Last year, about a month after our youngest was born, if workers came in and judged our home based on a "snapshot," we might not have fared well.

We bought a huge home that was built in 1900, converted to apartments that became flophouse, and was in the process of being converted back to a house when the newest owners lost it to the bank. You will find that when four bathrooms were removed, the plumbing was capped and not removed, creating a slow and steady drip. (health violation. We're on it!) Of the four remaining bathrooms, only one had both enough water pressure to make a flush (see plumbing issue) and a sink to wash your hands. Prior to foreclosure, the last owners took two of the bathroom sinks.

The odd bug shows up upstairs where some really nasty apartments must have been. I'm not into pesticides but am slowly killing things off with diatomaceous earth. If workers came by they might have found a roach dining on cat or dog food.

Our dog happens to be a pit bull. We all know how worked up people get when they don't know anything about the true nature of a dog but make assumptions based on the size of the dog's head.

For a couple weeks after the baby was born, I could not vacuum. All the guests who came to stay with us to "help" were not into this chore. Two weeks without vacuuming a house with 7 carpeted rooms and two carpeted staircases right at the start of flea season.... Our son, who was two at the time, got a handful or flea bites before I got it all under control. Workers might have seen this.

Our two-year-old son had just learned to open the back door. The first time he did this, the baby decided to nurse at tha very moment. It was 20 minutes before I realized he was standing on the back porch. We use cloth diapers and when it is hot i don't put shirts on kids. Workers would have come by to see a two-year-old on the back porch wearing nothing but a (cute) diaper.

We co-sleep. Workers would have found only one toddler bed and a crib piled with stuff because we don't use it.

I was suffering from severe post-partum depression. I fought every day for months with urges to kill myself. Was I brushing my hair? Was I getting any help and support from mental health services? Nope. We aren't "low income," and unless I drove two hours to the nearest non-government mental health clinic there was no way for me to get help. I would have looked pretty grim if workers came by. I would have appreciated tan intervention and did not know where to go on my own.


My point is, that sometimes facts don't always reflect what goes on from day-to-day. These people were average, middle class folks who got in over their heads. If DFS is involved, it might be the best thing for them to get help that they need.

...and heartland's story drives home a point that I hope is not missed.

This is more of a mental health issue than an issue of bad parenting or reflection on the mystery shopping industry, or hame-based businesses. I hope these parents are getting the help they need, and the whole family is better for it in the end.

Heartlandcanuck has written a telling post about what can happen if a picture is snapped on the wrong day. I'm hoping this family can recover and the children can stay together.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/24/2011 05:54PM by MDAVISNOWELL.

Thanks Heartlandcanuck for sharing your story. You are correct - a "snapshot" can sometimes show only certain pieces of the situation or skew the true picture. On the other hand, I look at my precious little 3 year old and think about him stuck outside, shaking with fever and scared as he wanders near a street - and I want to vomit. It is so hard to not get emotional about this.

I also hope that the family gets the help that it needs, and that the children have safe enviornments to grow up in and thrive. I worry that although this was not a situation of poverty before, it may become one as this negative press affects the couples ability to make a livlihood (in addition to Nimble, the father in this also owns some sort of Insurance services company). Incidentially, our discussion here doesn't even show up if you google the couple - instead it is article after news article about the situation and the arrest.

Here is an interesting question - would this situation prevent us from taking a shop scheduled by Nimble in the future? I personally do not know if I would or would not.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/24/2011 06:03PM by MickeyB.

I am not trying to justify or minimize. These people were clearly negligent by falling asleep and letting their world get out of control. Did they not have enough money to hire someone to help watch the kids? Were they in denial about how bad it was? Were they too proud to ask for help? Were they scumbags who kept pumping out more kids to get a bigger welfare check while neglecting to pass some of it on to the grocery budget? We will never know what was in their heads. We can only pray that this intervention will lead to whatever end is best for the children.

Am I the only person who read the article and thought along the lines of, 'what type of industry am I working in if this is the type of company that provides the best price to corporations?'

Has rock bottom pricing produced this as the reality of who we are working for? Am I supporting this situation?

This couple could have been working at anything. The situation
did not result from the type of work or working from home. It is not a reflection on fees paid in the mystery shopping/evaluating business, as they were free to do this work or not. Of course, we are distressed and concerned for this family.

I'm sorry to say, I would have a trust issue with them knowing what goes on behind closed doors, as your value as a parent can be your value as an employer, one usually runs their lives with order, or not. For those reasons, I'm not sure I would trust them to pay me. The abuse (allegidly) runs deep, this has to effect their work ethic. I hope this intervention has a positive effect in the longrun, things seem to have gone on for awhile undetected. I'm glad guilty or not for whatever there reason, this will stop. I think having gotten "caught" is a blessing for all of them.

Heartland, thanks for your second post, it seemed you were about telling your story and saying that was their case as well...two entirely different stories.
Mistakes happen, but I think this goes deeper than a snapshot. This has no reflection on our industry, my feelings are the same whatever field they work in...I see company is falling apart, they are hiring both schedulers and editor's.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/24/2011 09:08PM by Irene_L.A..

A few things pop to mind as reading this thread.

I get the fact that judging anyone on a one day snapshot is not what is best for anyone. Anyone can have a bad day or a bad period. If conditions are as described, it would have taken a while to get that bad. Given the interview that I was with neighbors which said they didn't even know children lived in the home is scary. To have seven children who are home schooled and never set foot outside seems like someone is hiding something. Plus children's services were involved with the family 4 years ago. Not sure what the specifics are but obviously there have been problems for a long time.

