LisaSTL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Membership is only open to companies. If memory
> serves, there was a time when shoppers could
> attend their conferences on a limited basis. I
> think it was when MSPA chose to stop inviting
> shoppers three years ago that the IMSC was born.

What is IMSC (asking this as a new MS)?
Maybe I know but not certain.

Do you know WHY MSPA chose to stop inviting MS?

Sorry about that. IMSC, Independent Mystery Shoppers Conference. They began with only a few months planning and on a shoestring. Apparently it's working out well since they are having several in different parts of the country this years. There are a lot of workshops scheduled and I've found the video shopping industry is going to be well-represented.

I have no idea why the MSPA stopped inviting shoppers. It may have been that they were offering Gold certification workshops in conjunction with the conferences and the change in policy coincided with the move to offering the certification on DVD.

LisaSTL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sorry about that. IMSC, Independent Mystery
> Shoppers Conference. They began with only a few
> months planning and on a shoestring. Apparently
> it's working out well since they are having
> several in different parts of the country this
> years. There are a lot of workshops scheduled and
> I've found the video shopping industry is going to
> be well-represented.
>
> I have no idea why the MSPA stopped inviting
> shoppers. It may have been that they were offering
> Gold certification workshops in conjunction with
> the conferences and the change in policy coincided
> with the move to offering the certification on
> DVD.

Nope, didn't know about the IMSC -- thanks for clarifying and the education!

Leave behind or avoid low paying shops for whatever your reasons. Just know that "someone" will pick them up and do them and will submit reports that are good or bad. It's not your problem. You didn't want them anyway. The MSP deserves what they get for $4 and they will usually get what they pay for.

Set your standard and don't bother with shops that don't reach YOUR requirement. Forget about them and move on. Talking about them and thinking about them and being annoyed about them is just another way MSP's can waste your time, except you let it happen.

I don't do anything under $15 and I really don't care what I miss. I'm not shy about asking for more money. Sometimes I get it and sometimes I don't. If I need more money and don't get it, I don't go.

I know exactly what my vehicle costs are per km so I know if shop locations are revenue producing or not.
BTW - I'm Canadian and our fuel is over $5/gal. Regardless, I am making money shopping and I know exactly how much.

Members of MSPA are SUPPOSED to adhere to certain standards. Can't remember the wording but they are supposed to pay for work done. Again, don't remember the wording, but they are not "allowed" to not pay for arbitrary, capricious reasons. I have been thinking of filing a complaint against Remington, which is a member. Because, according to the MSPA rules, I should have been paid for that shop. I don't think it would do any good in my particular case, but I was thinking--it might (MIGHT) cause Remington (or an other MSC) to take heed... a wake-up call such as it were.

I find that many msc have editors who ask for rewrites on narratives when all that they now require was answered in the narrative already done. It is hopeless to query them as they just do not comprehend or care, I do not know which. When a shopper gets done with their multitudinous rewrites, it is not worth it to do the shops and then when you really want to advise them of where to put their head, good sense stops this activity.

dr.lloyd@sbcglobal.net Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I find that many msc have editors who ask for
> rewrites on narratives when all that they now
> require was answered in the narrative already
> done. It is hopeless to query them as they just do
> not comprehend or care, I do not know which. When
> a shopper gets done with their multitudinous
> rewrites, it is not worth it to do the shops and
> then when you really want to advise them of where
> to put their head, good sense stops this activity.


Any particular company you are referring to? I had a similar experience with one company where the editor told me I mentioned things in my report that were not in the guidelines. When I responded by quoting the guidelines, she dismissed me by saying something like: "even though it's in the guidelines, it's not required that you mention it". I just thanked her for the feedback at that point.

dr,lloyd

I couldn't agree more. just got a note from an editor. I have done several shops for this company in the past and have always gotten high scores, positive comments. My one-sentence comments have always been satisfactory (and since the directions don't ask for anything more, that's what I do.) This editor wants 4 to 5 sentences about each associate I interact with. WTFloralarrangesments.

and just my opinion...I'd get rid of the email address unless a) it's fake or b) you want people to email you...in which case, NEVER MIND :-)

SoJo -- Sometimes the editors make no sense to me. I always thought the more information you're giving the client about your experience the better. I Wonder if the editors get paid so little they don't want to read reports with a lot of detail.

avitoots Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SoJo -- Sometimes the editors make no sense to me.
> I always thought the more information you're
> giving the client about your experience the
> better. I Wonder if the editors get paid so
> little they don't want to read reports with a lot
> of detail.


