I recently had my car break down. It started with random acceleration and then rapid acceleration. I have had to drive with my foot on the brake. No need to press the gas, just the brake, so I don't crash. It just got worse, it started shaking and clicking and veered off to the right all on its own. It did it three times on my way home with my kids in the car and since I was getting a van this weekend, I immediately started to contact all the schedulers and ask for an extension. Everyone was so sweet and understanding! And then I get this cancellation from KSSJEFF. Yep.

I sent him an email to which I wrote the following:

"I need to reschedule for next week if possible. I have had my car completely break down and I will have a new vehicle to use after Monday.

Thank you,"

I sent it yesterday, the shop is due tomorrow. He sends me a cancellation and then this email...

"I cannot have you complete the shop until next Wednesday if that is the case. I will remove you from the shop and look for another shopper. If someone has not shopper the location by Monday I will reschedule the shop for you.

Thanks,
Jeff"

I sent him a message back out of irritation. How rude! My shop was due tomorrow anyways, I did not say anything about Wednesday! And then comment, 'if that is the case." Really?! Whats that all about? I was polite, notified him 3 days before it was due, and asked if it was possible...

I wanted that job too. I am just so disappointed. I do not want to do any more jobs for KSS anymore.

Depending on the type of shop it is, there may be as many as 15 shoppers a month doing that same location and the scheduler may have shoppers going as often as every three days to the same store. Jeff was simply attempting to reschedule your shop for the following week but in order to do that he needed to cancel your shop for that specific day and attempt to get someone to take it for that day.

You need to calm down and take a chill pill. The scheduler is trying to help you but you have to understand his job, too. The client probably requires visits every few days and the scheduler is just doing his job.

Reading through Jeff's message, I do not see any reason for you to get mad either... Nothing "rude" or uncalled for in his message. He simply stated his limitations on the schedule for next week.

Just mark it on your calendar to follow up around Monday to follow up and see if it can fit into your schedule. Simple.

Sorry, Shannon. I don't find Jeff's e-mails offensive either. Jeff isn't the client and we don't know what restrictions and requirements the client has put on him and Kern. If you fly off the handle over something like this, ms'ing is going to be difficult for you!

I, too, do not see anything rude in Jeff's reply. When he said, "if this is the case", perhaps it would have been clearer if he had started the sentence with it, since I believe he meant "if you need to cancel the shop".

When you have calmed completely down, it might be wise to send Jeff a sincere apology and, if necessary, explain you were stressed out because of your car and weren't thinking clearly and feel terrible that you took it out on him, etc.

Just a thought....

(heart)

You asked if it was possible to reschedule and he replied to you. He was not rude.

This is business. If you can't deal with it, maybe this line of business is not for you.

I saw nothing wrong with the scheduler's response. He said it in the best possible way. But he still conveyed the message that he would accommodate your request if there were no other takers for the scheduled time.

Shannonmrgt:

Jeff has to assign multiple shoppers at that location each month and they must be spaced 5 to 7 days apart. He can't put your shop on hold until next week, because that throws off other shops at the same location.

For those of us in the scheduling world, our month ENDS on the 26th of this month, as obviously no one will be shopping on Thanksgiving weekend, so the pressure is ON!

Jeff could have worded his email better, and I will coach him on that, but please know that there was nothing personal meant or implied in his communication with you. If the shop is still available next week, I know he will be more than happy to give you a shot at it! Unfortunately, we really need one THIS WEEK in order to meet our client's expectations (and for Jeff to keep his job!).

Lorri Kern
CEO
KSS International, Inc

I'm sorry you had car trouble but don't take it out on Jeff.

"It started with random acceleration and then rapid acceleration. I have had to drive with my foot on the brake. No need to press the gas, just the brake, so I don't crash. It just got worse, it started shaking and clicking and veered off to the right all on its own. It did it three times on my way home with my kids in the car"

Okay, forgive me for bringing this up but why did you drive the car with your kids in it after the first time it malfunctioned? You should have immediately pulled over and turned off the key and called for a ride, a tow truck, a taxi -- anything other than continue driving an unsafe car with your children inside it. Are you completely unaware that you could have been charged with child endangerment for doing that? Not to mention endangering the lives of everyone else on the road that you came within 50 feet of that day. Driving with your foot on the brakes while fighting acceleration could quickly have overheated and glazed the brakes over, rendering them useless too. (Please have them checked for this before driving that car again after it is fixed.)

