The Mystery Shopping Thread - X

BerryDelight

Does anyone know how long ABAI take to send your fee, did a job three weeks ago. Thanks :P

ISWMLE

Lil_Me wrote: »

It just seems to me that if you had lots of reports queried that you just weren't writing in the way that they need you to??

I'm very new to mystery shopping, only been shopping for less than 2 months but out of the 44 jobs that I've done for all the different companies I've only had 1 query but after one e-mail back to them that was it.

I wonder if that is correct. Most queries were to pad out questions I'd already answered elsewhere. Most of the hassle came from me, when I had to report the software uploading problems. The only thing they complained about on this last assignment they won't pay for was:

(a) I mentioned that I had half a lager after the shopping trip ended, and didn't buy anything else in the shop. So what? All they had to do was remove the comment.

(b) I mentioned that I expected the pharmacy I visited to be like Boots The Chemist. On the assignment notes it stated that we had to browse round the shop and look at all the promotions on offer. It was impossible to do this in the tiny store I visited. I would have stood out 'like a sore thumb.' It was not a browsing shop. It was for the locals to go in and out to get what they wanted.

I fail to see how these answers can detract from the value of the report on everything else I mentioned that would be of chief value to the client - about customer service, the promotions visible in the shop etc.

No, I'm afraid RE are going the way of others I've read about, so it seems. Trying to wriggle out of paying for every tiny indiscrepancy they can think of. As I mentioned before, I am sure their refusal to pay for this assignment was only due to the expenses they'd agreed to shell out because I mentioned that their expenses policy wasn't clear. So they thought they could recoup some of the money by refusing me the £5 fee instead. It's so obvious, it's laughable.

Another incident over the report uploading problems I've experienced. Today I e-mailed the coordinator for last night's completed assignment (my last) to upload three answers to questions I couldn't enter into the on-line report after returning. Just after I sent it, the same coordinator rang me - apparently, completely out of the blue as a courtesy call to see how last night went. This never happened before. At first I assumed, of course, that she'd received my e-mail and was phoning me to respond to my e-mail and attachment questions. But no. She said that she hadn't even received my e-mail yet. The e-mail system was so slow that it takes half an hour for an e-mail to filter through. I then told her what I e-mailed her about and she decided to ask me these three questions again - then she said she was entering them on-line (so I had to repeat them over the phone) She also told me, as she was tapping my answers into my account report, that there was nothing wrong with the reporting software last night or today. Yet, after the call ended, I went into RE account and realised she hadn't entered any of my questions in. Instead, I tried again entering them myself and did it successfully this time. The next question was about uploading a receipt - which couldn't be done because no receipt was required. So I had to get back to them about that too.

Am I really supposed to believe that coordinator I e-mailed and the phone call from the same coordinator a minute or so later was mere cooincidence? It was bull. She already had my e-mail and was just trying to hoodwink me into believing that the assignment had been closed off for me so that I would miss the deadline - hence another excuse not to pay me.

Besides, since I started MS for RE, my answers gave always been very full and factual. There is no way they were inadequately answered. I have report writing skills through training, good grammar and good observational skills. So this was definitely NOT the reason.

ISWMLE

Lil_Me wrote: »

It just seems to me that if you had lots of reports queried that you just weren't writing in the way that they need you to??

I'm very new to mystery shopping, only been shopping for less than 2 months but out of the 44 jobs that I've done for all the different companies I've only had 1 query but after one e-mail back to them that was it.

I wonder if that is correct. Most queries were to pad out questions I'd already answered elsewhere. Most of the hassle came from me, when I had to report the software uploading problems. The only thing they complained about on this last assignment they won't pay for was:

(a) I mentioned that I had half a lager after the shopping trip ended, and didn't buy anything else in the shop. So what? All they had to do was remove the comment.

(b) I mentioned that I expected the pharmacy I visited to be like Boots The Chemist. On the assignment notes it stated that we had to browse round the shop and look at all the promotions on offer. It was impossible to do this in the tiny store I visited. I would have stood out 'like a sore thumb.' It was not a browsing shop. It was for the locals to go in and out to get what they wanted.

I fail to see how these answers can detract from the value of the report on everything else I mentioned that would be of chief value to the client - about customer service, the promotions visible in the shop etc.

No, I'm afraid RE are going the way of others I've read about, so it seems. Trying to wriggle out of paying for every tiny indiscrepancy they can think of. As I mentioned before, I am sure their refusal to pay for this assignment was only due to the expenses they'd agreed to shell out because I mentioned that their expenses policy wasn't clear. So they thought they could recoup some of the money by refusing me the £5 fee instead. It's so obvious, it's laughable.