Bingo! I had an editor who told me that my summary was too long but did not include a description of my interaction with the security guard. I sent her a copy of my report and pointed out what she missed. She apologized and told me she must have gotten the wrong report. But it was entered on their website. I just told her that my understanding for years was that I was supposed to write a detailed report and there was no limit to the size. She told me that without the security guard interaction, it was too long. Geez!

"Bingo! I had an editor who told me that my summary was too lon..."


and tomorrow it will be too short. :- )

or too wide.

To address the issue about why the MSPA stopped doing shopper conferences - it was because they were loosing money on it. They were charging $125 for a 2 full day conference, plus a sit-down dinner, buffet lunch, light breakfasts and cocktail reception with beer/wine and heavy appetizers. Note that this is less than the "early bird" price of the IMSC which does not include any meals except for an appetizer reception with no beer/wine. In addition, many of the spearkers were compensated beyond just a free conference ticket for speaking at the MSPA conferences. Having been to both the MSPA shopper conferences and an IMSC conference, there were other differences as well (shopper binders and handouts were provided free of charge with the MSPA, they cost with IMSc, etc.)

Mickey, did the $125 fee cover the Gold certification as well?


Regarding MF and revenue; Keep in mind that's revenue, not profit. If a MSC had 1 million shops anually and charged each client $53.20 per shop.....Ta da! Now there may be a $40 in fee + reimbursement on each shop and a scheduler may take $3, and an editor another $5. In that case you are really looking at a company that takes in closer to 5.2 million in pay for the remainder of the operating expense.

I'm not saying those are the specific numbers, but when your main product includes turning over a large portion of the revenue to subcontractors for reimbursement and outside labor costs, I'm not as impressed by the revenue number. MF has been eating up smaller companies in order to increase the revenue for some time. Who knows if they even turn a profit with all the financing required to ingest the smaller MSCs they have taken on?

$125 is pretty cheap for a two day conference. In addition, most conferences have other revenue streams to cover costs.

MSPA is run by a professional association management company and companies like that are usually pretty good at creating revenue streams.


MickeyB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> To address the issue about why the MSPA stopped
> doing shopper conferences - it was because they
> were loosing money on it. They were charging $125
> for a 2 full day conference, plus a sit-down
> dinner, buffet lunch, light breakfasts and
> cocktail reception with beer/wine and heavy
> appetizers. Note that this is less than the
> "early bird" price of the IMSC which does not
> include any meals except for an appetizer
> reception with no beer/wine. In addition, many of
> the spearkers were compensated beyond just a free
> conference ticket for speaking at the MSPA
> conferences. Having been to both the MSPA shopper
> conferences and an IMSC conference, there were
> other differences as well (shopper binders and
> handouts were provided free of charge with the
> MSPA, they cost with IMSc, etc.)

It's my understanding that the profit from the Silver certification absorbed the loss created by the gold conferences.

The $125 for the MSPA shopper conferences did NOT cover the cost of gold certification - that was at an extra cost and provided an extra day as well. The shopper conferences were held only one time a year and targeted all shoppers, certified or non - they were similar in content as the IMSC shopper conferences. There was no certification at the end of the shopper conference.

It is true that the silver certification revenue covered the losses incurred by the gold certification program - but it did not cover the cost of the MSPA shopper conferences.

The revenue deficiet for the annual shopper conference was made up for by MSC company sponserships. My guess is that while they were able to cover their costs by getting these sponserships - as a professional management company is apt to do - the work involved by the staff at the MSPA in doing this did not support the perceived benefits of holding a conference to the MSCs who are members of the MSPA (remembering of course that the MSPA is a trade organization created and composed of member companies, NOT shoppers - so the companies interests are going to be first and foremost in anything they do).

Two more companies merging... seems ms companies are making money...

