Does anyone have a name and email addy or phone number for someone higher up the food chain than a scheduler? Maybe a supervisor? I'm having a problem with a non-responsive scheduler who hasn't responded to four emails (although she has the time to keep sending out emails), and I'm sure it's going to cause a problem for me. Her phone number isn't included in her email signature, so I can't call her. I'd like to head off repercussions if I can. I have a good relationship with Ipsos and don't want to mess it up.

Thanks!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/2019 12:03PM by BirdyC.

Most, but not all, of IPSOS US' mystery shopping is scheduled by Summitt Scheduling & Editing. You might try escalating within it before going to IPSOS. Here is what I have for contacts. I hope it's not dated.

Judith Gill, Owner
Summitt Scheduling & Editing
2471 Summit Drive
Henderson, KY 42420
[www.summitscheduling.com]


US Mystery Shopping is conducted by:

Ipsos Loyalty, Inc
One Upper Pond Road
Parsippany, NJ
07054
USA
1-973-658-1700
mystery.shopping@ipsos.com
Mon - Fri 9AM - 5PM
[www.ipsosloyalty.com]

US Main Headquarters:

360 Park Avenue South
17th Floor
New York, NY 10010
1-212-265-3200
[www.ipsos.com]

Global Headquarters:

IPSOS
35, rue du Val de Marne 75013 Paris
(+33) 1 41 98 90 00
[www.ipsos.com]

nicole.charron@ipsos.com
sanaz.lee@ipsos.com

I was able to get my issue resolved by emailing these two.

The scheduler is an in-house one with IPSOS, not with Summit. They always respond to emails and I've actually had phone conversations with a couple of the schedulers!

A Summit scheduler I have a shop with for IPSOS has no phone number for them, nor does a person who actually works for IPSOS. I was given two phone numbers, then told that there is no number for shoppers to call, just an email. So I've emailed with no luck.

@Rousseau wrote:

US Mystery Shopping is conducted by:

Ipsos Loyalty, Inc
One Upper Pond Road
Parsippany, NJ
07054
USA
1-973-658-1700
mystery.shopping@ipsos.com
Mon - Fri 9AM - 5PM
[www.ipsosloyalty.com]

US Main Headquarters:

360 Park Avenue South
17th Floor
New York, NY 10010
1-212-265-3200
[www.ipsos.com]

Thank you, but I've tried both of those numbers. The 212 number is not the correct one for shoppers. I was given an 800 number, which also turned out not to be the right one, but a person there gave me an individual's e-mail address (not the general mystery shopping one above). That person hasn't responded, so I've e-mailed the general address. Have called the 973 number, too, and had to leave a voicemail. Waiting on a reply.

I find it interesting that the guidelines say this: "If you have any questions related to the program or process, please contact INSERT CONTACT immediately."

So you're supposed to contact "insert contact"? They really don't seem to want people to get in touch with them.

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

I cannot seem to fix issues despite emails. There are a few issues going on, inc. unable to get at instruction manuals for required shop tests. If there is a rep from IPSOS here, please PM me thru this site. Thank you.

I'm deleting this post after reading Birdy's thread.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2019 07:25PM by BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz.

@SS4U wrote:

I cannot seem to fix issues despite emails. There are a few issues going on, inc. unable to get at instruction manuals for required shop tests. If there is a rep from IPSOS here, please PM me thru this site. Thank you.

Lotsa luck. I've had horrible issues with a shop that I've scheduled twice (had to cancel the first time because I couldn't get an answer from the scheduler on a major issue). Now the shop is royally messed up, and I haven't even done the visit yet. I've emailed three different email addresses, including the scheduler's; called three different phone numbers and left a message at what I think was finally the right number; and used the contact form on the website. I've marked these URGENT, and nobody has gotten back to me. I've spent at least two hours trying to fix this problem and trying to contact the company. You'd think they'd be more responsive, to say the least.

I give up. I'm not going to do the shop. In fact, given that it shows as received in my shop log and I didn't complete entering the shop, and I can't get anyone to re-set it to "new," even if I go do this shop, it looks like I won't be able to enter it. Sigh.

I think that Ipsos is having some integration issues since they have merged with GFK. This may be some of the problem and why they still use two different platforms for the Ipsos shops.

I felt that both Ipsos and GFK were good to work for before they merged, but it's been rocky in many ways since they merged/one bought out the other.

I am having similar problems reaching an employee at IPSOS to help me resolve some issues that are preventing me from shopping more, and so far no resolution. The scheduler from Summit is trying her best to help me, and I am grateful for this.

@SS4U wrote:

I am having similar problems reaching an employee at IPSOS to help me resolve some issues that are preventing me from shopping more, and so far no resolution. The scheduler from Summit is trying her best to help me, and I am grateful for this.

I saw and replied to your earlier post. It's SO frustrating, isn't it? I've wasted more time trying to reach people there than it would have taken me to do the shop, but I couldn't do the shop until I reached somebody. Which has not happened yet, and I tried starting early this morning.

There seems to be absolutely no sure or fast way to reach anybody there if you're having a problem with a shop.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2019 10:50PM by BirdyC.

@wrosie wrote:

I felt that both Ipsos and GFK were good to work for before they merged, but it's been rocky in many ways since they merged/one bought out the other.

I've never had a major problem with IPSOS, and any minor issues have been solved in short order. OTOH, I almost always had problems with GFK shops -- ambiguous, contradictory, or vague instructions; surveys that didn't match the guidelines or that contained additional instructions not in the guidelines, etc. And when I would ask questions, half the time they didn't understand what I was asking or why (apparently they had trouble reading and understanding their own materials) or gave me an reply that only partially answered the question(s). That's partly why I didn't want to to this particular shop without being able to view the full survey beforehand (which they tell us to do in the guidelines).

