Is anyone else having Sentry editor being extra picky this month and last? I'm starting to hate working for them.
Same shops as always, just being ridicules and they seem to be trying to get out of paying for perfectly done shops from previous standards. Really ruins you day.
Also, stop calling about edits, just send an email. I hate when editors call. It's not necessary, I don't like my number being given to random editors who may just pick up a few edit shops for them. I can do hundreds of shops a week. If every MSC called for every edit or little thing, I'd have to get my phone turned off.

This has been a topic of discussion repeatedly...they make up fake mistakes and even when you point out the information is in fact how they want it and send the report back exactly the same way, you still get admonished for being wrong in the 1st place.

I have made statements following the exact example they give.....

If the example says : John, stocking towels, said, "Hi, can I help you?"
I say "Mary, walking by small appliances, said, "Hello."

The editor will say I didn't report it right...or say I left Mary out...

a couple times they have told me to report things 1 way one month and another the next and even go directly against the guidelines.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/04/2016 06:40PM by jmitw.

I'm signed up with Sentry but have yet to do an assignment. Thanks for the heads-up. After reading various posts about them I'm a little leery.

The idea that our editors are making up "fake excuses" is simply untrue. I could elaborate on this statement, but I'll leave it at that.

As I have posted in a prior thread, if any shopper believes that there is a legitimate issue with our editing staff, all they have to do is contact me directly. I will be happy to review the situation and respond promptly. If we've done something wrong, I will be more than willing to come on this forum and accept accountability for our shortcomings. Alternately, if those complaining decide that maintaining their anonymity is more important than actually resolving the issue, that is their prerogative. There is nothing we can do to address issues when we are not aware of the specific circumstances.

Our editors are instructed to call shoppers in order to expedite the publishing of a report. We respect shoppers who don't want to receive phone calls and this can be notated in the profile section of our portal.

They contacted me today about a shop I did on July 29th. They needed more info. I'm surprised they wait so long, I can barely remember what I did yesterday.

@calicakes wrote:

I can barely remember what I did yesterday.

Umm, that was less than a week ago. That's pretty standard for many MSCs. You better start taking better notes....

WTF. Is this pick on Cali week? She admitted to a mistake from several years ago and was chastised even after acknowledging it was her mistake and now you take a comment probably made in jest and tell her to take better notes? Or was it just because the thread is about Sentry that you felt the need to needlessly chime in?

About a month ago I received an email from a Sentry editor that I felt was not well structured and asking for information I had already properly provided. I forwarded the email to the owner and noted my issues with it. He thanked me and recognized my concerns, assuring me he would address it as part of their ongoing efforts to provide great service.

Years ago I felt their small deductions were petty. Last year I reviewed my copies of the old narratives. I realized they did contain many grammatical errors as well as just poor observations.

Over the past year Sentry has made major improvements. The pay has increased and, as far as I can see, they no longer deduct from the payment if the report is acceptable. The new bill.com system has greatly sped up the payment times.

Thanks, in fact I did have notes. I had to wait until I came home to edit my shop. I could not give the editor the info requested on the phone. Thanks so much!!

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@calicakes wrote:

I can barely remember what I did yesterday.

Umm, that was less than a week ago. That's pretty standard for many MSCs. You better start taking better notes....

@LisaSTL wrote:

WTF. Is this pick on Cali week?

Why is her comment considered to be in jest and mine not? Sorry for not putting a smiley face after. Here

I'm not defending Sentry. I'm not picking on anyone. You tell me that you can't remember what you did yesterday, it's pretty appropriate for me to tell you take really good notes in that case.

I think you are just being oversensitive to anything I ever post in a sentry thread. jeez....lighten up.

I'm curious, was your interaction with our editor unpleasant​?

@calicakes wrote:

Thanks, in fact I did have notes. I had to wait until I came home to edit my shop. I could not give the editor the info requested on the phone. Thanks so much!!

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@calicakes wrote:

I can barely remember what I did yesterday.

Umm, that was less than a week ago. That's pretty standard for many MSCs. You better start taking better notes....

I'm just trying to figure the math on "hundreds of shops a week." That is three shops per hour at minimum. That's amazing, how do you do that? And to only have issues with one MSC?

Not at all. I thought the shop was closed. Thankfully, I did not delete my notes.

@Sentry Marketing wrote:

I'm curious, was your interaction with our editor unpleasant​?

@calicakes wrote:

Thanks, in fact I did have notes. I had to wait until I came home to edit my shop. I could not give the editor the info requested on the phone. Thanks so much!!