Wylii,

You stated Canadian gas exceeded $5 per gallon. Does your country still use the Imperial Gallon of, if I correctly recall, 160 ozs.? I was stationed in the Maritimes for 2 1/2 yrs. 1/2 century in the past and it was an outstanding experience. The Newfie ladies were the most affectionate I've ever met.

shopperbob Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wylii,
>
> You stated Canadian gas exceeded $5 per gallon.
> Does your country still use the Imperial Gallon
> of, if I correctly recall, 160 ozs.? I was
> stationed in the Maritimes for 2 1/2 yrs. 1/2
> century in the past and it was an outstanding
> experience. The Newfie ladies were the most
> affectionate I've ever met.


Canada is metric, so today our gas was $1.17/litre. Newfies are great people, as are most Maritimers.

qpone Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A while back I took some phone shops that paid $6
> each. Seemed reasonable so I took several dozen.
> It turned out that the MS company wanted a virtual
> transcript of the conversation. Each shop took
> more than an hour. I learned my lesson and didn't
> take any more of those.
>
> In the last few days another company sent an email
> offering phone shops that paid ... $1.75 each.
>
> If the MS companies go much lower, we may be
> paying them for the privledge...

Hello qpone,

I am new to mystery shopping. I have had the opportunity to do audio apartment shops that paid well, auto dealership shops where the scheduler was just about begging a shopper to take the job. I made out quite well on that one. It started at $17 and ended up at $45. They paid very quickly.

I have done many phone shops. I have made my minimum for the shop to be $5 or more, and most of the time I self-assign phone shops that pay $7-$9. I have gotten into the habit of using a Roxio software product for recording the audio. I use my phone on the speaker feature, I record both side of the conversation and it has simplified the report process. I think I would freak-out if I got myself into the situation you experienced. Thank you for sharing the information. I have learned so much from a lot of you seasoned shoppers.

Sincerely

M. Monty

Just a bit of a warning. Some MSCs specifically require you use their recording system. You might find yourself not getting paid if you don't use it.

M Monty Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> qpone Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > A while back I took some phone shops that paid
> $6
> > each. Seemed reasonable so I took several
> dozen.
> > It turned out that the MS company wanted a
> virtual
> > transcript of the conversation. Each shop took
> > more than an hour. I learned my lesson and
> didn't
> > take any more of those.
> >
> > In the last few days another company sent an
> email
> > offering phone shops that paid ... $1.75 each.
> >
> > If the MS companies go much lower, we may be
> > paying them for the privledge...
>
> Hello qpone,
>
> I am new to mystery shopping. I have had the
> opportunity to do audio apartment shops that paid
> well, auto dealership shops where the scheduler
> was just about begging a shopper to take the job.
> I made out quite well on that one. It started at
> $17 and ended up at $45. They paid very quickly.
>
> I have done many phone shops. I have made my
> minimum for the shop to be $5 or more, and most of
> the time I self-assign phone shops that pay $7-$9.
> I have gotten into the habit of using a Roxio
> software product for recording the audio. I use
> my phone on the speaker feature, I record both
> side of the conversation and it has simplified the
> report process. I think I would freak-out if I
> got myself into the situation you experienced.
> Thank you for sharing the information. I have
> learned so much from a lot of you seasoned
> shoppers.
>
> Sincerely
>
> M. Monty

jersey07032 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just a bit of a warning. Some MSCs specifically
> require you use their recording system. You might
> find yourself not getting paid if you don't use
> it.
>
> M Monty Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > qpone Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > A while back I took some phone shops that
> paid
> > $6
> > > each. Seemed reasonable so I took several
> > dozen.
> > > It turned out that the MS company wanted a
> > virtual
> > > transcript of the conversation. Each shop
> took
> > > more than an hour. I learned my lesson and
> > didn't
> > > take any more of those.
> > >
> > > In the last few days another company sent an
> > email
> > > offering phone shops that paid ... $1.75
> each.
> > >
> > > If the MS companies go much lower, we may be
> > > paying them for the privledge...
> >
> > Hello qpone,
> >
> > I am new to mystery shopping. I have had the
> > opportunity to do audio apartment shops that
> paid
> > well, auto dealership shops where the scheduler
> > was just about begging a shopper to take the
> job.
> > I made out quite well on that one. It started
> at
> > $17 and ended up at $45. They paid very
> quickly.
> >
> > I have done many phone shops. I have made my
> > minimum for the shop to be $5 or more, and most
> of
> > the time I self-assign phone shops that pay
> $7-$9.
> > I have gotten into the habit of using a Roxio
> > software product for recording the audio. I
> use
> > my phone on the speaker feature, I record both
> > side of the conversation and it has simplified
> the
> > report process. I think I would freak-out if I
> > got myself into the situation you experienced.
> > Thank you for sharing the information. I have
> > learned so much from a lot of you seasoned
> > shoppers.
> >
> > Sincerely
> >
> > M. Monty

