Two retail shops in major retailers.

One of them I attempted Thursday; drove 2 hours to get there, stood in line for 40 minutes while the 2 on-duty clerks wrestled with huge lines....gave up. It looked like I could easily stand in line another 2 hours.

Instead of the scheduler removing the shop, as I requested, she extended it. To tomorrow.

And yes, each is paying enough to make the 2 hour one-way drive worthwhile.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/28/2021 04:02PM by ceasesmith.

My advice: take a folding chair with you.

Can you arrange your schedule to get to one of them right when the doors open? That might make at least one of them go faster.

Interesting suggestion.

However, I am as incapable of wrestling a folding chair in and out of the car and into the store as I am of standing in line.

I thought about grabbing one of the electric shopping carts at the front of the store, but I tried one of them once and could not manage it.

I actually intensely dislike shopping.

And would never, ever venture into any store Christmas week or the week after for anything personal. But I'm being paid to do this, so I will do it.

Just.....ugh.

@walesmaven wrote:

My advice: take a folding chair with you.

@ceasesmith: Can you manage a cane? This might be easier to move in/out of vehicle. You could lean on that and shift some of the agony away from you to the cane. Another option is to put the cane into or hang it onto a regular shopping cart. You can lean on the cart during your event.

No, can't handle a cane. Great suggestions, though. Cannot use a walker, either.

I can carry nothing. I don't even carry a purse/bag/wallet! I do carry my iPhone, as it's required for the shop. I put my cheat sheet in a roomy pocket and during the shop, use the ladies' room to review, make sure I haven't missed anything.

Giggling over how that's gonna go over on the recording. LOL.

Depending on shop instructions you may be able to mute the recording in the restroom. It will keep running but not pick up sound. Or hold a hand over the mic while making tinkly/poopy sounds. Or just don't perform bodily functions till after (or before) the shop.

Eta: and those walkers! I used to bring my mother and hers all around and wondered how in the heck someone with mobility issues would ever manage folding/unfolding, lifting the thing in and out of a vehicle and cramming it into a trunk. They ain't small, light or compact. What a chore!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/26/2021 05:54PM by sestrahelena.

Good luck, cease! You'll do a stellar job, as always. But what a PITA to be doing shops right after Christmas, with returns and people shopping the after-Christmas sales. You're brave! Seriously.

For what it's worth, when I walked past the mall today traffic didn't look too bad. Maybe with people buying so much online there won't be as many customers there physically.

OMG. I will spare you the deadly details.

Suffice it to say that it was even worse than the worst I had imagined.

Highlights, you say? Well, walking into the store and the manager greeted me by name. An old friend. We chatted, I went to my car, called my scheduler. Close friend? How close? Well, I went to his wedding. That close. OK. Talk to another manager, just skip him. OMG. The other manager is the freakin' wife!

On to the ff shop, while I waited for the scheduler to call me back. Charged me wrong (I did NOT order something I'm not supposed to! I SWEAR!!!). Asked for receipt. And again. Finally, after the 3rd request, he admitted he didn't know how to give me a receipt, called a manager over. SEVENTEEN MINUTES later, receipt in hand, I leave. Scheduler calls me back. I will be paid, but must go back to the store and go inside and take the required photos "Just don't TALK to any managers. Take the photos and leave."

Done. Home.

Just OMG.

WOW !

Yikes! Two nightmare shops on top of each other. It was not your day.... Sorry you went through such frustration.

On reflection, shop #1 was for Market Approach. The very first shop for them, ever. Recorded, then the recording has to be put in MP3 format and "shared" to drop box. As soon as I could access the guidelines (not until after the shop is accepted, of course), and saw these tech requirements, I e-mailed my concerns to the scheduler.

All last week she patiently answered my many, many questions (well, all I can say, they must be absolutely DESPERATE to go to all this trouble!). I practiced and practiced, to where I could record, convert to MP3, and e-mail the thing to myself, put it in a file on my computer, then FIND the file! Every one of these things an accomplishment for this tech dinosaur!

In the end, I couldn't "share" the file to "dropbox". I tried 8 times over a period of hours. I finally called the guy who had walked me through the process, sent him screenshots of what I got every time I attempted ("file failed to load. Please try again" ), and I ended up just e-mailing the MP3 file to him, and he put it in the report.

