I picked up an airport shop from this company for a measly $11. It required finding a specific type of uniformed airport employee at a specific airport and having a brief interaction. I had a 2 hour layover so thought it would be a breeze. The guidelines listed about 20 places to find these employees, over 50% POST security, including the many concourses (A-E and T) and even the miles long "transportation mall" which extends from one end of the airport to the other, adjacent to the train. I literally walked the length of the 5 concourses, then rode the plane train back the length of the airport, looking out the doors as it stopped at each concourse. I then walked ALL Concourses (5) and gates (30+ in each concourse!!!) and even went to a specific restaurant in the airport listed as a place to find one of these elusive employees. It was permanently closed! Finally asked a security guard where to find one, and she said they "didn't have enough of them" so they were ONLY located PRE-security! (ie: ticketing/arrivals/security areas) I had wasted my entire layover on this nonsense for $11. Or so I thought.

I wrote it all up describing my efforts, uploading my boarding pass and beverage receipt as proof that I had been in the airport at the required time frame. I also made a note that the guidelines were INcorrect and I still expected to be paid.

3 days later I logged into ACP View's shopper platform, and see a note from the editor to someone saying that I hadn't found the employee and asking if she could edit and send. I then emailed my scheduler AND the main contact for the company...some guy named Tores. No response. 2 days later, I log in and see that my account has been DEACTIVATED manually and I received $0 payment. My shop score was a 1!!!!
NO explanation. No email. No questions about my efforts... nothing. I emailed the scheduler a second time, along with the main company email, this time expressing my disbelief at their unprofessional handling and saying that if I did not get a response, I would come to the shopper forums to leave negative feedback. The shop was a week old at this point.

Well, Tores didn't like that but still did not explain anything. Just sent me a curt email saying to "give him a call to discuss" and "stop making threats". No apology or explanation. No payment. He copied in the company owner and scheduler, yet I NEVER got a further reply from ANY of them. Are you kidding me? I wasted 2 hours on a wild goose chase because of incorrect Guidelines! BTW... someone went in and quietly "updated" the guidelines to say that the airport employees could be found "mostly pre-security." WRONG! They are ONLY pre-security and not available to any traveler/mystery shopper on a layover that doesn't want to leave the terminal and go BACK through security. My advice....Don't EVER shop for this company....EVER!

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/2021 01:29AM by shopper64.

Not the most understand editors either....famous for oh you need a pic of xyz.... Where is that in the instructions? Oh you should know we need it....

I tried to land some shops during a long layover. My spidey sense told me "NO!" so I paid for my own meal and drink. It sounds like I made the right choice.

It sounds like you went above and beyond here. For these kinds of jobs, it’s better to make a decent effort and write a simple report. Then if a company decides not to pay, it’s not a big loss.

Seems that even if you were paid after all that, it still wasn’t a good use of your time.

That's a lot of drama for an $11 shop. Airport shops aren't for everyone.

As with all aspects of life, it just depends. In 2009, I was able to meld three MSCs and completed 11 jobs paying from $18 to $40 each. Unfortunately, it was a single occurrence I was never able to repeat.

I love airport shops, even the low paying ones. My complaint here is with incorrect guidelines that led to wasted time and no "airport employee" found, and then my account being deactivated + non-payment...with NO comment from the MSC! Crazy and unprofessional. They even updated their incorrect guidelines per my advice.

Try reaching out to Evelyn at ACP. I believe she's the owner and she's extremely responsive.
earnette@acpview.com

She and the scheduler were copied in on all emails between me and Tores. No response!

No help when I tried that method either...via Evelyn

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2021 01:48PM by CANADAMOMMY.

I am a bit curious if you actually put this into the report: "I also made a note that the guidelines were INcorrect and I still expected to be paid." Or was that a separate message?

