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MsJudi
Star Contributor
New Jersey
USA
395 Posts |
 Posted - 02/14/2009 : 05:25:49 AM
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Yes, I get the "glitch" most of the time too. But this week I did one that submitted the report as complete after I entered only one photo. Go figure, I had to email them and ask to have it put back so I could complete it. I didn't get a chance to even see the photo but knew that I had only entered one. I never heard back until this AM when they put it on hold and I was able to complete it. So when all the photos are attached, it tells you you're missing one, and when you're missing one or more, it goes through with no "glitch" message.
So, I think they are still having issues with the new system. |
Judi |
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TinaMarie
Star Contributor
USA
1409 Posts |
Posted - 02/14/2009 : 07:41:59 AM
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I can't get the instruction on the new round of shipping shops that starts today...guess they don't want us to work on V-Day! 
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!  |
~*~TinaMarie~*~ |
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MsJudi
Star Contributor
New Jersey
USA
395 Posts |
Posted - 02/14/2009 : 1:53:44 PM
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| The instructions are the same as the last round of shops. I didn't get them with by packages, but I downloaded them and they were the same. |
Judi |
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ValricoConnie
Star Contributor
FL
USA
752 Posts |
Posted - 02/14/2009 : 3:55:00 PM
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| MsJudi, Thanks for the info. I also did not get the instructions w/the boxes and the online guide was blank except for the message that there was an error loading the evaluation. |
::¤Connie¤:: >^..^< ::¤Gold Certified¤:: |
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MisterBill
Valued Contributor
Yorktown Heights, NY
USA
161 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2009 : 6:43:37 PM
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| How long does it take for them to schedule shops? I applied for a chocolate shop on Friday morning and it still is sitting unassigned. It has a start date on Monday (with a 3 day shop period), you'd think they would get them schedule immediately. Meanwhile, I changed my weekend plans to go to the mall where the store is located from Saturday to Monday in the hopes of getting the shop. |
Bill |
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JeffInIL
Star Contributor
IL
USA
281 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2009 : 7:04:57 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by MisterBill
How long does it take for them to schedule shops? I applied for a chocolate shop on Friday morning and it still is sitting unassigned. It has a start date on Monday (with a 3 day shop period), you'd think they would get them schedule immediately. Meanwhile, I changed my weekend plans to go to the mall where the store is located from Saturday to Monday in the hopes of getting the shop.
Requested shops can sit there indefinitely. I learned this the hard way by checking daily to see if I received an assignment. After a week or so, and requesting literally 50 different shops, each started showing as being assigned to another shopper. I couldn't understand why they wouldn't give me a chance - even just one measly shop to see what I could do.
Then I figured, what harm could there be to just call them. Well, since calling I've had 23 shops assigned to me for different clients in my first week, and they now call me regularly asking me to pick up additional locations. If only I knew earlier that a simple call would open the gates to a ton of assignments...
So Bill, just call them and ask for work... 800-782-4299. I don't know the extension for the shop you're looking for, so just wait for the operator/receptionist and they'll connect you with the right people. Being proactive in expressing your desire to work for them, I believe tells them a lot about you. Who knows, that may be what they're looking for before taking on a new shopper?
Good luck, Bill.  |
Jeff |
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MisterBill
Valued Contributor
Yorktown Heights, NY
USA
161 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2009 : 8:38:18 PM
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| So I called Maritz this morning to try and get myself scheduled for the shop before heading out. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were open but was told that the person I needed to speak to about the shop only got in around 12:30 (their time, which turned out to be CST, although they did not tell me that), and I was subsequently told not to call before 1pm. Amazingly, no one else could schedule the shop for me. I was heading to that mall anyway, so I took their phone number with me. I called around 1pm eastern time, was told that they were on Central time, so I (called back at 1pm their time (killing 20 minutes since we were done and could have left earlier). They still could not connect me with him, so I gave them my number and told them that I was near the store, and would wait 10 minutes to hear from him. He never called so I left. I turned off my phone at that point since I didn't want to be responsible for what I said if he had called after that. Are they usually this incompetent? Or was I just lucky? |
Bill |
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Servanne
Star Contributor
Silver Lake, MN
USA
2133 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2009 : 2:59:53 PM
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MisterBill, I have had to deal with the issue where only a certain person can schedule/reschedule a shop for a particular project. It is highly annoying. However, I have adjusted and do not sweat it too much anymore. That is the way they operate and it is one of the many quirks of their system. I just hope they won't be calling you tomorrow asking for you to do the shop... 
