I think it's due to the number of shops the OP already had assigned. I know I've had hotel their schedulers hold hotels for me because I already had the maximum number of hotel shops they would allow at one time. Once I submitted a report they would drop the next one in for me.

When a shopper has self-assigned the maximum for a given client or of a specific kind of shop, ACL schedulers can step in nad place a "hold" on some shops so that they can be assigned to that shopper as other shops are completed and thus removed from the shopper's events assigned log. Self-assign priviledges are not for unlimited numbers of shops. But, I have often had schedulers offer to hold shops for me for later in the month as described. I think/assume that this is an earned priviledge for longtime reliable shoppers. Sounds like this was being referenced by the OP.

bgriffin:
Great minds, etc.

My mind is definitely not great today!

I'm lost. And I'm not reading all of the OPs additional posts.

Was the meal order placed with the bartender as required?

@whyuwannaknow wrote:

. So here's some juice for you. .

I love juice! Thank you!

IN THE FUTURE YOU DON"T NEED TO TYPE IN CAPS TO GET OUR ATTENTION OR TREAT US LIKE *KNOW IT ALLS"

Okay, Mr. B?

The OP received some good advice before returning to bash those who provided advice and perspective. If the OP wanted to vent, perhaps that particular would could have been used.

Hopefully the advice will benefit other new shoppers who may hesitate over bar shops. Bar shops are not my favorite, but I often do them as part of a dinner shop.

I have never had success saving my ACL reports (using Firefox) and thus don't.

@Madetoshop wrote:

I have never had success saving my ACL reports (using Firefox) and thus don't.

Same situation here, for both Firefox and Chrome. BUT, I found success when using Internet Explorer.

My suggestion is to continue to using your preferred browser to input your report, but logging in through Internet Explorer to submit your report and also saving your report.

@isaiah58 wrote:

I'm lost. And I'm not reading all of the OPs additional posts.

Was the meal order placed with the bartender as required?

I did read all of the OP's posts in THIS thread. Apparently he/she has moved on to several other threads to build support for the pity party. But I read it that he/she ordered from the waitress NOT the bartender thus NOT following the guidelines as stated. And I agree with the person who stated that "a little bit" does not necessarily equal "15 minutes."

As far as the OP's tone with the ACL scheduler(s), I would have deactivated the OP also. You can be angry about a situation but you need to be able to voice your displeasure with a reasonable reply. Many ACL schedulers are members of this forum. Calling the scheduler rude names is not going to get you anywhere but a boot out the door which is exactly what happened.

@Sybil2 wrote:

I did read all of the OP's posts in THIS thread. Apparently he/she has moved on to several other threads to build support for the pity party. But I read it that he/she ordered from the waitress NOT the bartender thus NOT following the guidelines as stated. And I agree with the person who stated that "a little bit" does not necessarily equal "15 minutes."

As far as the OP's tone with the ACL scheduler(s), I would have deactivated the OP also. You can be angry about a situation but you need to be able to voice your displeasure with a reasonable reply. Many ACL schedulers are members of this forum. Calling the scheduler rude names is not going to get you anywhere but a boot out the door which is exactly what happened.

Great catch! But I don't believe OP stated who they took their order from specifically. We can only speculate on this.

@Tarantado wrote:

Great catch! But I don't believe OP stated who they took their order from specifically. We can only speculate on this.

Thanks. But if the OP does not give us all the facts, speculation is all we have. And from the few posts I have read from the OP, he/she will be back altering his/her story once again and expecting us to be mind readers. Or I will be called some rude name.

One thing I don't understand is why, in most cases, a shopper would accept a shop at one of these steakhouses. In most cases, the ones I receive are for $25 reimbursement for food at the bar, $35 in the seating area AND you must take someone with you. There are specific food ordering requirements. It is impossible to follow the food requirements and stay under the reimbursement amount, plus, you run the risk, as in this case, of having the shop rejected. An additional negative is you must complete the report on your time. I am doing this to make money, period. Shops that take money out of my pocket are not going to happen and no one in this business should let it happen.

Who are ALC?

ytrap, I do this to make money too but I understand why others take those reimbursement shops. Many shoppers are interested in the perks that come along with this more than the actual shopping fees. I've read their posts expressing that these high reimbursement shops enhance their life styles and that's what they want from this more than they want fees. I want money that goes in the bank, but we don't all agree. And then we have the really strange ones who say they shop for fun and I do not understand that at all. I don't see this as fun. To qualify as fun I'd have to be willing to pay someone to do it.

