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Wow! I think everyone needs to take a step back and consider what you are posting.
As I see it, April and I actually actually agree on a number of the items discussed here. I agree that the shop is a lot of work for the fee offered and she agrees that she was not as well versed on the reporting details as she could have been. My main point was that the assignment required a particular style of food description and she did not provide that initially....hence the request for revisions. She felt the revision was too much work for the fee offered and I contend that she agreed to it without fully understanding the requirement, so the MSC deserved to receive the data they contracted her to provide. I may not have said that as eloquently at first, but that was the point. We have the right to disagree about that and I am happy to let that argument drop, just as she is. I am assuming that she submitted the required revisions and will get paid for the shop.
It was a lengthy process of getting to that point and I think that perhaps the issue was confounded by the very polarizing component of Sentry being the MSC in question. April did not need a group of posters to come to her defense. She was perfectly capable of engaging in the discussion about it and even agrees that she may have accepted the shop in haste....so why all of the animosity from others? April is not a newbie shopper. She has considerable experience and is simply a newbie poster.
The discussion between April and myself was just that, a discussion. What I think escalated the discussion to the point of being an argument was the insistence from others that she was being bashed or bullied, and others claiming that the information that she provided was useful to those who have not attempted the shop or worked with the MSC. Lastly, there was the implication that I am somehow showing favoritism to a MSC.
The thing is, the information she provided was simply not accurate. It did disparage the MSC in question, was a thread that simply listed the company name and spoke to her bad experience with them, and supporting that type of posting without questioning it does nothing to move this forum forward, and away from the shoppers vs. MSC mentality.
I don't know where the rule is posted that the forum is only for shoppers and all posts must be shopper-centric, but that's ridiculous. The forum is about mystery shopping and MSCs are a considerable component of that.
For those who think that I was being harsh on the OP, please answer me this; What could the MSC have done differently to make this situation better? The guidelines were clearly posted. The revision request was clearly and politely stated. What did the MSC do wrong? How do they get compared to a supervisor who is making an employee's life difficult?
For those that want to shame me for insisting that posters be truthful in their posts; I think your attitude fuels the animosity we see here. There was no attempt on my part to cover up any shortcomings of the MSC. There was no personal attack on April. I pointed out a number of contradictions in the things that she was stating and the discussion moved forward from there. If anyone reading this cannot see those contradictions and understand that when the full story was revealed, there were a number of extenuating factors out of the MSC's control that made her experience frustrating, then I suggest your hatred for Sentry has perhaps blurred your perception. Suggesting that the thread makes the MSC look like crap and wanting to multiply like posts that say that are basically repeating the bashing and bullying behavior that you are accusing me of.
As I see it, April and I actually actually agree on a number of the items discussed here. I agree that the shop is a lot of work for the fee offered and she agrees that she was not as well versed on the reporting details as she could have been. My main point was that the assignment required a particular style of food description and she did not provide that initially....hence the request for revisions. She felt the revision was too much work for the fee offered and I contend that she agreed to it without fully understanding the requirement, so the MSC deserved to receive the data they contracted her to provide. I may not have said that as eloquently at first, but that was the point. We have the right to disagree about that and I am happy to let that argument drop, just as she is. I am assuming that she submitted the required revisions and will get paid for the shop.
It was a lengthy process of getting to that point and I think that perhaps the issue was confounded by the very polarizing component of Sentry being the MSC in question. April did not need a group of posters to come to her defense. She was perfectly capable of engaging in the discussion about it and even agrees that she may have accepted the shop in haste....so why all of the animosity from others? April is not a newbie shopper. She has considerable experience and is simply a newbie poster.
The discussion between April and myself was just that, a discussion. What I think escalated the discussion to the point of being an argument was the insistence from others that she was being bashed or bullied, and others claiming that the information that she provided was useful to those who have not attempted the shop or worked with the MSC. Lastly, there was the implication that I am somehow showing favoritism to a MSC.
The thing is, the information she provided was simply not accurate. It did disparage the MSC in question, was a thread that simply listed the company name and spoke to her bad experience with them, and supporting that type of posting without questioning it does nothing to move this forum forward, and away from the shoppers vs. MSC mentality.