Thank you Jersey07032,

I have never submitted the recorded audio conversation to the MS company, I use it as a reference when there is no recording system provided by the MS company. Incidently, I just found this reply to my post after completing a car dealership phone shop. I recorded the conversation to refer back to, so my reporting is as accurate as I can possible make it. I timed my report,and it took me less than 7 minutes. I didn't have to rack my brain to remember all that was said. Again, thanks for looking out for me, I greatly appreciate it.

Sincerely

M. Monty

The people that are taking these jobs are desperate for money. The MS companies have to stop feeding off these people and these people of them. I don't know how many times I asked myself, "Is this really worth it?" I have gone through three shoulder surgeries, my doctor won't disable me, the state won't give me any kind of other training, and I'm on light work restrictions. I don't have any office training. What else is there to do? I can't work in a bank, a gas station, or retail because of my weight restrictions.

M Monty:

Welcome to the ranks of mystery shopping. It can be fun, it can be frustrating. Although it seems sometimes that a mystery shop is a mystery shop, it's not that way. I have discovered shops that I'm interested in and shops I will pass on. Sometimes you have to do one or two to see if it is the type of job you want to continue to do.

Once you find a handfull of shops you like, they become the "go-to" shops and new shops can be added.

The money is not generally great, but some money can be made. I know one shopper that does it virtually full time and makes thousands of dollars per month. That's an awful lot of shops to do to make that kind of money.

Anyway, you can develop tricks and techniques to get through a job. That is one of the valus of this forum, discovering from others what works.

Good Luck!



M Monty Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> qpone Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > A while back I took some phone shops that paid
> $6
> > each. Seemed reasonable so I took several
> dozen.
> > It turned out that the MS company wanted a
> virtual
> > transcript of the conversation. Each shop took
> > more than an hour. I learned my lesson and
> didn't
> > take any more of those.
> >
> > In the last few days another company sent an
> email
> > offering phone shops that paid ... $1.75 each.
> >
> > If the MS companies go much lower, we may be
> > paying them for the privledge...
>
> Hello qpone,
>
> I am new to mystery shopping. I have had the
> opportunity to do audio apartment shops that paid
> well, auto dealership shops where the scheduler
> was just about begging a shopper to take the job.
> I made out quite well on that one. It started at
> $17 and ended up at $45. They paid very quickly.
>
> I have done many phone shops. I have made my
> minimum for the shop to be $5 or more, and most of
> the time I self-assign phone shops that pay $7-$9.
> I have gotten into the habit of using a Roxio
> software product for recording the audio. I use
> my phone on the speaker feature, I record both
> side of the conversation and it has simplified the
> report process. I think I would freak-out if I
> got myself into the situation you experienced.
> Thank you for sharing the information. I have
> learned so much from a lot of you seasoned
> shoppers.
>
> Sincerely
>
> M. Monty

Thank you qpone,

I will definitely covet any and all encouragement I receive. I felt I found a treasure trove of information when I found this forum. I read for a couple of days before posting. I am glad I did, and I do not regret signing on. I want to do the best I can, and work hard. I guess I don't want to be one of those "one post newbies" who never return.

I listened to many posts, and gleaned some very good advice from them. Today I had a very strange experience with a phone shop I did involving a new car dealership. I self-assigned the shop, downloaded the details, read the comments, printed the survey questions. It was simple; so I thought..

I had to shop the newest type of vehicle on the lot which is a 2012, and evaluate the sales agent. The acceptance email I received from the MSC gave me the vehicle name, the guidelines gave me the vehicle name, the comments gave me the vehicle name, and the survey questions had references to the vehicle I was to shop. Six and one half minutes for the call, and less than seven minutes for the report. The five dollars I accepted for the shop was worth 13.5 minutes of work! It is not 50 cents a minute, but I'll live with 37 cents.

