@whyuwannaknow wrote:

Now, I've been blocked from the system to accept shops because I got on their asses about the bullshit they pulled. My last reimbursement payments will be doled out the end of this month.

It was fun while it lasted.

emm2131, I think the ship has sailed as far as OP giving them another chance. It would be a question of ACL giving OP another chance and how quick do you think they will be to re-engage a shopper who "got on their asses" about the "bullshit" they pulled?

I do have to ask, the guidelines that you posted were "You must sit at the BAR TOP for this shop. If you arrive and there are no seats at the bar, please place your order with the bartender. If no seats open up within 15 minutes, you can then sit at a table close to the bar top. Please note this information in your report".
Did you place an order with the bartender before you were seated?
I have worked for this company, and find them to be very reasonable in their expectations.
I understand that some of the members of this forum tend to come off sounding a little rough, but they have seen posters come here just to grouse about a perceived slight-so please do not be offended if they do not "agree" with your post.
If you call the scheduler or even email the editor, they can point out exactly why the report was rejected. It will be in the guidelines somewhere. As others have pointed out, it could be the amount of time you waited, or the place you sat, or where you actually placed your order.
Each of us has our own expectations of what we want or need from a company. We can pick and choose which ones we have relationships with. Sometimes, it takes a few issues to come to the realization that a company is not a good fit. This does not always mean the company is bad, but it is just not a good fit for you. IF you like what they have to offer, try to get this resolved, and understand that it may be a "wash" if the guidelines had specifics pertaining to this circumstance. Although you may not intend to spend certain money on a meal-always go into an assignment understanding that it is a risk and you might not get the money back.

If you like this kind of work-Keep your chin up and soldier on.

If there is no seat at the bar then you should stand at the bar if the instructions say it is a bar shop. You could pretend you are standing there because you want to be close to the TV or something.

I do and have done a lot of shops for them and love them. Realistically, if you were unable to sit at the bar, you should have left and contacted them ASAP. They are a stickler about the guidelines. But that's what the guidelines are all about.

Now I feel lucky that I got a seat at the bar the one and only time I've done a bar shop. It was a Friday night and I didn't even think ahead to what if the bar was full.

I guess being older and generally wanting to go out early and get home early worked in my favour. Notes to self for next time: 1. Go early
2. Bring contact information for the MSC - something I am not in the habit of doing yet!

This is interesting - I didn't realize that the scheduler might be shady; so now I understand why a shop I did was not paid. The reason my shop was "rejected" was because I did not perform it at the exact time I said I would - it was for 4:00 pm Sunday and I performed it at 2:00 pm. I had heard before going that I could perform the shop at a different hour, but within the time frame stated. Wow! There are shady schedulers! Thanks for the eye opener!

@Ladychancellor wrote:

This is interesting - I didn't realize that the scheduler might be shady; so now I understand why a shop I did was not paid. The reason my shop was "rejected" was because I did not perform it at the exact time I said I would - it was for 4:00 pm Sunday and I performed it at 2:00 pm. I had heard before going that I could perform the shop at a different hour, but within the time frame stated. Wow! There are shady schedulers! Thanks for the eye opener!

What was the time frame stated in your guidelines and/or instructions that you accepted?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2015 10:59PM by isaiah58.

At most MSCs the report would be rejected by an editor, not by a scheduler. Unless, of course, they are one and the same.

Here I go assuming IMO 2 pm would either be outside most time frames for a bar shop or would be considered lunch while 4 pm could be considered evening. I'm also curious about, "I had heard........." Heard as in read it on the forum or from another shopper or as in was told by the scheduler?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2015 02:54AM by LisaSTL.

@MDavisnowell wrote:

At most MSCs the report would be rejected by an editor, not by a scheduler. Unless, of course, they are one and the same.

Agreed. What everyone needs to keep in mind that sometimes the scheduler and editor do not communicate with each other. A good example was when I performed a restaurant shop that required 2 people by myself. I received prior approval from the scheduler. The editor called me asked me why I went alone. I forwarded the editor correspondence from the scheduler stating their approval.

