Do ipsos editors get paid more if they reject shops? I seriously wonder if there is a bonus because it seems the last couple of years I’ve had a lot of made up reasons to just reject shops. Then they just don’t respond and act like it’s beneath them and they are right no matter how wrong they are.

I had one once insisted she called one of the thousand blue and yellow electronic stores. Then told me the associate I shopped no longer worked there. First, no store will give out that information. They aren’t allowed. It’s impossible to call the actual store. It goes to a call center most of time because their customer service is too busy to pick up.
Then when I proved her wrong that I actually did the shop by sending her a receipt that wasn’t required, she had to accept it. Then she acted like she was my friend and tried to help me out. Then she removed my account behind my back and wouldn’t respond.

I was right. She was wrong and would not admit it. The next time I shopped that same employee he had mentioned how he left and came back so she was wrong.

Most of their editors must be trained like this.

Another editor (different ipsos platform) rejected a shop because she insisted my photo was wrong. She said her notes about an audit said a location was supposed to have an led light and not a sticker decal. My photo showed underneath looking up. There was nothing sticking out. No light. I even sent a photo of the seams over lapping of the sticker which proves a decal. She insisted she was right.

Same editor years later insisted it was too light out for a night audit even though it was minutes after the official sunset. I had sent her the official sunset in that city. She just stops responding. Will not admit she is wrong.

Another editor once told me my photo of a door with nothing on it didn’t prove there was no sign present on the door. What? Then he said he was trying to make shoppers better. How can you take a photo of a door with no sign better? It wasn’t blurry and clearly showed no sign. I also think editors get paid for sending shops back for no reason. I’ve had that happen a few hundred times. Where an editor sends a shop back because they can’t read what’s right in front of them. The things they ask for are already in the shop.

Again a retail store in presto was rejected after being done completely right because the geo code in presto wouldn’t put me close enough no matter how many times I refreshed. I sent a support ticket to presto prior to her rejecting several shops. There is a technical issue. She insisted I did not allow access to my gps. If that was the case I would not have gotten any location saying I was this many miles away. It’s a regular problem. Then she flat out blocks me from doing her shops. If she asked I would have told her. Then she lied in a comment that she said it had to be on and allow presto access. She never sent that email. And again, it was on if it told me how many miles from the location. She never responded to my multiple rejected shops.

These editors make up requirement then reject shops for no reason. Requirements not in the guidelines and every editor has their own set of guidelines stuck in their head that aren’t written.

I had a shop sent back because of missing a bunch of photos that were already in the report. I told her they were already there. Then she came back and asked for something not required. She asked for a checking account statement. I refused to submit a checking account statement for a debit card shop. No where in the guidelines does it say I am required to give them a checking account statement. It wouldn’t show a purchase just made anyways. The receipt said what kind of card it was. This is why no one is doing these shops that have little pay and a high purchase requirement. They litter the job boards. They are going to find some reason they make up not to pay. Then you are out for your purchase. Don’t do the small business shops!!!!!They are a scam.

Another editor rejected shops because he sent them back asking to manually enter more beverages offered off a menu. One location did not require that but I did it anyways along with adding to the others. He rejected them anyways noting I had not added anything. I did. He lied then no one returned my inquiries.

It’s a sad mystery shop company to cheat shoppers out of pay. They brag how they are a multi billion dollar company, yet how many times have they cheated shoppers out of pay or paid late? I had to spend money for all these shops. I really think the editors get a bonus for rejecting shops and making things up. It’s already sad ipsos pay is lowballing shoppers. They have an ego and think the more they advertise shops that shoppers will take them for lower pay. They are offering the same shops for lower and lower pay. There are audits out there that will take 2 hours and they are offering $14-18 pay. Do they realize it’s not just our time and getting less than minimum wage but we have to pay for gas and wear and tear on cars. After paying taxes, those shops pay way less. It will end up costing money to do them. High school fast food workers are getting more pay.
It’s the same few editors doing this. It’s like they were trained my the same wrong person.
It’s Reject, make it up, then don’t respond. Don’t you know the editor is always right? No matter how wrong they are. If shoppers don’t get paid we get fed up then you won’t have anything to edit.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2024 02:53AM by Whodli.

I got banned from doing certain cell phone shops, now many of those shops are not getting done. No one is picking them up. I don't know how they are making money by banning people. I don't know of any MSC that does this.

