Has anyone recently had a shop rejected by A Closer Look? I have done shops for them in the past and never had anything less than a positive experience.

However, I just did a pizza carry-out shop which I completed exactly as required (I thought), including the recorded phone call, photos of the exterior, restroom & food and a detailed narrative. This restaurant has both a dine-in & a carry-out scenario but both use the same questionnaire.

I was contacted by an editor who said that my shop could not be accepted because I did not comment on the section of the questionnaire regarding the actual dining experience. (Things like were the menus clean, etc.)

I assumed she thought I had been assigned a dine-in. I contacted her to explain that I had been assigned a carry-out and I also explained that the layout of the restaurant is such that the carry-out area is completely separate from the main restaurant with a long hallway between the two areas, with the restrooms at the end of the hall. It would have been strange for me to enter the main restaurant to check for clean menus and to observe the wait staff to see if they refilled glasses when I was just there to pick up an order.

She responded that she was indeed aware that I was assigned a carry-out, but that those observations still needed to be made. She offered me the opportunity to redo the shop but I declined since I cannot afford to risk losing another $50.00. It just makes me wonder, what if I had been assigned a dine-in scenario and had not answered the questions regarding the phone-in experience. Would that have been rejected also? O.o

That doesn't sound fair to me. I'm sorry it happened to you.

You said both use the same questionnaire, were the guidelines specific to the type of shop? I agree it seems odd to ask questions about glasses being refilled and dirty menus unless the waiting area for carry out is adjacent to and has a clear view of the dining room.

The editor just sent an email rejecting the shop without first asking if you could provide the details?

The guidelines were fairly specific (as they usually are with ACL), but not all guidelines are applicable to every scenario.
It is not really possible to make accurate observations of the kind that were on the questionnaire unless you were actually dining in, just as it would not be possible to make observations on a carry-out order if you were assigned a dine-in scenario.

LindaM, she did send an email asking for details. I responded that I was unable to provide accurate details for that section of the questionnaire. (I thought she was confusing my assignment with a dine-in because nobody could provide those details unless they actually did dine in)

Have you emailed your scheduler to rasie this issue?

I'm not sure that I have a scheduler (?) I self-assigned this shop.

I would send and email to "scheduling" or call and ask to speak to the scheduler that handles thos shops to ask he what she thinks that you ought to have done. That would be a non-confrontational approach.

I am thinking this might be like a certain famous pizza shop, where, while you are in there getting your pizza, you observe the dining room (and me, I even visit the restroom, so I can scope everything out) so, was there a suggestion to visit the dining room and/or restroom?

I have not done an ACL shop (that I can remember-I did get one of my neighbors started on them and he does the breast bars).. Since I have not done this particular shop, I can only say: You have two sets of guidelines (correct) One for dine in and one for carry-out. You said the guidelines do not say observe the dining room for take out....

Maybe your scheduler is confused?

$50? They really should detail how you are supposed to go about getting the dining area observations and specificy that you must do both portions...if the bathroom would allow it..you could go to use the bathroom and just dawdle (pretend you are sending a text, etc)...but if that won't work--I'd have no clue..

Was there any menu/menu board at the take out counter?

if you could at least reasonably see the dining area from the pick up area...you could pretend you got a call from your kid/brother, etc and they might want you to add to the order...and then stand around a wait a few minutes for them text back....and a few minutes later pretend they said they didn't want anything after all...

I do shops where the guidelines do not work....I've tried contacting the MSC about it and they just respond that they don't understand...I do get the information they want, but it a different way...

One of the best odd guidelines was a car shop when I was supposed to use a story that my kids were grown and out of the house and I was looking for a smaller car..even if I could make myself look old enough for that...I would have had to been in junior high when my kids were born...and they often ask for a copy of a license before you test drive...luckily I was able to get in touch with the MSC and explain why that wouldn't work (there was no age minimum for the shop....they could have had an 18 year old saying they had grown kids!)

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2015 12:03AM by jmitw.

That seems very odd, and quite unlike ACL. The easiest way to determine the scheduler is to log into the job board, find another location (or even more preferable another shop at the same location) for this client. If you click on the link that says something about requesting other dates for this shop, it will automatically generate an email to that scheduler for you. If it's not the same scheduler that handled your shop whoever it goes to will be aware of the person.

It's been a while since I shopped with ACL, and don't recall. Was there any problem submitting the report with missing portions?

You can just put "NA."

When you first signed up with ACL you should have been assigned a mentor. Perhaps if you looked back on your emails from them you could find that information. I have had to call and get clarification and cancel a shop before and my mentor has been more than helpful.

