Hi Everyone,
I've spent a little time lurking around on the forum before ever posting! I've only been at mystery shopping full time since January of this year, and still getting the hang of it. I'm wondering if anyone else has had an experience with NWLPC? I recently completed a shop for them, and got an email about my report that was extremely condescending and (call me overly sensitive) hurtful!
All the people I have had the chance to work with while mystery shopping have been so pleasant and nice! The email I received made me feel like a child being reprimanded. I could understand where I made a mistake in my report but the way I was spoken to was shocking. I took the assignment at the end of the month because there was a bonus and I like helping out companies who are trying to fill things last minute. The 'talking to' I received came across as if I wasn't even considered a person- just a shopper who was messing things up. I don't think I would be able to do another assignment with this company after this email.. if that is the standard for how to treat their shoppers. Now I only hope that I'll be reimbursed and paid for my shop.
Like I said, I'm pretty new to the game- is this something I can expect to run into frequently? :/

All the best!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2011 09:26PM by JenniferDarling.

I've not heard that complaint about NWLPC before. I have never had an opportunity to work for/with them as they are not in my area.

From time to time you will get a particular editor or scheduler with the tact of a cactus or some delusion that they are superior to shoppers and are 'entitled' to treat shoppers with arrogance or disdain. You may be oversensitive, but there are also clods out there. When I have an experience with an editor or scheduler that just grates, I generally back off from those particular shops or that particular company and wait for them to leave unless the jobs/company are a major source of income for me. Unless the jerk is the owner of the business, they usually move on.

I can see how Doug's writing style could be construed as harsh as he is to the point and straightforward. Was the email from Doug? If so, he is the owner and so he is probably not going anywhere. It is of course your perogative to either move on and continue to accept work or go elsewhere. In the end though, don't take it personally. Take what (if anything) you can learn from it and move on. Even if the only thing that you learn is that you do not want to work for companies that have that type of commuinication style. There are lots of companies out there - and nobody is a perfect fit with them all.

I know I have a short list of companies that I won't work with (or it would take a lot for me to work with) based on fairly minor reasons (in the big picture of things) such as I do not like their communication style.

I have limited shopping experience with NWLP and haven't received editorial comments on my shops. I don't recall reading other complaints about them, so hopefully it's not widespread. You indicated you realized your mistake, which usually means it won't be repeated If the MSP has a shop you want, I would not rule them out after one bad experience. I'm stubborn and don't back away easily. Try them again. NWLP is a reputable MSP and one jerk shouldn't have that much power.

I've had only good experiences with NWLP. I've never received any editorial comments at all and have always been paid. Doug is very responsive and sometimes posts on the forum..

I have never worked for this company but there are several companies that has talked down to me before. I will not work for a companies that treats me less then a human. Whats so funny about these companies is no one in my area will do shops for them either so I get emails offering me a bonus to do their shops. I have emailed them back and told them that I am human being, I will not do anymore shops for them.

I did a couple of their famous restaurants a very long time ago, yes, Doug is blunt, but not personal, just the way he is...I stopped because I didn't like the restaurants any longer. I still get offers, maybe I'll do it again, maybe not, I don't work for them enough to be bothered.

I have done shops for NWLPC for nearly 11 years. Doug is very active in mystery shopping but at times can be a bit blunt as other shoppers have posted. On the few occasions a shop was questioned I have always called Doug to give my explanation and to get his. He is generally quite reasonable and one of the "good guy" owner of a mystery shopping company. I would contact Doug if it makes you feel better and make sure you understand what he wants. Here in the Seattle area they have a nice variety of shops and I generally do 2 or 3 shops a month for NWLPC.

It is not my intention to be blunt or rude. I talk to shoppers everyday and respond to anywhere between 30-50 emails per day so sometimes in the interest of time I am short in my emails back to shoppers. I get in trouble with my wife because when she emails me to ask a question I usually answer simply "yes" or "no".

Please remember when reading these boards that there are usually 2 sides to every story. 99.9% of the time shoppers take criticism personally and we (the MSPs) are the bad guys. It is our policy to give shoppers one chance to correct their errors or make revisions but we have deadlines to forwrd the reports to our clients.

I can't speak about the original poster but she is welcome to email me with her questrions or concerns.

Without shoppers we, and other MSPs, wouild be out of business. If the original poster was hurt in anyway I do apologize for giving that impression.

I've done many shops for NWLPC in the past and will no longer work for this company owned and run by one person, Doug Rector. I agree with previous posters about Doug's email responses coming across as condescending and debasing. Yes, as mystery shoppers we are responsible for submitting complete & accurate evaluations based on our experiences. While it may not be his intention to be rude, claiming to be busy is no excuse IMO for any of us not to review emails before sending. Email tones can easily be miscontrued versus communicating verbally--even for those that don't offend easily.