Throughout this process -- which was an ordeal to me -- I never worked with more patient, understanding people!
Every time I suggested, Hey, it might be better to find someone else, who is tech-savvy, they were reassuring and kind. KIND, I tell ya, KIND!!!

I learned a lot.

But mostly I wanted to shout out for Market Approach. A scheduler who answered numerous (at least five) phone calls on the Sunday after Christmas, without ever being short or unkind? With immediate responses to e-mails and voice mails, no matter the day or time? AWESOME.

Just saying, other MSCs could learn a lot on how to treat us shoppers from this MSC.

Yes, they are an excellent firm to work with!

That's very encouraging to hear! Thanks for such a positive report on a positive experience. I'm not signed up with them, but I'm going to do so!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/29/2021 02:21AM by BirdyC.

Market Approach is great. You probably worked with David and he is always quick to respond and extremely helpful.

Well look at you, cease! You remembered how to change your topic heading! You go girl! *written with earnest encouragement, NOT sarcasm*

LOL! I CAN learn!

@ceasesmith wrote:

LOL! I CAN learn!

Who says a old dog can't learn new tricks.

Also Market Approach is a top notch MSC in my book too.

I signed up with them, got an approval email almost immediately, saw a shop I was interested in and sent the scheduler a question about it. Didn't expect to hear back until the next day, since this was fairly late at night. I got a personal response same night. I'm going to apply for that shop and see what happens. It's a standard inquiry-type shop, but if you do well on it, you might qualify for their more interesting travel shops. I'd love to do one of those!

Thanks everyone for the KIND comments about MarketApproach. We have been in the industry for OVER 19 YEARS and there's a reason we've lasted so long. We love our shoppers and treat them as part of the team. We're a big family! Our clients appreciate the extra effort we put into every project...big or small! We have posted tons of travel shops for 2022. Sign up at [marketapproach.clientsmart.com] to work with us!

I'm constantly having to remind David to put down his phone...LOL! He wants to be prompt to every email and text. Definitely works 24/7!!!!

Kimberly, so glad you posted. Yes, it was David who was so patient and kind. I don't know whether you were my scheduler or not, but happy to give credit where credit is due. I don't think I'll qualify for one of the travel shops, but I must say everyone I dealt with was super patient and KIND.

Five stars, for sure!

I'm sure you'll do a stellar job for them.

You might qualify for one of the travel shops.

Keep us posted!

@BirdyC wrote:

That's very encouraging to hear! Thanks for such a positive report on a positive experience. I'm not signed up with them, but I'm going to do so!

Meg was your scheduler! She's been a huge part of MarketApproach for over 17 years. SHE IS A ROCKSTAR!

@BirdyC wrote:

I signed up with them, got an approval email almost immediately, saw a shop I was interested in and sent the scheduler a question about it. Didn't expect to hear back until the next day, since this was fairly late at night. I got a personal response same night. I'm going to apply for that shop and see what happens. It's a standard inquiry-type shop, but if you do well on it, you might qualify for their more interesting travel shops. I'd love to do one of those!

BirdyC - We 100% reward all shoppers who do a great job for us on our "non" travel shops. That's all you need to get your foot in the door. Looking forward to working with you!

@kimberlyp wrote:

BirdyC - We 100% reward all shoppers who do a great job for us on our "non" travel shops. That's all you need to get your foot in the door. Looking forward to working with you!

Thank you, and looking forward to working with you as well.

My enrollment process was quick and seamless. Now, I will need to build a gig day that includes the nearest non-travel shop that I saw, which is about two hundred miles from home. OTOH, there are other locations of that unnamed place which might be available in future. We will see what happens. Loved the easy process of getting into the system!

I love the travel shops and have done a number of them in the past (pre-COVID), the sales presentation ones. David and Kimberly are both wonderful and quick to respond. I applied for but did not get the vacation kiosk shop but given the time of year and ceasmith's 2 hours wait in line (thank you for posting), I don't feel so bad.

@cubbiecat wrote:

I love the travel shops and have done a number of them in the past (pre-COVID), the sales presentation ones. David and Kimberly are both wonderful and quick to respond. I applied for but did not get the vacation kiosk shop but given the time of year and ceasmith's 2 hours wait in line (thank you for posting), I don't feel so bad.

The wait in line wasn’t for the kiosk shops. She was referring to a retail purchase shop. Our shoppers are typically out in 20 mins for the kiosk ones. We have Q1 posted! Hope you apply!