ACL=A Closer Look

@MDavisnowell wrote:

And then we have the really strange ones who say they shop for fun and I do not understand that at all. I don't see this as fun. To qualify as fun I'd have to be willing to pay someone to do it.

I won't say I do this for fun, this is my job, but at the same time, I wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy it.

I enjoy it, too, but I wouldn't do it if someone didn't send me money. And I agree with you. If I didn't enjoy this I'd do something else. And that's exactly why I don't understand all the whining and bemoaning we see on this forum and I am particularly speaking of one time hot shot complainers with no basis for their problems except their own mistakes. We have a lot of people doing this who are apparently miserable and I don't understand why unless they're consistently miserable no matter what kind of work they do. If a person is not a good fit for this, quitting is real easy. As in: Hey, no notice required. Sorry, I guess I am suchabee more so than usual tonight.

Ytrap,

Believe it or not, there are many MSCs that do not pay fees for casual and/or fancy restaurant shops. They believe that these shops pay for themselves. The people that take them also agree.

Most I see are from $50 casual to $200 fancy. A few appear to be around $35.

I am pretty sure most any of us have a price point that would drive us to do one of these. Would you for a free $200 meal?

Luck plays a part with numerous schedulers etc...several companies I worked with for a year I had recent bad experiences with....a year ago I had an ongoing dispute with NSS, and finally told them that what they were telling people was absolute bullshit. They posted that I had used profanity. If they only knew......

@isaiah58 wrote:

Ytrap,

Believe it or not, there are many MSCs that do not pay fees for casual and/or fancy restaurant shops. They believe that these shops pay for themselves. The people that take them also agree.

Most I see are from $50 casual to $200 fancy. A few appear to be around $35.

I am pretty sure most any of us have a price point that would drive us to do one of these. Would you for a free $200 meal?

I would not. Mainly because I'm not interested in eating $200 meals. That's not to say that Taco Bell is considered fine dining to me, it's just that I have 0 interest in fine dining. I don't like the atmosphere or generally the food. I was in Austin a few years ago for SXSW and some friends drug me to Flemings. I felt out of place in jeans and a tshirt (and sorry but that's what I always wear) and I left there and immediately went to Best Wurst for a $6 brat that was significantly better than the $40 tiny steak I had just finished.

They could offer me a $500 reimbursement and it wouldn't make any difference. I too am in this for the money so some FF shops with a fee would end up having more value even if I wouldn't touch the food.

In general I feel "free" is a misnomer and don't like it when schedulers use the word for dining shops or say, "Have dinner on us." We are not being treated to a meal, we are providing extremely detailed reports as part of a barter. This is no disparagement of shoppers who enjoy lifestyle shops with or without a fee. We each choose what works best for us. My problem is with the shop descriptions because they disparage the real work and value of those shopper's reports.

They do ask us to contact our scheduler if there is a problem. I would have done so or went and done something else until a bar stool became available and then start my time.

I do bar and restaurant shops for the partial reimbursemant. Why? Because they are like 2 for 1 coupons to me. These are the places my husband and I go to anyway. If you are only doing it for the money, don't take shops that don't pay. Simple but effective rule to live by. Now if I did a fast food shop (which I won't) it would only be if I was payed for it. Why?; because I don't like fast food. Thus it has now become a job. My husband and I do shops for the perks. It is a great way in retirement to have fun.

@LisaSTL wrote:

In general I feel "free" is a misnomer and don't like it when schedulers use the word for dining shops or say, "Have dinner on us." We are not being treated to a meal, we are providing extremely detailed reports as part of a barter. This is no disparagement of shoppers who enjoy lifestyle shops with or without a fee. We each choose what works best for us. My problem is with the shop descriptions because they disparage the real work and value of those shopper's reports.

EXACTLY. This is absolutely on target. I have a full-time day job and I shop more for the reimbursables that add to my lifestyle than for fees. I am more interested in a $150 meal reimbursement than a couple of $15 fees. I would rather eat out and write a report than cook and clean up (not every night, of course, and certainly not at just *any* restaurant - it has to be where I WANT to eat).