You were assigned a mentor? Is that something new? I signed up in 2008 and I was never assigned a mentor.

Me either

I was in October 2011. In reading the email again it was a short term thing for just the first month.

I was last year. It was great because it was my first restaurant shop and my third mystery shop.

Very confusing. Can't tell if you were assigned both a dine-in AND a carry-out in the same shop or just one (dine-in OR carry-out).

In any case, I'd go back to the scheduler first to clear things up. A Closer Look is great to work with. From my experiences, sometimes details and exceptions fall through the cracks between the scheduler and editor; it's happened to me when I was questioned why I shopped solo on a 2-person shop. I just clarified this with the scheduler and got things straightened out with the editor.

Hopefully, this is a similar situation.

I have done two take out shops for ACL where the restaurant had a completely separate entrance or window on the side of the building for carry out. The client still wanted multiple photo's of the dining rooms, beverage stations, drink cases and the restrooms. I called and asked for clarification for both of the shops before doing them.

Basically, you just need to get there before the time your pick up is ready and enter the restaurant through the exit door and get the required observations and photos and then walk out and go to the pick up window. This client was more interested in getting the photos than having the shopper possibly outed for taking photos inside the restaurant and then going to the pickup area after being seen taking the photos inside by the same employees.

I thought I'd be outed without a doubt and mentally regretted taking the shop. Then when I got there and walked in and got my photo's, the employees didn't even notice me as they were all busy. I then stepped back outside and went to the take out area and those employees didn't see me when I was inside as they were off in their own little corner of the store and the shop went just fine.

Don't over think it. If the shop instructions are confusing, call them before the shop. They will explain how they expect you to get the observations you need.

Another bit of advise. Do a compete inventory of the take out items before you leave the location. I was missing a main item and ended up making a return to the restaurant after getting all the way home. They gave me a really nice added desert to make up for forgetting to pack the item.

Bonnie -
Sorry this happened to you.
I definitely would have assumed the same thing as you did about the inapplicability of the dine-in portion.
If I was at the top of my game, I would have realized how wrong I usually am when I assume and would have called the MSC for clarification.
But my chances of catching potential problems with my assumptions are 20/20, particularly since my hindsight is 50/50.
Can't hurt for you to still try to reach a scheduler and plead your case or at least point out the lack of clarity in the instructions.
And now that you know what they *really* want, seems like the only thing to be lost in not going back is the opportunity to recoup a bit of what you've already lost.

I'm not sure that the only thing to be lost is the opportunity to recoup ~ I worry more about losing another $50.00. I think I'm a little paranoid now, but I really do appreciate all of the suggestions that were given here.

This is only the second shop that I have had rejected, out of about 300, so I guess I was just surprised by it. In a bad way. (The other one was when I had just started -a McD shop that didn't have a drive-thru, where I incorrectly ordered from the wrong list.)

Absolutely call the main number for ACL. They're VERY approachable people.

Also, Can I just say that it's refreshing to see a new member posting exactly the way we recommend new posters handle an issue like this instead of "DO NOT WORK FOR A CLOSER LOOK! THEY SCAM PEOPLE! WON'T PAY! WARNING! WARNING!!"

@AustinMom wrote:

You were assigned a mentor? Is that something new? I signed up in 2008 and I was never assigned a mentor.

I just signed up with them in 2014. I always contact my mentor and she has always been happy to help.

I had an issue with a BE shop last year. The recorded phone call system was not working when I was on site. I tried on 7 separate occasions to get the call to go through. I ended up calling directly and completing the shop. ACL did want to reject the shop. However, after three or four e-mails they understood I made the best out of a situation I had no control over. I wouldn't give up, they did pay the bill even though they couldn't use the shop. They were reasonable with me.

I have done that pizza carryout with $50 worth of reimbursement. Instructions included arriving early to check out the dining room and restroom. Becasue it was a quiet time of the day, some of the questions for the dining area had to be answered N/A, even if it meant saying "no" and then explaining why it really was n/a. Shop accepted without any controversy.

I never had a mentor that I can remember. But, I could well be wrong, lol.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2015 03:17PM by walesmaven.

I haven't done a pizza shop.

I'm bummed that some of you got mentors and I didn't. I guess now I don't want one any more, but I wish I'd had one when I first started. It would have been great, especially at ACL. Their schedulers and editors are so approachable and supportive anyway.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2015 02:50PM by AustinMom.

@whyuwannaknow wrote:

I need to call them about a rejected shop but they won't forward my report to me. I performed the shop accordingly to the best of my abilities too.

Why should the MSC forward you your own report? That is your responsibility to keep copies of your own reports whether it is on a computer or a hard copy or any means possible.