I am Evelyn Arnette with A Customer's Point of View. One, this shopper posted way more about this shop than they should have. Two, the guidelines were clear as to where employees could be located but since the shopper was on a layover, they did not have enough time to go outside of the secured area. It was not that the shopper could not find the personnel to be shopped. It was that the shopper did not have enough time to exit the secured area of the airport to complete the shop and then go back through security to catch her plane. Three, someone mentioned food shops at the airport. We do not have those. Perhaps another company? Four, this shopper did receive a response, perhaps not as swiftly as they would have liked but a response was sent to the following email sent by the shopper(copied/pasted):

"Hellooooo? Please advise ASAP or I will detail this poor experience for every other shopper to see on the shop forums! Your Guidelines were outdated, and I spent 2 hours traversing the xxx Airport post-security areas looking for Greencoats that did not exist there! I expect full $11 payment and account reactivation!
Why on earth would someone deactivate my account when I fully explained what happened, what was incorrect on your guidelines and even attached my boarding pass and a food receipt as proof of my being in the airport at the correct time?!"

This email was a bit threatening in our opinion. Canadamommy, I do not recollect receiving any emails from you and do not even know if you have shopped with us? Unless canadamommy and DL are the same person?

Nope for one I do not travel by plane .

@acpview wrote:

I am Evelyn Arnette with A Customer's Point of View. One, this shopper posted way more about this shop than they should have. Two, the guidelines were clear as to where employees could be located but since the shopper was on a layover, they did not have enough time to go outside of the secured area. It was not that the shopper could not find the personnel to be shopped. It was that the shopper did not have enough time to exit the secured area of the airport to complete the shop and then go back through security to catch her plane. Three, someone mentioned food shops at the airport. We do not have those. Perhaps another company? Four, this shopper did receive a response, perhaps not as swiftly as they would have liked but a response was sent to the following email sent by the shopper(copied/pasted):

"Hellooooo? Please advise ASAP or I will detail this poor experience for every other shopper to see on the shop forums! Your Guidelines were outdated, and I spent 2 hours traversing the xxx Airport post-security areas looking for Greencoats that did not exist there! I expect full $11 payment and account reactivation!
Why on earth would someone deactivate my account when I fully explained what happened, what was incorrect on your guidelines and even attached my boarding pass and a food receipt as proof of my being in the airport at the correct time?!"

This email was a bit threatening in our opinion. Canadamommy, I do not recollect receiving any emails from you and do not even know if you have shopped with us? Unless canadamommy and DL are the same person?

My bad. You mentioned contacting me but I don't recollect receiving anything from you. What was your concern?

Not recent... editors asking for pics not in original shop instructions....for ALL companies not just yours I have said for years an editor can make or break a company..I think ALL editors need to complete a shop of the client before editing reports for said client.
An editor sitting behind a computer who has never set foot in the store sometimes jist does not grasp what a shopper is explaining. Read other posts many of us stop shopping for certain companies for dislike of a certain editor .yes we randomly don’t know who will edit but if we get the same editor over and over for non existent in report directions of editors nitpicking we stop.

@acpview wrote:

My bad. You mentioned contacting me but I don't recollect receiving anything from you. What was your concern?

@acpview wrote:

I am Evelyn Arnette with A Customer's Point of View. One, this shopper posted way more about this shop than they should have. Two, the guidelines were clear as to where employees could be located but since the shopper was on a layover, they did not have enough time to go outside of the secured area. It was not that the shopper could not find the personnel to be shopped. It was that the shopper did not have enough time to exit the secured area of the airport to complete the shop and then go back through security to catch her plane. Three, someone mentioned food shops at the airport. We do not have those. Perhaps another company? Four, this shopper did receive a response, perhaps not as swiftly as they would have liked but a response was sent to the following email sent by the shopper(copied/pasted):

"Hellooooo? Please advise ASAP or I will detail this poor experience for every other shopper to see on the shop forums! Your Guidelines were outdated, and I spent 2 hours traversing the xxx Airport post-security areas looking for Greencoats that did not exist there! I expect full $11 payment and account reactivation!
Why on earth would someone deactivate my account when I fully explained what happened, what was incorrect on your guidelines and even attached my boarding pass and a food receipt as proof of my being in the airport at the correct time?!"

This email was a bit threatening in our opinion. Canadamommy, I do not recollect receiving any emails from you and do not even know if you have shopped with us? Unless canadamommy and DL are the same person?

#1 Two hours should have been plenty of time at "MOST" any airport to go back and forth through security. I have shopped at least 30 airports (exception is Newark, NJ on a Sunday afternoon).

#2 I would deactivate anyone who threatened me. What were you supposed to do? Pay the $11 and keep them? That's all kinds of crazy.