How many jobs from IPSOS have you had rejected? It sounds like a lot.

@Whodli wrote:

Do ipsos editors get paid more if they reject shops? I seriously wonder if there is a bonus because it seems the last couple of years I’ve had a lot of made up reasons to just reject shops. Then they just don’t respond and act like it’s beneath them and they are right no matter how wrong they are.

I had one once insisted she called one of the thousand blue and yellow electronic stores. Then told me the associate I shopped no longer worked there. First, no store will give out that information. They aren’t allowed. It’s impossible to call the actual store. It goes to a call center most of time because their customer service is too busy to pick up.
Then when I proved her wrong that I actually did the shop by sending her a receipt that wasn’t required, she had to accept it. Then she acted like she was my friend and tried to help me out. Then she removed my account behind my back and wouldn’t respond.

I was right. She was wrong and would not admit it. The next time I shopped that same employee he had mentioned how he left and came back so she was wrong.

Most of their editors must be trained like this.

Another editor (different ipsos platform) rejected a shop because she insisted my photo was wrong. She said her notes about an audit said a location was supposed to have an led light and not a sticker decal. My photo showed underneath looking up. There was nothing sticking out. No light. I even sent a photo of the seams over lapping of the sticker which proves a decal. She insisted she was right.

Same editor years later insisted it was too light out for a night audit even though it was minutes after the official sunset. I had sent her the official sunset in that city. She just stops responding. Will not admit she is wrong.

Another editor once told me my photo of a door with nothing on it didn’t prove there was no sign present on the door. What? Then he said he was trying to make shoppers better. How can you take a photo of a door with no sign better? It wasn’t blurry and clearly showed no sign. I also think editors get paid for sending shops back for no reason. I’ve had that happen a few hundred times. Where an editor sends a shop back because they can’t read what’s right in front of them. The things they ask for are already in the shop.

Again a retail store in presto was rejected after being done completely right because the geo code in presto wouldn’t put me close enough no matter how many times I refreshed. I sent a support ticket to presto prior to her rejecting several shops. There is a technical issue. She insisted I did not allow access to my gps. If that was the case I would not have gotten any location saying I was this many miles away. It’s a regular problem. Then she flat out blocks me from doing her shops. If she asked I would have told her. Then she lied in a comment that she said it had to be on and allow presto access. She never sent that email. And again, it was on if it told me how many miles from the location. She never responded to my multiple rejected shops.

These editors make up requirement then reject shops for no reason. Requirements not in the guidelines and every editor has their own set of guidelines stuck in their head that aren’t written.

I had a shop sent back because of missing a bunch of photos that were already in the report. I told her they were already there. Then she came back and asked for something not required. She asked for a checking account statement. I refused to submit a checking account statement for a debit card shop. No where in the guidelines does it say I am required to give them a checking account statement. It wouldn’t show a purchase just made anyways. The receipt said what kind of card it was. This is why no one is doing these shops that have little pay and a high purchase requirement. They litter the job boards. They are going to find some reason they make up not to pay. Then you are out for your purchase. Don’t do the small business shops!!!!!They are a scam.

Another editor rejected shops because he sent them back asking to manually enter more beverages offered off a menu. One location did not require that but I did it anyways along with adding to the others. He rejected them anyways noting I had not added anything. I did. He lied then no one returned my inquiries.

It’s a sad mystery shop company to cheat shoppers out of pay. They brag how they are a multi billion dollar company, yet how many times have they cheated shoppers out of pay or paid late? I had to spend money for all these shops. I really think the editors get a bonus for rejecting shops and making things up. It’s already sad ipsos pay is lowballing shoppers. They have an ego and think the more they advertise shops that shoppers will take them for lower pay. They are offering the same shops for lower and lower pay. There are audits out there that will take 2 hours and they are offering $14-18 pay. Do they realize it’s not just our time and getting less than minimum wage but we have to pay for gas and wear and tear on cars. After paying taxes, those shops pay way less. It will end up costing money to do them. High school fast food workers are getting more pay.
It’s the same few editors doing this. It’s like they were trained my the same wrong person.
It’s Reject, make it up, then don’t respond. Don’t you know the editor is always right? No matter how wrong they are. If shoppers don’t get paid we get fed up then you won’t have anything to edit.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2024 07:36PM by ArkLaMissshopping.

Talk about a list of grievances. I don't blame the MSC for not responding.