I don't know where the rule is posted that the forum is only for shoppers and all posts must be shopper-centric, but that's ridiculous. The forum is about mystery shopping and MSCs are a considerable component of that.
For those who think that I was being harsh on the OP, please answer me this; What could the MSC have done differently to make this situation better? The guidelines were clearly posted. The revision request was clearly and politely stated. What did the MSC do wrong? How do they get compared to a supervisor who is making an employee's life difficult?
For those that want to shame me for insisting that posters be truthful in their posts; I think your attitude fuels the animosity we see here. There was no attempt on my part to cover up any shortcomings of the MSC. There was no personal attack on April. I pointed out a number of contradictions in the things that she was stating and the discussion moved forward from there. If anyone reading this cannot see those contradictions and understand that when the full story was revealed, there were a number of extenuating factors out of the MSC's control that made her experience frustrating, then I suggest your hatred for Sentry has perhaps blurred your perception. Suggesting that the thread makes the MSC look like crap and wanting to multiply like posts that say that are basically repeating the bashing and bullying behavior that you are accusing me of.
@SteveSoCal wrote:
The discussion between April and myself was just that, a discussion. What I think escalated the discussion to the point of being an argument was the insistence from others that she was being bashed or bullied, and others claiming that the information that she provided was useful to those who have not attempted the shop or worked with the MSC. Lastly, there was the implication that I am somehow showing favoritism to a MSC.
I've had no part in this thread previously so just thought I'd offer an outsider's perspective. It seemed to me that the thread escalated when both sides brought past issues into the thread. Both with you searching the OP's history and suggesting it showed certain tendencies and from those who cried foul at you supposedly always jumping to the aid of Sentry.
But I do agree that there's nothing wrong with a little disagreement, I just think it's prudent to be careful that we're not inadvertently disrespecting each other while disagreeing with one another.
The only thing I'm going to add to this is that I think everyone needs to remember that shoppers are different and what we enjoy or not is different. Our reasons for shopping are different. What we want out of it is different. A $4 fee for a shop report may not be worth it to a lot of people. I agree it is low, but there are a lot of people, including me, who will do it because we get a free meal or the location is near or it's in an area we are going to be in anyway so why not have lunch or dinner on the client. It's like the people who keep saying they won't go near this or that for under $30. Sometimes, I just shrug. From my perspective, I guess those are the professional mystery shoppers doing this as a career thing where they count every penny. That's fine. They have a right to do that, but they need to recognize (and many do) that another shopper may need that $10 and putting the time in at the computer to get it may be totally worth it. If you like Blaze pizza, you may not care if there is a fee. Do the report, enjoy the meal, and carry on with life. No reimbursement for a high end restaurant? Like some have said, they don't care. They get a nice evening out with the hubby or whoever and then they spend an hour or two on the computer. It's okay. I wish there were more tolerance for other shoppers who don't have the same set of circumstances as Person A. I have noticed the intensity of the posters here and it's not healthy much of the time. Sadly, there are always people who like to stir the pot and there are a few pot stirrers on this forum. Mostly, I try to stay out of it, but this is just one of those things that I have to respond to. The world needs more tolerance and understanding and this forum, and this topic, is evident of that need.
Boy if you can show me how to do that I would be really grateful because other printers I have had the option to choose to print in black and white, but I can't seem to figure out how to do that with this particular printer and even though it works really well ( the printer) I have been thinking of ditching it because of not being able to figure out that feature. When I called Canon to ask how to do it they said they would give me info on how to do that but it would cost me $50.00 for tech support. I paid $29.00 for the printer so I said no I wasn't interested inlaying that much for the information.
Shopping til' I drop, no joke here!
@saacman5033 wrote:
It seemed to me that the thread escalated when both sides brought past issues into the thread. Both with you searching the OP's history and suggesting it showed certain tendencies and from those who cried foul at you supposedly always jumping to the aid of Sentry.
Agreed saacman,
I may have misjudged April by her few initial posts and she did end up adding positive input after that. I have sent her a personal apology for that and publicly apologize to her for rushing the the judgement that she was a one of those posters with nothing positive to add.
