You get so many warnings, but it seems that the reports are still sent out to clients, even when they say the report is wanting. What is the legal aspect of it? Thanks.

What do you mean? It seems to whom? To you, presumably? Why does it seem that way? What proof have you seen other than possibly other people on this forum saying that? I am not trying to be belligerent or argumentative, but what proof have you seen? IMHO, to send a report to a client but tell you that it was not acceptable and you would not be paid would be illegal.

@mrf4321 wrote:

"... it seems that the reports are still sent out to clients..."

Not true at all, and that would be terrible for business. The reason shoppers are not paid when their reports are unacceptable, is that MSCs are not getting paid for those reports. If they were to use your report, get paid by the client, then not pay you, they would eventually run out of shoppers willing to do that shop. Doesn't make sense for long-term business to use shopper's reports, then not pay them. Unless you have been deactivated by the company, or they had a backup shopper, you will see that exact same shop back on the job board.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/07/2019 08:20PM by KSSPete.

Yes it DOES happen. Legal no but it IS done.

I think it's possible that if your report is unusable, with some MSCs you will not be able to see the shop when it is put back on the job board and made available to other shoppers in your area. Maybe with Marketforce and some others? I don't know this for sure. I do know that with some Shop Metrics companies if you reject or flake on a shop, you aren't able to see the shop on the job board.

IF that is true, they won't be in business long.

Edited to ask what proof you have that any company has done this?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/07/2019 08:47PM by KSSPete.

I do personally KNOW from experience that info I have sent in has been used.

However, I ALWAYS give my permission to use it when I send it in!

For example, there's a ff shop I do regularly that is drive thru or dine in. The location has no drive-thru, and has no dine-in. Every time I see the shop on the board, I e-mail the current scheduler and explain it to them. They ALWAYS thank me and say they will forward the info to the client.

Another shop I did was a UTV shop. The location carries only ONE model of ONE brand. The following month when I saw the shop on the board for a different brand and a different model, I e-mailed the scheduler with the information I had. Since they have to pay $200 to get this shop done (many miles from the middle of nowhere), it saved them and/or the client time and money.

When northeastern Nebraska was flooded this past March, and I was there, I got on my laptop and e-mailed more than a handful of schedulers about closed/flooded roads, washed out bridges, etc. They were able to tell the clients the locations could NOT be shopped, and why.

Granted, this is NOT the same thing as using info in a report and not paying me for the report.

I have on occasion messed up shops so badly that I either could not report at all, or the report was unacceptable. I have sent the relevant details to the scheduler and encouraged her (or him) to let the client know, knowing that the report could not/would not be used. I have been thanked, and told the info WAS sent to the client.

I do realize that other shoppers do not do this.

I'm weirder than hell.

Well that's not true, ceasesmith. I have emailed schedulers about locations that moved, went out of business, etc. knowing that I was not going to be paid for it and they were shops that were not assigned to me. I had nothing to gain other than just knowing I helped out the scheduler and MSC, with no expectations of compensation or a return favor. And I am sure we are not the only shoppers who have done this.

@ceasesmith wrote:

I do realize that other shoppers do not do this.

I'm weirder than hell.

LOL, JAS.

Why is that funny?

Yes, and I contact schedulers often to let them know the same sort of info. whether they let the client know or not I do not know but it takes me minutes to send them that info in an email. I would never do a shop for half pay or $3 around here that I scheduled and knew i could not do it for some reason such as the place is gone. It is not worth it to me to drive all the way, find a place to park and get out snap a pic, come home and fill in parts of a report and attach the pic ...for $3??? I know some of you get a percentage of a heavily bonused shop if it is closed but here 99% of the shops pay $5-12 with no bonus at all. So I cancel and let them know why.I also let them know when a shop sits on the board because it does not exist rather than taking the shop to get the minuscule fee. Nothing wrong with being nice.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Well that's not true, ceasesmith. I have emailed schedulers about locations that moved, went out of business, etc. knowing that I was not going to be paid for it and they were shops that were not assigned to me. I had nothing to gain other than just knowing I helped out the scheduler and MSC, with no expectations of compensation or a return favor. And I am sure we are not the only shoppers who have done this.

@ceasesmith wrote:

I do realize that other shoppers do not do this.

I'm weirder than hell.

Because the part you quoted was that I'm weirder than hell.

Tickled me funny bone, ya did, ya did!

Sandy, sometimes I get a 1/2 fee for cell phone store shops where I show up and there is a 45 minute wait. I wait the required 15 minutes and take the go fee. But if a place is out of business and I know it, or if they have moved, what's the point?

I have never been one of those to do things because I expect something in return...well, other than someone to say "thank you". I do appreciate it when I get thanks in return. It happens frequently that some people expect to be given things and can't seem to be bothered to say thank you. And that does bother me. Just the other day I held the door open for a lady who was walking behind me out the door of a store. She was on her phone. She must have thought I was the doorperson because she sauntered out without even making eye contact with me, forget an acknowledgement! That kind of crap bothers me all day long.

Sorry for going off topic.

Well in my mind I was quoting this part:

@ceasesmith wrote:

I do realize that other shoppers do not do this.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Sandy, sometimes I get a 1/2 fee for cell phone store shops where I show up and there is a 45 minute wait. I wait the required 15 minutes and take the go fee. But if a place is out of business and I know it, or if they have moved, what's the point?

