It’s a tough pill to swallow. You’ve just learned your shop was rejected and you won’t be getting paid for it. Ouch!
A range of thoughts runs through your mind. You’re peeved and never want to work with that company again…. But maybe it was something you did wrong. Rather than blame the company or yourself for this, use this as a time to learn valuable lessons from your mistakes. What can you take away from this experience?
1. A Time To Listen. Use this as a time to develop your listening skills. Most people will react very defensively to news that their shop has been rejected. They’ll instantly put up a wall and say the scheduler is being unfair. There’s no doubt in their minds that the shop was done correctly, and the scheduler is full of baloney.
While schedulers certainly have been known to make mistakes, shoppers have also made their fair share. Don’t react emotionally and assume the mistake was on the other side. Listen non-judgmentally and unemotionally to your scheduler. Train yourself to see both sides of the situation. Use this experience as a chance to grow as a person. If it turns out the mistake was truly on your scheduler’s end, at least you gave her a chance to explain the situation from her eyes. Regardless of who is at fault, listening and reacting unemotionally will only help you in situations like this. When you use this experience as an opportunity to develop your listening skills, you’ll grow as a shopper.
2. When To Use White Out. If it turns out you did make a mistake (and yes, we all do from time to time), do your best to bandage it. Many times you won’t be able to re-do a shop. If you buy and return a pair of shoes, you’re going to look awfully suspicious going in a week later to buy and return another pair of shoes. But in the event you are allowed to correct your mistake and “white it out”, by all means do it. You were contracted to do a job, and the bottom line is that you did not do it to the specifications requested.
This is your chance to make it right, so jump on it if you’re allowed. Commit yourself to getting the job done “right” and prove that you’re a professional mystery shopper. Learn what you did wrong the first time, and be sure you don’t repeat that mistake again.
3. Protect The Relationship. There’s more at stake with a rejected shop than purely the $10 fee you’ll receive. Your relationship with the scheduler and the company is worth so much more than one shop fee, not to mention your valuable shopper rating! A lower shopper rating or a bad relationship with a scheduler will result in difficulty getting other shops. Ultimately, this means much more lost income than just $10 from this shop. If you’re not allowed to re-do the shop, do what you can to salvage the relationship with your scheduler.
Explain calmly why you made the mistake and be apologetic. Eating a little crow now may go along way if you show that your apology is sincere and your intentions were good. Learning this lesson is worth money in the bank.
4. Learn The True You. Look at what happened with this shop if the issue was on your end. Did you show up at the shop two hours late? If you’re compulsively late, you can see that this may be an issue for you on future shops. Or did you not follow the directions on the shop fully? If you have a problem paying attention to or remembering small details, this may indicate that you’re going to continue having issues with mystery shopping.
Analyze if these are personality traits you can change – and if you want to change them. If you decide to try to change yourself, understand that you typically won’t get paid on a shop if the directions aren’t followed to the T.
5. Time For A Change. If the reason your shop was rejected was due to a personality trait with you that you can’t or don’t want to change, it may be time to analyze if mystery shopping is a good match for you. For instance, if you’ve tried everything and just cannot show up anywhere on time, you may want to take a lesson from this shop and move on to another job. There’s really no point doing shops that you ultimately won’t get paid for due to not meeting the shop requirements.
The next time your shop gets rejected, take something away from it and grow as a shopper.
What about when you offer to correct the problem and the scheduler simply ignores your emails? I find many communications get ignored by the schedulers. So many of the contracts stipulate and stress “Communicate with the company/scheduler” yet when you do there is a very slow response or sometimes none at all. I believe this is why they lose many shoppers because I find this very unprofessional and frustrating.
Hi,
I have only had one problem so far with a shop. I guess that is pretty good considering I have been doing this for over a year and a half. In this instance, I completed the shop correctly and supplied all the pertain info. However, the scheduler was insistent that I change the order in which things happened because it was a serious violation for the server. I stated over and over again that what was reported was the facts but she had the final say in what and when it was reported. I refused to change it myself. I was contacted, berated, and practically screamed at. But, I held my ground and decided my intergrity was more important than changing a shop. I do not shop for that company presently but plan to allow some cooling off time before I apply again. I did apologize for our inability to see eye to eye, remained cordial and respectful throughout my interactions with her. Who knows, I have called in the past by this same company to help them out in a jam. And that maybe my signal that I can resume shopping for them. I did not take it personally since there are too many other companies out there to shop for.
Phyllis
Some companies I have worked for do not let you respond after a job has been rejected this is very unprofessional and they teach otherwise I will not cotinue with them because maybe They should see this as a missttep and communicate with their private contractors.Every merchandiser has conflicts and when the public is involved many issues can arise but to be deactivated is unforgiveable I do not suggest this company to shop for again and I will tell the whole shopping facilitators not to do this to their shoppers it is WRONG and RUDE.Shoppers are people too!!!!!!!!
I agree with Marylin and Phyllis whole heartedly about the Schedulers. Listen I did a shop for KernScheduling, but I had done it a month ago and got paid for doing it. This shop is in this same town I am in, and then I got an e-mail from the Scheduler that I was not being paid for that particular shop, so I immediately checked my calendar because I know that I had been paid plus it was on the site that I had been paid. Now where the problem came in at was that the Scheduler assumed I had been scheduled for the same shop in a near by town here. I was never scheduled for that particular shop because my husband had a cancer operation, and I know where I was that day. At first I was upset because I kept saying to myself, I made mistakes like that. I could not get over it, so I went back to the web site, and I looked at the date and where it took place at, and I had never been assigned to do it. Well, I wrote that Scheduler back and said I know that I am not getting paid for that shop because it was never assigned to me. I know we are all human and we all everyone in this world make mistakes time and again but do not accuse me of doing something I did not do. I told her do not send me anymore shopping jobs from that particular company anymore. I do not want to be bothered with them at all. She gave no apology what so ever so they can keep their shopping jobs. I am registered with a lot of companies and still apply to others, so I do not need them in my life, especially when they just assume that I did that shop because those stores are all in this area each one is only 8miles from each other in different towns in our county. I am sorry I cannot eat a little crow when I was not assigned that shop at all. I love Mystery Shopping and I try to do the very best job that I can and the Schedulers, I have worked for writes and thanks me, and they also tell me what I could improve on and that is fine with me, I want them to tell me so that I will not make that mistake again. I can take criticism but only when I have done a shopping job that I was accepted to do.
I think a lot of you Jacob but I will not let anyone accuse me of something that I did not do. I don’t think anyone would want to beaccused of something like that or something similar to that.
I am glad you have this Mystery Shop Maven going, and I hope you keep it. It is really nice. I also love the Mystery Shop Forum that you have I hope that never goes away either.
Very interesting words, if anybody received an assignments, let’s say in micro Word, and without been writing they ask after you submit your report to submit it on Excel; them they look for excuse for NOT paying you.
Every day I read your messages Jacob, with all the comments I been read it lately I been learned, Thank you all of you, getting in touch with experienced Shopper it will help me a lot, I appreciate.