I hope April sticks around to learn from the positive advice that does get offered here, and something tells me that she will because she's a tough cookie that doesn't back down from an argument. I can respect that...
I don't have to go to their website to know the MSC. The true colours are shown here. And I am off this thread after I toggle a poster and rinse my mouth with Listerine from the bad taste. My stomach cannot handle this unprofessionalism from a supposed seasoned poster.
Oh, no! Where is the Toggle?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2015 11:41PM by risinghorizon.
Oh, no! Where is the Toggle?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2015 11:41PM by risinghorizon.
@aprilredbird wrote:
Boy if you can show me how to do that I would be really grateful because other printers I have had the option to choose to print in black and white, but I can't seem to figure out how to do that with this particular printer.
April, name the printer model and your OS. That will help people find the right answer for you.
Usually, all you have to do is go into properties. You click print and get some kind of pop up box. One option should say something like properties. Sometimes even on the pop up it has a box and next to it something like "print in grayscale." Otherwise, go into your properties and look for color/printing options. Check the drop down boxes for the grayscale option. Sometimes you may have to go to the advanced tab. For me, it's usually right on the first pop up box but every now and then I click properties to see it. It should be there somewhere. I don't have a Canon so cannot where it is, but it's gotta be there. If you still can't find it, try an internet search.
@aprilredbird wrote:
Boy if you can show me how to do that I would be really grateful because other printers I have had the option to choose to print in black and white, but I can't seem to figure out how to do that with this particular printer and even though it works really well ( the printer) I have been thinking of ditching it because of not being able to figure out that feature. When I called Canon to ask how to do it they said they would give me info on how to do that but it would cost me $50.00 for tech support. I paid $29.00 for the printer so I said no I wasn't interested inlaying that much for the information.
@risinghorizon wrote:
Oh, no! Where is the Toggle?
Eat toggle dust, hater
Seriously though, why do you have to be so melodramatic? This is not brain surgery. It's mystery shopping and sometimes we are going to have disagreements about things.
It's not the end of the world. It's an ongoing discussion and if I ran from a discussion every time someone disagreed with me, I would have been off this forum many years ago.
How about your have a glass of wine or beer instead of the listerine and realize that the person why was supposedly attacked has already moved on...
My feelings are not hurt, I haven't turned against the companies, or any mystery shoppers who have posted. And while after my chat with Dave who called to make sure one of his schedulers didn't do something wrong or bad we have mutually decided I will not shop for Sentry ( Ok, lets face it even if I hadn't already decided that, I am sure Dave did, but we had a hopefully a respectful conversation where we agreed to disagree And I would have revised my report but frankly I feel relatively certain Dave doesn't want me to do that. I will just eat the cost as my punishment for stirring up such a hornets nest. Anyway I have no particular animosity against any particular company, I have just stopped doing ones that I feel have unreasonable requirements. And yes I agree that figuring out how to manage your time is very much part of the learning curve. I quit mystery shopping for awhile due to being in rural location without many opportunities and the mystery shopping world has changed a lot. I really miss the old hard copy forms that you can use just because if you get a wonky MSC website or a power outage or a computer glitch, or even a printer glitch you can really have issues especially on the shops that require a few hours turnaround time which in the past was never so strict. However I respectfully disagree when you make the assumption that the shoppers are always in the wrong and yes I did see that you included yourself in that. We all make stupid mistakes sometimes, we are human, things happen, we can have whole weeks where things just fall apart and yes that is going to affect our performance. The first mystery shop I did after my hiatus from the field I let my daughter do the GPS and I was in a hurry and didn't read the directions carefully for my shop and I shopped the wrong shop, and wound up paying a lot of money for something that wasn't going to get reimbursed. It was my mistake, it was dumb, It was expensive and I totally own that is was my mistake and I paid rather dearly for that mistake. But I guarantee I won't do it again. I also know that there are shoppers out there who are always careless, never want to do narratives, routinely go to the wrong paces, and drop shops at the last minute. But I think those people tend to get out and don't stick around and that most MSC shoppers are pretty conscientious, and while I accept that we all make mistakes, and have done things that have caused us to lose a shop, I can't wrap my head around your idea that all the mistakes are made by shoppers who then deserve what they get from MSC's. I think there is a point between those two extremes.
