I got the humor. I added on my own. I'm lighter than a cupcake but not lighter than a snowflake, LOL.

It was all worth it to "hear" LIJake call himself a Cyber Stud!

Gotta love it.

OP, nstammer ~ hopefully, you are not a one-post hit and runner.

STN's fees are low. Reimbursement is generally adequate. Read and adhere to requirements. STN is communicative and pay is timely.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

I got the humor. I added on my own. I'm lighter than a cupcake but not lighter than a snowflake, LOL.

I love cupcakes.

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

I love cupcakes.

I heard that you love being covered in frosting!

@Sybil2 wrote:

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

I love cupcakes.

I heard that you love being covered in frosting!

Yes. With whipped cream on top too!

Strategically placed lol...

Second to none is one of my favorite places to work with. Then again I would never do the donut shop because I don't eat them. I might if I was going some where and it required me to bring donuts on the way. Read , read and make sure you know what your signing up for. I don't do any eating shops that far away from home. I guess I have gotten more particular as the time goes by on what I will and won't do. But having to go back a doing a shop for someone else because I didn't get it right made me aware of what not to do since the shop was 20 miles away, and I had to redo it to get paid.

My first thought, as well, was why would the OP take a shop that far away, for a product he or she didn't want, and for no profit? SMH.

Have performed shops for this MSC numerous times. Have never had any problems and the pay schedule is excellent. As long as you follow all instructions and read the Guidelines, there shouldn't be any problems with the shops.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2016 11:07PM by Arslan.

I love Second to None. I have never had a problem. I started with them last year and within a few months I was moved to 5 star status so now I am able to self assign.

I have no idea why people like the OP make these types of posts. Most of the time it is clear the shopper did not follow instructions. So they are really just saying, "Don't work for this company because they will expect you to follow their guidelines! The nerve! I want to do it how I want and still get paid!" Lol

I'm a new shopper and started reading Mystery Shopper Forum for advice from experienced shoppers. I am shocked how some of you seem to delight in being rude to another shopper who is experiencing a problem issue. Nstammer isn't getting paid after spending money and time. Have some empathy. Is this a forum to help each other or to show the world how much smarter you are than the shopper who needs advice and compassion.

bobbishoppergirl, the OP didn't come here looking for advice or empathy. She specifically became a member to denigrate an MSC. The OP has not signed in to the forum since she started this thread 9 days ago. She wasn't even logged in long enough to read the first response to her post. Her mission was to drop a bomb and run.

@bobbishoppergirl wrote:

Nstammer isn't getting paid after spending money and time. Have some empathy. Is this a forum to help each other or to show the world how much smarter you are than the shopper who needs advice and compassion.

bobbishopper, many of us do have compassion and are happy to give a shoulder to cry on and advice if someone asks for it. (Yes, there are some rude people here, but they're in the minority.) But why would you think the OP deserves compassion? And he/she didn't ask for advice. Did you even read this?

OP: "... for a $16.00 payment. I spent $15.92 on a dozen doughnuts that I didn't want (non-reimbursable) and spent $1.40 in tolls plus 28 miles to get to and from the shop... and I didn't provide the receipt. Within the agreed 12 hour time frame, I uploaded the receipt that was NOT indicated in the directions and detailed my doughnuts purchased."

What's wrong with pointing out that this is a shop the OP never should have taken? He/she must have known that the purchase wasn't reimbursed and that the place was 28 miles round trip. It's clear that the shop wasn't worth doing, unless the OP really wanted the doughnuts! And it's hard to believe that the OP didn't know that a receipt was required. I've done some shops for STN and, like other MSCs, they require a POV (proof of visit) and state so in the instructions. As far as not getting the right doughnut, I've never done this shop, so can't speak to the specifics. But clearly the shopper either didn't buy the right doughnut or didn't provide an explanation for why (i.e., they were out of it and shopper bought the alternate).

