I just received a call telling me that I had to retake a photo on a job (3 locations that I did two weeks ago). I took an exterior photo rather than an interior. I explained that I was an hour away and that I was going to that town early next week. They told me that I had to do it either today or tomorrow (I have a full schedual both days). They informed me that they would have to disallow my shops.I reconfirmed this with them, stating again that I was an hour away.
They sat on my reports for 2 weeks before notifying me of the problem, and then only gave me 2 days to redo the photos!
I am in a very rural area where there are very few opportunities and even then I have to travel for an hour...and there are VERY few shoppers available in these areas! I have been shopping for 3 years and I have top ratings.I told her that I would have to consider not shopping for their company as a result. No response. But she did tell me to have a nice day!
I am so pissed off that I could spit!
Really don't know what to do with this!!??

If you have been shopping for 3 years you likely have been shopping with them for 3 yeas. I understand your frustration and I understand your need to vent but you also obviously understand what is needed for you to continue working if shops are so few and far between in your market.

This is a shopper error and there is no GOOD time to ever have to go redo work--whether it is the next day or two days or two weeks or two months after.

I would suggest you go take a hot shower, wash your hair and calm down. Then I would put fresh batteries in my camera, make sure the shop had not been unassigned already and hit the road.

It seems that with 3 years of experience, you should have learned how to carefully read the shop requirements. I agree with Flash, you made an error. Just aknowledge that fact and retake the correct picture.

Hey, I agree with Flash, too, but beatlesfan1964, even the most experienced shopper is capable of making a mistake! I think one of the OP's gripes is how long it took the company to recognize the mistake, and how little time there is to make the correction. It's the end of the month, and now the company is coming up on deadline for the client.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/2012 06:52PM by nicelytwicely.

I am certainly not faulting reading shop instructions! We all just go blank from time to time. I don't know about others, but I have scrambled when it came time to enter a report and I had missed something. Much nicer when I have the forehead slapping moment in the car just after exiting the location! Saves gas :-)

Not that this will do the OP a damn bit of good, but I agree that the timing is the biggest issue here. The problem remains we are at the companies mercy on this. More than a few companies include requirements to be available for follow up for 24-48 hours after report submission only to pull the same crap, coming back a couple of weeks later saying the shopper still has only 24 hours to comply. In an ideal world, the time allowed for a reshop or additional info/photos would be adjusted accordingly.

I'm just back from my 2 shops today. I have cooled down and appreciate the feedback that you all have taken your time to give. I would have gone back to redo the photos but was booked for today and tomorrow in quite opposite directions.
Usually I do learn from mistakes and you can bet I got a BIG lesson from this! I'm sure that I will 'fine tune'my methods, as you suggested.
Thanks again.

Hang in there Sally

sallyf024 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm just back from my 2 shops today. I have cooled
> down and appreciate the feedback that you all have
> taken your time to give. I would have gone back to
> redo the photos but was booked for today and
> tomorrow in quite opposite directions.
> Usually I do learn from mistakes and you can bet I
> got a BIG lesson from this! I'm sure that I will
> 'fine tune'my methods, as you suggested.
> Thanks again.


I am reminded of my experience the other year with an audit of a website as part of an operational audit of a mall. After three months, I read from my email that they were challenging my report that there were multiple typos/misspellings on their website. I was asked to show them. Obviously they have already edited their website. Unfortunately, I was reading this in the hospital where my late husband was on life support. I told my manager that I did not have my records in the hospital where I had been staying but that I would try to go home when I could. I managed to do that and submitted the documents which I kept. My relationship with that company became stronger but I was almost willing to give it up. However, I knew their priority was different from mine and my failure to provide the info would seriously damage their business relationship with that very important client of theirs.

Anyone can make a mistake. It really takes both sides to understand and be supportive of each other. In your case, I wish they would consider giving you more time given your circumstances. If it is the Blue Portal, maybe you can explain to them. I have found them fair.

I had a gas station (not Market Force) and the editor waited 2 weeks to call me/email me to question a certain picture I took. I looked through my current reports and then my older reports and that's where I found hers//. I initially asked her, "When was this shop performed?" She said 2 weeks ago. Luckily, I did not have to re-take any pics, but merely clarify the one that I did take. She accepted that and all was good. But I do understand your frustration. In a time where you pretty much think they won't contact you (10 days) and here comes a letter questioning a certain picture...

.

I'm on the shopper's side on this one...2 weeks to review report is too long to be told shop wasn't correct...although two wrongs don't make a right, I think they should have worked with her.

I did a shop for Market Force yesterday. I got a note saying that I would not be paid because I did not follow my instructions.

They were 100% correct. I went to the wrong end of the street!

When it is what is is...it simply is what it is.

