Anyone else have experience where the schedulers take a long time to reply to shop scheduling inquiries? It's pretty inconsiderate. I like doing their shops though.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/2018 11:13PM by JimmyP.

Why do you have a shop scheduling inquiry? You signed up to do it, just do it. Once of their proj mgrs is a piece of tissue on the bottom of my foot.

What I meant by "inquiry" is an application. I applied for shops a week ago. The person that schedules the shop I was applying for text messaged me asking if I would do a different shop, and I said I could not do that one but would like to know the status of my other application so I could make plans. No response. This is a different scheduler than the one who ignored me countless times until I would call. As far as the project coordinator you are referring to, it might be the one who ignored me many times even though I have done many shops for the company with high scores.

I don't think of it as rude, rude is someone who fires off obnoxious emails or snotty phrasing in emails, has an abrupt, unfriendly tone of voice, hangs up the phone without saying goodbye, etc. It's the nature of the biz that schedulers are busy people. I might get a little annoyed or irritated when I ask questions via email that go unanswered but depending on the nature of what I am asking, I rarely take it personally. I suggest you do the same. And don't call people rude just because you don't get what you want.

Mercantile puts out new shops ahead of time, and you always have plenty of time when you find out if you got the job, what's the problem and HOW is that rude? Never rude in the 11 years I've worked for them, choose your words wisely about a standout company...just sayin.

Who said anything about taking it personally or not getting what I want? There's no reason to not respond within a one week timeframe to decide whether or not they want to choose the shopper. Schedulers are not all that busy. That's nonsense. If I email the main "info" email, the CEO of the company always immediately responds and is friendly and good-natured. Is he less busy than the scheduling staff? I doubt it. They don't respond to the emails, and then if you call and talk to the scheduler, they will schedule it. Why have to jump through that hoop? There are tons of things I could say about the scheduling staff, but I'm trying to hold back and still get attacked by people on here. I don't get the vitriol.

My advice would be: Try to understand the difference between being annoyed by something that happens and "taking it personally." Anyway, it sounds like you are taking my post personally more than anything.

For some shops that might require travel like a hotel, it's nice to be able to make plans. If they don't want me to do the shop, fine. So why not just say that? They can't decide in one week? I shop for many companies, and no one ignores emails like Mercantile Systems. If you've had a different experience, good for you! I enjoy the shops for the company as I said before. I think the schedulers could be more timely. I'm not sure if the CEO knows what they do, but I bet he wouldn't be pleased. They say they will respond to all requests within 48 hours.

Your subject line states "Mercantile Systems Rude Schedulers" which is a bit dramatic from what your post actually describes.

JimmyP, to answer your question yes, sometimes it does take too long to get shops assigned. Sorry about all the rudeness from the forum. It at times, seems to be the culture here.

Oh good lord. How in the world you can perceive that as rude is beyond me.

We could just answer the question without lambasting the OP. Agreed the title is misleading, but the question posed was polite.

Yes, it is rude for them not to reply when you want to know if you have been assigned or not so you can schedule it in. They do that for me with their restaurant shops. I wouldn't take their overnight stays in other countries for that reason. For Merc, I apply and if I haven't heard back in 48 hours I write the shop off. They are in shopmetrics so I can click on cancel app. If I've forgotten about it and they assign it and I can fit it in then I'll go ahead and do it. If I can't fit it in then I cancel it after they've assigned it.

KSS is the same way, only worse imho. Their communication is the absolute worst. I would do their mall pizza just to be assigned the burger one or or the mall expensive knick-knack shop. But nooooooooooooo, they assign those to their favorites, or whoever (yes, I'm jealous), and the stupid pizza shop just sits there like the awkward 12 year old boy who doesn't get a dance at the annual valentine's dance. Buahahaha. Off to get my car's oil changed now! Cross your fingers they don't offer the tire rotation.

@RobG wrote:

JimmyP, to answer your question yes, sometimes it does take too long to get shops assigned. Sorry about all the rudeness from the forum. It at times, seems to be the culture here.

reported

As much as I think it was ridiculous for someone to think either you or I were rude in the way we posted, it's not really a reportable incident. Moving on to something more interesting.

Thank you RobG. My intent was not to mislead anyone. I guess some people think the practice I mentioned is rude, and some don't. I find it rude in the sense of being inconsiderate. I changed the title.

@spicy1 wrote:

KSS is the same way, only worse imho. Their communication is the absolute worst. But nooooooooooooo, they assign those to their favorites, or whoever (yes, I'm jealous)

That would be me :-D. I have found that most of their schedulers respond much more quickly if you email them directly with a clear subject line. I get the feeling that waiting on the website response is glacial.

As for Merc, I applied almost two weeks ago for a shop. They are always slow. But I actually do want the shop enough to schedule around it.

I have to agree, I've applied for 2 shops with Merc and have been waiting a week or 2 to find out if I am assigned or not. This happens every month.

I find that they post shops well in advance and assign them as the date approaches. I schedule accordingly.​

For one of the restaurant shops, they also seem to arbitrarily decide that they can not be rescheduled and you must drop the shop to reschedule, which I never understood. But I guess the way to deal with it is to pursue other shops and cancel the apps if necessary. Sometimes though I want to know about the Merc shop first. I keep a pretty full schedule, so most of the time I'm not in a position to block off a time not knowing if I will be able to do the shop or not. Sometimes it works out. Thank you for all of the input.

Why do you say their policies are arbitrary or the schedulers are just not "that busy?" Do you know the inner workings of Merc?