It has been discussed extensively in this thread: Maritz is not the best company out there when it comes to urgent communication. They are sometimes difficult to reach and even if you get through, if it's not the right person, you're out of luck.
But, they are pleasant to deal with (if you can get past your frustration with the system), pay on time and as promised. They have steady jobs around here which are easy to perform and even easier to report. That makes me forgive the idiosyncrasies... |
Servanne
Merrily shopping my way through the Twin Cities, Western Minnesota and beyond...
MSPA Gold Certified since April 2007! |
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JeffInIL
Star Contributor
IL
USA
281 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2009 : 3:00:12 PM
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Bill, ouch. I guess you were just lucky. 
Honestly, I've found them pretty easy to reach. I had to leave a message a couple times, but they called back by the end of the day. Admittedly, I never left a message demanding a call back in ten minutes though, but can't say I'm surprised that approach didn't yield the desired response. 
I don't show any chocolate-related shops within 50 miles of here, so don't know what you're missing. But it sounds like a case of just bad timing really. I find this MSC one of the great ones, so of course I'd suggest you give them a second or third (?) try. If you're too irritated with it all, maybe not. Either way, good luck Bill. |
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MisterBill
Valued Contributor
Yorktown Heights, NY
USA
161 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2009 : 3:05:58 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Servanne
I just hope they won't be calling you tomorrow asking for you to do the shop...
If they call me tomorrow, I'll tell them I will be happy to do it for a $20 mileage fee since I'm not planning to be anywhere near there for the foreseeable future. |
Bill |
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EllenNC
Star Contributor
Raleigh, NC
USA
450 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2009 : 6:44:11 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by MattMS
Ok, I was wondering if I'm the only one that is having problems with photos and gas station shops. (Any of them.) *EVERY* time I have entered one, it's told me "You are missing at least one photo. If you have the photo(s), please upload and submit or submit as is." I have, however, submitted every photo, and it shows them next to each question.
Am I doing something wrong here? Any idea why it tells me this every time? The shops still get approved...
Thanks!
The problem is that they have two gas station shops. One has 6 or 7 required photos BUT each required photo requires a twin photo from the opposite angle. The shop you are doing has 7 required photos, but only from a single angle. The system is set up to allow the evaluator to put in two photos for each of the required photos. Simply hit the submit button the second time. Now you should be thoroughly confused, because I certainly am after typing photos so many times. |
Ellen |
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Jonathan B.
Star Contributor
Smyrna, Tennessee
USA
330 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2009 : 9:21:44 PM
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| I had an interesting experience with one of the green gas station shops today. The person who signed my form said I should work for the health dept. because I was so detailed. My thought was, I'm just doing what the manual says. If I'm not detailed, I'll get a hold message and have to come back and take more pics. I think the person just didn't like what I counted off for. |
Jonathan B. |
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EllenNC
Star Contributor
Raleigh, NC
USA
450 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2009 : 11:32:54 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Jonathan B.
I had an interesting experience with one of the green gas station shops today. The person who signed my form said I should work for the health dept. because I was so detailed. My thought was, I'm just doing what the manual says. If I'm not detailed, I'll get a hold message and have to come back and take more pics. I think the person just didn't like what I counted off for.
I agree, Jonathan, they sometimes think that we have the authority to give them some leeway. When I get a complainer I tell them the truth. That I am required to take certain photos and the infraction will show up in them. I also tell them that there are at least 3 other people who will view the photos and if I am wrong, either way, the score will be changed. I've done a couple of thousand of these and sometimes I am wrong. I try to leave them happy, even if I've zapped them because I don't complaints about me. |
Ellen |
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Sandi In Mississippi
Star Contributor
MS
USA
1276 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2009 : 07:28:41 AM
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Still struggling with my problem: since the website changed there is one particular type of shop which does not show up for me. I can see dozens of others of 3-4 different types, but not the particular shops I used to select or request. It has NOT gone to scheduler assigned only,(per my scheduler). It DOES show for other shoppers.
I am still called regularly and asked to do this type shop and I always ask, "Are these not listed any more?" Each time I'm told they are listed and the scheduler doesn't know why I cannot see them since the changeover. Then I'm asked to make a special 60-100 mile trip to do one shop, when I could have worked it into my regular run in that direction.