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@calicakes wrote:

I can barely remember what I did yesterday.

Umm, that was less than a week ago. That's pretty standard for many MSCs. You better start taking better notes....

I have a had a company call me back months after a shop was completed and say the client had questions. I would at a minimum suggest keeping any notes until you are paid for an assignment.

Truth be told, I never delate notes. I used a paper system until I got the app in my phone for notes in 2010, and I still have notes from every shop I have ever performed since then in it. The app has lived through 3 phone updates already!

Now, I'm sure I don't need notes from 2010. It's just more work to delate them than to leave them in place.

@Sentry Marketing wrote:

The idea that our editors are making up "fake excuses" is simply untrue. I could elaborate on this statement, but I'll leave it at that.

As I have posted in a prior thread, if any shopper believes that there is a legitimate issue with our editing staff, all they have to do is contact me directly. I will be happy to review the situation and respond promptly. If we've done something wrong, I will be more than willing to come on this forum and accept accountability for our shortcomings. Alternately, if those complaining decide that maintaining their anonymity is more important than actually resolving the issue, that is their prerogative. There is nothing we can do to address issues when we are not aware of the specific circumstances.

Our editors are instructed to call shoppers in order to expedite the publishing of a report. We respect shoppers who don't want to receive phone calls and this can be notated in the profile section of our portal.

THIS IS A LIE. I have contacted you and pointed out nonsense with an editor and I was still admonished for screwing up the 1st time.....when the report was sent back exactly as it was originally and accepted as great work. I never got a response. This has happened with different 'editors' and I just gave up trying to 'discuss' the issue as I was always ignored and admonished for not doing it right the 1st time.

If they aren't making up fake excuses they are just incompetent because they really think they are correctly editing and should be in a business that doesn't deal with written work.

I don't want to list a specific issue publicly..since directly contacting Sentry resulted in NOTHING and I have to be concerned about retaliation for calling them out on the maltreatment of shoppers.

It seems posting here is the only way to get your attention.

Just like an issue with a specific retail shop that someone said they have tried getting an answer from you, but have only been ignored repeatedly..

Here is another general example, I will indicate that I could not read a name tag because the associate walked by too quickly. The editor asked me why I didn't get the name.

Can the Sentry bosses even review original and allegedly edited reports to see if the editors claims were factual or not?

Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/2016 04:16AM by jmitw.

jmitw

I don't know who you are and I don't recall communicating with you about the issues you claim to have experienced with our company. If you are truly interested in addressing your concerns, you should contact me at dave@sentrymarketing.com. I'll be more than happy to research each of your claims and report back to you and/or this forum. I am anxious to review your reports and the communication with our staff to determine what was communicated, by whom and when.

You throw around words like "lie" and "incompetent" pretty easily. Let's bring the situation out of the shadows and into the light for everyone to view and judge for themselves. I don't want to discuss "general examples". I want to review YOUR specific circumstance and the communication with our company that has apparently infuriated​ you.

I hope to hear from you very soon.

Dave

I've done shops for Sentry for a while. The last couple of months their editors seem to be going out of their way to be unreasonable. One report got a feedback for spelling errors. I have an editing program. Another shop, they claim to have called and since they couldn't reach me via phone because my report wasn't complete so they rejected it. First, you can't submit a report without it being complete. The site required you to check the survey before it will let you submit it. I wrote the same about of comments as always for the same client. It was an editors opinion of what they wanted in the report. I don't even think it was that. I think they just said that it wasn't complete as a generic reason not to pay. I had a feeling they weren't going to pay before I did the shops due to a problem with the editor on a prior shop.
I replied and never got a response for either shop.
It's not right to say you tried to call but since you couldn't reach me, then just reject the shop. Why not send an email like normal? Don't call me for editing. I hate getting unnecessary phone calls. I have my ringer turned off and never pick up for unknown callers. Most people don't. I can do hundreds of shops in a week. I would get calls every minute if other MSC called for every little thing. I had one company that would call 4 or more times a day, wanting me to pick up a shop. I had another call daily. I complained and they put a note not to call. I still do plenty of shops for them, they just don't call anymore. I check their job board or read their emails. There is no need to call for editing. It's easier just to read an email. Plus this way I have proof of what they wanted if there was an issue. The few editors that do call, leave a message and say they will send an email. The calls are usually late. Don't call me when I'm at home with my family. Plus most editors are a third party deal like mystery shoppers. I don't want my number given to strangers. There are privacy issues. I've had schedulers call drunk or rambling on my voicemail. I had to contact a manager about the issue. She couldn't figure out who it was.
There was no email attempt to contact me for the made up reasons for the shop not being complete. I replied saying that was unfair and never got a response.
I noticed that Dave from Sentry told another shopper to email him about the issue. Not to call. Emails do so much more than a call. Especially about an editing issue. It has to be written out to be in the report anyways.