There are several MSCs who tend to leave apps sitting. I apply for what fits into my schedule then cancel when it doesn't anymore. The MSCs are our clients, not the other way around. We don't have to let them take advantage, such as leaving an app sit then assigning at 3 PM on the due date, but otherwise I let them do business the way they want to and I do business the way I want to.

This is the way Merc works, know it and stop complaining. They have excellent jobs with resonable pay.
They post early and have time to assign the job...just because it's not to your liking doesn't mean it's wrong.....
it is their way, get used to it or leave.

Ooo you guys told me. We're so tough online. The hubris and vitriol on this board is so silly for a forum about mystery shopping. This is grunt work. Some of you must think you are really special. It's so nice of you to let Merc "do business the way they want to" as if you have a say.

Merc does not offer pay for most of their restaurant and hotel shops, so not sure what makes that reasonable.

I have worked for a mystery shopping company. Some companies like to treat the shoppers almost as if they are the client. I guess some others don't.

"Why do you say their policies are arbitrary?" - I can't think of a reason to not allow a slight date change of a shop that had a large range, so I'm calling it arbitrary. Most MSC would much rather just change the date rather than find a new shopper.

Schedulers for many mystery shopping companies are not even doing it full time like some of the employees for Merc. They do it as independent contractors and respond quickly. The nature of scheduling is not all that busy. There's not an insane amount of shops. They also have many schedulers working. The other reasons I know they are not busy is that if one calls, they immediately answer the phone and are able to assist. If you really think anyone is so busy they can't respond to an email, it's probably because you have so many people telling you they're too busy to talk to you. You would think the priority for a scheduler would be scheduling. They can't get to an app for 2 weeks? If you actually think they are so busy they can't get to the app for 2 weeks, I can't help you. I don't think it's necessary to leave the apps as long as they do. What's the point of posting it so early if you're not going to assign it early? If they really think you're not good enough to do the job and you've got tons of applications, why not just reject the application? I've never had to play so many games with any other company to get a shop.

"Why do you say the schedulers are just not "that busy?" Did you ask the same question to the person that said they were busy? How do they know?
"This is the way Merc works" - Really? Didn't know.
"just because it's not to your liking doesn't mean it's wrong" - It doesn't mean it's right either.
"get used to it or leave" Leave what? LOL. Why? This board? The company? I've worked for many companies where I did not agree with everything they do.

Like I said before, the CEO is fantastic and always responds quickly. I think if he can do it, the schedulers can.

You're absolutely right that Merc can do what they want and treat people the way they want. I have the right to write about it on the board if I want to. Get over it.

Hi JimmyP,

My name is Kate and I am an independent scheduler for Mercantile. I have been scheduling with them for the last two years, but was not working with them from November-January. I am happy to be back now and would be happy to help you. I can tell you that for all of the clients I scheduled for them (which is about 50 percent) I have scheduled all of the February shops that had applications on them as long as they met the rotation and client requirements. This was done over last weekend, so January 27-28.

Have you reached out to the scheduling team? Someone is always available to reply, including weekends.

I have worked both as a shopper and a scheduler for several companies and I can tell you that Mercantile is an upright fantastic company to work with.

If you need any other assistance please feel free to reach out to me at mercantilekate@gmail.com or you can send an email to the whole team at shop@mercsystems.com.

Aw, man. That means I didn't get my shop AGAIN. They're still showing as apps and they're not showing up on the job board. That's the only way I now that I didn't get the shop ahead of them actually deleting my app. Damnit!

And I can't imagine why because I spend twice as much as the reimbursement. Not anymore!

@krattner wrote:

I have scheduled all of the February shops that had applications on them as long as they met the rotation and client requirements. This was done over last weekend, so January 27-28.

That's depressing to know since most of my apps are still sitting there...

Kate, I work for you and think your way too nice.....he called you rude, funny as funny gets.

Hi spicy1,

I don't schedule certain dining shops, so without knowing which one you are talking about it is hard to reply, but I can tell you that certain clients have a yearly rotation, and other clients have several applicants each month. Unfortunately shopmetrics does not have an option to keep a shopper from applying for a shop they may be ineligible for.

Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions!

I understand, thanks for the clarification. I'm eligible, not rotated out.

Hi Kate,

According to my records, I have not had any interaction with you as a scheduler at Mercantile Systems, but I have had a good interaction with you working for a different company in the past, assuming you are the same person.

I have reached out to the scheduling team directly many times and usually do not receive a response, which is why I posted in the first place. Most of the time if I email the specific scheduler I get no response. When I email the general email address, usually the CEO responds quickly and directs to the appropriate person who then does not respond. I understand there are rotation requirements. It is good to know that the system does not prevent applications from those not within rotation. It would be nice if the scheduler would reject the application if we don't meet the rotation. Also, even if I email and specifically ask if they think I might get a shop, there is no response. Obviously I have not mentioned specific clients or names because I am not trying to get anyone in trouble. Waiting on the restaurant applications is not as big of a deal as the hotel ones. If one applies for a shop at a hotel, it would be nice to know in less than 1-2 weeks if I got the shop so I am free to pursue other hotel shops or make other travel plans, etc.

I agree that Merc is a good and reputable company. No doubt about it. I just wish schedulers would respond to emails.

Unfortunately, it looks like the shops I generally do with Mercantile Systems do not involve you as a scheduler.

Thanks for the response!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/2018 05:16PM by JimmyP.

Speaking of Mercantle, has anyone taken and passed the certfication for their casino jobs?