@purpleicee wrote:
I personally would not avoid admitting what I did wrong. That would make me sound incompetent and indicate I may not have read the guidelines, or the real truth, in this case, just plainly forgot.
So, I would have admitted and submitted and wait and see. They would know I was honest and still submitted my shop knowing I could be rejected. And my reliability and work ethics would still be in tact.
I respect your thoughts and don't disagree with you at each point. I would counter the following: One's ethics are still intact. It is one thing to withhold or alter key information. For example, if I suggested the OP alter their receipt (as someone on the forum recently posted they have done), that would be dishonest. A lie of omission about a key shop detail would dishonest. In this case, however, neither of those things are true. My recommendation was not to withhold information or to alter it. It was to submit the job and let the process play out. It is not the mystery shopper's job to do the editor's job for them. Shoppers barely get paid enough to do the shop, much less hold the editor's hand. The receipt, which the OP was going to submit unaltered, would have clearly shown the mistake. While the editor could have come away with the thought that the shopper was incompetent or didn't properly read the guidelines, they could still come away with that even if you tell them you forgot. Rather than worry about what they may think, let the process play out. I recently did a car wash shop. One of the photos I needed was horrible. I tried and tried to get a good photo, and couldn't. I personally would not have accepted the shop because of it, but I turned the shop in and the poor quality photo, and it was accepted. I didn't withhold anything. I just didn't offer an explanation. I would have if I had been asked.
That's not to say I've not done exactly what you suggested. I have. When I messed up a shop for RBG, I reached out to Marie early in the process and let her know. I have a good relationship with her and I know she responds fast. If my mistake was going to disqualify the shop, I'd rather her take it off my board and reassign it, rather than 5 days later when I turn the shop in and it screw her up on her deadline. In this case, the only person to write is the big monster generic e-mail, which likely won't see anybody respond because it is the Friday afternoon before the last weekend before Christmas, and the shop had to be turned in tonight. Honestly, even if they did respond in time, I think they would say turn it in and the editor will contact if they need something.
There is a process in place for a reason. If I were missing a photo, a receipt, or something like that, then yes, I would let them know and explain that up front. I just thought of another example. I missed a gas pump photo one time. The big bad e-mail address told me submit the report without the photo so it would buy me some time to get back and get it, then I could upload it once the editor sent it back.
As I said, they can actually work with you on a lot of things, so if you mess up, press on. Ultimately it is on the client, and in the OP's case, it was good on their other shop that the MSC was willing to send it on to the client to see if they will accept it. That is far better than an outright rejection.