Another incident over the report uploading problems I've experienced. Today I e-mailed the coordinator for last night's completed assignment (my last) to upload three answers to questions I couldn't enter into the on-line report after returning. Just after I sent it, the same coordinator rang me - apparently, completely out of the blue as a courtesy call to see how last night went. This never happened before. At first I assumed, of course, that she'd received my e-mail and was phoning me to respond to my e-mail and attachment questions. But no. She said that she hadn't even received my e-mail yet. The e-mail system was so slow that it takes half an hour for an e-mail to filter through. I then told her what I e-mailed her about and she decided to ask me these three questions again - then she said she was entering them on-line (so I had to repeat them over the phone) She also told me, as she was tapping my answers into my account report, that there was nothing wrong with the reporting software last night or today. Yet, after the call ended, I went into RE account and realised she hadn't entered any of my questions in. Instead, I tried again entering them myself and did it successfully this time. The next question was about uploading a receipt - which couldn't be done because no receipt was required. So I had to get back to them about that too.

Am I really supposed to believe that coordinator I e-mailed and the phone call from the same coordinator a minute or so later was mere cooincidence? It was bull. She already had my e-mail and was just trying to hoodwink me into believing that the assignment had been closed off for me so that I would miss the deadline - hence another excuse not to pay me.

Besides, since I started MS for RE, my answers gave always been very full and factual. There is no way they were inadequately answered. I have report writing skills through training, good grammar and good observational skills. So this was definitely NOT the reason.

ukmonkey

BerryDelight wrote: »

Does anyone know how long ABAI take to send your fee, did a job three weeks ago. Thanks :P

The sooner the better for me. I'm waiting for money for 7 red-coloured shops that I've done for them oer the last month. I'm hoping it'll be sometime wthin the next week or so.

mysterious_girl

ukmonkey wrote: »

The sooner the better for me. I'm waiting for money for 7 red-coloured shops that I've done for them oer the last month. I'm hoping it'll be sometime wthin the next week or so.

Forever. It was 4 weeks last month. I think they wait until all the catalogue shops have been done and then send the money out at once. I had a call from them yesterday asking me if I would do a last minute catalogue shop for them some time this week but I couldn't do it so god only knows when payment is going to be now.

ukmonkey

mysterious_girl wrote: »

Forever. It was 4 weeks last month. I think they wait until all the catalogue shops have been done and then send the money out at once. I had a call from them yesterday asking me if I would do a last minute catalogue shop for them some time this week but I couldn't do it so god only knows when payment is going to be now.

Aye, I remember the last lot seemed to take forver, and the though about them waiting until all the wave has been completed sprung to my mind too, so maybe we're right?!

I'm hoping they don't send me a cheque. Seven envelopes with these fees in would be a very nice welcome home from work!

mysterious_girl

ISWMLE wrote: »

I wonder if that is correct. Most queries were to pad out questions I'd already answered elsewhere. Most of the hassle came from me, when I had to report the software uploading problems. The only thing they complained about on this last assignment they won't pay for was:

(a) I mentioned that I had half a lager after the shopping trip ended, and didn't buy anything else in the shop. So what? All they had to do was remove the comment.

(b) I mentioned that I expected the pharmacy I visited to be like Boots The Chemist. On the assignment notes it stated that we had to browse round the shop and look at all the promotions on offer. It was impossible to do this in the tiny store I visited. I would have stood out 'like a sore thumb.' It was not a browsing shop. It was for the locals to go in and out to get what they wanted.

I fail to see how these answers can detract from the value of the report on everything else I mentioned that would be of chief value to the client - about customer service, the promotions visible in the shop etc.

No, I'm afraid RE are going the way of others I've read about, so it seems. Trying to wriggle out of paying for every tiny indiscrepancy they can think of. As I mentioned before, I am sure their refusal to pay for this assignment was only due to the expenses they'd agreed to shell out because I mentioned that their expenses policy wasn't clear. So they thought they could recoup some of the money by refusing me the £5 fee instead. It's so obvious, it's laughable.

Another incident over the report uploading problems I've experienced. Today I e-mailed the coordinator for last night's completed assignment (my last) to upload three answers to questions I couldn't enter into the on-line report after returning. Just after I sent it, the same coordinator rang me - apparently, completely out of the blue as a courtesy call to see how last night went. This never happened before. At first I assumed, of course, that she'd received my e-mail and was phoning me to respond to my e-mail and attachment questions. But no. She said that she hadn't even received my e-mail yet. The e-mail system was so slow that it takes half an hour for an e-mail to filter through. I then told her what I e-mailed her about and she decided to ask me these three questions again - then she said she was entering them on-line (so I had to repeat them over the phone) She also told me, as she was tapping my answers into my account report, that there was nothing wrong with the reporting software last night or today. Yet, after the call ended, I went into RE account and realised she hadn't entered any of my questions in. Instead, I tried again entering them myself and did it successfully this time. The next question was about uploading a receipt - which couldn't be done because no receipt was required. So I had to get back to them about that too.

Am I really supposed to believe that coordinator I e-mailed and the phone call from the same coordinator a minute or so later was mere cooincidence? It was bull. She already had my e-mail and was just trying to hoodwink me into believing that the assignment had been closed off for me so that I would miss the deadline - hence another excuse not to pay me.