Honestly, people complain about this same stuff over and over again - yet, continue to accept jobs with these same companies. @shopperbob seems to be the only one true to his word. Sage advice is instead of lengthy posts complaining about years of mistreatment, terminate the contract. It is amazing how people portray themselves as a victim of wrongdoing, yet continue to do work for the very companies they say loathe. Actually, it isn't amazing. It's just a testament to where we are in today's society.

To answer the question, no, the editors and MSCs do not get paid more by rejecting shops. What sort of business policy would that be? Are editors always going to be right in every situation? No, of course not. However, more often than not, the shopper will be in the wrong and does not want to admit it. People that post these long tirades never, ever, admit they have done anything wrong. HUGE red flag right there. Every shopper messes up from time to time. I messed up big time last week and was ready to accept the loss. But I took responsibility for my screw-up and guess what? The MSC is giving me extra time to redo it, no problem. I had a shop a couple of months ago where I missed taking a required photo I needed. That shop was rightfully rejected.

By the way, yes, MSCs do call stores for employee name verification. Whether they do it on every shop, I can't say. It may only be done if there is a QC issue that suggests you were not at the store when you said you were.
It's nice you think a store won't verify if an employee works there, but the real world does not work that way. I could pick up the phone now and call my local E/M location and ask if John is working today. Whoever answers will either say yes, no, or there is no John that works there. I realize some places may have rules which say you don't give out that information, but that don't stop it from happening. I used to work a high profile job with strict rules where an employee's private information was not to be given out over the phone. Several times over the years someone called and was able to get my phone number, then called me.

I have to agree with ServiceAward on all of what was said.
I have done plenty of shops for IPSOS.

I had a shop rejected that should not have been. The editor clearly didn't read what I wrote correctly. I went back and forth and escalated that one above her and I got paid for the job.

I made a mistake at a restaurant shop by doing the wrong type of shop and immediately emailed the scheduler. She was able to change it for me and I got paid.

I made a mistake on a fast food job by ordering the wrong size fries. Oops. That job got rejected. I missed that detail, my fault. Do I agree, not really but I moved on.

One of those gas station jobs in presto where the GPS was clearly wrong, I even took a pic with my own gps time stamp and submitted it with my shop to avoid a rejection. It still got rejected even after my appeal. That was annoying.

Have I gotten a few oddball comments from editors? Absolutely. Sometimes I shake my head in disgust but I have also had a few that saved my *ss and actually took time out of their day to teach me something.

They are not all bad, they are earning a living just like us. Take a closer look at your rejected shops and make sure you are not missing details. I took each rejection or mistake as a learned lesson.

Maybe we need to introduce Whodli to Minime.

If they haven't already "met," that is...

@Datagirl wrote:

I have to agree with ServiceAward on all of what was said.
I have done plenty of shops for IPSOS.
...............
One of those gas station jobs in presto where the GPS was clearly wrong, I even took a pic with my own gps time stamp and submitted it with my shop to avoid a rejection. It still got rejected even after my appeal. That was annoying.

Have I gotten a few oddball comments from editors? Absolutely. Sometimes I shake my head in disgust but I have also had a few that saved my *ss and actually took time out of their day to teach me something.

Just a comment:
For the gas station jobs where the GPS is off, when you checkin, Presto asks if you are sure you are at the right location. If you are certain, it asks you to report the location problem.
Since the 2 major stations have moved to Presto, for me, that has happened many times. I have dutifully reported it and then went on to perform the shop. Afterall, the receipts should have the address. Never has been a problem.

As for calling the shop for the employee's name, i have seen where an employee has put on a nametag prior to my reveal. I report the name on it and that yes, the employee was wearing a nametag and uniform.
Could that employee have selected someone else's tag? Maybe, but that's not my call.

Lastly, I have ranted about problems I feel are justified (lack of up to date guidelines, etc). So have others. I'm okay with their remarks, positive or not..
Long rants? Sure go ahead if it makes you feel better. Just know that if you are seeking affirmation, it often does not occur. Rather, you may be criticized, rightfully or wrongfully.
In the end, at least you got it off your chest!

I also agree with ServiceAward and thank him/her for the compliment.
In 21 yrs., I have had three shops declined, with two being my error.

I am not contracted with IPSOS, but the opinion they bonus editors for rejections is absurd. The company, being a bottom payer, would not profit from such a business plan.

Finally, all shoppers are free to, upon deciding the flavor of the Ipsos peach is not to their liking, move to another tree. If such an action is not satisfying, perhaps a different orchard is the answer.

Service Award - the standard for editors is 100% correct, or ALL THE TIME. They must be 'bulletproof' to reject a shop! Any time ANY shopper can show cause for reversing the rejection is one too many! It would be so easy to listen to reason and reverse a poor decision! Geezus, do you think these editors are incredibly intelligent folk sitting in front of their computers at home? ...Far from it... they are, when they pull this "I'm not gonna listen to you" reject crap, which is altogether too often, lazy whiners who never made a team of anything except where their parents paid the fee! And what recourse does the lowly shopper have? None, unless the shopper wants to spend hours of time fighting for the measly 'less that minimum wage' fee that IPSOS offers! The only answer for the shopper is to take your lumps and move forward, or....choose not to work for IPSOS, a la Shopper Bob.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/2024 05:31PM by salisburync.

Ipsos paying editors more to reject shops? Well, let's see... When does Ipsos pay more to anyone for any reason? Only when they have to. Or never. It would be totally contrary to their business model.

On the other hand, editors are probably paid a smaller pittance per shop than shoppers, which might be just the encouragement they need to get through each report as speedily and erroneously as possible. Why go back and forth with shoppers over unclear data for the same dollar they will earn by just rejecting in the first place?

Rejected. Done. On to the next one. Cha ching.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/2024 08:52PM by sestrahelena.

I can assure you that editors are not paid for rejected shops.

I think they are the worst in the industry, unfortunately. However, I am not sure they are bad editors or bad people. I think the turnover is so incredibly high that they just can't get anyone to stick around and get tenure and get good at their projects. They hang on to editors who are subpar to try and keep up with the high volume/low quality workload, versus coaching them and getting them better. Coupled with all of this are the slapped-together inconsistent guidelines, reports and editor guidelines. They get as much bad, sloppy info as we do.

I did have a shop rejected because the editor said I said something that I was not supposed to day. After I pointed out I did not say it, but the clerk did, it was rejected because I did not say what was exactly stated in the guidelines. So now, I state what is exactly in the guidelines.

Just to poke back in here, I had a gas shop returned to me to revise my answer to something and to mark something as an infraction that I wholeheartedly disagree with. If the editor was correct in the information they wanted me to correct, then the other dozen of editors that have been grading my reports have been wrong. I have sought clarification to ensure I am correct going forward, just in case I have been wrong (I don't think I have been though). As for the infraction I disagree with, hey if they like it, I love it. It's not my responsibility to fight the battle for the station owner. They have an appeal process they can follow. At least I was asked to mark it, rather than it being changed behind my back.

@RobinMarie wrote:

I can assure you that editors are not paid for rejected shops.

Thank you. That's good to know. And even more of an incentive for an editor to reject, rather than waste unpaid time on, a shop that might not pass anyway.

Service Award - While I commiserate with you and am sympathetic, I have to give you some advice: Try to let these low IQ editors roll off your back. Just don't let them get to you. There is virtually ZERO chance of getting an editor's rejection of your shop reversed. Yes, it does happen, but wouldn't you rather go for a walk with your dog instead of using your time in responding to, or commenting on, the never-ending errors made by editors? I do a lot of shops, and if I did a deep dive on every editor error and rejection, my already miserable life would be even worse!

Recently, I did a shop where it was returned for a different answer. The editor emphatically "ordered' me to change my answer, stating, (paraphrasing), "you are not supposed to blah, blah, blah".
I thought to myself, huh? I don't remember seeing that in the guidelines. So, I went over the shop's guidelines again. I could not find that forbiddance or exclusion. IMO, the editor was wrong or was basing their instruction/opinion on former guidelines.
But, with a sigh, I changed my answer anyway. It is not my battle to fight.
Later, I had another glass of wine.

Thank you for posting this information about GPS being wrong and you submitted the error report. I read this information the other day and right after reading it, I got the error stating that I was in the wrong location when I knew I was not. I clicked the button to report the error. My job was accepted and approved. If I hadn't read this earlier, I probably would have driven off and not completed the job.

@French Farmer wrote:

@Datagirl wrote:

I have to agree with ServiceAward on all of what was said.
I have done plenty of shops for IPSOS.
...............
One of those gas station jobs in presto where the GPS was clearly wrong, I even took a pic with my own gps time stamp and submitted it with my shop to avoid a rejection. It still got rejected even after my appeal. That was annoying.