I wrote back and thanked them and agreed!

sallyf024 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm just back from my 2 shops today. I have cooled
> down and appreciate the feedback that you all have
> taken your time to give. I would have gone back to
> redo the photos but was booked for today and
> tomorrow in quite opposite directions.
> Usually I do learn from mistakes and you can bet I
> got a BIG lesson from this! I'm sure that I will
> 'fine tune'my methods, as you suggested.
> Thanks again.

Sally: I feel ya, I'm glad you are feeling better.

I too live in a very very rural area and have to schedule as heavy a route as I can to make it worth my while (which makes it next to impossible to do any follow up work-it's not like I would be just running across town to take another picture).

I really feel a way to increase my income would be to include longer and longer routes-I've even read on here where some brave souls do road trips-but I am just not at a place where I feel confident enough to do this yet....

myshop2011:
Thanks for the input. I think it is hard for the companies to understand us "rural" shopper folks. I have to go down and up mountains to get to 95% of my shops. It takes me an hour to get anywhere, so I have to be sure to get at least 2 shops for that area before I can afford to make a trip. I'd like to up that to 3 but am so paranoid about the reports, that a 3rd shop is not plausable at this point.
Sunday, I did a shop for CRI and it alone took me over 5 hours, between travel time (2 hrs.), doing the actual shop (1 hr to interact with 7 associates) needing to reinput the shop 4 times because CRI's computer system was not working properly). All that for a $9.20 commission. At the end of that day I was ready to call it quits. Are we nuts to be doing this?

Well, I think I am nuts for a number of reasons, not just mystery shopping! Just kidding!! I got into this when we going back and forth between 2 states, trying to be a support to my elderly widowed mother and bolster up a family business meanwhile keeping my husband and college age daughter happy. I wasn't in a position to commit to a job in either state.

I've been doing this since last March, and my goal now is to see if I can get some sort of regular income out of it. Maybe track my shops to see if I can organize to achieve some sort of specified $$ of income.

Yep, all the companies get on my nerves at one point or another, even MF, man, sometimes especially MF!! I try to tell myself to appreciate the brief honeymoon periods.....

You have a great attitude! I will try to adopt that myself.
You can juggle a very complex lifestyle and I respect that. I took care of my mom for 5 years after raising 3 kids alone...but I got them all into college. Now I am on soc. security and trying not to be a burden on them.
I have my doubts about getting a secure income from MS, however, I have started merchandising and I get more $ and more jobs...reports are much easier! If you want to get more info on this send me a personal email through this forum (I am pretty sure you can do this).
Hahaha!...MF is a BIG pain for me too. But that is where I first got started with Merchandising and got enough experience to market myself to other companies that pay well.
Thanks for the attitude adjustment.


myshop2011 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well, I think I am nuts for a number of reasons,
> not just mystery shopping! Just kidding!! I got
> into this when we going back and forth between 2
> states, trying to be a support to my elderly
> widowed mother and bolster up a family business
> meanwhile keeping my husband and college age
> daughter happy. I wasn't in a position to commit
> to a job in either state.
>
> I've been doing this since last March, and my goal
> now is to see if I can get some sort of regular
> income out of it. Maybe track my shops to see if I
> can organize to achieve some sort of specified $$
> of income.
>
> Yep, all the companies get on my nerves at one
> point or another, even MF, man, sometimes
> especially MF!! I try to tell myself to
> appreciate the brief honeymoon periods.....

sallyf024 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> I have my doubts about getting a secure income
> from MS, however, I have started merchandising and
> I get more $ and more jobs...reports are much
> easier! If you want to get more info on this send
> me a personal email through this forum (I am
> pretty sure you can do this).

To send a Private Message to anyone on this forum the easiest way is to click on their blue name at the side of their post. You will get a screen that shows some of their information and has a link in blue to send them a Private Message. Super easy and a really nice way to communicate about stuff not particularly relevant to the overall forum.

The recipient will receive an email from 'Jacob Jans' indicating that they have a New Private Message or when they come to the forum they will have a blue bar in the upper right of the screen indicating they have a private message. The recipient can either access their message from a link in the email sent or can click on the blue bar indicating they have a message or simply click on Private Messages in the main forum menu bar.

thanks flash!!

Market Force contacted me for pictures after two weeks also. I missed taking a picture at each of two sites. I re-read the instructions and sure enough I had messed up. I figure the return trip used up what profit I would have had on the two shops but it was my own error so I bit the bullet and went back. As someone else said, it is our responsibility to read the instructions and make sure we get it right. Sometimes we forget or goof but it is still our responsility.
I agree that two weeks was too long but that's life, they get backed up but they still need to get the job done.

I still say the issue here is not a matter of the shopper taking responsibility. It is waiting 2 weeks, allowing only 48 hours (over a weekend no less) and then refusing to work with the shopper who was simply asking for an extra day or so to handle it with a trip already scheduled to that area. They may get backed up, but that does not give them the right to treat their shoppers as if they are employees who have nothing better to do than wait for them to catch up.

