Trend Source

Giveth and taketh away health shops. Assignment given to partner then taken away. Interesting. Posted about a scheduler emailing an assignment five hours after it was due! Partner did it but they won't pay even though it was same place to shop and same agent to shop. Suggestions, if a scheduler screws up like that, don't do the shop or they won't pay. Then partner assigned another health shop and got ready to go in am and he looked to find it reassigned to a backup shopper. Oh well, there are other companies doing these shops. Live and learn.

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.

More Discussions About TrendSource / MSI Mystery Shopping (All Companies)

I just received an email from them, cancelling two healthcare shops next week. Then I looked in my assigned shops and the one for tomorrow is also gone. That is money out of my pocket, time spent getting certified, and I turned down other shops based on these commitments. I am not happy ---same thing happened last year. I wonder if they overbook, then cancel those they don't need. And then they say to watch for other listings ----why? To have the same thing happen again? Three messed up days now. But heaven help us if we shoppers don't complete our commitments.

I emailed them about my disappointment; the response I just received is "Sorry for your heartache but the client no longer requires these projects for reporting. " Heartache? I'll remember that when they are begging me to go across town to help them out on a $14 shop. I truly hope someone from Trendsource reads this!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2018 09:38PM by EileenS.

I also emailed them about some of the Health Care shops, and got a reply back that they were "overbooked" on some of these...that's the term they used. So are they overbooking on purpose??? That doesn't seem right if they are.

I don't think they care. My partner spoke to a manager who knew the scheduler assigned the shop 5 hrs after it was initially due and the manager said partner won't get paid. Will see?

I called them and was also told that they overbooked. This happened last year too. It is just so wrong to play with people's (shopper's) lives that way. I turned down other shops for these! And I set up a couple small shops in the obscure location I was going to....now I'm stuck driving 42 miles for two $10 shops...I'm certainly not going to flake and cancel another company's shops. But I am NOT HAPPY!

You are dedicated. I would think if you cancel the shops in advance they will understand and find someone else. Not sure if various shops have quotas and may be overbooked due to a scheduler overbooking in case someone cancels? One has to think of oneself as seemingly others don't.

Overbooking would explain why they currently have two shops posted on the same date, time, and location in my area.

Shopping up and down the Colorado Rocky Mountain front range.

They are known for report changes after the fact.... Avoid them. Much better options out there...

Yes, they canceled me on one health shop and another that I applied for twice the sent me an email asking me to retake part of the certification again. I emailed them back and said that never mind if you can't keep your house in order I do not think we will be a good fit.

Yes, they are also known as ID10T schedulers

How it works for TS is as follows. Insurance agents sign up to do multiple presentations on different dates and at different times in different locations. The client sets the rules about the number of agents they want shopped. Also the client often wants each agent shopped only once.

So for example, Agent Sally has 5 shops listed for 5 locations over the next 10 days. You grab shop #3, which is scheduled for 10/24, but someone else was awarded shop #1, which was scheduled on 10/15. If shop #1 gets done and is edited before it is time for you to do shop #3, then shop #3 gets cancelled.

The other dynamic is how many agents the client wants shopped. Say the client has 100 agents but only wants 10 agents shopped. The client doesn't care which agents get shopped, just that they will pay for only 10 shops. In the mean time, you sign up to shop Agent Joe. Just before your date to shop Agent Joe, your shop gets cancelled because TS has edited 10 successful shops for 10 other agents for that client and the remaining shops are withdrawn.

It sucks, but sadly that is how they have been doing business for at least the last 4 years.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/28/2018 09:42PM by junk1958.

And this is why I hit "DELETE' whenever I get their emails.

Used to do shops a couple of years ago and had no problems with getting shops and doing. They have changed.

I woke up to an email cancellng three Medicare visits for today. Like some others here, I had turned down other shops and scheduled my day around the three kiosk visits. Loss of time & income, and a whole lot of frustration. The Source is notorius for last minute cancellations. They expect us to be on time and not cancel and if we pulled last minute flakes, then they would not use us again. Guess it does not work both ways. Sigh!

So the moral of the story is?

Late afternoon yesterday, I received a voice mail asking me to please submit the shops I had been scheduled for that day. I called The Source and told them that I had gotten an email earlier that day cancelling all three of the visits. I had saved the email and read it to the scheduler to verify my statement. He said that there must have been a glitch in the system and then he asked if I had gone ahead and completed the shops. Really? Why on earth would I do that when I was told that the client no longer needed them???? And the email I received cancelling the shops came from the department head. Go figure!

Moral of the story: Take the shops but if another opportunity comes up with other providers that you trust to honor their commitment...do it and cancel the one from the Source. They probably will do that anyway.

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

Trend Source

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine