist Social Security
> check in two weeks, slow down life will pass you
> by before you know it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do you realize that some people do mystery shopping for a living? Would you be surprised if someone had an employer's phone number, or a client's, in their phone book?

Sorry, but what Federal Law do you think would cover you for not showing up to work and waiting until the following day to contact your employer? SOP for a lot of companies is you have to notify them within 30 to 60 minutes of your starting time and if you don't it will be an unexcused absence. Unexcused absences are then grounds for termination.

sisterstrollin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I let them know the next day. Some are supportive and some are not
> and once again, if we all were not independent contractors the company would have to obey Federal
> Laws but instead we get black balled out of companies.

cherubino3 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @shopperBob were you talking to me? It's
> Cherubino3, not 'cher.'
>
> The industry needs improving. I have gotten a
> series of relatively high-paying shops. But when
> the chips are down, I feel that there are some
> valuable protections afforded to real employees
> that we are not offered. And I feel that at times
> the companies do cross the line into treating us
> as employees rather than independent contractors.
> But, generally, if the shop pay is high enough, I
> will consider it. I cannot work a regular full
> time job for health reasons, which recently just
> got worse. I am lucky enough that my husband
> earns enough for both of us to live well. It was
> fun and interesting and sometimes rewarding.

If you are only doing it for for fun and entertainment may I suggest reading a book or going to the movies? If you don't like what you are doing, do something else. Most of us are quite content with our independent contractor status and would not want to be employees. Employees don't have the freedom to only work when and where they want. So if you want to be an employee find another industry to work in, don't try to change this one.

nels states:

I'm older, don't have a smart phone, use a home computer to use email and shop when I feel like it not because I have to do it.

BOB'S reply:

I'm older than you, don't have a touch tone phone and shop when the pay suits me. Lisa, though, is a professional business woman approaching this industry to be successful.

nels concludes:

Oh by the way I don't use Facebook either, or Twitter, enjoying life, my girlfriend, Beagle and my Fist

BOB'S comment:

Although I don't have a dog, the others apply to me, but, in that I haven't named mine it wouldn't be capitalized.

shopperbob wrote:

"nels concludes:

Oh by the way I don't use Facebook either, or Twitter, enjoying life, my girlfriend, Beagle and my Fist"

I thought I had missed something, since I didn't remember reading anything as aggressive as this sounded. After revisiting the original post, it appears "fist" was a typo of "first". The original posting was: "Oh by the way I don't use Facebook either, or Twitter, enjoying life, my girlfriend, Beagle and my Fist Social Security check in two weeks, slow down life will pass you by before you know it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

(heart)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/04/2014 11:25PM by stilllearning.

elp123 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I relate to this post, for sure. My house burned
> down on 2/23/14 and I lost absolutely everything -
> even my car keys. I had some shops to do for
> Tracy at Reality Based. The due date was still
> two weeks away and I was going to do my best to
> complete them. Tracy contacted me asking for an
> exact date so I informed her of what just happened
> and why I couldn't give an exact date but should
> be able to get them done on time. Without a
> response, she cancelled all the shops.

I had to cancel one that I did and could not enter in time. I just got overwhelmed. She sent me an email that was simply patronizing. Oh well. Sorry. Hopefully, she won't need any airport locations done when I hit about 50 different airports in the next few months.

Did she have three uteruses? (uterii?)

KristynScheduler Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As a funny side note, I have had a shopper have
> the same surgery 3 times (which cannot be done 3
> times lol) and cancel on shops.

sisterstrollin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You got it, I have had to take my elderly Father
> to the hospital since I am the only caregiver for
> him on numerous occasions and I let them know the
> next day. Some are supportive and some are not
> and once again, if we all were not independent
> contractors the company would have to obey Federal
> Laws but instead we get black balled out of
> companies. Good Luck getting these companies to
> understand that what comes around will come back
> to them also.

I am not picking on you sisterstrollin but you are one in a series of people on this thread who seem to think working as a regular employee is always just peachy keen and all taken care of. I get the impression that many people have never worked in a regular job or if so they were working for a very nice company. I happen to work for what is considered a nice company but even there.....yes you could easily get fired for the above scenerio, in fact it is in the rules that you will get fired. Whether you do or not depends on how your supervisor sees it and also whether your'e in good with the boss or not. And no you will not get unemployment if fired for cause (Lisastl mentioned this earlier and I second it). I have to work by stringent rules due to the people who take advantage all the time and do things like having 5 parents die in two years, or stand by the time clock for 15 minutes every evening just waiting for it to tick over so they can go home. These are the same people who clock in and then go to breakfast while no one is looking. The rules are constantly being rewritten to catch these same people but they always seem to find a way around the new rules. Yes, I do get a paid vacation but there are many jobs where you need to apply a year in advance for the days you want or are told when you can take a vacation which might be only during slower times. So, there are always trade offs. The grass always seems to be greener on the other side (until you climb over the fence and then you find the shortcomings). There are good reasons many people choose to work independently rather than report to a boss and if it works for you then do it. And by the way, when my mom died my boss did not even notice and I have been there over 20 years with the same boss.

