Cirrus Bait & Switch? "Dear Shopper, Please work for nothing..."

I accepted several bonused targeted apartment shops for Cirrus and conducted them to guidelines. The guidelines state that if, after three attempts of recorded calls, you find the target no longer works there, conduct the phone shop with whomever answers." OK, fine. On one, the target was available. On another, I learned after three calls that the target was no longer there so I conducted a 15-minute interview with the person who kept answering the phone. When I let her know, the scheduler says, "Oh, no don't do the phone shop. We don't need that. The guidelines are different for each location." Huh? Now that I've found out FOR YOU that the target doesn't work there, I get stiffed??? A $30 assignment turned into $0 after at least 30 minutes of work, not to mention reading all those guidelines. Seasoned shoppers -- how do you avoid this kind of abuse?

Mystery Shopper since 1998; Author of Make Money Mystery Shopping available on Amazon in the Kindle Store.

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It happens. I am vigilant in reading the instructions for each shop. Some of them seem very similar but have slightly different guidelines. I went out to do a shop once that I had done before and thought already knew. By chance of having some free time before I arrived at the shop location I decided to brief through the instructions quickly and discovered that there were several, significant differences in the instructions. It happens but go for another shop. It's very rare that you won't get paid if your shop is done properly.

There is a famous retail shop that this company has had as a client that is notorious for not paying the Shopper. Nitpicking a several hour shop and then no pay. Now not paying for a target who no longer works there is par for how they treat Shoppers. They are on many Shoppers 10 foot pole lists, never again.

@iamloved1 wrote:

On another, I learned after three calls that the target was no longer there so I conducted a 15-minute interview with the person who kept answering the phone. When I let her know, the scheduler says, "Oh, no don't do the phone shop. We don't need that. The guidelines are different for each location." Huh? Now that I've found out FOR YOU that the target doesn't work there, I get stiffed??? A $30 assignment turned into $0 after at least 30 minutes of work, not to mention reading all those guidelines. Seasoned shoppers -- how do you avoid this kind of abuse?

So, I'm curious. Not sure about defining it "abuse." Not enough information here. Did you go back and read the instructions on this shop? Were the instructions for this shop in fact different than the instructions for the first shop you performed? If the instructions WERE different, then it would not be abuse. It would be an incorrectly-completed assignment. You need to read the directions for each shop. If you went back and looked and the shop directions ARE the same as for the first shop you performed, then it's on them and I would move to a higher level in the company and request payment. No one can abuse you without your cooperation.

I avoid abuse by reading the guidelines for every shop to be sure I understand what is required. If after performing a shop I am told I did it incorrectly, I would go back and re-read the instructions. If I did do it incorrectly, then not being paid would not be abuse. It would be expected. If I did it correctly, I would work my way up the chain of command to request payment for a correctly-completed shop. Either way, it wouldn't be abuse.

I really like the few companies who put an update date on their instructions. I keep track of the last date I read the instructions so I know if I can just quickly scan the instruction sheet again or look for the small change which might be a needle in a haystack of words. Why don't they all do that...our pay usually does not include pay for the time we spend reading and rereading voluminous pages of instructions.

I really do not enjoy the targeted apartment shops.

I spent a better part of my day calling, trying to get the target (you must call every 2 hours according to my instructions and do such things as hang up if she/he does not answer, ask again and again for that person and if they are not there, you must keep calling) ...and I pretty much wasted my time.

No-one pays you for your time on multiple targeted calls.

@AustinMom wrote:

So, I'm curious. Not sure about defining it "abuse." Not enough information here. Did you go back and read the instructions on this shop? Were the instructions for this shop in fact different than the instructions for the first shop you performed? If the instructions WERE different, then it would not be abuse. It would be an incorrectly-completed assignment. You need to read the directions for each shop. If you went back and looked and the shop directions ARE the same as for the first shop you performed, then it's on them and I would move to a higher level in the company and request payment. No one can abuse you without your cooperation.

Thanks for your input, AustinMom, but I'm not sure I agree that no one can abuse you without your cooperation. However there are ways to avoid becoming a victim, which was what I was asking other shoppers. As far as the shop, I did go back and re-read and included an excerpt from the guidelines indicating that I completed the shop per guidelines (all the guidelines were carbon copies of each other.) The scheduler then said I would be paid but only after I pushed back. So, yes, I did not "cooperate" with this "abuse" but a newbie might have. I was especially put off by being told that each shop is different but all the guidelines are exactly the same and there are no "sticky notes" indicating a difference if the target can't be reached.

Mystery Shopper since 1998; Author of Make Money Mystery Shopping available on Amazon in the Kindle Store.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/13/2016 05:14PM by iamloved1.

Just to mention, "bait and switch" is a legal term with a specific meaning. This MSC did not operate on a "bait and switch" system, and could regard this as libel, slander, or defamation. It is a SERIOUS accusation,

Just sayin'.

Now scheduling travel shops for the day after Christmas through mid-January.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2016 09:03AM by PasswordNotFound.

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