Shopping til' I drop, no joke here!
Holy Moses! Melodramatic? A seasoned poster spending all his time in what you did in this thread was surprising to me, to say the least. Goodbye! Continue doing what you are good at. Try not to be too personal in this Forum. I actually used to enjoy your post until you became too biased and the epitome of what I don't like in a poster. I did not know until I came to this thread.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/19/2015 12:07AM by risinghorizon.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/19/2015 12:07AM by risinghorizon.
I've got to agree with Steve on this one. I didn't see anything worth toggling over in this thread. But with all the positive information Steve is consistently adding to this forum, it would be nobody's loss but your own.
Don't worry about me. No loss for me, information wise. I'll stick with Flash and the others who have helped a lot of posters.
So because I had a disagreement with another poster, who has gotten over it, spoken to the the MSC owner and let bygones be bygones, and my posts are now biased and no longer helpful?
Yes, I think that's melodramatic. Actually, I think it's the definition of biased too...
bi·ased
ˈbīəst
adjective
unfairly prejudiced for or against someone or something.
For what it's worth, I've done nothing over the past 7 years on the this forum other than promote truth in posting, try to entertain members when possible, and otherwise offer what advice I could to them. I don't get paid for posting or remunerated for it in any way for it, so I don't really understand the accusation of being biased.
Flash and I may disagree about some things, but I respect her for doing basically the same thing since even before I even found this forum. She offered me some sage advice many many years ago when I was still young enough and green enough to think that I could effect change in the the rift between MSCs and shoppers. She convinced me that it was a Sisyphean task, and I resigned myself to focus on a career outside of MSing and offer advice here when I could.
I have to say that little has changed in all that time, and I believe she was right. It's the same battle with one side claiming mistreatment and poor wages, while the other claims a lack of professionalism. New MSCs and new shoppers come into the industry each year and the cycle continues. I don't think Sentry marketing even existed when we had that discussion.
For anyone who thinks that my attitude is a problem, give it some time and you will see the same discussions repeat themselves over and over. Spend some time as an editor or scheduler and hear the same complaints and excuses over and over as well. In the end, I think the best that any of us can do is to work toward creating positive changes, no matter how small they may be. For me, I see that task at times as understanding the bigger picture of how internet presence affects shopper enrollment, and how the industry is better off when the public perception of MSCs is positive. Others take on the task of handholding each newbie who steps into the industry. I'm not saying that one task is more important than the other, but have some respect for the time I have put in to learning this and an understanding that I am not arbitrarily going to argue with a shopper. I have no reason to be biased toward either side in an argument and have a record of being a strong advocate for shoppers rights when they have been violated. I have spent many hours of my time engaging MSC reps is equally heated discussions as this one for that very purpose.
Yes, I think that's melodramatic. Actually, I think it's the definition of biased too...
bi·ased
ˈbīəst
adjective
unfairly prejudiced for or against someone or something.
For what it's worth, I've done nothing over the past 7 years on the this forum other than promote truth in posting, try to entertain members when possible, and otherwise offer what advice I could to them. I don't get paid for posting or remunerated for it in any way for it, so I don't really understand the accusation of being biased.
Flash and I may disagree about some things, but I respect her for doing basically the same thing since even before I even found this forum. She offered me some sage advice many many years ago when I was still young enough and green enough to think that I could effect change in the the rift between MSCs and shoppers. She convinced me that it was a Sisyphean task, and I resigned myself to focus on a career outside of MSing and offer advice here when I could.
I have to say that little has changed in all that time, and I believe she was right. It's the same battle with one side claiming mistreatment and poor wages, while the other claims a lack of professionalism. New MSCs and new shoppers come into the industry each year and the cycle continues. I don't think Sentry marketing even existed when we had that discussion.