I am also extremely offended by scheduler e-mails that say "have dinner on us" or "FREE DINNER" - I feel that any scheduler who uses that type of advertisement for shops disrespects shoppers and downgrades what we do. I have no problem with performing a shop in exchange for the meal, but it needs to be very clear to everyone that I am not getting a "FREE MEAL" - I am bartering my professional services for the price of the meal. Any scheduler who does not acknowledge that reimbursement in exchange for professional services is not on my A (or B or C) List.

And I agree with bgriffin on Flemings and a $6 brat - I know some great steak houses here and Flemings would NOT be on my list of recommendations. I'd have gone for the $6 brat, too.

Well, unless OP muddled the chronology like s/he muddled the description of the assignment, I guess they don't realize that the rejected shop (whether rightly or wrongly) rendered null and void the promise of the other shop. Why would ACL give them a higher-dollar shop when they had just blown the lower-dollar shop?

And is it accidental or deliberate that they don't bother to mention if they did or did not follow the instruction to "place the order with the bartender" and only then could they accept an offer of a table near the bar?

It still appears that instructions were not followed, maybe not the instructions another shopper posted for a bar-only shop, but the instructions that applied to the "bar preferred" shop that was rejected.

Either way, it was totally inappropriate to call the schedulers "shady" for reneging on a promise after OP reneged on *their* promise to follow instructions.

And if they did follow instructions (even though leaving out the detail of whom they placed the order with in describing the incident here) then it appears they did not clearly communicate the details to the scheduler, or the scheduler was having a bad day and misunderstood, and if that was the case, upon explaining properly the actual sequence of events (couldn't get seat at bar, waited X amount of time, placed the order with the bartender, then accepted offer of table near the bar) ACL should have conceded the point and approved the report. If the shop was actually conducted correctly and ACL refused to pay, shame on them. But we have no information here establishing that the shop was, in fact, conducted correctly.

And I'm out of popcorn and no longer interested in helping OP learn from their mistakes.

@AustinMom wrote:

And I agree with bgriffin on Flemings and a $6 brat - I know some great steak houses here and Flemings would NOT be on my list of recommendations. I'd have gone for the $6 brat, too.

I'm sure you've had those brats and know they're not just any ole brat too!
Have I ever mentioned that most of my favorite places to eat are in Austin? Turf n Surf Po Boys, Snack Bar, Bouldin Creek Coffee, Hey! Cupcake. Some darn good food in Austin!

I have shopped with ACL for several years - one of my favorite companies. The reports are long but I am willing to give up several hours of my time for a $200 fine dining experience. Not all pay that much, but I agree with another shopper - I like to eat out and not cook. I did one eat at the bar shops and found it to be entertaining and had quite a good time. It was a few years back while I was out of my state. I do not apply for them anymore - I got old. Now I mainly do lunch.

My info with ACL. They have been great with me, no issues that were not resolved. Schedulers all great. Always got paid. I believe the shopper with the problem was going into the mountains and pretty things to see restaurant. I have done several locations across multiple states for that shop. I have often asked for some variance to accommodate me (go alone, no alcohol, asked for bonus, etc). Never had an issue if it was approved. I also did several last minute shops which gave me a good rating andI was offered and did the first shop of the first location in the metro area for a city named after a folksy singer named John singing the theme song "Rocky Mountain High". I was doing alone, sit at table. Because brand new, the wait at lunch was over hour for a table. Hostess offered an open bar seat. I sat there and submitted report based on all criteria, saying in report, no tables. The editor did approve it and I got paid, but saying they made an exception for me. You may try a reasonable factual discussion with acl and see if it can be salvaged. Can't hurt to try.

Am not goint to reiterate what is already said about circumstances and fulfilling shop requirements. You have to play it to arrive at a time when you know you can be successful......or wait it out. I end up doing Irish Coffee or an after dinner port at the bar after the dinner hour often enough. YOU have to make it work.

ACL schedulers are VERY personal and are my favorite people to work with. I feel strongly about this. This is the only post I have ever made. One of them sent me the nicest personal notes after we were completely hammered in Sandy with no pressure to take shops and continued to offer prayers and best wishes. When I had internet connection problems or computer access situations, irregular traffic jam, migraine at the table she was so patient and thoughtful and made every effort to wait or reschedule that I was embarrassed. The effort to satisfy you with a replacement shop is above and beyond and other companies would not make that effort or even give you that chance.

Consider givng them another chance to satisfy YOUR interest in another shop at the location of YOUR choice. Sounds to me like it is up to YOU if you wish to make the relationship work.
Best wishes and good luck!