Besides, since I started MS for RE, my answers gave always been very full and factual. There is no way they were inadequately answered. I have report writing skills through training, good grammar and good observational skills. So this was definitely NOT the reason.

I have also absolutely had it with RE and wont work for them anymore. I did a job for them that they refused to pay me for because on the report it asked "What did you purchase?" and I left out the chocolate bar which was a requirement (and I did purchase it) but omitted it from the sentence in error. I actually scanned a receipt with the report which showed the purchases made and the chocolate bar was on there so I said "Oh sorry, could you just add it in for me on the report at your end please, I must have got distracted from the report when typing it and went onto the next question without completing the last one". No, they wouldn't and I was out of pocket by a tenner. Rotten bunch. I bet the added it in anyway for the client and just found a way to wriggle out of paying me.

AndyInYorks

ISWMLE wrote: »

(a) I mentioned that I had half a lager after the shopping trip ended, and didn't buy anything else in the shop. So what? All they had to do was remove the comment.

(b) I mentioned that I expected the pharmacy I visited to be like Boots The Chemist. On the assignment notes it stated that we had to browse round the shop and look at all the promotions on offer. It was impossible to do this in the tiny store I visited. I would have stood out 'like a sore thumb.' It was not a browsing shop. It was for the locals to go in and out to get what they wanted.

Point a - this is completely irrelevant. and should not have been mentioned. Why do they care what you did after the visit?

Point b - Again saying you expected the shop to be like a different shop is irrelevant, unless the question asked "What shop did you expect the Pharmacy would be like?" I have done the Pharmacy ones before and not had any trouble browsing, just spend a couple of minutes looking at different things, pick up a couple of items (your purchases) and then go to the till.

No, I'm afraid RE are going the way of others I've read about, so it seems. Trying to wriggle out of paying for every tiny indiscrepancy they can think of. As I mentioned before, I am sure their refusal to pay for this assignment was only due to the expenses they'd agreed to shell out because I mentioned that their expenses policy wasn't clear. So they thought they could recoup some of the money by refusing me the £5 fee instead. It's so obvious, it's laughable.

I have done over 100 assignments for RE and never had them refuse to pay me. I have had a problem recently with a payment going missing from my account but it was a technical problem and they've sorted it out now. I don't know how the expenses policy is unclear. It tells you in the job notes how much you'll get paid. Sometimes the expenses aren't enough, I agree, but they are not unclear.

Just after I sent it, the same coordinator rang me - apparently, completely out of the blue as a courtesy call to see how last night went. This never happened before.

I have had them call me occasionally. Once when the previous shopper had let them down and the assignment was already late, once when I didn't finish inputting my results and once when it was a two part job and they wanted to check when I was doing the second part. Maybe they have started calling new shoppers to check assignments have been done, due to people not submitting reports on time?

The next question was about uploading a receipt - which couldn't be done because no receipt was required. So I had to get back to them about that too.

There is an option on the receipt page to select "No receipt is required for this job" - on the drop down list of options about how you're going to send them the receipt.

Am I really supposed to believe that coordinator I e-mailed and the phone call from the same coordinator a minute or so later was mere cooincidence? It was bull. She already had my e-mail and was just trying to hoodwink me into believing that the assignment had been closed off for me so that I would miss the deadline - hence another excuse not to pay me.

I have occasionally missed the deadline, but still been paid for my reports. If she called you it was obviously because she needed the report finishing so they could send it to the client, I very much doubt they were trying to avoid paying you.


It does seem you've had a bad experience with RE (and I never thought I'd find myself sticking up for them). They do have their faults e.g. the cutting of fees. But while ever people take the jobs, you can't blame them.

But I have never had them deliberately not pay me for a job, and when I first started I made a couple of mistakes but they still paid me.

TractorGirl327

ukmonkey wrote: »

The sooner the better for me. I'm waiting for money for 7 red-coloured shops that I've done for them oer the last month. I'm hoping it'll be sometime wthin the next week or so.

7 red shops, 15 from Gap this afternoon, you're a busy man Monkeyboy!

ukmonkey

mysterious_girl wrote: »

I have also absolutely had it with RE and wont work for them anymore. I did a job for them that they refused to pay me for because on the report it asked "What did you purchase?" and I left out the chocolate bar which was a requirement (and I did purchase it) but omitted it from the sentence in error. I actually scanned a receipt with the report which showed the purchases made and the chocolate bar was on there so I said "Oh sorry, could you just add it in for me on the report at your end please, I must have got distracted from the report when typing it and went onto the next question without completing the last one". No, they wouldn't and I was out of pocket by a tenner. Rotten bunch. I bet the added it in anyway for the client and just found a way to wriggle out of paying me.

How long ago was this? If this ever happens to me, I'll be sure to send them a paper invoice, giving them 14 days to pay me. Then a letter before action giving them a further 14 days, then would issue county court proceedings. That'd wake the f**kers up.

Also, MG, did you write to the client? I would've, at the end of the day, RE are helping to ruin companies' brands via their unethical practices.