For anyone who thinks that my attitude is a problem, give it some time and you will see the same discussions repeat themselves over and over. Spend some time as an editor or scheduler and hear the same complaints and excuses over and over as well. In the end, I think the best that any of us can do is to work toward creating positive changes, no matter how small they may be. For me, I see that task at times as understanding the bigger picture of how internet presence affects shopper enrollment, and how the industry is better off when the public perception of MSCs is positive. Others take on the task of handholding each newbie who steps into the industry. I'm not saying that one task is more important than the other, but have some respect for the time I have put in to learning this and an understanding that I am not arbitrarily going to argue with a shopper. I have no reason to be biased toward either side in an argument and have a record of being a strong advocate for shoppers rights when they have been violated. I have spent many hours of my time engaging MSC reps is equally heated discussions as this one for that very purpose.
I remember your promise quite clearly.
How is it that you are free to post whatever you want about my company or I but contacting you is off-limits?
How is it that you are free to post whatever you want about my company or I but contacting you is off-limits?
@Flash wrote:
A PM from Dave of Sentry and my reply:
You don't remember my promise to post anything you PM to me in open forum? You are not to contact me at all. Period. End of story.
@Sentry Marketing wrote:
It's good to know that this isn't personal on your part.
I love how you attack anyone who says anything remotely positive about our company. If nothing else, you are consistent.
Steve, your posts are eloquent. Yet frankly, they ring of protesting too much, methinks.
Sentry, if anyone requests no private communication, that should be respected. No means no.
Sentry, if anyone requests no private communication, that should be respected. No means no.
You are BIASED and the minute you started your condescending attitude to those who admitted to appreciating other posts which you did not like, you lost your credibility with me. You just described yourself to a "T" with that dictionary meaning. And there are other posters who pointed that. Your attacks became too personal. The OP may have forgiven you but I was truly, truly surprised at your attitude in this thread. And I hope we never meet again in this Forum or that I could Toggle you. For your information, I am not a rookie shopper. I have been shopping much longer than you think. I don't appreciate posters who seemed to enjoy offending other posters with the excuse that they are better than anyone else so they could say anything offensive. That's why I was shocked and surprised at your style.
You stated that there is bound to be disagreements. If your response to that is calling me melodramatic, then you are indeed condescending. Not everyone can handle your attacks and condescension just to prove your point. Maybe if I were a rookie, you could have gotten away with it.
To tell you the truth, I may have enjoyed some of your posts, I would not say I learned anything from you. Flash, I have learned a lot. And you are not the only one providing useful information here, as you claim. Nobody gets a hero citation for that. We all try to participate and be a part of this community. What I learned from this thread is to stay away from you. I am not in the habit of wasting my time online. But you said something that people should be aware that there is a human being behind it. So, apply that when you start your disagreement. I rest my case.
I do not visit the Forum to seek out people whose feelings I can hurt. I am not better than anyone. That's the preconceived idea of some very unpleasant posters. We may not be the welcoming committee for the rookie posters but it does not cost anything to be nice. Mary said that. And who said we have to hold their hands? Being civil means holding their hands? Savages don't know the meaning of civility.
I will not be reading attacks from your followers or anyone else because I have had this with this thread. Toggling you will never be my loss. I was never your follower.
You stated that there is bound to be disagreements. If your response to that is calling me melodramatic, then you are indeed condescending. Not everyone can handle your attacks and condescension just to prove your point. Maybe if I were a rookie, you could have gotten away with it.
To tell you the truth, I may have enjoyed some of your posts, I would not say I learned anything from you. Flash, I have learned a lot. And you are not the only one providing useful information here, as you claim. Nobody gets a hero citation for that. We all try to participate and be a part of this community. What I learned from this thread is to stay away from you. I am not in the habit of wasting my time online. But you said something that people should be aware that there is a human being behind it. So, apply that when you start your disagreement. I rest my case.
I do not visit the Forum to seek out people whose feelings I can hurt. I am not better than anyone. That's the preconceived idea of some very unpleasant posters. We may not be the welcoming committee for the rookie posters but it does not cost anything to be nice. Mary said that. And who said we have to hold their hands? Being civil means holding their hands? Savages don't know the meaning of civility.
I will not be reading attacks from your followers or anyone else because I have had this with this thread. Toggling you will never be my loss. I was never your follower.
@risinghorizon wrote:
I hope we never meet again in this Forum or that I could Toggle you.