If they don't deactivate me over this, I think I'll stick with the old IPSOS side and forget the former GFK side. Although I did a shop for GFK side last week that went well and for which the instructions and survey were totally straightforward. It's backed up in editing, but I'm sure it will be taken care of soon. But their technology shops... Another story.

De-Activation without any explanation is Ipsos' tactic of choice. We shoppers are truly just pawns to them.

@salisburync wrote:

De-Activation without any explanation is Ipsos' tactic of choice. We shoppers are truly just pawns to them.

I don't know that they will. But I did everything in my power to get what I needed to get that shop done.: five e-mails to the scheduler, one e-mail to someone who was supposed to be a supervisor or a primary contact for shoppers, one to the general email box for shoppers, one message through the website "contact us" form, and four phone calls (three of which were the incorrect numbers for shoppers, and I had to leave a voice mail on the correct one). I think 12 attempts is a good-faith effort!

They need a dedicated "shopper hot line" like some MSCs have, or they need to make sure their personnel respond quickly to urgent messages. And they need to publish a phone number on their website specifically for shopper use.

I get that schedulers are busy and can't always get back to you right away, and I allow a couple of days. But in a case where a shopper has run into a problem on a shop that's due, somebody needs to be available. What if a shopper has an issue while performing a shop? Most MSCs have a way to contact someone right away in that case. Not here, apparently.

and I like IPSOS. I want to perform more shops for IPSOS. I did surveys for IPSOS prior to becoming an actual shopper 5+ years ago. IMO their shops are not difficult, the schedulers very helpful, and they pay promptly. The questions I have which I cannot seem to get answered are as follows:

Where on-line are the instructions for the tests required for certain shops ? On my portal, all I see is a box to take the test. No instructions. I cant pass test w/out the instructions, and cannot apply for shops. I have one test hanging in limbo which shows 33% completed but the system will not let me complete this test, and so it sits there and I can't apply for shops.

What's the difference between the shopmetrics and sassie log-in ? Are both for IPSOS or is one for GFK. I have never ever performed a shop for GFK but my sassie login shows multiple citations. The shopmetrics doesn't show multiple citations.
Why do I get email blasts for shops which I would normally qualify for, but they do not show up on my portal. Sometimes I will use only zip code w/radius, other times just my state. Shops appear on one search but not the other. This makes no sense to me at all. Someone suggested checking out both the shopmetrics and sassie for shops.

Is there a reason why the platforms cannot be merged, and the instructions for the required tests be available ?

The sassie site did not show up until the acquired GFK. I never liked doing those GFK audits, which is what you will find on the sassie site. If you get email blasts and don't see the shops in the portal, it's a glitch with the system. It's happened to me lots of times. The scheduler told me to change how I searched for the shop by filtering it by the type of shop. As far as the tests go, I have never had any problems finding the guidelines for the tests. I don't know why you are having issues with that. When you click on "certifications" it will list the various certifications available on the left and the guidelines icons are listed on the right. Click on the icon and the guidelines will open.

thank you for clarifying all this. I will look again later for the certificates and instructions, and I will avoid sassie for IPSOS jobs. Thank you for you assistance.

Hey, so I was reading back and it looks like Birdy might have done some shops (not audits) for IPSOS, so don't necessarily avoid the sassie site just from what I said. Maybe they have some decent shops in some parts of the country, just not mine. Good luck!

Edited to add that I read further and she had a lot of frustrations and did NOT complete the shop, LOL. Okay.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2019 04:14PM by JASFLALMT.

I did one last week through the Sassie portal, and it went perfectly. Straightforward instructions, no problems accessing the materials, etc. Edited and approved yesterday or this morning. I didn't do the technology shop, though. Too much frustration.

Thanks for that valuable information!

I think if a person tries contacting a company 12 times in one day and never can connect, the company has a problem.

Yeah, I have been lucky in that I have not had any issues where I wasn't able to get help from a Summit scheduler.

BirdyC if you ever find a way to contact them please share. I'd love to get the reimbursement on a job they approved, paid the fee, but forgot the $7.xx reimbursement for shipping charges listed in the report.

wwin, your scheduler wasn't able to help you get ahold of someone?

Crazy isn't it. The scheduler couldn't help. I emailed a bunch of other people including someone from IPSOS that was from this group. They either say it's not their area and can't help or that they will talk to someone at IPSOS then nothing.

@wwin wrote:

Crazy isn't it. The scheduler couldn't help. I emailed a bunch of other people including someone from IPSOS that was from this group. They either say it's not their area and can't help or that they will talk to someone at IPSOS then nothing.

That really is beyond crazy. It borders on unbelievable (but I believe it, having gone through hoops myself), and it's horrible business practice. To think that someone in-house at IPSOS can't even get you to the proper person or department! I asked a scheduler from Summit who schedules for IPSOS if she had a contact number, and she didn't (just an e-mail address). Not one single person I was able to speak to could give me a contact phone number or a correct e-mail address for shoppers who are experiencing problems with a shop.

I wonder if they've just gotten too big and don't think they need to bother with personal contact anymore. Which seems to be typical of many companies these days; they don't put phone numbers or addresses on their websites. And most of the time, the "chat" function is down or so backed up you can't wait around. It's a sorry state of affairs when companies don't want to be bothered to speak with their customers or their vendors.