@aprilredbird wrote:
Just a couple of additions to my post. this shop was dropped on me at the last minute and I agreed to do it because I had to be in the area anyway, and I had been curious about the restaurant because of it's unusual name.. I literally had 5 minutes to prepare myself for this shop before I left and considering what a pain in the ass the certification test was for it that should have been a clue to me, however I generally choose not to do fast food because if I am going to work that hard I want to have a meal that I can savor. So I didn't even have time to download the form. Also as with many shops I had to get to the place at least an hour before it closes and what with getting it at the last minute and having to drive 66 miles, I really didn't have any time to even think about the store.I was literally reading the instructions at traffic lights and in the car just before I walked in... As for this being an "upscale burger joint" the only upscale element is the price. You stand in line to get your food at a counter, you are lucky if there is even any place to sit down. The tables don't have chairs they have high stools and you are literally elbow to elbow with your next door neighbor. and Sentry is quite adamant that you only spend 20 minutes in the shop. Sorry but 20 minutes to me is a fast food shop. Upscale burger is a Red Robin where you have nice tables, big screen tv's and the opportunity to get a good microbrew. Which before anyone points this out you can get a beer at this restaurant too , but the 20 minutes you are supposed to drink it in for Sentry still screams Fast food to me. If they want me to savor the food and describe it in a artful way they might want to give me more time in the place to do it, because in that 20 minutes I am also supposed to evaluate the shape of the restrooms. I would rather dii close- looks shops and have a nice meal then I feel like the long narrative is worth my meal.
@roflwofl wrote:
I agree that aprilredbird's shop did sound awful.
@SteveSoCal wrote:
That's the joke?
@Jay C wrote:
Is this supposed to be a Welcome Committee? Maybe we should post a warning in the forum guidelines that anyone posting experiences about Sentry that are not wonderful will be attacked and discredited.
@Jay C wrote:
Why is she getting beat up over her opinion?
@SteveSoCal wrote:
Actually, she started off by saying that she did a shop and it was "Awful". She then complained about the distance she traveled and the certification required, as well as the time it took to complete the report.
You could say it was the most work vs. payoff of all shops performed that day and that would probably sound more objective. The travel is really not pertinent since you were traveling for the other shops anyway.
If you had completed one of the burger shops previously, you would not have to deal with certification, probably not have it returned to you since you had a better understanding of the writing requirements, and probably not spent a whole 2 hours on it. If you spent 90 minutes on an assignment that netted you $4 and a free lunch, would you start a new thread to complain about how terrible the assignment was? I can think of burger shops for 4 or 5 other companies of a similar quality that would be about the same work vs. payoff.
@SteveSoCal wrote:
The outlet is not fast food, however. It's an upscale burger experience. Fast food is about timing and being extremely affordable. This client is part of the recent wave of restaurants that charge a higher fee for quality food.
Goodwin offers a very similar shop with a computer to the Sentry client. It reimburses $18 total, which includes the shop fee, and it cost me $16 on my last visit. The Goodwin report took me 90 minutes to complete, yet I don't see people making complaints about it only offering a $2 fee and taking 90 minutes. Why is that?
ACL also has similar assignments that pay nothing and take well over an hour to report.
@SteveSoCal wrote:
@CaliGirl925 wrote:
In this case, however, it seems she does have some objective information about the shop and requirements.
Sorry, we cross-posted before so my response above was to Flash.
I'm just trying to point that the thread was not saying, "I find X-burger shops too difficult for what they pay." It was specifically directed at the company for offering a poor experience, when as pointed out above, there are very similar experiences with other companies and the requirements are very clear BEFORE you accept the assignment.
The exact shopper quote was "I just did my first shop for them and it was awful, low pay, long long ways away and I had to do a certification test for a burger joint that paid $4.00, and then it had this ridiculously long narrative and form which took me about 2 hours to do, and then I get an email saying it was rejected because my narrative describing the way my burger tasted just wasn't descriptive enough . . ." This obviously was not edited subsequent to the bashing she received. If you are objective you will see the complaint on the shop was paramount and the subsidiary complaints were just that--not a bash of the company even though their name was in the title of the thread.
If a shopper had posted 4 different shops handled on their 122 mile trip, pointed out the fee and workload of each, then they could say that they have learned a lesson not to take the fast-casual assignments in a group, or that they payoff was not as good as other shops. It sounds like the shopper just doesn't like these type of shops and is blaming the MSC.
@SteveSoCal wrote:
Understood, CaliGirl925
I don't want to stifle posters, but we shoppers are supposed to be known for our objectivity, so I would like to encourage posts that address the specific issues with shops or MSCs, rather than calling a company a joke.