I'm going to make it easy for you:
-Click on my name
-Choose "Toggle User Visibility"
Your opinion that I apparently think I'm better than others is WAY more personal of an attack than anything I said in this thread. Implying that I am somehow a savage even more so.
I don't have the slightest clue what in particular got you so riled up about my posts, but your opening rant about my attitude somehow being related to me being biased makes no sense to me at all. Why do you think I care how long you have been shopping?...and what does your shopping experience have to do with this discussion?
Hurling insults at me is doing exactly what you claim to be so offended by, so I personally don't see the point of it. For someone who claims to be careful of not hurting other's feeling, you sure have taken quite a few shots at me in this last post....or do you get a pass from being civil once you have determined that you don't like the tone of someone's posts?
@Mert wrote:
Steve, your posts are eloquent. Yet frankly, they ring of protesting too much, methinks..
I'm at a loss, Mert. What am I supposed to do to make things copacetic?
I tried apologizing. I tried explaining my position logically.
I pointed out that neither I nor the OP is carrying a grudge about this.
Apparently I'm a biased savage who can never again be trusted.
The one voice of reason that has bothered to respond to any of the questions I have asked is saacman....and I agreed with him that I may have jumped to a conclusion.
I worry that the quorum here is reaching a point where any dissenting opinion will not be tolerated. It makes me remember a time when most of us came to this forum because that was the prevailing attitude over on Volition...and that makes me sad.
Perhaps all the offended forum members could get together and lobby to Jacob to have my posting privileges removed so I don't offend anyone else again...ever.
I have actually Toggled you before your last posts. I went against my nature and wanted you to taste your own medicine. So, how was it? Good?
I clicked on the "Message Hidden" and read your posts. I am sorry you were offended. I apologize for my candidness. I have never acted this way before. But I was a rookie once and I've been there, experienced that. As I said before, I have enjoyed your posts but in this thread, I don't know if there are other threads because I am not a frequent visitor to the Forum, you went overboard to even get a reaction from Flash. Noone will ever lobby Jacob to remove you, I'm sure. We are individuals with our own quirkiness. You are not a savage. Just an expression and I wasn't referring to you. I admit, you are valuable to this Forum and many learn a lot from you. Just remember what you said that there is a human being behind whoever someone is attacking or being malicious to. No handholding required. It does not cost a cent to be a bit cordial and nice. And apologies do not erase the hurt and I am well aware of that. Good luck! Take care.
I clicked on the "Message Hidden" and read your posts. I am sorry you were offended. I apologize for my candidness. I have never acted this way before. But I was a rookie once and I've been there, experienced that. As I said before, I have enjoyed your posts but in this thread, I don't know if there are other threads because I am not a frequent visitor to the Forum, you went overboard to even get a reaction from Flash. Noone will ever lobby Jacob to remove you, I'm sure. We are individuals with our own quirkiness. You are not a savage. Just an expression and I wasn't referring to you. I admit, you are valuable to this Forum and many learn a lot from you. Just remember what you said that there is a human being behind whoever someone is attacking or being malicious to. No handholding required. It does not cost a cent to be a bit cordial and nice. And apologies do not erase the hurt and I am well aware of that. Good luck! Take care.
@risinghorizon wrote:
, you went overboard to even get a reaction from Flash.
To be fair, it seems clear from this thread that the topic of this MSC is an sore spot for Flash.
@SteveSoCal wrote:
What am I supposed to do to make things copacetic?
Why should you have to make things copacetic? Just stop posting about it. Stop explaining. Stop apologizing. Stop arguing. Leave the thread and let it move to the bottom of the list where it belongs to die. Many of us were offended, but we are all adults here. It's over. Go back to your posts about the kind of shopping you do and the companies you work with. Your lifestyle enhancement posts are very helpful and interesting.
I'd say a vendetta is more accurate than a sore spot. This campaign of harassment has gone on for years. Forum members who post about positive experiences with our company are denigrated and marginalized while those who post criticism are supported regardless of the issue.
When similar situations exist, one company may be supported while Sentry is generally hammered and dragged through the mud. There are examples of this throughout the forum, including a thread from just a few days ago in which a new forum member posted a complaint about an MSC and the pay level for a certain project.