Have I gotten a few oddball comments from editors? Absolutely. Sometimes I shake my head in disgust but I have also had a few that saved my *ss and actually took time out of their day to teach me something.

Just a comment:
For the gas station jobs where the GPS is off, when you checkin, Presto asks if you are sure you are at the right location. If you are certain, it asks you to report the location problem.
Since the 2 major stations have moved to Presto, for me, that has happened many times. I have dutifully reported it and then went on to perform the shop. Afterall, the receipts should have the address. Never has been a problem.

As for calling the shop for the employee's name, i have seen where an employee has put on a nametag prior to my reveal. I report the name on it and that yes, the employee was wearing a nametag and uniform.
Could that employee have selected someone else's tag? Maybe, but that's not my call.

Lastly, I have ranted about problems I feel are justified (lack of up to date guidelines, etc). So have others. I'm okay with their remarks, positive or not..
Long rants? Sure go ahead if it makes you feel better. Just know that if you are seeking affirmation, it often does not occur. Rather, you may be criticized, rightfully or wrongfully.
In the end, at least you got it off your chest!

They banned me from doing one line of cell phone shops after I told them the store manager knew I was the mystery shopper. The shops went for $16, they are now offering $20 a bonus of $4. The shops I would have done for $16, they now have to pay shoppers more. I'm making money on other shops, so it's their loss.

i realize you are upset about this since you've posted so frequently about it. Honestly, I think your quality of life will improve if you focus on other shops! But just so you know. if they ban someone it has to do with their QA processes and their contracts with their clients. Its not a personal thing just to make you miserable. The Editors didn't ban you, btw, it would be a program manager that did that. Editors have little to no power over anything other than reviewing responses.

And please don't read this as me defending IPSOS, as their sloppiness makes me nuts, but in this regard they are probably doing something they have to do to fulfill one of their obligations. They want their shops done and they certainly don't want to pay bonuses on locations that used to get done at base.

@johnb974 wrote:

They banned me from doing one line of cell phone shops after I told them the store manager knew I was the mystery shopper. The shops went for $16, they are now offering $20 a bonus of $4. The shops I would have done for $16, they now have to pay shoppers more. I'm making money on other shops, so it's their loss.

@Cassiespark wrote:

i realize you are upset about this since you've posted so frequently about it. Honestly, I think your quality of life will improve if you focus on other shops! But just so you know. if they ban someone it has to do with their QA processes and their contracts with their clients. Its not a personal thing just to make you miserable. The Editors didn't ban you, btw, it would be a program manager that did that. Editors have little to no power over anything other than reviewing responses.

And please don't read this as me defending IPSOS, as their sloppiness makes me nuts, but in this regard they are probably doing something they have to do to fulfill one of their obligations. They want their shops done and they certainly don't want to pay bonuses on locations that used to get done at base.

@johnb974 wrote:

They banned me from doing one line of cell phone shops after I told them the store manager knew I was the mystery shopper. The shops went for $16, they are now offering $20 a bonus of $4. The shops I would have done for $16, they now have to pay shoppers more. I'm making money on other shops, so it's their loss.

I'm not really upset about it. It's just sad that one manager would cause the company to lose money over just one shop. I'm already making money on other shops and moving into other locations. I worked in aerospace for 30 years and I've seen people in management destroy whole departments over their attitudes. Very good workers lost job because on one manager. The idea of business is to get the job done and make money.

Like any MSC, there are some shops & editors which will not be a good fit. Just move on. My biggest issue with them right now is not replying to questions about shop instructions, but that has been an issue with them for years. I still send my questions just in case I get lucky, but I decline the shops unless I get a reply. My most recent round of presto 2-purchase shops was approved by a temp from a proofreading-for-hire company, so my guess is they are struggling to stay staffed.

While I agree that editors don't get paid for rejected shops, I have a little chip of doubt when it comes to these debit card shops.
Mostly I have seen/ heard from other shoppers about editors trying to work with you to get shops approved because, well everyone wants to get paid. These shops are sometimes rejected even when all guidelines are followed/ the editor is given all information. If someone told me these shops were paid even when the shop was rejected I'd believe it. I had a friend who had one rejected. I immediately looked on the job board, didn't show back up. Checked regularly for a few days, never showed up (and these sit in that area, not many are getting done)
Someone messaged me here to tell me that they too had a few rejected when the location was closed, but should have been open. Nothing you can do about that, you can't force the employee to show up to work.