Over the last 5 years, I have become more aware of what services and assistance are available for people with mental health issues. It is extraordinarily difficult to get the needed services, even when the person is openly crying out for help.

This itself is no reflection on the mystery shopping industry. In all walks of life, there are a percentage of not so great people. I teach and cringe every time one of "those" reports hits the news and teachers hurting students tend to go national pretty quick. I think it is deplorable and wish every incident did not happen, but it really does not reflect on my abilities and skills as a teacher.

This doesn't even mention mystery shopping. Does working out of your own home make it easier to cover things up?? Of course it does, but that doesn't mean we should condemn anyone for doing that. The vast majority of people who work from home are hard working, upstanding individuals trying to make a better life for themselves and their families.

Whether the parents are guilty or innocent, my heart breaks for these children. How sad if they were living in the conditions described. If the parents are innocent, these children were ripped away from their parents and in all likelihood separated as finding a placement for seven young children would be very difficult. Hopefully the kids get what they need.

mmm... lets think about first impressions here... and that nimble was working for a company as late as 8/1/2011 and scheduling for as far ahead as 8/4/2011 ? ... does it give me a bad taste in my mouth when i see this? ... lets see does Tom have a heart (checks pulse) yup... ok answer... do i really need to say it? yeah i do...

I THINK THIS IS A BLACK EYE TO WHOEVER EMPLOYS THIS COMPANY OR HAS IN THE PAST!!!

because it is...

come on people we are mystery shoppers... we rate company's on first impressions... right or wrong it happens... if it didnt we wouldnt have a job...

I performed an investigative shop involving pay per view piracy events in May and haven't been paid yet. Did anyone else work these?

I would write this one off...they are up to their heads, paying shoppers will be last on there list.....bail, court costs, up to 10 years in jail if convicted, shoppers lose on this one with no recourse. I answered this on the other thread you started.

ttjfx Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I performed an investigative shop involving pay
> per view piracy events in May and haven't been
> paid yet. Did anyone else work these?

The owner of the group posted to "another leading site." It seems she is out on bond or something. There was no mention of criminal activities.

I am getting multiple e-mails from both Rob and Sabrina at Nimble this week. Nimble is scheduling cell phone shops and video shops. There is no identification of which MSP in any of their e-mails. But there are a number of locations listed so they appear to be up and running.

What have you decided to do...they do the Video and mobil phones, will you shop for them. They had advertised for new schedulers and editors, and are on Facebook advertising these jobs.

AustinMom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am getting multiple e-mails from both Rob and
> Sabrina at Nimble this week. Nimble is scheduling
> cell phone shops and video shops. There is no
> identification of which MSP in any of their
> e-mails. But there are a number of locations
> listed so they appear to be up and running.

I want to first say that I know Sabrina from a previous work relationship. I always found her to be professional, upbeat, and an all-around wonderful person. The news stunned me too, but I am waiting to see what happens when the dust settles, so to speak. If she is to have her day in court, then so be it. I guess I just wanted to make a point to those who would refuse to work for her or any MSP that Nimble schedules for... you certainly have that right. As an IC, you can pick and choose the work you perform. I cannot imagine what it is like to be in her shoes at this point. Who knows? Maybe one condition of getting to see her kids is that she shows that she has a steady income. She is probably doing everything she can to ensure that is happening. Let her post her stuff. You can either apply for it or not. Up to you. But to the other point of getting paid or not, please remember that scheduling companies do not pay shoppers. You get paid directly from the MSP.

When they first found me (Sabrina), she was so nice and begged me to sign up, which I did. I was not told then they only had Video shops, and was sent many emails. I finally got tired of it and wrote to Sabrina saying, no, I don't do Video, had you told me that, I wouldn't have wasted my time signing. She nicely said they plan on getting other shops, yet, I still received the Video emails. I found this a bit sneaky on reflection, and never worked for her due only to her lack of shops.
She was nice, which only goes so far if they never have jobs for you to do.
I wouldn't ban any MSC they scheduled for, but does put a cloud over their company, and themselves.

I am guessing that Sabrina doesn't read this forum, as I asked before her trouble to please take me off her list. I do not do Video, yet I get another email asking me to do a Video. I know others auto email, but how do I get off her site.

Regardless of whether or not this couple is guilty of any offence, I don't see how boycotting them can help anyone. If you want these kids to have the best chance, then I would suggest that cutting off their parents' source of income isn't going to help the kids one bit.

I suggest you work for them, I'm not....they made this bed for themselves, and if they are accused of not caring for their kids, will they care about paying shoppers. Being nice is one thing, being aware is another.

Bena Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Regardless of whether or not this couple is guilty
> of any offence, I don't see how boycotting them
> can help anyone. If you want these kids to have
> the best chance, then I would suggest that cutting
> off their parents' source of income isn't going to
> help the kids one bit.

As someone who posts on a semi-regular basis on the other site, I can tell you it is mentioned, and still on the site. There is not much mentioning the issues, but there is something there to allow shoppers to google and make their own decisions.

I will also add, maybe still shopping would help the children - parents still need their income, mabye not, it's a personal choice. MY reasons for not shopping with Nimble are two-fold - first not many shops, and what they have right now is not appealing, and questionably legal. Second - they WILL be dealing with legal issues. How responsive can they be during this time. When everything is figured out, well, then I'll make a decision.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/17/2011 04:57AM by treydawgmt.