Yes, and this is what we expect of you to the nth degree because of your tenure here. That is why we wonder that you would get so engaged with this shopper on this shop with this company and telling him/her all that he/she should have known or done before accepting the shop. The shopper was venting frustration that could have been self directed or other directed, but you chose to interpret it as denigrating to the company.
There are numerous threads already about the amount of work required for the burger shops. The OP probably would have gotten a more sympathetic ear from me if adding an opinion to one of those.
@SteveSoCal wrote:
For those that think the OP has made an informative post, you may want to look at the other posts made since they joined the forum a few weeks ago. She describes Trendsource shops shops as being "narrative heavy" and called them terrible. She has had problems with GFK and Bestmark as well. I haven't read anything but controversial and negative posts, peppered with some extremely prejudiced comments about each of the companies and their staff.
Definitely no bashing of the OP here, huh?
Clearly this is someone who does not like writing narrative, taking on an admittedly narrative heavy shop and also admitting that she took the shop hoping to get some "free food".
If anyone wants to get the information about this particular shop, you can go to the Sentry site, see examples and even take a test that makes sure you understand the requirements of the shop. Wouldn't that be the best way to learn about the shop?
@SteveSoCal wrote:
bgriffin makes the point very clearly. He doesn't like narrative shops and doesn't take them.
I'm not defending the amount of work required by the shop, and was not defending the MSC to begin with. The OP stated the shop was "awful" and when I looked at the four other posts created by her, I noted that they were all highly negative toward anything that required narrative, and contained particularly subjective insults toward the MSCs discussed.
My point was simply that there is no mistreatment of the shopper in this case. The shop requirements are clearly posted. If a shop was rejected after a shopper fulfilled the requirements, I would absolutely be defending the shopper. I have done so many times in the past.
What makes me feel like I need to respond is when absolutely no positive contributions have been made to the forum, and posts are riddled with negatively and/or seemingly not taking responsibility for one's own part in creating the problem.
There are numerous shoppers who post complaints as their early posts and I don't see you tackling them. Mostly first posts are either introductions or complaints as that is what gets people motivated to finally break the ice and post. Many of those can be encouraged towards being more positive contributory members but very few who mention Sentry survive that long.
Looking at Dave's post above, I will say that I feel inclined to defend the MSC slightly since the OP was apparently not submitting the required detail, seemingly adding subjective content and then claiming professionalism while distorting the feedback provided by the MSC.
I take shops all of the time and later realize that I've bitten off more than I can chew, or that the experience is not as good as expected through no fault of the MSC. I might post an anecdote about how problematic it was, but I don't blame the MSC for not posting shops to my liking. I have lived across the street from this particular burger outlet for the past two years and never taken this assignment. Why? Well...mostly because I don't like the buns, but also because I went through the training, passed the test and realized they the shops just don't fit well into what I do. Why would I take an assignment that's clearly too much work for the fee and product offered?
@SteveSoCal wrote:
April, I appreciate the positive feedback...and I certainly understand that Bestmark and GFK have given shoppers many reasons to complain about them. Trendsource as well. My point was that you were lodging some rather negative complaints in your initial postings, and then later alluded to the fact that you may be responsible for some of the issues as well. You did not utilize direct deposit initially and moved after completing shops for TS, complained about a shop being further away than your GPS indicated, and admittedly did not initially read or apparently understand the instructions from Sentry.
The thing is, I don't think think Sentry wants the food described in an artful way at all, and they clearly don't want your opinion of the flavor in the food description. They simply want a detailed description of the presentation, temperature and freshness of the ingredients.
It's clear from your post that you didn't like the burger outlet, but isn't there room to just say, "Boy, did I make a mistake in agreeing to this shop without reading the requirements when I had 3 other shops to do."? That would have evoked empathy from me, because I can relate to it.
Just like ACL, Sentry has some shops that are a better value than others. Most of the ACL dining shops pay no fee at all, but if you really like the outlet, then it may be a good deal for you. I come down on ACL all of the time for not paying a fee with the their shops, but I don't complain about it after taking them. I stick to the fee-based and bonuses shops. The fee problems in the MSC industry are specifically based on shoppers currently accepting shops that have no or poor fees attached, so if you want the assignments to remunerate you well, then you need to decline the ones that do not.
@SteveSoCal wrote:
And as I said before, I don't like the burgers there (for different reasons that you), but my closest friend loves them and since the restaurant was across the street from me, I would go there with him occasionally. If it was a shop for 2 guests, I probably would have taken it.
If I can offer you any advice to be more successful at dining assignments, it's to understand that you don't have to like the food in order to describe it as required. Just like the feedback from the editor said, the reader should not be able to tell if you liked the food or not from your description. You can say that is was difficult to detect any seasoning on the burger. You can say that it was hot, juicy, cold or dry. You can say that the bun was soft and warm, but you can't say that you think it's disgusting to put an egg wash on buns. Well...I'm the one that thinks that. You can say that it had what appeared to be a standard slice of American cheese, but you can't say that great burgers don't include American cheese.