I agree, Sandy. I frequently see references to federal laws that protect employees, and the assumption by people who are not employed is that if we were not ICs we would have job protection any time we were unable to work. This is very much misunderstood. A lot of documentation is required for the employment protection under federal laws. For example, sisterstrollin comments that she is the caretaker for her Dad and on occasion has canceled shops. If she were a direct employee, she might (depending on the length of her employment, hours worked, and size of the company) be eligible for limited job protection under the Family Medical Leave Act. Using this protection would require that she both qualify AND complete written documentation, including a medical form filled out by her father's doctor.

Still states:

After revisiting the original post, it appears "fist" was a typo of "first".

BOB'S response:

When typing my post, I failed to consider that anyone would read my words in a serious vein; it was all in jest due to the capitalization of Fist and it not appearing, on my screen, in the same line with Social Security.

LisaSTL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sorry, but what Federal Law do you think would
> cover you for not showing up to work and waiting
> until the following day to contact your employer?
> SOP for a lot of companies is you have to notify
> them within 30 to 60 minutes of your starting time
> and if you don't it will be an unexcused absence.
> Unexcused absences are then grounds for
> termination.
>
> sisterstrollin Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I let them know the next day. Some are
> supportive and some are not
> > and once again, if we all were not independent
> contractors the company would have to obey
> Federal
> > Laws but instead we get black balled out of
> companies.

I wanted to add, since I saw this post after I wrote my post, where I work you need to call in 3 hours prior to your shift starting. That means 4 AM for the morning shift. If you have 3 unexcused absences (and a call after 4 AM is unexcused unless you died and then you need a note) you can get fired. If you did not call in at all you better have a good excuse like you were in a coma or hospitalized and you will need to show proof. Just that you were sick at home or your parent needed to go somewhere will not cut it. One of these will get you on the road to firing. If you are out more than 3 days in a row with weekends not counting so friday, mon, tues is in a row, even with calling, you need to bring a doctor's note. And if you call in sick on friday or monday more than 3 x a year you can also be fired. Of course if you are a stellar employee they will not usually exercise these rights but if there is any little reason at all they want you out you are flirting with fire. The state will back up the rights of the company in this regard and I live in California which probably has more employee protections than most anywhere. So no weekend partying at the business's expense, and if you wake up feeling achey it better be before 4 AM so you can make that call in time. Again, my company is considered a great place to work.

When I was a retail manager, I had an employee call in sick. She I got off work that evening, I thought I saw her car in a bar parking lot on my way home. I stopped, went in and checked...and she was there. She had some explaining to do the next morning.

Illness is so overused that I'm really not surprised the MSC or scheduler might be skeptical.

I always called in sick the morning after being at the bar, but never before

SHOPPERS BEWARE!

I would strongly urge shoppers to avoid ACE Mystery Shops at all costs. I did one shop for them and never got paid. One reason for this is they use a mickey mouse system called Payquicker instead of a reputable one such as Paypal. Even though the book keeper promised tosend me a check in the mail, needless to say,it was never sent out. They are a mickey mouse company with a mickey mouse website and an unacceptable payment system.

What does this ^ have to do with the thread? Despite being a member for over a year, this is only the third time you have posted and each has been a negative with nothing much to back up your complaint. Want to provide some examples to go along with your dire warnings? Repeated use of the phrase "Mickey Mouse" doesn't tell anyone diddly squat.

I actually have no desire to use PayQuicker. ACE has repeatedly stated it is the only way they will pay shoppers so taking a shop after their change (which was well over a year ago) and expecting payment by any other method is foolhardy at best.

I have two illnesses that can be severely incapacitating to a person (or have them at death's door) one second, but can render the person perfectly fine the next. I manage my illnesses very well and have never had an issue that stopped me from working (I'm great at working sick and hiding it), but I do sometimes have issues. I just have refused to let it affect my work life. My mother has the same problems I do, and that's how I know about being gravely ill one second and fine the next. Hers is much harder to manage, and all individuals are different.

This is just to say that just because a person appears deathly ill one second and fine the next, it doesn't mean they were not ill. It just means that there are some fakers that have made things much harder for the hardest working Americans.

I'm so sorry for those of you who have been ill and not believed or not respected. Still, I understand where the skepticism is coming from.

PS-- Lisa, I think Train did the same thing I did when I made my first post a few days ago... posted a reply thinking it would start a new thread. TW may not even know how to get back to this post. I have no idea where I made my first post; I can't find it now, but it's in the wrong place.

We new MS's may malfunction for awhile until we find our way. Well, I have malfunctioned all my life but that's a different story altogether!

TW actually registered back in November 2012. So the three posts do not make them a newbie. All three posts were just warnings and the other two didn't even describe any specific problem. My guess is this thread was chosen because of it's negative subject line.