So when Sentry said in this forum that I can check not to be called, why would my shop be rejected with the only reason is that they were unable to reach me via phone?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/2016 07:14AM by jjk3995.

Same problem. Glad it wasn't just me. I think we are shopping the same client.

I've done as much as 66 shops a day. If I work only even 4 days a week that's over 200.I usually work 7 days. Mostly phone shops. But I've done 66 actual stores in a day as well. I can easily do 11 phone shops in an hour. Calls average 5 minutes each. I'm not that fortunate every week, but I'd do it every week if I could get the work.

.

@jjk3995 wrote:

One report got a feedback for spelling errors. I have an editing program.

jjk3995, I don't understand your total reliance on, and faith in, editing software! You indicated in another thread that you couldn't possibly have made a grammar error because you have an editing program. These programs are NOT infallible, not by any stretch of the imagination. I don't know what program you use, but, e.g., spell-check's "corrections" are wrong, I'd estimate, at least 40% percent of the time.

I'd bet you a bundle that there is no proofreading/editing software in the market that is correct 100% of the time. They're only as good as the people who input the information.

I'd be interested to know if you're using this editing program to check your work when you post here?

Edited to add: But, yes, I know there are incompetent MSC editors out there and those who mark things wrong that are right. I think we've probably all encountered them! And, I'm not being snarky by asking if you use this "foolproof" editing program to check your posts here. Not that it's necessary, of course, in a forum like this. I'm just really interested in what program this is and why you assume it's correct all of the time.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/2016 07:28PM by BirdyC.

@BirdyC wrote:

@jjk3995 wrote:

One report got a feedback for spelling errors. I have an editing program.

I'd bet you a bundle that there is no proofreading/editing software in the market that is correct 100% of the time. They're only as good as the people who input the information.

I was a newspaper copy editor for nearly 30 years. I no four a fact that their is know spell czech that is 100 percent prefect.

@PuaM wrote:

I was a newspaper copy editor for nearly 30 years. I no four a fact that their is know spell czech that is 100 percent prefect.

Exactly! Nothing can or will ever replace good copy editors and proofreaders. Judgement as well as technical accuracy is something a piece of software can't give you.

If David from Sentry said I can request to not be called, then why did my shop get rejected for the editors only trying to contact via phone? No email was ever sent. The only email was to say they rejected my shop because I couldn't be reached via phone and that my phone wasn't working. I don't want to be called!
And I tried to find where to request not to be called and I couldn't find it?

Because I don't have the specific details of your situation, I have no idea why you report was rejected. If you would like answers to your questions, please contact​ me at dave@sentrymarketing.com.

@jjk3995 wrote:

If David from Sentry said I can request to not be called, then why did my shop get rejected for the editors only trying to contact via phone? No email was ever sent. The only email was to say they rejected my shop because I couldn't be reached via phone and that my phone wasn't working. I don't want to be called!
And I tried to find where to request not to be called and I couldn't find it?

Wow somebody get the popcorn because this is gold.

I'd also like to point out that when I tried to reply to the editor, the email came back undelivered and that I couldn't reply to that email. So, she rejected my shop because she couldn't reach me but when I tried to reach her I can't. How was I supposed to reply back to her questions about the shop if she doesn't allow reply emails?

@jjk3995 wrote:

I'd also like to point out that when I tried to reply to the editor, the email came back undelivered and that I couldn't reply to that email. So, she rejected my shop because she couldn't reach me but when I tried to reach her I can't. How was I supposed to reply back to her questions about the shop if she doesn't allow reply emails?

So, Dave with Sentry responded on this thread. Did you contact him and point it out?

GOOD LUCK on even getting a response from a Sentry editor! An editor gave me feedback that i need to "clip the excess around the receipt" (crop)- which I did!! If I cropped any more I would be cutting into the receipt! I asked for clarfiation over and over and over -- but the editors never responded. The schedulers are fine - but the editors do not bother to explain or answer questions.

Yes, I did contact David a while ago. I received a response that he was out of town and would look into later. This was weeks ago.