You don't need to praise the food but should not be insulting it either. The person who ultimately fronts the small fee for this shop has based his entire business model on this burger recipe, so I'm pretty sure they just want it to come out hot, fast, fresh and as ordered, and with their existing recipe. In my few experiences at the outlet, they have delivered my burger to me and checked back to be sure that I was happy with it, then asked if I needed anything else and cleared my tray. That's more than one can expect from most fast food places.
@SteveSoCal wrote:
Understood, except there is no specific requirement for tasting the food through your words, as pointed out multiple times in this thread. They specifically stated that they wanted to visualize the food through your words, which would require a different narrative.
If I can paraphrase, you were upset that the MSC required you to modify your report to bring it up to the standards you agreed to before accepting the shop and that were clearly demonstrated, in order to have the shop accepted. That's the joke?
@SteveSoCal wrote:
@Jay C wrote:
Why is she getting beat up over her opinion?
No one is getting beat up for their opinion...unless that opinion is that we should be able to post fallacious information about shops and receive the full support of the community in doing so. There are no word games taking place. The OP has continually insisted that she did not like the reporting requirements for the food, while also giving the impression that she did not fully understand them. I made an attempt to point that out, unsuccessfully.
Here I would absolutely disagree with you Steve. See the various sections in bold of your posts and my comments. It would not be a big deal except you never seem to worry much about "misrepresentation" unless it is with this particular company. It certainly makes one wonder. Oh yes, you will bash anyone who would work for a reimbursement only from ACL that is not in your wheelhouse, but otherwise you are pretty silent when it comes to companies other than Sentry.
I have stated multiple times that I agree the shop is probably not worth the amount of work involved. It is specifically not wonderful. The OP at her own admission was not prepared for the shop, did not download the sample form before attempting the shop, and did not accurately understand the timing requirements for being at the location. The problem was further confounded by her apparently not understanding the requirements for reporting on the food.
This could be any MSC and my reaction would be the same. If this was another MSC, would the rest of you be defending an unprepared shopper? I think your animosity toward Dave colors your view of what is appropriate behavior.
This is precisely my point. You do not state similar reactions to other similar situations with other companies.
I get it that you like hurl insults at Dave, but what has Sentry done in this instance that's inappropriate? Claims were made about the shop requirements and requested revisions that were inaccurate. He simply posted the accurate information.
My personal annoyance with this thread was not Dave or Sentry so much as SteveSoCal being unduly exercised in pointing out that all deficiencies were the shopper's. You do not do this with shoppers on threads about other companies in close to 10,000 words.
I have always thought this forum was a place where newbies could come to learn about the industry, and how to be better shoppers. Isn't advising them to understand shop guidelines before attempting a shop, explaining where they may have been mistaken and pointing out an appropriate way to respond with revisions a good place to start?[/[/b]quote]
It is, Steve, and hopefully it will continue to be a place where newbies can learn about all aspects of the industry, not just to be better shoppers. That is why it is so darn important to be non-judgmental. Your performance in this thread has not had the slightest hint of that as far as I can tell and thus I certainly need to voice the question as to 'why'? Ultimately this is not about aprilredbird, Sentry or Dave.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2015 05:55PM by Flash.
@pinchers81 wrote:
Mmm, this is making me want a good cheeseburger.
@risinghorizon wrote:
As I said before, just give it a rest, SteveSoCal. I fully agree with Flash.
Anyone who goes to all length to discredit a poster, like you have done in this thread, really gives a bad taste in my mouth. You have gone too personal and too judgmental. I feel this does not bode well for the veteran posters. I am surprised I followed this thread because I usually take a break from the Forum when I see similar action as yours. Diplomacy won't work. Maybe a break from the Forum will do for posters who enjoy this type of...can't say it. Would not want to hurt your feelings.
@aprilredbird wrote:
Geesh, maybe I misunderstood the concept of this blog space. I thought it was supposed to be informative so other shoppers can hear what your experiences have been particularly jobs that are a lot of work for not much money, and as a place to be able to blow off some frustrations with other people who understand. As we are all independent contractors it is not like we can go to the break room and talk to another worker about a supervisor who is making their lives difficult. This is our space to make comments. I am not trashing the company just saying I felt the revision for the work was too much work for the money involve, and as someone commented it is just a burger, no gourmet food with low pay attached. Thanks for all the people who have rushed to my defense, I really appreciate the support.
@Sentry Marketing wrote:
Does the fact that OP misquoted the editor and misstated guidelines matter?