Before they are up to their ass in alligators they may want to consider draining the swamp.

To be fair to Market Force Purple, here is what I just received today.

CERTIFIED FIELD ASSOCIATE STUDY
________________________________________

General Information
We're conducting a short survey with our most valuable Certified Field Associates to look for ways to make their experience working with us better. Today we'd like to understand more about why some Associates aren't able to complete an assignment or choose not to do so, so we can improve.

Irene_L.A. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm on the shopper's side on this one...2 weeks to
> review report is too long to be told shop wasn't
> correct...although two wrongs don't make a right,
> I think they should have worked with her.


You are forgetting the "golden rule". He or she that has the gold makes the rules

Usually a company is supposed to email you within a few days if there is a problem with your report or they need more information. I agree that the company waited too long to tell her that she needed to retake the photos.

I learned last month that I was not going to be paid for a shop because they never got my report. I know that I did it. The scheduler had the report in front of her showing that it was partially completed. She was to sent me the report so that I could see it but never did. They rejected the report and assigned it to someone else. She claimed they sent me an email but I never received it. I check my mystery shopping emails every day.

The thing that bugged me is the shop was done in October. I did not find this out until end of Dec when I was calling about payments for 3 shops. I will be paid for two of them but not for this one. It is too late to take care of something that you did not know about. I am still waiting payment for one of the shops that was done in Oct. I got paid for the Nov one. I was told Nov checks got lost and had to be resend. I have to call again to find out where it is.

. All that for a $9.20 commission. At the
> end of that day I was ready to call it quits. Are
> we nuts to be doing this?


Even with 2 shops you are losing money at those rates. Your auto expenses have to be at least .30/mile, especially if you are going up and down mountains! Two hours on the road (at least 75 miles) and another hour or two doing the shops and uploading; you are definitely nuts to be doing that.
I live rural as well and I don't do shops any more that do not pay. That means I usually have to get some kind of extra money for mileage or they are desparate to get the job done or both.

eldonk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> . All that for a $9.20 commission. At the
> > end of that day I was ready to call it quits.
> Are
> > we nuts to be doing this?
>
>
> Even with 2 shops you are losing money at those
> rates. Your auto expenses have to be at least
> .30/mile, especially if you are going up and down
> mountains! Two hours on the road (at least 75
> miles) and another hour or two doing the shops and
> uploading; you are definitely nuts to be doing
> that.
> I live rural as well and I don't do shops any more
> that do not pay. That means I usually have to get
> some kind of extra money for mileage or they are
> desparate to get the job done or both.

You forget the copying and printing. Actually, I have figured out the costs on a shop and you are right. The reason I am doing this is to get good ratings and establish relationships with the companies I work for. I intend to cut back to doing only bonused shops that exceed my costs.
Thanks for your reply.

Yes, I feel your frustation. I have had two bad experiences with MF; once because I received verbal directions from one of their customer service callers who said this shop was at a deadline. I followed the verbal directions and was not paid because the verbal directions did not match with the written directions. I was out $12.

I feel the pain of trying to get out of the mountains and down the road. I get calls about projects "only 30 miles away" as the crow flies". I have to get off the mountain (20 miles) to get to the interstate to go 45 miles to the project that is "only 30 miles away". I get very selective about what projects I take. Only bonused ones or ones with large payouts.

If you are merchandising for MF watch out for a scheduler named Michelle. She is located in VA and is a contracted scheduler. No matter what you say to her questions, she will continue talking about what you have agreed to do. She doesn't listen and is concentrating on her limited english skills to get you to take a project. I have been frustrated more than once with her calls.

I am an MSPA Gold certified shopper and have been supplementing my income with MS for 8 years. Sorry, furious, but I agree with MF. True, they were remiss in not addressing the issue earlier, but you took the assignment and are therefore responsible for compliance with all shop requirements. I have made more than one boner over the years, but I accept responsibility for my errors. If I can re-do, the shop, I do. If I cannot, I eat the shop and learn from my mistakes. A tip: Always take more photos than you thing you need. Read instructions carefully, and make a list of the photo's needed. Granted, sometimes instructions can be ambiguous and an important part of the shop is at the very end of the instructions. Who writes these things anyway? When shops are a long distance from your home, check, and double check the instructions, and do MORE than you have to as a back-up. I have been shopping for MF for years, and never had a problem with rejected shops, or getting paid. Hang in there!

Photo shops can be tricky. I have also learned from my mistakes. It is important to be patient and not to rush. I have also made some mistakes taking photos. Keep on keeping on.

Very Interesting! Today I got a check from MF paying me for the job!
Yes, I learned some very valuable lessons and got some great hints and support from you guys. Thanks everyone. I just wish that I had more time to spend on this forum. It has been wonderful.Thanks everyone!