I have never been one of those to do things because I expect something in return...well, other than someone to say "thank you". I do appreciate it when I get thanks in return. It happens frequently that some people expect to be given things and can't seem to be bothered to say thank you. And that does bother me. Just the other day I held the door open for a lady who was walking behind me out the door of a store. She was on her phone. She must have thought I was the doorperson because she sauntered out without even making eye contact with me, forget an acknowledgement! That kind of crap bothers me all day long.

Sorry for going off topic.

I would hold a door open for someone not to be thanked but because it is the right or civil thing to do. Civility has been lost in our society.

I have no doubt they use rejected reports. They want the income too.

Does not civility include a smile, nod, nor eye contact?

Thanks, everyone, for your feedback. I wonder what the legality of using work that's not been paid for is. Not to mention the ethics.

John, if I have averaged 20 shops a month for 10 years, that's over 2,000 shops.

I have had 4 denied.

One gas station, I missed the MID sign. One gas station, my overall photo was not clear enough. The oldest one, from 2010, was a bank shop that I actually just don't remember what I did wrong. The fourth was an Arby's, and I don't recall what I did wrong on that one.

I had one where the client denied the report. The MSC stood behind me, and sent me a message that although the client refuted the shop and would not pay for it, the MSC would pay me in full. That was a $125 shop.

I have, however, rescheduled and reshopped DOZENS of shops where I just totally screwed up. For example, I have done dine-in when the shop was for drive-thru. When it's my mistake, I own it, apologize, ask for a reschedule date (or, if the website allows, just reschedule without even telling the company I screwed up), and complete the shop correctly.

It makes me think that reputation MIGHT mean something, at least to some MSCs.

Integrity MIGHT mean something, at least to some MSCs.

I don't know what "warnings" you are talking about.

Once you turn in your report, it belongs to the MSC.

The "legal aspects" of it are governed by the ICA, which is a contract between the shopper and the MSC. When in doubt, read it.

@mrf4321 wrote:

You get so many warnings, but it seems that the reports are still sent out to clients, even when they say the report is wanting. What is the legal aspect of it? Thanks.

I have never had any shop offer more than $50, and that is very rare in my area. Most phone shops go for between $9 and $14. I'm sure for many shops integrity matters, but for some it does not. I've had shops that I've corrected, only to be rejected because I had to correct the report. Another was rejected because I sent in the wrong picture, and they still rejected it after I sent the right one. Some companies have no integrity.

ceasesmith, ICA?

@johnb974 wrote:

I have never had any shop offer more than $50, and that is very rare in my area.

That's what you think. Your behavior, if it is anything like what you post here, precludes you from doing many shops and working with many MSCs.

Wow. SoCalMama, I don't know what behavior you are talking about in reference to john974, but it cant be worse than your attitude. What makes you an expert on shoppers behavior and what MSC are looking for?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/08/2019 12:02PM by MrsChaney.

Over a 16+ year period, I have completed 3,440 shops, with seven not accepted; two were due to my error, two a scheduler covering her/his derriere and three were with Trendsource. With the first for Trendsource, I made three attempts to explain the business did not have an address posted for a pic and nothing else was acceptable. The second had been cancelled two hours before I shopped, but after I had departed for work. Finally, a cell phone store was vacant, I snapped five pics, but the client insisted it was open for business. I do not have the slightest reason to suspect they used the reports. As the third job for Trendsource was just last week, I chose to employ the three strike rule and deactivated my 13+ year account.

Because of his posting history.
You haven't been around long enough to read some of the nonsense he's posted in the past.

Oh, here is some very recent nonsense: who thinks it's a great idea to bring your paperwork into a shop? John does.

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

In other threads he has talked about how he got deactivated from MSCs but wouldn't accept responsibility for it. I remember when he posted about changing his shop times for a shop because he showed up earlier than the start time the MSC and client had specified. He saw nothing wrong with that. SMH.

@MrsChaney wrote:

Wow. SoCalMama, I don't know what behavior you are talking about in reference to john974, but it cant be worse than your attitude. What makes you an expert on shoppers behavior and what MSC are looking for?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/08/2019 01:30PM by JASFLALMT.

@MrsChaney wrote:

Wow. SoCalMama, I don't know what behavior you are talking about in reference to john974, but it cant be worse than your attitude. What makes you an expert on shoppers behavior and what MSC are looking for?

Hahahaha ok then.

Independent Contractor Agreement.

A shopper normally signs one with each and every MSC.

It is, I believe, a legally binding contract between the two parties.

(Although some of us feel it's more binding on the shopper than on the MSC, LOL! )

@mrf4321 wrote:

ceasesmith, ICA?

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

Anyone remember this thread?

New shoppers, that's bad advice...please do not do what he suggested in that thread.

I believe it was JAS who posted not too long ago about guidelines requiring a photo of the building both before and after the shop. She (he?) failed to get one of the photos. However, because she (he?) is a reliable shopper with an outstanding record, her report was accepted.

I suspect JohnB's report would be rejected.

And I doubt he'll EVER get the phone calls offering $200-$300-$400 for a shop, like I do, and like many other shoppers do.

I DO make mistakes, as does JAS, as does every human. Some of us own up to our errors, apologize, and do what we can to "make it right". Some of us, for various reasons, do not.

Some of us follow guidelines, some of us do not.

My personal opinion is that if someone is incapable of following guidelines, they should not be a mystery shopper.

I think MY biggest weakness as a shopper (even after 10 years) is handling things not covered by the guidelines. I usually manage to muddle through, but twice in ten years I was unable to complete my assignments.

That's just me.

I prefer to deal with schedulers/MSCs that display integrity; I choose to believe MSCs prefer shoppers who also have integrity.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/08/2019 02:58PM by ceasesmith.