BUT, it will no longer be a problem for me. After being promised a call-back from several people-in my 7 or 8 attempts to get this straight, doing last minute shops which are inconvenient for me, and trying my best, I've come to a conclusion. My time is just as valuable as theirs. This is a first for me, as most of the companies who shop my area truly need shoppers for a basically rural part of the country.
A company who uses a shopper for 6-7 yrs, expresses satisfaction to the shopper, doesn't mind calling with last minute stuff, and has shops available in my area but doesn't care if I can see them to try to work out a schedule and get them done? Hey - there is actually a solution to that and I plan to implement it. Sometimes enough is just enough.
Personally, I would be ashamed to be in business and unable to answer questions or provide any suggestions regarding a system change. Their schedulers and personnel are definitely nice, but if I can't see the jobs I am no longer interested in twisting my schedule around to accomodate something I could have done days before had I been able to see it. After all - we shop for our profit, not to clean up a computer error on the part of the company.
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MSPA Gold Shopper
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TinaMarie
Star Contributor
USA
1409 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2009 : 7:03:40 PM
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| The new unreveal gas shops require the opeating hours of the station. What's the best way to find out without asking? I don't remember ever seeing it posted on the doors. |
~*~TinaMarie~*~ |
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Quinn
Star Contributor
Atlanta, GA
USA
50165 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2009 : 7:10:33 PM
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| If you don't want to ask them while there, I suppose you could call the station. |
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TinaMarie
Star Contributor
USA
1409 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2009 : 7:20:25 PM
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I just called and that didn't go well. The guy got suspicious and asked who I was calling for.  |
~*~TinaMarie~*~ |
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Quinn
Star Contributor
Atlanta, GA
USA
50165 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2009 : 8:07:31 PM
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| Next time tell them you need hours, tell them you work the night shift and you usually fill up either on the way to work on or on the way home. Then ask them what time they open and close. In my opinion, it is a stupid question and the client did not require it with the prior MSC that they used for these shops. |
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Dar
Star Contributor
USA
293 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2009 : 11:15:40 PM
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I pulled up to the gas shop that requires hours and no hours were posted. The attendant was creepy and must have been just smoking weed because I smelled it all over him. I tried calling the station to request hours later (kiosk) but no answer.
This was the only shop I didn't report hours on. I wrote "Hours Not Posted" and Maritz didn't follow up requesting them. I checked the report later because it was still in the system and noticed that my comments about the marijuana were deleted. Perhaps the client is not interested in such things. |
Dar
MSPA Gold Certified
~ MSing the Southern USA ~ |
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PamInCa
Star Contributor
CA
USA
6047 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2009 : 06:50:10 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Sandi In Mississippi
Still struggling with my problem: since the website changed there is one particular type of shop which does not show up for me. I can see dozens of others of 3-4 different types, but not the particular shops I used to select or request. It has NOT gone to scheduler assigned only,(per my scheduler). It DOES show for other shoppers.
I am still called regularly and asked to do this type shop and I always ask, "Are these not listed any more?" Each time I'm told they are listed and the scheduler doesn't know why I cannot see them since the changeover. Then I'm asked to make a special 60-100 mile trip to do one shop, when I could have worked it into my regular run in that direction.
BUT, it will no longer be a problem for me. After being promised a call-back from several people-in my 7 or 8 attempts to get this straight, doing last minute shops which are inconvenient for me, and trying my best, I've come to a conclusion. My time is just as valuable as theirs. This is a first for me, as most of the companies who shop my area truly need shoppers for a basically rural part of the country.
A company who uses a shopper for 6-7 yrs, expresses satisfaction to the shopper, doesn't mind calling with last minute stuff, and has shops available in my area but doesn't care if I can see them to try to work out a schedule and get them done? Hey - there is actually a solution to that and I plan to implement it. Sometimes enough is just enough.
Personally, I would be ashamed to be in business and unable to answer questions or provide any suggestions regarding a system change. Their schedulers and personnel are definitely nice, but if I can't see the jobs I am no longer interested in twisting my schedule around to accomodate something I could have done days before had I been able to see it. After all - we shop for our profit, not to clean up a computer error on the part of the company.
Sandi...... You are so very right! There is a solution and you clearly see it. Now, if others would follow your game plan, there would be action taken by the companies that take care of THEIR problem. It seems others forget how much time they are giving these companies for free by calling, emailing, trying to help them get jobs completed. |
PamInCa
Author of: "The Essential Guide to Mystery Shopping" |
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Feedback Requested: Maritz