The shopper spent money and time that a) he or she shouldn't have and b) is not getting paid for because the shop wasn't done correctly. You're upset that other shoppers aren't supportive. If the shopper had said, "Yeah, I screwed up and know it. But I'm bummed because I spent all that time and money," I think the response would be different. But, as ChrisCooper notes, the OP seemed to be interested only in bashing STN and not in getting any sort of advice.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2016 02:10PM by BirdyC.

@bobbishoppergirl wrote:

I'm a new shopper and started reading Mystery Shopper Forum for advice from experienced shoppers. I am shocked how some of you seem to delight in being rude to another shopper who is experiencing a problem issue. Nstammer isn't getting paid after spending money and time. Have some empathy. Is this a forum to help each other or to show the world how much smarter you are than the shopper who needs advice and compassion.

bobbishoppergirl, sometimes the best help we can give as independent contractors supporting each other is the reminder that we are all professionals running our own small business. A contractor who does not complete the job correctly does not - and should not - get paid. And a contractor who did it wrong should accept responsibility for doing it wrong rather than bashing the company for his own mistake. The best support we can be for each other is to call it like it is. No one here was mean or rude, just honest.

In addition, we have a responsibility to "keep it real" on the forum because newbies like you read here, hoping for advice from experienced shoppers. A newbie, seeing "don't waste your time - I got burned" might tend to believe that there are problems with the company if no one says "Hey, man, you burned yourself. It is not the company's fault that you did the shop wrong." And that's exactly what happened here - the OP burned himself but is lashing out at the company to "punish" them because he made a mistake. I mean no disrespect to newbies - I was a newbie once and I had a tendency to believe what I read, and I really appreciate that some of the more experienced forum members correct the kind of meaningless bashing the OP is doing.

The OP did not present a problem with the company that means other shoppers should not waste their time. The OP simply did it wrong and can't accept responsibility. If you truly want to show empathy and compassion, the best way would be to stop commenting on the OP's post. As discussion goes on, more people read it and the OP simply looks foolish.

I decided to move the comments I made here to a new thread.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2016 04:16PM by MDavisnowell.

@bobbishoppergirl wrote:

I'm a new shopper and started reading Mystery Shopper Forum for advice from experienced shoppers. I am shocked how some of you seem to delight in being rude to another shopper who is experiencing a problem issue. Nstammer isn't getting paid after spending money and time. Have some empathy. Is this a forum to help each other or to show the world how much smarter you are than the shopper who needs advice and compassion.

bobbishopper, welcome to the forum I can tell you are a new shopper, because your perception of this situation is that of someone with very little experience in mystery shopping. Nstammer is not "experiencing a problem issue." nstammer is not getting paid because he performed a shop incorrectly. An independent contractor only gets paid for a job done right.

As an example, let's say bobbishoppergirl hires an independent contractor to paint her house brown. He paints and he does a great job ....EXCEPT he paints it bright orange! bobbishopper doesn't want an orange house! He spent time and money painting the house, but he did it wrong. Now bobbishopper willl have to pay a different independent contractor to paint it again so it can be painted the right color. Now let's say the painter has the gall to complain on the internet that he got burned by bobbishoppergirl because he bought paint and did the job she hired him for and she didn't pay him. Just because he painted bobbi's house the wrong color shouldn't matter, right? Should everyone who reads his post agree that working for bobbishoppergirl is not worth it? Or would you expect people to say "wait - you did it wrong; why would she pay you?"

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2016 02:49AM by AustinMom.

Second-to-None was the FIRST MSC I shopped for. Don't know how they got my name but I will forever be grateful. That's how I started. Over the years, their clients did not fit my schedule and then later, not my style but I have started shopping for them again. How things have changed for them, me and so many other MSC's. Love their new clients and I have never had a problem.

I have contracted for 2TN for over 5 years found them fair and pay like clockwork sorry you had a bad outcome.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2016 05:13PM by ewalsh.

