Ok, It's soapbox time.

BestMark has never been the best paying company, and the reports tend to get tedious and repetitious.

But they were good for a few bucks, to fill in the cracks when I needed to be in a particular area for something else anyway. They don't pay high, but they pay quickly, and sometimes, when you are juggling pennies, like I was when I first got started, quick pay trumps good pay.

But two recent experiences with BestMark have forced me to move them from my list of "Acceptable Tier 2" companies to my list of "Risky Business" companies.

Incident 1.

We had a higher end restaurant shop that required a bar shop as well, either before or after the meal. Because it was raining when we arrived, the dining room was virtually empty, and there was no practical way to visit the bar before we were seated, without seriously compromising anonymity. Toward the end of our meal, the parking valet approached our table and let us know that his crew was going home, because there was nobody else there, but that he had brought our vehicle around for us and it was at the front door.

Sensing that this could get awkward if we then attempted the bar shop after our meal, My wife used the "Smoking at the bar only" policy as an excuse to visit the bar, and bought a drink while she was there.

We completed the entire report on both sections of the restaurant, explaining the circumstances, and detailing what had happened. As always, I submitted a well written, clear, concise report, following the templates provided, and making sure to dot all my I's and cross all my T's. (figuratively of course).

The report was disqualified because the time on the receipt from the bar when compared to the time on the receipt from dinner indicated that there had not been sufficient time spent in the bar to adequately assess the areas that needed to be assessed.

I was out $150.00 plus the gas to drive to a restaurant that quite frankly just wasn't that good. I would never have returned there, even had I been reimbursed.

Incident number 2:

The BestMark Scheduler called me on the phone and asked me if I could do a Restaurant reveal at a well known casual/sports restaurant. She was in a bind, as it needed done before the end of February.

I didn't push for a bonus, I Have worked with this scheduler in the past and she has been good to me, so I agreed to do it. I rearranged my schedule, and fit it in.

The instructions stated that this should be a counter shop. That the only time it should be a table shop, is if they do not have a counter, in which case this should be explained in the report.

The restaurant did not have a counter, and so I was forced to do a table shop. I explained this in my report.

I got an email from a quality editor, who asked me why I had done a table shop, when it was supposed to be a counter shop.

I wrote a very detailed explanation to her as to what had happened, pointing out that I had addressed this in my report, but would be more than willing to do so in greater detail, if she felt that it was necessary.

I then got another email informing me that I would not be paid, as the directions clearly stated that "Under no circumstances" should I do a table shop.

I replied with a scanned copy of the job details, highlighting the part that said to do a table shop if there was no counter. I indicated that I had done the job in good faith, and I expected that BestMark would honor their commitment and pay me.

The final verdict seems to be that ignoring me will make me go away. Hence I am out $20 for this shop.

So, BestMark is officially on my "Risky Business" list.

I have considered notifying them that their credit with me has been rescinded and any and all future shops I perform with them will need to be paid in advance, but seriously, they just aren't worth the effort.

Next time I get a phone call from the scheduler though, I fear she may get an earful of pent-up frustration.

I understand your irritation. I had a similar 'not enough time in the bar' complaint from another company. I sent them copies of the email instructions received as well as the website instructions I had downloaded and asked that they show me where there was a time requirement. It took a number of unanswered emails before I found somebody in the chain of command who responded. I got paid but the communication was so bad they are on my 'last resort' list.

Bestmark has always seriously underpaid for expectations, so I do a job for them when I need something specific from the hardware store that can be an 'unreimbursed business expense' since they don't reimburse a purchase. I also do one restaurant for them on a carry out basis only because you can't sit down in the place for the fee offered. I have yet to be stiffed by them but most of their restaurants are not a place I would choose to spend my own money so why take the chance of being stiffed?

Now that they have lost their 'fun shops' there is little reason to do the rest of the underpaid stuff that was filled mostly by bribes of 'fun shops'.

When your scheduler calls I would explain to her that you got stiffed on your last favor for her and that nobody has even responded to your issue. That it was bad enough getting stiffed on the one job, which could possibly have been your error, but the second one was just an outrage and the failure of communication has just made it worse. In fact it may make sense to email your scheduler for assistance with that favor shop since other communication is being ignored.

Bestmark has a new scheduler in may area. To put it simply, he is as worthless as they come. Very demanding, inflexable and refuses to answer questions. In addition, he expects you to go out of your way and do a jump and run for no additional increase in pay. I hope he reads this...

Well, I only do coffee/bookstore and casual restaurant for them. My scheduler is actually very nice. I was sick the other weekend and emailed 1 hour past the due time on the restaurant shop which was to be Friday or Saturday....(it was Saturday)
I asked if I could do it the following day on Sunday...........she told me to get well and sure.........scheduled it for next day........she also added to email her if I still didn't feel well enough to complete it the next day.
I guess I have just been lucky w/Bestmark.........no probs........actually a few months ago..........one editor sent me email stating I didn't need to give so much detail on restaurant shop..........think she was a bit lazy........I copied and pasted the instructions stating........YOU MUST PROVIDE DETAILED EXPLANATION OF ALL YES AND NO ANSWERS!!!
BTW..........she no longer edits for Bestmark........she was kind of a smart alec as she emailed me back and said that she was just trying to help me out by not having to spend so much time on report......quote, "Thought you might want some extra time for yourself!" Yeah, right.........as soon as I cut down on the details........I could predict another editor come along and scold me for not enough detail. I responded that I had been doing these shops for 3 years and never had an editor complain of too much detail.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/08/2009 01:26AM by bugspost.

I only do a couple of shops for them-coffee stores near me, the occasional electronic store (when I needed something there personally,) and phone shops to the HW store. My scheduler is a super sweet guy and very thankful.

I do retail,hardware,coffee,auto,and hopefully casino shops again soon. I never had a problem with them either. Good ratings, quick pay!

JayTee:

To be out a total of $170 plus your time and efforts (for reasons that don't add up), I wouldn't let this die if I were you. Your writing style tells us that your reports had to have been well-written, plus you did everything by the book. It wouldn't surprise me if Bestmark submitted your reports to the clients and got paid for them, keeping all of the money for themselves.

I haven't shopped for them after getting penalized $2 from a $10 shop. I never had to work so hard for $8 in my life! They just aren't worth it...thank goodness they aren't the only game in town!