When similar situations exist, one company may be supported while Sentry is generally hammered and dragged through the mud. There are examples of this throughout the forum, including a thread from just a few days ago in which a new forum member posted a complaint about an MSC and the pay level for a certain project.
@saacman5033 wrote:
@risinghorizon wrote:
, you went overboard to even get a reaction from Flash.
To be fair, it seems clear from this thread that the topic of this MSC is an sore spot for Flash.
@roflwofl wrote:
Leave the thread and let it move to the bottom of the list where it belongs to die. Many of us were offended, but we are all adults here. It's over.
That's the thing, roflwofl. It's not over.
If things people said that offended others could simply move to the bottom of the thread pile and be forgotten, this entire thread would never have derailed the way it did. You may have noticed as Dave pointed out above, grudges do get held...for a very long time.
While I don't want to marginalize anyone's feelings, as you said, we are all adults here. The amount of harm I caused the OP appears minimal by her account, so where does all of the offense come from?
Indeed emotions run high about Sentry with long term forum members and certainly Dave and Sentry have earned every bit of the distrust I have of him. I normally do NOT comment at all on threads regarding Sentry because of my personal very low opinion of the owner. What did have me comment on this thread, if you will go back through my comments, was NOT Sentry but rather Steve ripping into a fairly new member who was venting. Their vent could have as easily been about ACL or Bestmark or Trendsource or anyone else but it seemed that BECAUSE it was about Sentry they deserved to be sliced and diced—oops, ‘educated’. But not to worry, Steve, the shopper won’t need further Sentry schooling because they have been dumped.
As for Dave, he was told several years ago not to contact me because his PMs are even more offensive than his on forum behavior. I have never worked for Sentry and they may just be a wonderful company. Dave terminated me because we disagreed in open forum before I ever accepted a first job with them. So if Dave feels I am commenting on his company in this thread, is he telling me that Steve is now an employee? If he is, that probably should be disclosed in Steve's siggy line as we ask schedulers and company employees to do.
As for Dave, he was told several years ago not to contact me because his PMs are even more offensive than his on forum behavior. I have never worked for Sentry and they may just be a wonderful company. Dave terminated me because we disagreed in open forum before I ever accepted a first job with them. So if Dave feels I am commenting on his company in this thread, is he telling me that Steve is now an employee? If he is, that probably should be disclosed in Steve's siggy line as we ask schedulers and company employees to do.
For a MSC that deactivates shoppers for any remote dislike, complaint, negative comment, criticism and/or disagreement, I am really surprised you are saying their is a "vendetta" against your company.
l@SteveSoCal wrote:
@roflwofl wrote:
Leave the thread and let it move to the bottom of the list where it belongs to die. Many of us were offended, but we are all adults here. It's over.
That's the thing, roflwofl. It's not over.
If things people said that offended others could simply move to the bottom of the thread pile and be forgotten, this entire thread would never have derailed the way it did. You may have noticed as Dave pointed out above, grudges do get held...for a very long time.
While I don't want to marginalize anyone's feelings, as you said, we are all adults here. The amount of harm I caused the OP appears minimal by her account, so where does all of the offense come from?
Coulda, shoulda, woulda, Steve. When you say it's not over because grudges get held, you are just perpetuating a bad situation. You and I can't control whether others hold grudges, but, at this point, any further complaints about grudges that might be held are nothing more than piss poor whining.
It looks to me like you have two choices. You can move on and continue with posts that others enjoy and that you must enjoy making. Or you can continue to whine endlessly.....until you make your posts so annoying and unpleasant that others will wish you would go away .... and then you might log out and never log back in.
I think it would be a shame if you turned yourself into an albatross around the forum's neck, and almost as big a shame if you decided to log out and never come back. You are very knowledgeable and you write well. Your lifestyle enhancement posts are interesting, informative and helpful. Your posts defending Sentry are none of those things. Because you do not do that type of shop and you do not work for Sentry, those posts contain no usable information that you know first hand, it has all been parroted from other posts or from the owner. Since I am a fan, I have read Everything written by SteveSoCal, and I noticed long ago that you seem to post on every Sentry thread. If Sentry is mentioned, you are there. At this point, your defense of Sentry is a liability to them. Do Sentry a favor and leave the defense to someone who actually shops successfully for them.