I'm glad you made it home but this could have ended up a much bigger disaster than not getting to do a shop you wanted to do. A young woman in my town was killed when her car did that rapid, runaway acceleration thing that was eventually the subject of a recall and class action lawsuit. I don't know if yours was one of the affected cars, but what you're describing sounds like what happened to her. When I read about it all I could think of was, Why didn't she turn off the key and coast to the side of the road? But she was only 17 and didn't have the driving experience to know to do that.

Maybe Jeff didn't mean anything by it. He probably didn't. However, I have been in your exact same position. I was actually in this position today. I had to unexpectedly spend a bunch of money on my car. Then, I got home and had a conversation with someone. I felt like they were being extremely rude when I did not deserve it. It tipped me over the edge. I got upset and I had to drop everything and chill for a few minutes. I wonder if this is something similar. I am sorry you had car trouble, and I am sorry you felt like he was rude. He probably did not mean it...but that does not mean it hurt you any less.
Sometimes I am disappointed with how mean people are (or how they come across) on this forum. No one needs to belittle anyone, and no one needs to make people feel that their feelings are unjustified. I hope you have a better day tomorrow.

I would like to challenge my fellow forum members. Instead of beating someone up that has obviously had a bad day, how about we encourage her.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/07/2014 02:10AM by erica.worthey.

Sorry, I don't think Jeff was rude at all. You agreed to a shop, the car problem is NOT an emergency. You have other options to still complete it, a rental car,the bus, ect. It is better to just say I am sorry but I can not complete this shop as I previously agreed to do. I am available next week if needed but wanted to give you notification as soon as possible to ensure this shop gets done for the client. It is really not that hard...

I can feel this from both points of view. I have most certainly had days like that, but on the other hand I thought the scheduler did the best he could. I did not see anything wrong with what he had to say.

I have to admit I admire Lorri Kern for standing up for her employees!

OP, based on the responses are you going to do the right thing here?

Erica, I think you are right that we should console and support Shannon. She had a bad day. We've all had them. We understand, and we all sympathize. BUT --- I think part of the value of the forum is that the members here keep it real. Not posting what we think would be no help to Shannon. She is posting here to get the opinions of others. The general opinion of the overwhelming majority who have posted, and my opinion as well, is that Jeff was not rude and did nothing wrong. If I were in Shannon's place, I would apologize.

I don't think Jeff was rude. He had an assignment to fill. You needed to reschedule. He may or may not be able to reschedule, if the project was due at a certain time.

Remember: Jeff is trying to keep with the clients needs. They need this shop done, if a shopper cannot do it, on a certain date, then they quickly try to fill it asap.

My car has had problems and sadly, it would be my problem, not the MSC's. Since I am a top shopper with them, I am sure, if they could accommodate me, they would. If they could not, I would just hope I was not punished for cancelling, by not being able to meet the client's deadline

Wow Jeff offered to reschedule? Very nice of him. I can't believe he's going to get coached over that. Kudos for communicating with the MSC but I don't feel it was offensive or mean. I think you are having a bad time and were probably in a desperate situation. Take a breath and review tomorrow. See if you still think Jeff was rude. I think you'll feel differently. I really hope Jeff doesn't lose his job over it. He wrote and behaved more professionally than other Schedulers. Many would have been livid and if it's true that he could lose his job, he was calm as a cucumber.

dixiewhiskey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
I really hope Jeff
> doesn't lose his job over it. He wrote and behaved
> more professionally than other Schedulers. Many
> would have been livid and if it's true that he
> could lose his job, he was calm as a cucumber.


I can assure you that Jeff will NOT lose his job over it! Jeff is fantastic and we love him (as do most shoppers!). I did coach him today on being more clear in his email correspondence to make sure shoppers understand our deadlines and time frames so that they do not take it personally when we are unable to grant extensions beyond a certain timeline.

It has been a learning experience for everyone, I hope.

Thank you all for your feedback. It does help us all get better at our jobs and communication!

Lorri Kern
CEO
KSS International, Inc.

erica.worthey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> I would like to challenge my fellow forum members.
> Instead of beating someone up that has obviously
> had a bad day, how about we encourage her.

To add to AustinMom's post, with which I totally agree, I see many people disagreeing with the OP's actions, but I do not see a single post "beating up" the OP. In my opinion, the one who was "beaten up", so to speak, was the scheduler.

(heart)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/07/2014 11:32AM by stilllearning.

AustinMom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Erica, I think you are right that we should
> console and support Shannon. She had a bad day.
> We've all had them. We understand, and we all
> sympathize. BUT --- I think part of the value
> of the forum is that the members here keep it
> real. Not posting what we think would be no help
> to Shannon. She is posting here to get the
> opinions of others. The general opinion of the
> overwhelming majority who have posted, and my
> opinion as well, is that Jeff was not rude and did
> nothing wrong. If I were in Shannon's place, I
> would apologize.