@Ladychancellor wrote:

This is interesting - I didn't realize that the scheduler might be shady; so now I understand why a shop I did was not paid. The reason my shop was "rejected" was because I did not perform it at the exact time I said I would - it was for 4:00 pm Sunday and I performed it at 2:00 pm. I had heard before going that I could perform the shop at a different hour, but within the time frame stated. Wow! There are shady schedulers! Thanks for the eye opener!

As other said, more details please...

MSC's usually would NOT reject a shop just because you did not go exactly at the time you scheduled. If they did, I'd counter with proper justification and referring back to the guidelines, correspondence, etc.

What does your guideline state for this time frame?

Sometimes you'll see:
1. All day
2. Begin shop within a specific time frame.
3. Entire shop must be performed within a specific time frame.

@Tarantado wrote:

Agreed. What everyone needs to keep in mind that sometimes the scheduler and editor do not communicate with each other. A good example was when I performed a restaurant shop that required 2 people by myself. I received prior approval from the scheduler. The editor called me asked me why I went alone. I forwarded the editor correspondence from the scheduler stating their approval.

Was this for ACL? The same thing happened to me last month. I had everything in writing from my scheduler so I forwarded the correspondence to the editor. She totally apologized to me for the oversight. Many of these schedulers and editors do not even work in the same time zone as each other so it is true that there is the occasional break in communication.

@Sybil2 wrote:

Was this for ACL? The same thing happened to me last month. I had everything in writing from my scheduler so I forwarded the correspondence to the editor. She totally apologized to me for the oversight. Many of these schedulers and editors do not even work in the same time zone as each other so it is true that there is the occasional break in communication.

Yup! It was an ACL shop.

An experienced shopper will run into a situation where the guidelines would not allow the shop to be performed given the scenario required. The employee did not read the guidelines and perform so I could perform and the guidelnes say, "do not prompt". You get a lot of information but the client will not get it until I get an e-mail waiving that portion I could not complete that was beyond my control. If the shop could not be performed because no seats were available and I got the information I give the scheduler the choice of paying for the shop or not getting the information I observed.

I get editors that send back reports asking me to omit observations that might upset the client. If the guidelines told me to omit all negative observations (if they clean it do not report it) I would do that. I understand that some locations get dirty or merchandise is not perfectly stocked when busy. If I am asked to falseafy a report, and editors have done that, I tell them to write the narritive and I will use the words they want me to write. One editor actually sent me a narritive that I would have been rejected for falsafication if the client looked at video tape but I had the e-mail directing me to write fantacy. Some editors suggest "company standards" require me to change my narritive. I wrote, "If (and I list the negatives again) are acceptable to the client then the location performed excellently. I gave them an excellent report.

Perhaps one thing you may not know is that schedulers from different companies talk to each other when trying to fill shops. While you may have an issue with this scheduler, you may be burning lots of future bridges by your method of calling them out on their shortcomings. What goes around comes around and getting ass not back can be very expensive in the long run. I would take my loss, realize I had a nice meal, and move on.

You're assuming all dining out yields a "nice meal." Sometimes it yields nearly inedible garbage that gives you a serious case of rumble gut and a need to stay within 30 feet of a bathroom for several hours.

and those are the kinds of reports a client might not want to see, but should.

maybe we need a thread to report "Clients (not the msc, the clients) who do not want the truth" so that shoppers can just avoid taking those shops instead of having to argue about integrity with the editors.

Well said!

Read Jacob's request in Meta.

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

If memory serves, it was between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm.

ACL is not the only MSC that has this requirement. I have seen bar shops with several other MSCs that say in as many words that the shop requires sitting "belly up to the bar" to have a valid shop. Whether or not you blow your cover, you should have waited for a seat at the bar to become available.

@Ladychancellor wrote:

If memory serves, it was between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm.

If that is the case, I'd dig out the guidelines for that shop, make your case with ACL and have them tell you again if the time began your shop was the reason your shop was rejected.