I have never had any other scheduler communicate in such a rude way as NWLPC. New and old schedulers have asked me to reconsider, but there are many other companies that know how to interact in a more professional manner.

Ugh I highly dislike this company. My friend had an issue with them and emailed him multiple times and never received a reply. She finally received a reply when she e-mailed that she was going to contact the client. She will be moving to Italy soon and is still thinking about contacting the client before she steps of USA soil. She saved everything, including her report. We just need to find out if the client is still shopped.

Ok, I will b the one to ask, Who is NWLPC??

Northwest Loss Prevention Company.

I have never had any dealings with that company but my policy is if I do not like the way I was treated, I ask them to remove my name from their list. Sometimes, I question the qualifications of some reviewers who refuse to give a 10 so they contact you for an info already in the report so that they have a reason to make it 9. So, I remove the company from my list once I sense that. I don't know about you but I have to enjoy working for a company to make mystery shopping worth my while. There is no reason why you should spend any more of your time on this company. It's not worth it. Cut your losses.

I have to say that my interactions with Doug have always been professional. He may not be the warmest guy, but that's not a requirement for me to work for someone as a shopper.

Assign me the shops I ask for, don't pester me with unnecessary questions and pay me on time. That will make me happy and that's what I have always had from NWLP.

If you are someone that needs a lot of handholding or small talk, perhaps this MSC is not a good fit for you.

Mert Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Northwest Loss Prevention Company.
Thank You

I have never had any dealings with this company, but in general, not everyone you encounter is going to be pleasant and tactful. One of my favorite mystery shopping companies has an editor/scheduler who irks me to my core. I am contacted about 2-3 days before my assignment is due and threatened with having my assignment reassigned and my account deactivated if I do not update IMMEDIATELY. This individual is the only person who does that at this company and we always end up going back and forth. I could choose to drop the company, but one bad apple shouldn't spoil the bunch. If the one bad apple IS the whole bunch, then yeah, I'd probably move on.

Im a new forum member and so hello everyone
Nwlp is reputable and I like working with them. I'm a little confused bc I received this email below after I completed my last shop:

Northwest Loss Prevention Consultants
<Support@archondev.com> wrote:

>> A shop has been completed and is ready for your review. Please click on
> the link then enter your username and password to view the online report
or just click on the PDF attachment.
>> Thank you!
>> ------------------------------------
> (#1):
> Click the link below to log in and view the information. You may also try
> copying and pasting the link into the Address bar in your web browser.
> [b.archondev.com] (I didn't type the numbers in the actual link here for privacy reasons)
>> -----------------------------------

When I clicked on the link i couldn't login with my nwlp info. And there was no PDF attachment? I emailed Doug a couple times to ask why I couldn't get in? He responded by saying:
"Shoppers have no access to their completed shops once submitted"

Anyone else experienced this? Why send this email if no access? I'm not concerned, just curious? I appreciated the confirmation, however it was a little frustrating to spend 1/2 hour trying to figure out what I was doing wrong to login to the link. Maybe it's just a glitch in their automated email system?? Thanks

~ BaileySeattle,

That sounds like spam or a scam to me. I agree that most, if not all MSC's do not allow the shopper to see their completed report. Some allow you to save a copy as a pdf file but that is done at the time you are submitting the report.

I NEVER click on a link from an unknown source. And since scams are so "popular" in the mystery shopping field, I have actually called the MSC and asked them if they sent this e-mail/link to me. The answer has always been NO. Hope this helps.

This was not spam. It was an error in our system and the shopper should not have been notified. The email goes to the client and somehow got crossed up.



Baileyseattle Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Im a new forum member and so hello everyone
> Nwlp is reputable and I like working with them.
> I'm a little confused bc I received this email
> below after I completed my last shop:
>
> Northwest Loss Prevention Consultants
> wrote:
>
> >> A shop has been completed and is ready for your
> review. Please click on
> > the link then enter your username and password
> to view the online report
> or just click on the PDF attachment.
> >> Thank you!
> >> ------------------------------------
> > (#1):
> > Click the link below to log in and view the
> information. You may also try
> > copying and pasting the link into the Address
> bar in your web browser.
> > [b.archondev.com] (I
> didn't type the numbers in the actual link here
> for privacy reasons)
> >> -----------------------------------
>
> When I clicked on the link i couldn't login with
> my nwlp info. And there was no PDF attachment? I
> emailed Doug a couple times to ask why I couldn't
> get in? He responded by saying:
> "Shoppers have no access to their completed
> shops once submitted"
>
> Anyone else experienced this? Why send this email
> if no access? I'm not concerned, just curious? I
> appreciated the confirmation, however it was a
> little frustrating to spend 1/2 hour trying to
> figure out what I was doing wrong to login to the
> link. Maybe it's just a glitch in their automated
> email system?? Thanks

Thanks for clearing that up. So many of the scams use the name of reputable companies and it would be scary to click on a dangerous link only to find out after the fact.