I agree with you. I just think that people could have been more kind...and It's not just with this post. Whether or not they mean to, people come across as extremely rude (I am not just talking about this post or the people that have posted here, but the forum as a whole.) I just hate to see someone picked on. Whether or not she should have posted or should have been upset, I just hope to see people respond in a kind and encouraging way. I just think can get our thoughts across in a better way, and that's all I was trying to say.

I take your point, because I agree that sometimes some posters on our forum are snippy. I think a little kindness goes a long way and there's no need to be harsh with anyone.

That said, I think your point might be better made on a thread where actual rudeness is exhibited. I see no rudeness here toward the OP. I think other posters believed that her thoughts and actions were misguided, and I think the opinions were expressed gently and sympathetically. Simply disagreeing with another poster is in no way rudeness.

I am not saying anyone was intentionally rude. I am sure no one meant to be. I am not even talking about whether or not what she did was right, or whatever. I do think people were a little snippy and could have said things in a nicer way. I certainly would have been upset by the way things were said. However, I can also admit that I am am a very sensitive person. Like I said, I am sure no one meant to be rude. Some, if not most people, were not rude in any way. Perhaps this comment would be better placed in another discussion, you may be right about that. I just don't want to call people out...I don't think that is right either. I just hope that we can go far the other way (being extremely kind) so that no one misinterprets things like this. After all, it is extremely easy to misinterpret things over the Internet.

I agree with Erica that sometimes there is rudeness on the forum (guilty! myself) and I agree with Austin this thread does not really exhibit rudeness to the extent we often see it. I believe what we have here is sharp disapproval along with comments about the scheduler's options. The OP misunderstood entirely what the scheduler had to do and thought the scheduler had the option of extending the shop when that was not the case. I believe this thread is helpful and spot on with good advice to the OP.

It's really hard to perceive rudeness IMO. Sometimes people just say things like it is and over the internet it is more difficult to perceive tone vs in person or hearing someone's voice. I think everyone posted in an appropriate manner in this thread. Sometimes people don't like what they hear because it is the truth.

I did get the impression that everyone jumped all over the OP as well.

dixiewhiskey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's really hard to perceive rudeness IMO.
> Sometimes people just say things like it is and
> over the internet it is more difficult to perceive
> tone vs in person or hearing someone's voice. I
> think everyone posted in an appropriate manner in
> this thread. Sometimes people don't like what they
> hear because it is the truth.


Exactly. Mystery shoppers, in general, that easily get offended when reading texts, messages and email need to take a step back. They need keep in mind that mystery shopping isn't some joyride, it is a business. This means to calmly respond at all times and to not let your emotions get the best of you. As independent contractors, we need to have a business mindset, while it is obviously OK to leave a personal touch here and there.

I'm not sure what everyone's professional experiences are, but this was a reality check for me when I jumped into my career; most communications / feedback was through email and I had to learn to not take things personal when I received comments on my work. Other than other indicators such as typing in CAPS, !!!'s or using blatantly obvious language, how do you know when someone's being rude in an email?

If this were spoken over the phone, the OP may have an argument as she could hear the tone from the scheduler. This definitely isn't the case.

Phx602 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I did get the impression that everyone jumped all
> over the OP as well.


I think it was hard for the OP to hear she was overreacting as well put her children at risk. I know what it's like to feel desperate enough to do something like put your kids in an unsafe vehicle. I would have said the same thing but someone else already addressed it. If you share something on a forum, you have to be prepared to deal with people not agreeing with or possibly mentioning something you did wrong (or perceived anyway). Truth hurts but it's all about how you deal with it. Most people don't care about your life off the internet anyway so why should anyone care what strangers have to say? She wasn't called any names which I see a lot of on other forums. The amount of negativity on here has really lessened as of late

I don't believe KSSJeff was rude in this case. Sometimes, we all need to take a step back and think before we overreact. I've been guilty of overreacting myself in the past.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/08/2014 04:34AM by DanteScheduler.

I think that many times we take messages the wrong way, especially when communicated over text or e-mail. I see both points here. The shopper was upset due to personal reasons and the scheduler was trying to do his job. It's not necessary to give either one a hard time! After all, isn't this the place to vent, talk and learn about Mystery Shopping?

Geez, who cares if he was rude or not? He gave you an answer and that is what you were looking for. Why waste time being offended about so minor an issue? While you are spending time pouting I can be doing another 5 shops and earning money!