On January 2, 2015, I added all my gas station shops for MaritzCx on my Google calendar and planned out my entire schedule for the month of January. I also printed put the "List of Outstanding Shops for XYZ Gas Stations - Site Inspection P1, 2015" directly from their website. The list shows pertinent information including shop fee, compensation (aka bonus), product purchase limit and due date which includes the actual date range to perform the shops.

Four of my gas station shops are now showing totally different due dates. Two of them for January 10th and two of them for January 17th. My original due dates were January 24th so I had already planned out my month accordingly. When I noticed these date changes less than an hour ago, I first checked my hard copy master printout list from their website. All four of the shops have a January 24th due date.

So I get on the phone with someone from Team 3 and of course, she was very nice but didn't have a clue as to what had happened or why the due dates were changed without even contacting me. Thank God I happened to notice the changed due dates or I would have been screwed. Has anyone else had this happen to them?


P.S. The Team 3 member (who is not 80-something years old) said that the dates could not be changed in the system and I do not have any availability left to do anymore shops by the January 10th deadline. The only thing she could do was remove them from my shop log and I would have to reapply/self-assign them myself. Weird, huh?

Are you sure you didn't accidentally self-assign the wrong date range. When I assigned these shops I noted three time blocks, 10-12th, 17-24th, and 24-31st with the last two options having to be clicked in the drop-down box. If you simply clicked on all the little boxes and then hit assign they would automatically be put in the first date range.

You know you can still do them even if you do them earlier than their due dates, don't you?

Maybe, maybe not. I did a couple of stations early by mistake. When I tried to report, I couldn't access the report so I called the MSC about them. They said it would be okay if they hadn't been done too soon previously. They checked when they were last done and said they could move the shops for me and they would be accepted. I was lucky that time, so don't count on it that you can do them early.

You do know how to check to ensure they can be done early, don't you?

No, but I'll check on it for each of my brands. I'm not sure we're shopping the same brands. Thanks for the heads up.

We can't name the brands since I already mentioned the MSC.

VickyS, I have been working for this company and this client for years. The majority of my gas station shops are automatically reassigned to me every two months so it was not an error on my part. And I have the written proof printed on January 2nd that the due dates were January 24th. They can't just randomly change the due dates and not even contact the shopper.

Tatjana, my issue is not being able to do them early. I can't do them by the due date that they randomly changed them to. My schedule is already booked.

This MSC has been having all sorts of technology issues. Missing guidelines, bad pdf links, duplicate photo requests. They need to get their act together.

I'm sure you have heard this advice many times before concerning this MSC. But call them. they will most likely be very accomodating in changing you shops to a later date considering the circumstances.

LIJake, I already did. Read the last paragraph of my original post. I had already called and the team member could not change the dates. She would only remove the shop.

I think most of you are missing my point though. The MSC or their new system randomly changed the dates for four of my shops and did not contact me at all. I just think that is very unprofessional.

Sybil2 -
I doubt that it was done with intent. Their technology is definitely behind the times, and I would suspect that as the new round started, or as they updated the reports, a mistake was made in the system which resulted in your dates getting screwed up.
I know that you called and got nowhere with your first call. I would recommend trying again and speaking to a different scheduler, and then again and again until you find the one who can change the dates. As long as shops are available on the board for Jan. 24, meaning they're scheduling this client for that late in the month already, then it really should be possible.

elcare, if that decision came from the project manager there will be no recourse.

While we are on the subject of their website technology which really needs a good overhaul, I haven't been paid for any of my December shops yet and they are not listed there now for weeks. How do you check if invoices have been paid?

You need to keep immaculate records of all shops performed and your payments received (among many other things.) There was a big screw-up on their end and I still have not been paid for the second half of October and it is well over $300.00.

You can check on payment by calling them. Have your unpaid invoice numbers ready.

Sybil, what I meant was, you should schedule out the dates for later in the month (that is significant - do not schedule into the following month as you shall not be able to do them earlier).

For your immediate needs, do the shops that are currently scheduled for later, now. Re-arrange your schedule for the shops you wanted to do earlier and do them in place of the shops due later.

I know that it may sound confusing, but, if they are all shops for this particular MSC, that may be the simplest solution.

As for what shops that were performed and invoiced, here is what I do:

On my cheatsheet, I have a line that asks for the Invoice Date. After I have reported the shops, I then invoice them. After I have confirmed my receipts were uploaded, I save the web page in an invoice folder on my computer and on my cheatsheet, I write down the date of the invoice.

When I receive my check from the MSC, I review all of the visit account numbers on the accompanying payment detail. I then cross off each visit number and set aside that cheatsheet (with the receipts stapled to it, I might add). When done, all of the cheatsheets and receipts stapled to them are filed with the payment detail as hard copies.

I then know which visits in which I shall expect future payment.

If i am not paid for those visits in the next pay period, I call and ask for Frances in accounting.

BTW, I heard something about "colder than a well digger's behind". I can imagine what it means, but I do not understand why.

I asked my husband and he just rolled his eyes.

My missing payment situation is because a scheduler, not someone from accounting, incorrectly changed my mailing address in their system (without my knowledge) and the check was lost in the mail because the address was not a valid one. They had to put a stop payment on the check then have someone from the main office in STL reissue the check.

I patiently waited and as it got closer to the holidays, I still did not have the missing check. I have been dealing with Helen in accounting. The missing check was cancelled but no one put in the request to replace the check. Then the STL office closed down for two weeks for the holidays and everything was on hold again.

I have never had a payment problem or scheduling issue in the many years that I have worked for this MSC. They are making a lot of changes trying to catch up in the technology field but it seems to be causing many issues, at least for me.

Regarding doing a shop early, I called last week to move a shop up to the next earliest time frame so I could do it with another I had in the area. I was told they could not change the dates for me and I could NOT perform the shop earlier than scheduled (Beachie one). She told me she could remove it and I could attempt to reschedule with no guarantee it would still be there when I tried to reschedule. Well, low and behold, after it was canceled, I could not get it again. It did not show up on my list. I rather doubt that someone was sitting there and grabbed it in the minutes that it took to cancel and repost. So, if you cancel it beware that you might not be able to see it again. I know some of their clients' shops can be performed ahead of the scheduled date, but not all....or at least that's what they told me.

For gas station shops, I was told that shops can be performed 2 weeks earlier than their scheduled dates, providing they are done within the month in they are due.
Non-gas station shops are a different thing entirely.

Well, I was referrring to a gas station shop, so I guess they give out different info depending on whom you speak with.

MsJudi, that is EXACTLY what they do. I don't think they do it on purpose though. I think their team members are not properly trained on their own projects. I have asked the same exact question to two different team members and received two different answers. It is frustrating.

I will just keep doing what I am doing. I have never had a report not accepted and I think I have had three holds and none of them were my fault. The editors didn't bother reading my commentaries explaining what had happened or why a photo was missing.

@MsJudi wrote:

She told me she could remove it and I could attempt to reschedule with no guarantee it would still be there when I tried to reschedule. Well, low and behold, after it was canceled, I could not get it again. It did not show up on my list. I rather doubt that someone was sitting there and grabbed it in the minutes that it took to cancel and repost. So, if you cancel it beware that you might not be able to see it again.

I was told the same exact thing but I was on the phone with her while she cancelled it so I was able to snag it up within seconds and got it back. But there are shoppers who are sitting by their computers and grab shops within seconds. Many markets are saturated with shoppers and competition is brutal.