I've done 15 jobs for them and now they are telling me they are giving me jobs only as a last resort because of 2 jobs I didn't do. But I did still 15 out of 17 and I gave good support for canceling!
The attitude seems a little like certified or Marketforce.

***** Further Info *****
I did notify them I could not do the job. It was not that I did it wrong, nor that I just let it expire!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/2010 05:25PM by MysteryShopSteve.

KSS is one of the premier scheduling services in the business. You would be well advised to take what you can get with them, perform 10/10 shops reliably and then ask to be returned to "regular" status. Two cancelations out of 17 is considered a lot in this business, and not just by KSS. You would have been deactivated by many a company, not just put on probation.

I've never had anything in my area worth my time. They did have a ridiculously complicated food shop near my area for equally ridiculous compensation.

15/17 is only an 88%. In school that would not be an A!
We should all have a 100% completion of those we accept unless we notify.

If you maintain a 100% with KSS, they will send exclusive offers. They make it very clear up front, "Do Not Cancel" for any reason or excuse. Ditto what was said earlier, one shop will get you deleted from most services. Also, the 15 good shops might not have been recent and then two cancels in a row? Clean up your act and only take shops that you can complete on time. Feel lucky that you see anything from them.

MysteryShopSteve Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've done 15 jobs for them and now they are
> telling me they are giving me jobs only as a last
> resort because of 2 jobs I didn't do. But I did
> still 15 out of 17 and I gave good support for
> canceling!
> The attitude seems a little like certified or
> Marketforce.


As independent contractors, we don't get time off for vacation or sick leave like an employee would. When we accept a job, most MSPs are not very understanding when we cancel. They are interested in working with 100% contractors. And, I have to admit, the MSPs I work most with are those that do everything I expect of them: don't pay late, don't require me to chase my money, don't cancel shops after assigning to me, and don't cause me any trouble in general. Those who disappoint me are not my favorites and are lower on my list. I don't think Kern has told you that you are out because of your cancelations, only that since you are not 100% you are lower on their favorites list.

Too many of the MSC's blatantly mislead shoppers as to the real requirements of the shop until the shopper accepts. I'm sorry but if that "super easy" whatever shop described in their e-mail turns out to be 75 questions, many requiring comments along with several different product inspections and employee interactions and pays $7 I will cancel in a heartbeat. Kerns did exactly this on a food shop they had.

Frankly I have found the majority of misleading stuff coming from independent schedulers. It may be that they are not that aware of what the actual job entails or it may be that they are just too hot to fill the job so they can get paid. Whatever the cause, the effect is that I very rarely trust the representations of independent schedulers. Certainly there are some MSPs that fail to provide adequate information to make an informed decision about performing their shops, but they will only get to do that to me once. Just as there are some companies for whom I would not be an employee, there are some MSPs for which I will not be an IC. But somehow companies in both categories seem to survive perfectly well without me.

It is often the case that it is the MSC, not the scheduling company, that fails to provide the upfront information necessary for us to make a reasoned decision to accept or reject a shop. I'd be surprised if the large scheduling companies were "hiding" such info in order to get the jobs filled. Now, as to small independent schedulers....that's another story altogether. Some are wonderful (Hello, Antonio!) and others are the pits, and not just about concealing needed info before you accept a shop.

Sorry but I disagree with you about KSS being "Premier".
I am signed on with a huge amount of companies and doing so since 2004, I would put KSS at bottom 10% of companies. I have had to cancel other shops from other schedulers and it was not considered "a lot". In fact the others even go out of their way to give me a makeup shop which I do 99.9% of the time!

walesmaven Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> KSS is one of the premier scheduling services in
> the business. You would be well advised to take
> what you can get with them, perform 10/10 shops
> reliably and then ask to be returned to "regular"
> status. Two cancelations out of 17 is considered
> a lot in this business, and not just by KSS. You
> would have been deactivated by many a company, not
> just put on probation.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/07/2010 06:16PM by MysteryShopSteve.

They send me jobs frp, time to tme, have a terrific scheduler I like to work woth. Take what I want and never had a problem...I know scheduler from work done, and really delete those I'm not sure of.

This must be a regional issue. In the Northwest, KSS has some very premier clients and treat their 100% completion rate shoppers very well. I get offered some very high commission shops that others are not apparently invited to conduct. It might be that some of you, with less than stellar completion rates, just have not realized that you have been lowered on the notification list. The easiest way to find out if you are getting notified of all of the shops is to log on to the KSS website and look at the shops in your area. If you see shops on the KSS website that you have not been emailed about, that should be your answer. When I first started with them, I had to build my shopper rating and completion track record to get to the point I am now. I just completed a simple dinner shop that paid very nicely. It was only offered to 100% completion rate shoppers.
Maybe somebody that has worked with Sassie Websites on the scheduling side might know the answer to this question. If schedulers can filter shoppers by rating and MSPA certification level, then can they also put a filter in about completion rate? My guess is this is a capability and a Steve was just lucky that someone was nice enough to tell him about his rating being lowered.
I have been in a payment battle with a different scheduling service (This other service actually is a MSP in disguise. ) The other service allows me to log in and see my history, but the website politely tells me that I am currently not eligible for any shops in my area. Yet, if I go to the Jobs posting forum on this website, I see them begging and offering bonuses for the shops that I am waiting to get paid for. They never notified me that my eligibility had changed. They just basically filtered me out of future shops.
So the bottom line is, keep your nose clean and understand that the jobs are like Ripe Strawberries, if it gets too ripe; then nobody wants it. The two shops that Steve canceled might just have been more time sensitive than he realized, did anyone think that they might have been reposted extensions on shops previously canceled by another shopper? I have to side with KSS, they contracted to have the shop completed and reported by a set due date. So KSS should be able to expect that a shopper reads the post and is willing to stand by the commitments they made when they agreed to perform the shop.

Wise words, Van. I have a lot of respect for your opinions and experience.