If you truly want to help others on the forum, stick to the type of shopping you do, the companies you work with, and what you have first hand knowledge of. Many of us look forward to reading the kind of posts you do well, those which tell us information you have first hand knowledge of.
We don't deactivate shoppers for " dislike, complaint, negative comment, criticism and/or disagreement". That may be your opinion, however, it doesn't make it accurate.
aprilredbird and I mutually agreed that she would not complete future assignments for our company. The fact is that she brought it up first. I understand this doesn't fit your point of view, however, this is what happened.
The fact is that there are disagreements every day in this industry between MSC's and mystery shoppers. When both parties conduct themselves in a patient, professional and pleasant manner, the normal outcome is typically good for both sides. This was discussed by a forum member in MSM 113 - [www.mysteryshoppermagazine.com] . We are not different than any other company in this regard.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/19/2015 03:45PM by Sentry Marketing.
aprilredbird and I mutually agreed that she would not complete future assignments for our company. The fact is that she brought it up first. I understand this doesn't fit your point of view, however, this is what happened.
The fact is that there are disagreements every day in this industry between MSC's and mystery shoppers. When both parties conduct themselves in a patient, professional and pleasant manner, the normal outcome is typically good for both sides. This was discussed by a forum member in MSM 113 - [www.mysteryshoppermagazine.com] . We are not different than any other company in this regard.
@spaztck wrote:
For a MSC that deactivates shoppers for any remote dislike, complaint, negative comment, criticism and/or disagreement, I am really surprised you are saying their is a "vendetta" against your company.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/19/2015 03:45PM by Sentry Marketing.
This has turned into quite a thing, huh?
One point of clarification:
Are we to understand that April has been deactivated from Sentry? It seems like she's putting a coat of polish on it by saying it was a mutual decision but that she feels she would have been deactivated even if she wasn't on board with the decision. May we know the reason she was deactivated? It sounds like the job was on track when she posted this message: she had received a request for revision of her first report with the company, but Sentry was expecting the revisions to be submitted and a valid report to be submitted to the client for payment based on what she originally reported and more specifically from the exact quote that Dave provided about about the reply she received.
Was she deactivated for posting about the job on the Forum? If so, I'd be interested to hear the reasoning and the specific rule she broke by doing so. Thanks!
Edited to add: Looks like I cross posted with Sentry Marketing above, but I think some of the questions I posed remain unanswered in my mind if Dave is interested in responding. Thanks again!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/19/2015 03:52PM by CaliGirl925.
One point of clarification:
@aprilredbird wrote:
My feelings are not hurt, I haven't turned against the companies, or any mystery shoppers who have posted. And while after my chat with Dave who called to make sure one of his schedulers didn't do something wrong or bad we have mutually decided I will not shop for Sentry ( Ok, lets face it even if I hadn't already decided that, I am sure Dave did, but we had a hopefully a respectful conversation where we agreed to disagree And I would have revised my report but frankly I feel relatively certain Dave doesn't want me to do that. I will just eat the cost as my punishment for stirring up such a hornets nest.
...
Are we to understand that April has been deactivated from Sentry? It seems like she's putting a coat of polish on it by saying it was a mutual decision but that she feels she would have been deactivated even if she wasn't on board with the decision. May we know the reason she was deactivated? It sounds like the job was on track when she posted this message: she had received a request for revision of her first report with the company, but Sentry was expecting the revisions to be submitted and a valid report to be submitted to the client for payment based on what she originally reported and more specifically from the exact quote that Dave provided about about the reply she received.
Was she deactivated for posting about the job on the Forum? If so, I'd be interested to hear the reasoning and the specific rule she broke by doing so. Thanks!
Edited to add: Looks like I cross posted with Sentry Marketing above, but I think some of the questions I posed remain unanswered in my mind if Dave is interested in responding. Thanks again!
Shopper in California's Bay Area
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/19/2015 03:52PM by CaliGirl925.
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