Can someone advise which of the folks at CSE I should contact?

January 17, 2016 02:35AM

I have an issue I need to discuss with someone at CSE. I've looked on its website, and there some contacts listed, but I'm not sure if any of those are the proper people to start with.

Has anyone had occasion to contact this MSC directly, and if so, who did you contact or to whom were you directed? I was going to ask a scheduler I've dealt with who's been great, but she works for an outside scheduling firm, and I'm not sure if she would know who to send me to. Or, do you think I should start with her and go from there? I don't want to step on any toes, but I'm having what I think is, or could prove to be, a real problem with an editor, and I'd like to let someone know what's going on because at this point I can foresee future problems. I could be wrong, but I'd like to avoid trouble now than try to repair it later.

Does anyone know if they edit in-house or if they farm it out to the Masters of Incompetence, Wordsmith Pros?

Thank you in advance.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2016 02:04PM by BirdyC.

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

January 17, 2016 07:36PM

CSE Erin Outtrim head of editors; 1-888-70-7625 Ex. 18 Erin@Customerserviceexpert. She is excellent to talk to. Their editors are tough, but I have learnt the most from my experience with them.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2016 07:37PM by shopper8.

January 18, 2016 01:59AM

@shopper8 wrote:

CSE Erin Outtrim head of editors; 1-888-70-7625 Ex. 18 Erin@Customerserviceexpert. She is excellent to talk to. Their editors are tough, but I have learnt the most from my experience with them.

Thank you very much! This editor keeps asking me to address questions in my narrative when I've already addressed them, has told me to fix a punctuation error that is not present in my narrative or responses, and has changed something that was grammatically correct in my narrative to something that is incorrect. I don't mind being edited (I'm both a professional writer and a professional editor, and I recognize the need for the latter as well as the former), but I don't like spending time fixing things that aren't wrong! And I especially don't like somebody editing something that was originally correct to something that's not.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

January 18, 2016 05:27AM

Wow! That's a tough one and how annoying for you. Best of luck.

January 18, 2016 02:47PM

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Wow! That's a tough one and how annoying for you. Best of luck.

Thank you. I'm pondering on how best to approach this. I don't want to go off "half cocked," as they say, and alienate anyone.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

January 18, 2016 08:20PM

BirdyC
You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders. Let us know how you make out with Erin. I have worked with them for 10 years and I am a 10 with them. Sometimes we get an editor that just doesn't know what they are doing. Explain just as you did here. Did you talk to your scheduler? They are usually quite helpful. I think they all work from the same location.

January 18, 2016 08:28PM

I just finished a shop with another company. The editor left me the message, next time use spell check and grammar check. I always use spell check and correct any errors. I don't know how to check my grammar, since this is not my expertise. I think they automatically send this message. My report was good and was accepted.
(This is one of my problem words, excepted and accepted.)

January 18, 2016 08:34PM

Just think about it like this: "ex" would be your ex-boyfriend/girlfriend. The prefix "ex" means without, not including, so it can't be excepted.

January 18, 2016 08:55PM

A caution: Spell check is OK only as a "rough" check on grammar and spelling. It's not infallible, and is usually wrong as often as it is right. For example, it will always tell you (or it has in my case) that a semi-colon is wrong, and might suggest a comma or a colon, neither of which is correct when a semi-colon is needed.

I'm firmly convinced that the reason "its" and "it's" and "your" and "you're" are so often used incorrectly is because of spell check, auto-fill, and auto-correct. These programs can't reliably read context.

You just can't rely on spell check to be totally accurate when checking your responses and narratives. There's no substitute for knowing the grammar and/or knowing trustworthy sources to reference when you're unsure of something. None of us know everything about grammar and spelling, but knowing when to look things up is wisdom.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

January 18, 2016 09:00PM

My problem is that I don't know what my grammar mistake is. I know how to use "its" and "your". I don't have any problem with those type of words. I think it could be in my sentence structure, if that makes since to you.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/2016 09:06PM by shopper8.

January 18, 2016 09:24PM

This is truly meant as constructive criticism. It is very hard to proof-read your own work. I know that only too well. That having been said, I am sure that you meant "sense" not "since" in your last sentence. You knew what you meant, and didn't see the error.

@shopper8 wrote:

My problem is that I don't know what my grammar mistake is. I know how to use "its" and "your". I don't have any problem with those type of words. I think it could be in my sentence structure, if that makes since to you.

Shopping South Jersey, Southeast Pennsylvania, and Delaware above the canal since 2008

January 18, 2016 10:41PM

It's extremely hard to proofread your own work! I've worked as a freelance writer for years, and have nobody else to edit or proofread my work. I'll ask my husband, son, or sister (who's an editor) about wording an awkward sentence if I get stuck.

But what I usually try to do is finish a piece of work before the deadline and put it aside for a day and try to just put it out of my mind. Or even for a few hours. Then I go back to it and re-read it "word for word." It's amazing the things I'll catch! The thing is, when you write the material, you know what you want to say, and what you've written "says" it--whether or not it really does. Going back to it with a fresh, objective eye can make a big difference. You can not only catch typos, but you often catch a badly worded sentence, a misspelling, or a usage you look at and think, "Gee, that doesn't seem right. I'd better look it up."

I look things up every single day, and I've been a writer for more than 30 years. I look up spellings that don't look right (amazing how many words look wrong when they're right), and I look up rules of grammar when I've forgotten one or when I'm asked to write per a style or style guide I'm not familiar with (APA, for example).

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

January 19, 2016 02:39PM

myst4au and BirdyC
Thank you for your answers. I would never take this as an insult. I never thought about proofreading my own work in that way. I just added since and sense to my list. My confusion is where do I look up this information if I don't know what I did wrong. Once the words were pointed out to me, I could see it. I do go back and reread my work and correct any errors. I do achieve mostly tens from most MSC.

January 19, 2016 02:44PM

BirdyC
Did you get in touch with Erin yet?

January 20, 2016 03:14PM

@shopper8 wrote:

BirdyC
Did you get in touch with Erin yet?

Not yet, but I will. I'm dealing with a health issue right now and am on pain meds, and not always coherent! Not the best time to address a problem with someone.... LOL.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

Can someone advise which of the folks at CSE I should contact?

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine