What a nightmare! A couple weeks ago, I was in the city where the shop was. So to do the company a favor, I stopped by the given address and snapped a photo of the house that's there (no store). I sent it to the scheduler, and to the "team" handling the assignment, with a note for them informing them the business didn't exist.

I eventually got a reply that sort of implied I was out of my mind.

The shop popped up again, with the same address, bonused to $150. So I self-assigned and set off on the 200 mile round trip (an already-profitable route, so I wouldn't lose anything). Went to the same address -- surprise, surprise, the house is still there! Snapped a couple new photos. Pulled up a newspaper article that touted the opening of the "new store", so (being an earnest and honorable -- but probably stupid -- shopper), I went to the second address. Surprise, surprise -- business not there, either. Woman working there said, oh, they only lasted here until last December, and closed. But I think they reopened, let me give you the address.

So I proceeded to the THIRD address. Huge surprise -- there's a truck parked there with correct company logo and advertising on it, but the store front had a sign "This location permanently closed. If you have questions, please call our XXXXXX store at XXX XXX XXXX". Took a few more photos, and proceeded to file the report.

OMG. That report was, pardon the language, a B**** (yes, capital B! ). Of course, there is no option for "The Store doesn't exist at this address". 100 questions, none of which will allow you to submit the report without answering the question. So basically told about 100 lies, including rating the store, the representative, the manager, the exterior and interior of the building, submitting dozens of photos of miscellaneous items (how can you take a photo of the display wall when there's no display wall, because there is no store? ), and in every comment section, stating "Store does not exist". FYI, the report is narrative-heavy.

Now, mind you, I knew before I went there was no store.

I advised the MSC of this fact two weeks ago, and they chose to disregard the information I so kindly provided.

Think I'll get paid?

You will probably get $3 for a closed location...but nice try..LOL..Maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised and get full fee, but I highly doubt it.

Not a CHANCE of getting paid. Similar things have happened to me. PAID? NO HOW.

Closed location fee. What a nightmare but I admire your persistence.

What do the instructions say about the pay in a case like this? If they don't address it then you should be paid in full as you did what you were contracted to do (and more!). I have run into this several times with a specific MSC that likes to make up reduced pay rules after the fact. I simply attach the instructions to a respectful but insistent email and take it up the chain if need be. I get paid.

The guidelines do not address this issue. It "suggests" you call ahead to see if an appointment is required. I explained in the comments that I called the number given (an 888 number) and reached an automated phone system that hung up on me after I completed the rigamarole to reach a representative. This happened every time I called. I explained thoroughly in the comments. The number was the same one on the truck with the company logo, too!

A shop I did a few months ago suggested that I use an app called Timestamp Camera if I wasn't sure that the camera app on the phone was saving the metadata with location and time. I knew that it was, but I decided to download Timestamp Camera anyway. It would definitely come in useful in the situation you encountered because it puts the date, the time, and the location (down to a street address) on the photo itself. I have found the location that it deduces to be amazingly accurate.

@ceasesmith wrote:

What a nightmare! A couple weeks ago, I was in the city where the shop was. So to do the company a favor, I stopped by the given address and snapped a photo of the house that's there (no store). I sent it to the scheduler, and to the "team" handling the assignment, with a note for them informing them the business didn't exist.

I eventually got a reply that sort of implied I was out of my mind.

The shop popped up again, with the same address, bonused to $150. So I self-assigned and set off on the 200 mile round trip (an already-profitable route, so I wouldn't lose anything). Went to the same address -- surprise, surprise, the house is still there! Snapped a couple new photos. Pulled up a newspaper article that touted the opening of the "new store", so (being an earnest and honorable -- but probably stupid -- shopper), I went to the second address. Surprise, surprise -- business not there, either. Woman working there said, oh, they only lasted here until last December, and closed. But I think they reopened, let me give you the address.

So I proceeded to the THIRD address. Huge surprise -- there's a truck parked there with correct company logo and advertising on it, but the store front had a sign "This location permanently closed. If you have questions, please call our XXXXXX store at XXX XXX XXXX". Took a few more photos, and proceeded to file the report.

OMG. That report was, pardon the language, a B**** (yes, capital B! ). Of course, there is no option for "The Store doesn't exist at this address". 100 questions, none of which will allow you to submit the report without answering the question. So basically told about 100 lies, including rating the store, the representative, the manager, the exterior and interior of the building, submitting dozens of photos of miscellaneous items (how can you take a photo of the display wall when there's no display wall, because there is no store? ), and in every comment section, stating "Store does not exist". FYI, the report is narrative-heavy.

Now, mind you, I knew before I went there was no store.

I advised the MSC of this fact two weeks ago, and they chose to disregard the information I so kindly provided.

Think I'll get paid?

It mystifies me why businesses continue to assign shops at locations that have previously been reported closed/moved, but they do, even years and years after they have moved.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2021 04:49PM by mjt9598.

@myst4au wrote:

A shop I did a few months ago suggested that I use an app called Timestamp Camera if I wasn't sure that the camera app on the phone was saving the metadata with location and time. I knew that it was, but I decided to download Timestamp Camera anyway. It would definitely come in useful in the situation you encountered because it puts the date, the time, and the location (down to a street address) on the photo itself. I have found the location that it deduces to be amazingly accurate.

Please check. I took two pictures of a big box store, one from each corner. One had the correct address and the other had a strange address I didn't recognize. It was only about 40 feet between the two places I stood in the parking lot.

It was in a very large shopping plaza, but I was still only about 20 feet out from the store front and at each corner.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2021 06:32AM by wrosie.

@wrosieandmyst4u: There are a few locations (for a different gig but good as an example here) that do not have the street number near enough to the store name to include both in one image that a typical human could obtain under typical conditions. Now, if you were especially clever you could program your drone to take an aerial wide-angle pic. Or, if you were sufficiently spry, you could climb a tree or stand on your high-rise van and get the image from just the one odd angle from which this is possible.

In brief: the time stamp app is useful for specific gigs and other purposes, such as this situation where one might need to strengthen their proof of visit. Thanks for that info!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2021 01:13PM by Shop-et-al.

Cease, don't let them tread on you or they will continue to do so. Escalate if you must.

Heck, I'll pay you. Reading this made me laugh so hard that my eyes watered!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2021 07:45PM by MSF.

@mjt9598 wrote:

It mystifies me why businesses continue to assign shops at locations that have previously been reported closed/moved, but they do, even years and years after they have moved.

More than likely it's a competitor shop using an old database of locations because something hasn't been updated like Google.

It amazes me how many business are listed as opened in Google and have long been closed and even if you submit something it takes forever for it to be verified and changed if the business owner doesn't do it.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2021 10:31PM by foodluvr.

Cease, you should get paid; you deserve an A+ for effort!

@Shop-et-al wrote:

@wrosieandmyst4u: There are a few locations (for a different gig but good as an example here) that do not have the street number near enough to the store name to include both in one image that a typical human could obtain under typical conditions. Now, if you were especially clever you could program your drone to take an aerial wide-angle pic. Or, if you were sufficiently spry, you could climb a tree or stand on your high-rise van and get the image from just the one odd angle from which this is possible.

In brief: the time stamp app is useful for specific gigs and other purposes, such as this situation where one might need to strengthen their proof of visit. Thanks for that info!

No, the Tmestamp App puts the address on the photo via GPS. It gave two different addresses for pictures taken of the same location standing 40 feet apart.

I was once receiving emails for a pizza shop. While i was not interested in doing them, i knew the location was closed for a while. Emailed the scheduler 2x about it but yet the location kept appearing. I gave up.

You were as determined as Chevy Chase making that trip to Wally World in National Lampoon's Vacation!

I love signing up for shops that I know are closed locations. For many projects, its a couple photos and I still get paid, sometimes half, sometimes full.

I keep seeing the same location pop up even after I tell the scheduler. The go to fee is often under $5 so not worth it to me.
In terms of two addresses....I have two examples in my life. My local Costco had the front registers located in Culver City and the back pharmacy registers in Los Angeles. My main doctors office building straddles the cities of Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. The front of the building says simply 450 N and 250 on it. No city names mentioned.

@MSF wrote:

You were as determined as Chevy Chase making that trip to Wally World in National Lampoon's Vacation!

Cease, you should at least get the bonus (amount over the regular shop fee) plus a closed location fee. Nothing less for the best!

This is a great story of the dreaded MSC runaround! Always happens in the summer when the A/C breaks down in your car, in a remote town, when you are hungry/thirsty/need a potty break!

Holy Cow! I got a 10/10 on the report, and it's listed just like all the others I did last month.

It's listed at full pay.

I'll know in a week or so for certain, but right now it looks like I'll be paid in full!

The shop popped up again for the latest round. However, there is a VERY recent addenda to the guidelines: In bold italics, "Closed locations will have max pay of $15".

So maybe I'll get $15, maybe $150. Since I printed out the original guidelines (which do not address closed location fee), if I get $15, I might just escalate. I really feel I earned more than $15. Just the stinking horrid report was worth more than $15!

I drove 45 minutes only to find the shop was closed because the air conditioning was broken. I went back since I was sort of in the area, and they were still closed even though the sign said they would be open. I went twice in good faith and got $5 on a $50 shop.

That's horrid.

Paid today.

In full.

I'm pleased, surprised, and shocked!

I love this $15 maximum for the "Inquiry" as they so like to call it.
I go there, fully expecting to upgrade as an EXISITING customer (required by the MSC in the job offer) only to learn that this corporate store (yes, and all other corporate stores in the area) will NOT sell you any device, because existing customers have to ORDER the device and wait 2 days for the store to receive it. NEW customers, however, can buy the device, activate it, and walk away! No other option, sorry!
So now my shop is not $75 or $100, it is $15...great, just terrific.
When I inform my dull-normal scheduler of this Catch-22, he writes me back with "blah-blah, client sez "blah-blah", and is obviously confused. Good Lord! Have mercy on their wretched souls attached to their tiny minds!

@salisburync wrote:

I love this $15 maximum for the "Inquiry" as they so like to call it.
I go there, fully expecting to upgrade as an EXISITING customer (required by the MSC in the job offer) only to learn that this corporate store (yes, and all other corporate stores in the area) will NOT sell you any device, because existing customers have to ORDER the device and wait 2 days for the store to receive it. NEW customers, however, can buy the device, activate it, and walk away! No other option, sorry!
So now my shop is not $75 or $100, it is $15...great, just terrific.
When I inform my dull-normal scheduler of this Catch-22, he writes me back with "blah-blah, client sez "blah-blah", and is obviously confused. Good Lord! Have mercy on their wretched souls attached to their tiny minds!

As somebody who works in telecom, this is a red flag that they are trying playing some kind of commission or inventory game here. They absolutely should be selling you a phone regardless of whether you're a new customer or an upgrade. I don't know of a single large cellular phone company that operates this way as a rule. I would be absolutely concerned if I had this happen to me. The client probably has no idea that their store or the agent store is operating this way.

foodluvr, you are right. I believe the client does not know that their own CORPORATE store is playing this shell game with inventory. Especially in this era where there are virtually NO new Samsung phones available (Covid, chip shortages) and hoarding inventory makes sense from the store's narrow perspective. After all, a new customer, rather than an upgrading customer, makes the store more money, ...way more money....

Salisbury, that's basically contra to best business practices -- it historically costs much LESS to retain a loyal customer than it costs to gain a new customer.

I'd say they are looking at it wrong.

(That's my B school case analysis background showing!)