Wow, I have been shopping with STN for years. I don't think their pay is low at all, like is $15 low to ask a question at a internet provider, no purchase required one photo? Plus they bonus, they up pay on jobs regularly through the month, respond to questions and requests for bonuses. Just last week I went to a "certified resale provider" for a big company, but it was closed. I just snapped a pic of the out of business/empty building with the right address, let the scheduler know of the issue and I still got paid. There was no trying to get out of paying it or reducing my fee. Would MF have let that go, hmm no. How about HSB or Maritz? Probably not. But STN said you did your part and we will pay you.

I have seen and done the donut shop and while I don't eat the carbs, my husband really enjoyed taking a big box of assorted donuts to work one morning while I was out anyways. So I got a big "thanks honey" on top of the basic cost of the donuts and my coffee. We have many great STN shops in my area, and also, medical shops with them. I have peed in a cup for them and got paid. I have pretended to need health insurance in Walmart for them. I have yet to have blood drawn for them but I have seen it offered! I love that after a few good jobs with them, you get a nice rating like 4 or 5 stars and can self schedule and self re-schedule your jobs. I like their interface/website. I have never not been paid on time by them. But then again, I've also never not uploaded a receipt, even if one was not asked for specifically. I take 4 photos every time. 1 is receipt, 2 is restroom, 3 is front of store, curb appeal and 4 is a geoverify code then screen cap it on my phone with map and code visible. I have found that in many cases, I may need one of those 4 things.

Really I think that you did the job wrong, and since you weren't a big fan of the food item to begin with, and it was so far away, not getting paid added insult to injury. Sorry this happened to you. I advise for any new shop you do, reread the guidelines over and over and even sit in your car 5 extra minutes or go in the restroom, check your phone one more time before you start them or leave. With a job like this, it would have been easy to make a list of the donuts required in handwriting, like coworkers told you what they wanted and you would probably not have made any ordering mistakes. Also, I go 40 miles out of my way all the time for a job, with a toll and when I do, I plan about 6 other jobs in the area and also keep my Presto and MobiAudit apps running to see what's around me once i get there that I can knock out really fast.

Doing their healthy pizza place tomorrow for lunch....pay doesn't give you a drink, but no, I'm not complaining,
so, my lunch will cost me another dollar. The company and schedulers are all great, but (OP) brush up on your relationship skills, it goes a long way in MSing.

@ChrisCooper wrote:

bobbishoppergirl, the OP didn't come here looking for advice or empathy. She specifically became a member to denigrate an MSC. The OP has not signed in to the forum since she started this thread 9 days ago. She wasn't even logged in long enough to read the first response to her post. Her mission was to drop a bomb and run.

exactly

I had problems with this same shop. They asked about 2 items that were already in my report, plus they asked for something that was NOT included in the instructions or on the report. Then they came back a second time and asked for a receipt, which was sent with the original report. I was not happy, especially since it was the first shop I'd ever done for them.

That's weird, Chris. Maybe when you uploaded your receipt it didn't take. That happens sometimes...you have to double check your uploads. As far as asking you about what's in your report, maybe you clicked some things as no but didnt explain in the narrative? Nearly all companies require backup comments in the narratives for everything you check no.

STN was the second MSC I shopped for. This was about 24 years ago and I did copy stores and a government agency. They also had the highly detailed coffee shop. I love STN. Instructions clear, paid on time. Now they have mostly medical office shops and the donut shop out here. Donut shop was good for when I wanted to treat my coworkers. Now that I've retired, I found out the glazed donuts freeze beautifully. So, eat 2, then freeze the rest. 10-15 secs in the microwave. Mmmmmmmmm

Sorry, there paying you to do something and you did not do it. Don't get mad at them your the one that did not do the job...

Poor planning leads to low earnings...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2016 05:46AM by ALHDZ.

I, also, have done many shops for them and never had a problem. I am sorry you did.

I feel your anger. It happened to me once, and I did not get reimbursed over $300. Another company. I made one mistake. Ive completed the shop you are talking about several times over the years and a receipt has always been required. I love Second to None. Receipts are almost always required so I make sure to get them no matter what company. I don't do the donut shops anymore unless they have a bonus. Better luck next time

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2016 07:13AM by cakerladi.