The Shop Logs

Well, I actually did receive my payment today. Good, full amount & all. Get a load of this though:

“We do want to point out that several penalties have been put in place that we clearly outlined during February shopping. Shoppers that did not submit their shop reports before midnight on same day of the shop to meet our “real time” reporting contract with client were not paid. In addition, shoppers that failed to answer questions correctly on the survey as well as delay in returning their phone units were also penalized $10.

Please keep these penalties in mind when reviewing your payments. If you received an email from one of our editors about information lacking in your reports, information being inaccurate in your reports, or the fact that your report was not submitted on same day as the shop, you will see a penalty in place. We have all of these restrictions and rules outlined on the first page of the guidelines in big red letters. They are also on the survey itself and we sent out 6 mass emails to all shoppers on this project regarding our requirements for payment. “

I must say that I can respect payment deductions for tardiness. However, the first paragraph seems to say you had to BOTH delay AND leave out information. The second paragraph goes on to say that if you did any one of the items that resulted in an editor email there IS a deduction. (must I comment on their consistant inconsistancy?) Okay, well at least I was paid the full amount - that smarty-pants email must have made some point.

“We have all of these restrictions and rules outlined on the first page of the guidelines in big red letters.” Um, yes, and red marker scribbles on the top of the sticker - - so professional. Almost as professional as an “I-told-you-so” email with (non)payment.

Allegedly I have been paid!

Well, I did it… I cancelled a shop! Five years of knowing this is the worst thing I could ever do & I did it!
I just had the worst weekend since Christmas, and DH and I just made plans to meet somewhere this weekend. So. To heck with them (read:ShopNChek), I cancelled.

*holding my breath*

Has the world ended yet?

My first cancellation & it couldn’t happen to a better (meaning worse) company.

Lorri Kern posted on Voltion:

“We’ve hired and EA (enrolled agent of the IRS) to do a session on Independent Contractor Taxes.. and he’s AWESOME!

We’ve added an “editor’s panel” to our Sunday panel line up.. Now we’ll have a “technology” panel, an “owners” panel, a “scheduler’s” panel and an “editor’s” panel featuring multiple people from multiple MSPA member companies.. all in a Q & A format where you can ask what you MOST want to know and never had the chance to ask before! These panels will last from 8:30 am til 1 pm on Sunday.. with one break.. so TONS of time to get your most wanted questions answered!

CLIENTS! You asked for it.. you got it.. we are working on having several clients present on Saturday… by Clients.. I mean END USERS.. the people who eventually get your reports! What do they use your reports for? What do they most want to hear? What do they like or dislike? While no contracts are in place yet, at least 4 end user clients have expressed interest in appearing and talking to YOU, the shoppers about how much your reports make a difference in their operations!

And there’s a lot more.. we are working on many other very interesting and NEW topics for attendees at the 2006 Educational Conference for Shoppers. Register now for early bird rates.. we can’t wait to see you there!

http://www.mysteryshop.org/events/shopperconference.php“

This is sounding great!
I will have to sign upMonday or Tuesday…….an editor’s panel - CLIENT panel! I wonder which companies will be asked to attend? Maybe Kern has talked to her clients? I wonder…

I am doing these cell shops again for the instruction nazis, these people need an editor to proof directions before sending them out into the world….
I read the directions and (having done these shops before) do know where to find the tag #.
You look at it:

(P.S. this is a crappy pic & paint edit, but I got an email from the co. right before I sent the equipment back & should never take pics angry again.)

What does the red marker print mean to you?

Well to me it was a lame attempt at highlighting, to the MSP it means “N, ” now had I been told via any method to look for the letter in red I would have seen this as an N. They didn’t mention it & I didn’t give it a second thought.
My review comes back this AM:

Your evaluation of N S AND R for Corporate Risk Solutions has been reviewed.

Comments : Shopper-
You failed to put the tag number in correctly. The Letter S or N followed directly by the number.

I got an 8/10 because they are unable to reprint a tag, but have no problem insisting that I reprint 20+ pages of ‘new’ directions (not really new). The Shop Log still shows I will receive $95, for the time being. Now, one thing I know about this company is they will try and weasel the fee from me. Bastards! I am mad thinking about having to go through this whole thing with them AGAIN!!!!!