#3 I love that airport in question, and I have shopped it. You can be on one "side" or the other, but not both depending on your destination. You can't pop back and forth through security there. This is common knowledge to me at least. I was flown to that airport from California twice one year. It's a bit of a weird one if you don't know the rules. (+1 for the shopper's side on this one. The MSC should have known this.)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2021 06:11AM by SoCalMama.

@SoCalMama wrote:

#3 I love that airport in question, and I have shopped it. You can be on one "side" or the other, but not both depending on your destination. You can't pop back and forth through security there. This is common knowledge to me at least.

How do you mean? The only sides there are pre and post security. Everything is connected airside.

mama's reply to the OPs threat to acpview-- I would deactivate anyone who threatened me.

Bob agrees--Me too AND, under no circumstances, would I ever consider extending a second chance.

My thoughts:

* My reading of the instructions as summarized here suggest that the targets *could* be located in numerous places - potentially on both sides of security. I would not have assumed I could find the target post security. However, airports can take time to traverse, especially if going through security is involved. As written, I would not have taken the shop if I was not prepared to go through security. However, going through security does take time and, if the target was likely only available outside of secured areas, it really should be communicated to the shopper (client informs MSC, MSC informs shopper) as it's not in anybody's best interest if shoppers must go on a wild goose chase for $11.

* The shop was not completed. The MSC does not owe the shopper. Such is the nature of being an independent contractor. However, we are talking about a measly $11 and a task that could have been better communicated to the shopper ahead of time (where to find the target). From the MSC viewpoint, $11 seems like a pittance to pay to satisfy a frustrated quality shopper in order to keep him/her happy. From the shopper viewpoint, we're talking about $11. A relationship with an MSC, which will provide future income, likely far greater that $11 seems like a foolish reason to destroy a relationship.

* Weird stuff happens in this line of work. Clients have many, many locations and the contact that contracts with the MSC has no way to know all the little quirks of each location and, thus, do not notify the MSC - which then has no way to notify the shopper. It is common for shoppers to find the "exceptions" that create quirky circumstances that make a shop not follow the normal expected script. For this industry to work, communication needs to be professional and respectful in both directions - lest trust be destroyed and the shopper's value to the MSC and the MSC's value to the shopper is diminished. In other words, there are better ways to handle frustrations than what we've seen here.

We're talking about $11. A shopper lost an MSC and an MSC lost a shopper over $11.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2021 06:30PM by MFJohnston.

Without considering the details of the situation, this is one of the reasons why I am happy we have this message board. I now know to never ever work for this company.

@1cent wrote:

@SoCalMama wrote:

#3 I love that airport in question, and I have shopped it. You can be on one "side" or the other, but not both depending on your destination. You can't pop back and forth through security there. This is common knowledge to me at least.

How do you mean? The only sides there are pre and post security. Everything is connected airside.

The only airport that I know if that has greencoats has two different international/domestic terminals. You are allowed to be in one of two sides. I can’t be in all parts. It’s weird, and they are crazy about their security. I’ve been sent to secondary, and it was some scary stuff. I was less freaked out in Mexico.

I agree with SoCal. I am also of the opinion that there is only one airport with Green Coats.

I never, ever do an airport shop without thoroughly understanding the layout of the airport, and preferably only an airport that I have been to several times. I was assigned to do a shop in one terminal in the largest airport in NJ, and I told the scheduler that if I had know which terminal, I would have known not to accept. I had told them the airline and the flight number, and it was in a terminal not connected post-Security. Under the rules then in effect, I could not enter that terminal without a ticket for a flight leaving from that terminal. They insisted (for the full fee) that I try. So I tried. I took a photo of the signage saying that I couldn't get in. I even asked on the pretext that I had a colleague inside. It was a no-go. I got paid, The next month they contacted me to do the shop again (WAY TOO MANY TRIPS TO INDIA that year). I asked if they were willing to pay me again to not be able to do it. I got the shop again. How stupid.

Another fun airport is Toronto Pearson. If you think that there can only be two "sides", you are in for a surprise at YYZ.

BTW, entering Canada if they have the slightest idea that you might be going to Canada to work (even a mystery shop) without a work permit - well, have fun. I spent hours in secondary immigration when I was going to the University of Manitoba to give an invited scientific talk. They were reimbursing ONLY the costs. Nothing more. I knew to be careful what to say and not to say. Four hours later, they sprung me.

