Pretty much done with A Closer Look

The client cancelled an shop that required an order after I made the order.

I want to cancel communications, but I still have outstanding payments. Guess I'll just hit the delete key until the end of the month.

This company irritates me the most because they treat me like a personal friend, and aren't very professional at all. The one that ended it was two sincere requests for help. One resulted in a snide remark to read the instructions, and the second one resulted in crickets. The second one made me turn in a report late.

Why would you have follow up questions but have the shopper turn the shop in the day of the shop anyway? Makes no sense. Everyone else has me hold the shop.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/2018 05:16PM by dulcew.

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I hit that point about a year ago.

Instead of cancelling my account (which is the only way offered to stop the flood of emails), I made a specific Gmail account for all ACL email and directed the offers there. I can log in and see the 500 emails send last year if I choose, but otherwise, they are out of sight and I still have my account with them in case I feel like working with them again in the future.

@dulcew wrote:

I want to cancel communications, but I still have outstanding payments. Guess I'll just hit the delete key until the end of the month.

If you cancel communications and your account, it should not affect getting paid for all work you have completed. But Steve handled it well and I would do what he did.

@dulcew wrote:

Why would you have follow up questions but have the shopper turn the shop in the day of the shop anyway? Makes no sense. Everyone else has me hold the shop.

I am assuming you mean that there are follow up questions asking if the employee contacted you within 24 hours or 3 days after you completed the shop. I've actually done many shops that require me to submit a shop although there is a question on the report about whether I got a follow up from the employee within a certain number of hours or days, not with ACL but with multiple other companies. Sometimes the MSC asks that I leave the shop pending until the expiration of the time for follow up, but usually I have been asked to submit the report, leaving the follow up questions blank, and to email the scheduler and let her know if I want contacted and any information about the contact.

Please explain what you mean by a cancelled shop after you made an order???

Trying really hard not to reveal too much and reveal a client.

Basically it was a shop where you had to make an online order. The shop was to report on the ordering process and what happened afterwards. The shop was cancelled after the order was made, but before the order was delivered.

Thank you for clarifying. I am happy you were not out any money but it did cost you time and stress. :-( ACL has changed for the worst. That is a shame.

I could not get a good shop without taking a certain fitness “bait” shop. I cannot physically do the requirements of the fitness shop. So now I can’t get the good shop because I have limits that make me ineligible for a shop I did not apply for. For a client that has zero to do with the bait client.

Actually I am out money. Yes I could return the item but it is something I could use and could still expense. Shipping could be expensive.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/2018 12:09PM by dulcew.

If the client canceled the shop there is probably nothing the company could do right?

If the client canceled AFTER the shop was done, I think there's plenty that ACL can do. I would expect them to make me whole by either reimbursing as the shop required OR by paying return shipping or cancellation fee for the ordered product. I've worked for ACL a long time, and I like them. But I would ask for my money.

If I'm correctly understanding what happened, this is no different than completely (and correctly?) performing a shop and starting to enter the report and it's canceled. Of course, if the order was done incorrectly and the client canceled because the order was not acceptable, that's a different story. But that's not how I'm understanding the OP's story. I think: Order done wrong, the client can cancel without payment; order done right, money for the shop is owed.

OP, I would start with contacting Chuck Paul at ACL, 888-446-5665. Good luck. Let us know how it goes. Unless there is more to this story than we've heard, I would be VERY surprised if ACL left you holding the bag with this outstanding order. And I would want to know that they did that.

And, hey, lots of ACL schedulers read and post here. Maybe we can get a comment or some information from one of them.

Might this be the reason that ACL has recently posted that they need to add new schedulers?

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

In my 15 years in this business, I have never completed a job for this MSC, but have one scheduled for Feb. The primary reason was as a mini-reunion for a past life ballroom partner. Secondarily, it was the exhaustively thorough manner in which they provide complete information of the shop BEFORE one selects the work. In addition, they also have a button to change one's mind if they feel the necessity. At this point, I could not be any more impressed with ACL's professionalism.

@shopperbob wrote:

At this point, I could not be any more impressed with ACL's professionalism.

Just wait, Bob...that will change

Every now and then ANY MSC may have a scheduler or editor who needs more training, more tact, or even a shove out the door. However, I do several ACL shops per month and since 2005 I would give their schedulers a composite score of 9.5 on a scale of 1-10. Of COURSE, there have been a couple of ZERO scores for schedulers along the way that have brought that score down. When I encounter a serious problem, as I have done on occasion, I communicate my concerns to the scheduling management folks and have gotten good results that way.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

I have actually had several good shops with them. My first few shops had questions from the editors but haven't had any recently and they are approved the same day. I have never had a shop declined like many have and hope that I don't as their shops are expensive and the good ones are mostly just reimbursement. The surveys are sometimes long but free eyeglasses, dinners or lunches are worth it. Last weekend my husband and I took a painting class and had a great date night courtesy of ACL.

@walesmaven wrote:

Might this be the reason that ACL has recently posted that they need to add new schedulers?

Doubt it.

I think that they have over 100 editors and 100 schedulers. They have a ton of work right now. People come and go. They are always hiring.

It got a little less professional. The scheduler did NOT know that the shop had been cancelled until I told her and it remained on my board.

She's also the same snide/cricket scheduler so oh well.

The order itself wasn't reimbursed. It's the cost after the item arrived that was reimbursed. I really shouldn't have taken the job in the first place.

The really good news is that I had $40,000 in debt last year at this time. As a result of Mystery Shopping and being really careful, I've paid off each no interest credit card we had except the last one and it will be a piece of cake. AND I found that one through mystery shopping so it's been a really good year. I'm reducing my shopping to almost nothing because it is taking me away from some more lucrative possibilities.

@dulcew wrote:

The really good news is that I had $40,000 in debt last year at this time. As a result of Mystery Shopping and being really careful, I've paid off each no interest credit card we had except the last one and it will be a piece of cake. AND I found that one through mystery shopping so it's been a really good year. I'm reducing my shopping to almost nothing because it is taking me away from some more lucrative possibilities.

That really IS good news. Good for you. You're making it work for you. Congrats on getting almost completely out of debt and improving your lifestyle.

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