Like a true smart a$$ I reply:

“There is a red marker scribble over the “#” sign.
Am I to assume that is an “N?”

I did not read anything to indicate the red marker scribble was anything but a scribble.”

This one is clearly their lack of mastery of the English language and here I sit predicting they will try to deduct $10 from my fee! *fuming*
I love how I have to print a billion pages of instructions because they have changed procedures, but they can’t reprint these stupid tags - - - instead some idiot is running around high off the fumes from this RED MARKER & they are the ones who decide if I will be paid or not…yeah…in love with this MSP all over again!!!

I was eating at the bar alone last night, don’t ask you don’t want to know, and I got carded.
The lady, with a boyfirend/husband on the adjoining side of the bar drunkenly kids with the bartender, “Hey, No Fair!” He carded me, but not her. (This bartender knows the lone woman is not as likely to get drunk, at least not THIS lone woman, it is a butter-ya-up move, c’mon lady!)

After they had left, and one of them was drunk so the tip was significant, he brought me ketchup for my fries and we talked about the incident. He mentioned that was awkward & it was awkward. I said how it must be rough telling some people’s ages. He concurred and offered that “there are these shoppers, not from the liquor board, but some place the restaurant hires, that send in 19 year olds to see if we ID everyone.” I gasped and said “Really?” I was one beer in and hadn’t planned on doing a shop, but I probed…. He added that they must find the “hardest looking 19 year-olds” or the “youngest people of age.” I encouraged the conversation as only a half in the bottle mystery shopper can do and found out that one shopper was in there with his ‘parents’ “and both the parents vouched for him that he was in college and 21.”

1. This is tricky. I hope no MS company promotes this scenario.
2. I volunteered that next time he could offer to cut the child in half and count his rings - surely true parents would object….ala King Solomon! (might have been drunk by this point)
3. I realized I was talking to a bartender that had been stung by this little MS operation - - - NOT a fan I guess!

P.S. 4. I was buttered up - I tipped over 20%

I hit my bookmark for Amazon & was at first confused, had I selected Cathy’s blog page instead?
No
This is Amazon.com’s version of a blog, a PLOG by authors of books they sell. It is based on your order history and gives you more information on the author and links to more of their work you may want to purchase. Here is what accompanied a picture of Cathy upon my opening my Amazon page:

Monday, January 9, 2006
Cathy Stucker
Why a Book About Mystery Shopping?
3:36 PM PST, January 9, 2006 • Received because you purchased Mystery Shopper’s Manual, 6th Edition.

In 1995, I wanted to become a mystery shopper but had no idea how to get started. When I looked for information, I found nothing. Well, I am pretty good at research so I spent a lot of time contacting companies, following up on leads and talking to people who could help me.

The Mystery Shopper’s Manual is the book I was looking for when I wanted information about mystery shopping. The current (6th) edition is much different than the book I wrote back in 1995 because the industry has changed a lot. The Internet has changed how shoppers are recruited and how shop reports are completed.

Some of the information about the conference is starting to materialize.
Saturday morning I will be considering my self image and sit in on a magic show…..you may remember one of my suggestions was to cut the “feel good” general speakers & cut to the chase, so I am geeked to see these two yahoos.
The schedule for the conference does not look like it will be posted to the general public, “The Conference Proceedings (distributed to Conference Registrants only) .” Read the post on Volition after Anaheim for the direct afterglow post conference last year. Although based on the MSPAs follow-up questionairre to certified shoppers I would anticipate a different set of sessions than the previous two, but without any information to the contrary I am certain some will hesitate to part with their had shopped for cash. Kern proclaimed 2/15 the date she would post the program - may that will convince the rest of the MS world.

Or at least the smoke of work.

The last two times I have received equipmentfrom Corp.Risk Solutions I am risking my respiratory health if I inhale while I open the FedEx.

Since they stiffed me on the now infamous bonus(only read if you want to be angry), I wonder if I have a case for OSHA?

I have these crazy visions of what must be going on down there where they are packaging the FedExs for delivery…….luckily I can share my vision with you….. That guy in the middle with the red eyes has packed my last two packages. If you look closely you can see he is calling for another cig. to exhale into my package before sealing it. Now that’s a work ethic.