I received an email from the scheduler saying there was a "lot of confusion" about the type of vehicle I was to shop, and those details are very specific to the shop, regarding the type of vehicle. The scheduler mentioned I should review the acceptance email I got, and if I didn't have it look at the comments about the shop. I did look at the details after receiving the email from the scheduler, many, many times! I do not see where I shopped the wrong vehicle. The information about a different vehicle just isn't there! I even took the advice given in the guidelines about researching the vehicle at www.companynameusa.com (fake name of course). The absolute newest vehicle of the type I needed to shop will not be available until March 15, 2012 according to the homepage of the company. In my opinion, that vehicle does not apply.

I took a screen shot of the first page of the guidelines, the bottom of the second page, the acceptance email, the comment section, which all had the vehicle I shopped; and sent it all to the scheduler in my reply to her email. I am very curious as to the outcome of this whole experience.

I said all that in my ramblings to say this: Thank you all for keeping me on point, and sticking to the facts and not the first response I personally felt. The best course of action, due to the forum, was to submit what I was looking at. Then let us determine where the confusion lies. I am not to proud to be wrong. I just need to know where I went wrong for future corrections to be made.

Sincerely,

M. Monty

M Monty,

It's always struck me odd that on the one hand, mystery shopping is one of those industries where clear quality communication is so critical, and on the other the pay is so bad.

Since most of the time we are doing the job based on paperwork we review, the ms company needs to be absolutely clear about the instructions and what they are looking for.

Unfortunately, since humans are writing the documents, clarity is not always achieved. That leads to the difference between what they actually wanted and what we understood they wanted.

As you have now experienced, the two sides are not always on the same page. You can bring it to the attention of the ms company, as you did... and now your easy less than 15 minute, pays $5 shop has become a "deal" and you are into it thirty minutes... an hour... or more... and you fee has not gone up.

In addition, you can only press so hard with the ms company because they are in the power position and can cut you off from getting future shops.

All in all, kind of a screwed position to be in... but it is part of the way it is set up... and part of the reason so many people drift away from being a shopper.

Good luck with your current situation... continue to learn.



M Monty Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you qpone,
>
> I will definitely covet any and all encouragement
> I receive. I felt I found a treasure trove of
> information when I found this forum. I read for a
> couple of days before posting. I am glad I did,
> and I do not regret signing on. I want to do the
> best I can, and work hard. I guess I don't want
> to be one of those "one post newbies" who never
> return.
>
> I listened to many posts, and gleaned some very
> good advice from them. Today I had a very strange
> experience with a phone shop I did involving a new
> car dealership. I self-assigned the shop,
> downloaded the details, read the comments, printed
> the survey questions. It was simple; so I
> thought..
>
> I had to shop the newest type of vehicle on the
> lot which is a 2012, and evaluate the sales agent.
> The acceptance email I received from the MSC gave
> me the vehicle name, the guidelines gave me the
> vehicle name, the comments gave me the vehicle
> name, and the survey questions had references to
> the vehicle I was to shop. Six and one half
> minutes for the call, and less than seven minutes
> for the report. The five dollars I accepted for
> the shop was worth 13.5 minutes of work! It is
> not 50 cents a minute, but I'll live with 37
> cents.
>
> I received an email from the scheduler saying
> there was a "lot of confusion" about the type of
> vehicle I was to shop, and those details are very
> specific to the shop, regarding the type of
> vehicle. The scheduler mentioned I should review
> the acceptance email I got, and if I didn't have
> it look at the comments about the shop. I did
> look at the details after receiving the email from
> the scheduler, many, many times! I do not see
> where I shopped the wrong vehicle. The
> information about a different vehicle just isn't
> there! I even took the advice given in the
> guidelines about researching the vehicle at
> www.companynameusa.com (fake name of course). The
> absolute newest vehicle of the type I needed to
> shop will not be available until March 15, 2012
> according to the homepage of the company. In my
> opinion, that vehicle does not apply.
>
> I took a screen shot of the first page of the
> guidelines, the bottom of the second page, the
> acceptance email, the comment section, which all
> had the vehicle I shopped; and sent it all to the
> scheduler in my reply to her email. I am very
> curious as to the outcome of this whole
> experience.
>
> I said all that in my ramblings to say this:
> Thank you all for keeping me on point, and
> sticking to the facts and not the first response I
> personally felt. The best course of action, due
> to the forum, was to submit what I was looking at.
> Then let us determine where the confusion lies.
> I am not to proud to be wrong. I just need to
> know where I went wrong for future corrections to
> be made.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> M. Monty

I feel like writing a book...100 ways to get screwed as a mystery shopper.