I have had more shops rejected or sent back for made up corrections/requirements in one week with this company than I had in all of the previous 20 years (you know - before they took over the world).

So they make me nuts, as well. What i have done in response is to start paying attention to the other MSCs in my market. Next week I have 6 shops that will pay a total of 2.65x what my "normal" IPSOS shops pay. I'm going to work less, but earn more.IPSOS has taken the high volume, low budget approach to everything. Which is great if that works for you. If it doesn't, find your options.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2024 03:36AM by Cassiespark.

Whodi ~ Have you noticed the strange phenomenon happening here where certain IPSOS lapdogs - who seem to know it all and have all of the answers - are intolerant of others who complain about IPSOS? They know that Ipsos monitors and contributes to this board. They’ll blame you in the hopes of someday being rewarded a plaque or possibly that elusive scheduler position. Lol. Either that or they’re paid Ipsos employees. They can grouse as much as they want though, and often do. There’s no way they can accept OPs unpleasant experiences because they don’t have the capacity to empathize and want you to think they’re better and smarter than you. If it doesn’t match their experience, it’s invalid and doesn’t exist. I imagine half of them have been banned but would never cop to it. Their sage advice is ‘just don’t work with them again.’ ie: either put up or shut up. Like your time and effort holds no value.

Ipsos is the only MSC I’ve seen with a zero tolerance policy and I believe it’s incentivized as well. They put a very strict time limit on high paying shops that they’re desperate to fill, and will turn around and reject them for reasons not included in the guidelines. They think you simply don’t deserve the pay for 1, never mind 2 high paying shops - especially since it cuts into their slice of the pie - and will come up with any bogus reason to reject at least one of them. Then you have the task of chasing them and their managers down, fighting it late into the day… most often a Friday. When they get proven wrong, why aren’t they held to the same standards by being fired? When they can’t back up their smack in writing and it gets glossed over. Instead of an apology the IC gets kicked to the curb. It’s called a ‘Double Standard, Bait & Switch, One and Done Grift.’ There’s no loyalty or relationship building going on. They care nothing about the people making less money at the bottom. Most publicly held cash cow companies are getting raped by their employees these days. They’re all in on cheating their employers. The odd ball honest workers don’t fit in and are a seen threat. They never get promoted.

We all know who the usual suspects are in middle management at Ipsos, since they’ve been doing it for years. Most come across as woman haters. It’s so blatantly obvious that nobody is minding the store for that company. It’s their job to be present and to put out fires between the editors, schedulers and ICs. They just resent being drawn away from doing their own personal crap at home on company time. These nasty shrews lose hundreds of thousands of dollars for that company and will eventually expose them to lawsuits if they continue to be left to their own devices.

Forget about the ‘principle’ BS the OP’s are trying to feed you. If you choose to continue with them, take screen shots of every page of the shop agreement and guidelines, and make sure you’ve taken all of the required pictures at the location. Clock all of the time spent on the shop in it’s entirety. If you make a minor mistake, stand your ground about correcting it and getting paid. They should allow for some time for corrections. If they don’t, it seems likely that they can fix the error themselves and submit it to their client. You would be within your rights to question that with them. That’s what I suspect is happening.

In less than a month it will become much riskier for them to treat their ICs like dirt. The party’s over for them and they know it.

I don't understand them banning me for being outed at one $16 cell phone shop, one time. Now the $16 shops in my area are being bonused. I would have taken them for $16, now they are paying $20.

If you saved the paperwork + correspondence with the MSC or editor for the shops you feel were incorrectly rejected, write them off on your taxes. As long as you did the shop correctly, you did the work but did not get paid. If you are audited you have the back-up to justify the entry.

It won't cure any editing issues you are experiencing, but at least it is some satifaction for the time spent to do the shop and incurring expenses, especially those that will not be reimbursed.

I do not think MSC's are zealous about having editors reject shops. They can't submit rejected reports to their clients so there is nothing in it for them. In most cases, they have to repost the shop and possibly pay a bonus to get it done now. Its just more cost and time for them which would not make good business sense.

Editors are no different than some of the teachers we had in school. Some let little things slide while others go strickly by the book. Often the approach matters.