@SoCalMama wrote:

@1cent wrote:

@SoCalMama wrote:

#3 I love that airport in question, and I have shopped it. You can be on one "side" or the other, but not both depending on your destination. You can't pop back and forth through security there. This is common knowledge to me at least.

How do you mean? The only sides there are pre and post security. Everything is connected airside.

The only airport that I know if that has greencoats has two different international/domestic terminals. You are allowed to be in one of two sides. I can’t be in all parts. It’s weird, and they are crazy about their security. I’ve been sent to secondary, and it was some scary stuff. I was less freaked out in Mexico.

ACP - Your terrible attitude comes through loud and clear in your response. Absolutely no one needs $11 badly enough to put up with this. You business relies on people to run around during a pandemic and complete your (apparently not well documented) tasks. And you now have a long list of people who know not to work on your projects. All for $11? Have you ever done a cost benefit analysis of this type of decision?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/2021 12:04PM by Cassiespark.

You forgot to include take pics of everything they don’t have on the required list because we all have esp and will know they wanted them!

@Cassiespark wrote:

ACP - Your terrible attitude comes through loud and clear in your response. Absolutely no one needs $11 badly enough to put up with this. You business relies on people to run around during a pandemic and complete your (apparently not well documented) tasks. And you now have a long list of people who know not to work on your projects. All for $11? Have you ever done a cost benefit analysis of this type of decision?

WRONG Evelyn! 50% of the suggested locations were incorrect...namely in the 5 concourses, the transportation mall as well as an IHOP restaurant at T gates (permanently closed!) Funny how after my complaint, "someone" went in and altered the guidelines to say the required employees could be "mostly found" pre-security in the Terminal areas. I had two hours to devote to this shop and could have exited security to find one of these employees, but would NOT have done so for a measly $11. YOUR GUIDELINES WERE WRONG AND HAVE SINCE BEEN AMENDED, per my suggestion, but still are INCORRECT. If the client provided outdated guidelines, I should have been paid. If YOU provided outdated incorrect guidelines, I still should have been paid. I went above and beyond!

And while we're posting emails.... below is the "reply" I finally got from Tores SIX days after my shop, and only after emailing both my scheduler and him TWICE for answers! It contained zero explanation for my non-payment and account deactivation, just a note to call him and stop making threats. How professional. AND you were copied in on his email, along with the scheduler, AND my response to him... and I STILL got no further response from ANY of you! Tores didn't even get my gender correct in his response. "Mr?"
My phone number is also clearly listed on my profile if he had actually wished to "discuss/explain" after my two emails to him!

I stand by my warning to all shoppers to avoid your company. And as for my "saying too much" about the shop, I did not name the client, airport, city or even the specific type of airport employee that was to be shopped. Nice try Evelyn. Way to run a company.... into the ground.

And for the record, even the editor was unsure how to proceed and got no response to HER question posted on the shop:
"Reviewer comments: Hold - shopper could not find an associate. Is it okay to edit and send? Thanks"

"Good evening Mr. _____, sorry that you are feeling ignored by our staff members. I am sure this is not the case but staff members are doing their due diligence to ensure every aspect of this matter is properly noted. That being said please contact me directly at 770 288 2717 ext:203 or provide a time and number and I will contact you to fully clear this matter up.

I have read you're below statements and somewhat understand your frustration from what you feel as being dismissed. I can assure you proper steps were taken by our staff members when shops such as yours come into question. Furthermore please note we are in the business of providing excellent customer service, and this goes both ways. I caution you to select your words carefully and refrain from making threats or wording that have the appearance of being a threat."

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2021 09:22PM by shopper64.

I have an 8-hour layover at that particular airport in May. I will make sure not to accept any assignments from this company there.

@Cassiespark wrote:

ACP - Your terrible attitude comes through loud and clear in your response. Absolutely no one needs $11 badly enough to put up with this. You business relies on people to run around during a pandemic and complete your (apparently not well documented) tasks. And you now have a long list of people who know not to work on your projects. All for $11? Have you ever done a cost benefit analysis of this type of decision?

Agreed. Unfortunately this is the type of attitude most shoppers accept from the MSC's.