Maybe I am missing something. Did M. Monty shop the right vehicle? If so, what is the MSC saying? Did they change the guidelines mid-stream/last minute? What are they saying, exactly. Don't get me wrong. I am not accusing you of anything, not suggesting you somehow screwed up--not even remotely. I am just flabbergasted. I hope I spelled flabbergasted correctly. I am too flabbergasted to look it up.

#@%!%{( GA( #$!%(

jersey07032 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I feel like writing a book...100 ways to get
> screwed as a mystery shopper.
>
> Maybe I am missing something. Did M. Monty shop
> the right vehicle? If so, what is the MSC saying?
> Did they change the guidelines mid-stream/last
> minute? What are they saying, exactly. Don't get
> me wrong. I am not accusing you of anything, not
> suggesting you somehow screwed up--not even
> remotely. I am just flabbergasted. I hope I
> spelled flabbergasted correctly. I am too
> flabbergasted to look it up.
>
> #@%!%{( GA( #$!%(

Hello jersey07032:

If it didn't break IC protocol, or be a breach of contract, I would actually post every correspondence from the MSC and scheduler to help bolster my observation. Believe me when I say, I am not trying to throw gas on a fire that maybe close to burning out of control already. I made every attempt to relay my experience here in this forum without alluding to the MSC. I couldn't be so petty. And, I don't want to burn any bridges before I even know where the road is! Of course there may be some shoppers in this forum who knows how this particular MSC's procedures and terminology are, but I didn't have any other way to say it. Please, if you do recognize the company, help me to keep it a mystery, I just wanted some support. I will let anyone interested know what transpires from this experience as soon as I hear something. If someone else doesn't have to go through the same thing I am going through, I'll do everything in my power to help.

jersey07032 one thing I noted when copying all the information I sent to the scheduler; the guidelines for the shop had been updated on 3/6/12, I received the acceptance letter on 3/7/12 and did the shop on 3/8/12. Now you didn't hear this from me, but I'm just saying....maybe one of us missed something in the new information put in the updated guidelines. All I had to work with was the vast information that came along with the job. I had no other resource to draw from, and "Lo-and-Behold," "Flake!" Maybe. Let's just see what shakes loose. I may just have to drop doing those types of filler shops in the future,and set a standard of taking higher paying jobs, just so my frustration level somewhat matches the pay involved.

Sincerely,

M. Monty

Why stop at 100.... there are soooo many ways to get screwed as a mystery shopper.

jersey07032 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I feel like writing a book...100 ways to get
> screwed as a mystery shopper.
>
> Maybe I am missing something. Did M. Monty shop
> the right vehicle? If so, what is the MSC saying?
> Did they change the guidelines mid-stream/last
> minute? What are they saying, exactly. Don't get
> me wrong. I am not accusing you of anything, not
> suggesting you somehow screwed up--not even
> remotely. I am just flabbergasted. I hope I
> spelled flabbergasted correctly. I am too
> flabbergasted to look it up.
>
> #@%!%{( GA( #$!%(

You know I have gone through a similar experience and it went to the higher ups. But you are right to keep everything documented. And if they still insist that you are wrong, tell them you have spent more than enough time on it and it has become counter-productive for your purposes.

That's what I said after providing them all the documents. One of the issues was the client claimed there were actually more SAs than I reported. I told them the guidelines said "The number of associates when you came in, not during the time I was there. And if they were not recognizable because they were not wearing a lanyard or nametag or something else, you cannot fault the shopper." The client also accused me of visiting the wrong store and I was asked to describe the place and I did, from their display windows, to the way they hang their merchandise tightly and the trinkets on the cash counter. Then I asked the ms to please remove my name from their database. You won't believe it but the company did back me up, including the CEO, as I was told.

I have just done one shop where I was asked to focus on cables and I discovered they did not even carry that service! I managed a full interaction. I am still awaiting the review and see if they say I did not follow the scenario. When I know I am right, I express myself. However,
just like in anything else, there is a time when it is not worth your precious time. As they say, know your battles.

But I understand the frustrations.