Several people have complained about GFK. I generally say that aside from their poorly worded, ambiguous guidelines and questionnaires, I've had positive experiences with their schedulers and with getting paid quickly. Good communication, honest attempts to answer questions about conflicting instructions, etc.

I got a personal (or personalized) e-mail from a scheduler asking if I could do a shop that's been sitting on the board forever. It has a specific demographic requirement that I meet. I responded with a concern regarding the shop and also asked if a mileage allowance could be given, since the shop is far enough away that I didn't think the fee was high enough to cover my time for the shop AND the gas cost/vehicle wear and tear.

I've never had a response from the scheduler (whose name I didn't recognize, so maybe she's new). Nada. If they can't give a mileage allowance and/or the concern I raised with them disqualifies me, then just let me know! How long would it take to respond with a simple, "Sorry, no mileage allowance can be given on this shop. Thanks anyway," or, "The issue you raised does present a problem, so we can't schedule you for this job"?

I think this is very rude. The job is still on the board. I'd probably do it without the gas allowance, because this is a shop I'd enjoy, if the other issue isn't a problem. I saw nothing wrong in asking about the allowance--all they have to do is say no! But the scheduler ignoring my e-mail has left a bad taste in my mouth.

I guess I'm just venting, but wonder if anyone else has experienced this with them. They fill your inbox with jobs, e-mail you to take them, then ignore you when you ask about one. Doesn't make good business sense to me.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2015 11:49AM by BirdyC.

I know this pales in comparison to what other shoppers have experienced with GFK, but since I've had a good relationship with them, it does stick in my craw!

Just a bump in the road. Don't let it create bad feelings that interfere with a evidently long and profitable relationship with GFK. Personally, I have found that e-mails with a subject like "URGENT: shop in XXXXXXX, XX," get a pretty fast response.

How do you know it was personal?

There are software programs that insert a name into an email and mass send it to hundreds of people.

Just because it says Dear Jane doesn't mean it is personalized.

@BirdyC wrote:

I guess I'm just venting, but wonder if anyone else has experienced this with them. They fill your inbox with jobs, e-mail you to take them, then ignore you when you ask about one. Doesn't make good business sense to me.

I've experienced it with a lot of companies. As mentioned above, it's very easy to pop the shopper names into an e-mail sent to many shoppers. It's like throwing 500 fishing lines into the water, and they reel in the first fish that bites. The others are forgotten in the rush of reeling in the fish and cooking him.

I don't usually respond to these e-mails unless I want the shop, and if I do respond, I'd just as soon not get an e-mail response unless it's a yes. I won't waste the scheduler's time and I'd rather she didn't waste mine. Now, if it's a personal e-mail that says something like "Hi, Austin, I really appreciated the shop you took last Thursday. This one is next door. Can you do it for me?" I would respond. But "personalized?" Not hardly.

I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

@jmitw wrote:

How do you know it was personal?

There are software programs that insert a name into an email and mass send it to hundreds of people.

Just because it says Dear Jane doesn't mean it is personalized.

"Personal" and "personalized" aren't the same. If it has my name on it, and it was sent only to me, it's a "personal" e-mail. If it has my name inserted in the name field and was sent to hundreds of other shoppers, with their names in the name field, it's "personalized" e-mail, as opposed to the ones they usually send out. (That's why companies use programs like Constant Contact--so they can personalize a mass e-mail.) It wasn't sent to every shopper, just the ones in the geographic area who meet the demographic requirements.

I'm not taking her lack of response personally, but I do think it would be professional and polite for her to have responded. Nonetheless, I'm not going to stop shopping for GFK or anything! I'm tempted to take the job anyway, and once I see the complete instructions, if the concern I have is indeed a problem, well, then I'll have to cancel it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2015 09:24PM by BirdyC.

an email sent to EVERY shopper in the area that meets the demographic is not personal/personalized..it could still be sent to 100 people.

@jmitw wrote:

an email sent to EVERY shopper in the area that meets the demographic is not personal/personalized..it could still be sent to 100 people.

You're right that it's not a "personal" e-mail. However, it's "personalized." That term means, in marketing, something different than what I think you mean. The two terms aren't interchangeable in this context. When you write "personal/personalized," it seems that you're using them interchangeably. I'm not, and they're not.

When you get one of GFK's (or any MSC's) e-mails that are sent out to thousands of shoppers, with no name in the salutation or subject field, that's a non-personalized mass e-mail. When the MSC sorts its database to search for a particular type of shopper and sets up the e-mail to contain a shopper's name and/or other demographic information, e.g., "Hi Bob, we see you live in the (fill in the blank) region. We have a shop we think is perfect for you....," that is a "personalized" e-mail, even though it's not personal and no human being manually input your name and other information. It's still a template and a mass e-mail, but it's called a "personalized e-mail." That's what the terminology is. It may not seem "personalized" to you, and it's not in the traditional sense, but that's the correct term.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2015 01:55PM by BirdyC.

I used to do audits for them and worked with one schefuler who was awesome. Unfortunately, he quit. On the last few that I did for them, I have had to wait 2-3 days to get clarifiction on a report question because the issue was not addressed in the guidelines and kept getting warning emails that my shop would be cancelled.

With a different MSC I had a more severe case with a scheduler. I ended up going to their website and finding the person in charge of mystery shopping and e-mailing them with my concerns...miraculously, the scheduler emailed me shortly thereafter and has altered their conduct...

@lkshopper52 wrote:

I used to do audits for them and worked with one schefuler who was awesome. Unfortunately, he quit. On the last few that I did for them, I have had to wait 2-3 days to get clarifiction on a report question because the issue was not addressed in the guidelines and kept getting warning emails that my shop would be cancelled.

Their guidelines need to be re-written, IMO! I don't think it's unusual for shoppers to have questions and need clarification! If their wording is ambiguous or confusing, I don't think the shopper should be held responsible.

Fortunately, the one shop I had where I didn't supply exactly what was needed in terms of proof of visit, I was out of town when the report was edited, and the editor and scheduler were really great in giving me extra time to get home and send them what they needed. But, as you alluded to in terms of delay, had the report been reviewed in a more timely fashion, I'd have been home and could have sent the info immediately. As it was, it took almost a week for the shop to be reviewed. Which, at least in my experience, seemed to be a long time for them.