@Whodli wrote:

Do ipsos editors get paid more if they reject shops? I seriously wonder if there is a bonus because it seems the last couple of years I’ve had a lot of made up reasons to just reject shops. Then they just don’t respond and act like it’s beneath them and they are right no matter how wrong they are.

I had one once insisted she called one of the thousand blue and yellow electronic stores. Then told me the associate I shopped no longer worked there. First, no store will give out that information. They aren’t allowed. It’s impossible to call the actual store. It goes to a call center most of time because their customer service is too busy to pick up.
Then when I proved her wrong that I actually did the shop by sending her a receipt that wasn’t required, she had to accept it. Then she acted like she was my friend and tried to help me out. Then she removed my account behind my back and wouldn’t respond.

I was right. She was wrong and would not admit it. The next time I shopped that same employee he had mentioned how he left and came back so she was wrong.

Most of their editors must be trained like this.

Another editor (different ipsos platform) rejected a shop because she insisted my photo was wrong. She said her notes about an audit said a location was supposed to have an led light and not a sticker decal. My photo showed underneath looking up. There was nothing sticking out. No light. I even sent a photo of the seams over lapping of the sticker which proves a decal. She insisted she was right.

Same editor years later insisted it was too light out for a night audit even though it was minutes after the official sunset. I had sent her the official sunset in that city. She just stops responding. Will not admit she is wrong.

Another editor once told me my photo of a door with nothing on it didn’t prove there was no sign present on the door. What? Then he said he was trying to make shoppers better. How can you take a photo of a door with no sign better? It wasn’t blurry and clearly showed no sign. I also think editors get paid for sending shops back for no reason. I’ve had that happen a few hundred times. Where an editor sends a shop back because they can’t read what’s right in front of them. The things they ask for are already in the shop.

Again a retail store in presto was rejected after being done completely right because the geo code in presto wouldn’t put me close enough no matter how many times I refreshed. I sent a support ticket to presto prior to her rejecting several shops. There is a technical issue. She insisted I did not allow access to my gps. If that was the case I would not have gotten any location saying I was this many miles away. It’s a regular problem. Then she flat out blocks me from doing her shops. If she asked I would have told her. Then she lied in a comment that she said it had to be on and allow presto access. She never sent that email. And again, it was on if it told me how many miles from the location. She never responded to my multiple rejected shops.

These editors make up requirement then reject shops for no reason. Requirements not in the guidelines and every editor has their own set of guidelines stuck in their head that aren’t written.

I had a shop sent back because of missing a bunch of photos that were already in the report. I told her they were already there. Then she came back and asked for something not required. She asked for a checking account statement. I refused to submit a checking account statement for a debit card shop. No where in the guidelines does it say I am required to give them a checking account statement. It wouldn’t show a purchase just made anyways. The receipt said what kind of card it was. This is why no one is doing these shops that have little pay and a high purchase requirement. They litter the job boards. They are going to find some reason they make up not to pay. Then you are out for your purchase. Don’t do the small business shops!!!!!They are a scam.

Another editor rejected shops because he sent them back asking to manually enter more beverages offered off a menu. One location did not require that but I did it anyways along with adding to the others. He rejected them anyways noting I had not added anything. I did. He lied then no one returned my inquiries.

It’s a sad mystery shop company to cheat shoppers out of pay. They brag how they are a multi billion dollar company, yet how many times have they cheated shoppers out of pay or paid late? I had to spend money for all these shops. I really think the editors get a bonus for rejecting shops and making things up. It’s already sad ipsos pay is lowballing shoppers. They have an ego and think the more they advertise shops that shoppers will take them for lower pay. They are offering the same shops for lower and lower pay. There are audits out there that will take 2 hours and they are offering $14-18 pay. Do they realize it’s not just our time and getting less than minimum wage but we have to pay for gas and wear and tear on cars. After paying taxes, those shops pay way less. It will end up costing money to do them. High school fast food workers are getting more pay.
It’s the same few editors doing this. It’s like they were trained my the same wrong person.
It’s Reject, make it up, then don’t respond. Don’t you know the editor is always right? No matter how wrong they are. If shoppers don’t get paid we get fed up then you won’t have anything to edit.

Minime - awesome post! There is a simple explanation for why IPSOS operates the way they do....and no one wants to hear it.....

I have done plenty of shops for Ipsos. The only time I had a problem was MY error. I went back and redid the shop because I screwed up. The editor was great, and worked with me to get the job done.