DO you have any companies which you refuse to Shop. Difficult scheduler difficult report, low pay or non-payers?

It would be nice to have a list so that new shoppers will be on warning?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/24/2010 03:31AM by kittybratt.

There's one company I've only gotten $3.00 shop offers from. Granted, they're phone shops, but I don't even want to bother. If the survey was 5 yes or no questions, maybe then, but I know it's not!

That is a really mixed bag. I rarely, if ever, do anything for CORI, yet I feel they are a valuable resource for beginning shoppers because of their training, their limited expectations and their prompt payment. I do, however, feel that most shoppers that have gotten their feet wet with some success need to move on to better paying work with companies they would want to stay with. (It does you little good to jump in on complex shops with little experience, mess it up, get a shop rejected and get yourself terminated.)

There are companies I am very wary of the shops I accept from them based on the scheduler, the unexpected surprises in the instructions/reports, the editorial policies, the low pay or the chasing pay. We all have different experiences with these. There are companies I find super easy to work with, such as Market Force, which seem to cause others ulcers. Meanwhile others seem to love working for Bare and I can hardly tolerate them at all for a variety of reasons. Yet, again, I think they are a reasonable learning ground for bank shops--do a few and move on.

Other than the ones I have purposely deactivated myself from (currently Bestmark and Freeman, out of more than 400 companies I am registered with...) there are none I will flat out refuse to shop for. But, there are companies that I ignore on a routine basis. Why? Slow pay, low pay, rude and/or incompetent schedulers, unfriendly to shopper policies, late (per contract terms) payments, lack of ethics, etc. I am able to get enough work that suits my wishes and needs without stooping to work for people/firms I have issues with, so I don't. I have put in my time doing some grunt jobs, and paid my dues to get the better ones. I continue to do so with firms that I do jobs for as a newbie to them. In some ways, I'm rather lucky, as I teach college and hold the terminal degree in my field in a shopping market where people many do not even finish high school. That means my writing skills are better than some of my competition for the *good* jobs...therefore netting me more jobs. (Hint there-improving your writing skills, if they are not up to par, can only help you get some of the better jobs out there.) I am also lucky, though, in that there are a lot of upscale clients in my market, due to HI's location on the planet and popularity as a shopping and vacation mecca. It definitely makes for more work here than some other places.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/2010 06:16AM by dee shops.

ServiceTrac, because they have a history of "the dog ate your invoice," and of hiring staff to manage video shopping who have nevr done a video shop and do not even know how to assemble and turn on a video rig.

EPMS, for their arrogant attitude towards shoppers (who are always wrong, lying and lazy, as far as this company seems to think). In addition, they maintain the right to give out shopper information to clients to turn over to disgruntled employees who have gotten negative shop results.

Edited to add:There are a bunch types of shops that I do not do, either due to low fees or type of shop (Hate fast food.). As it happens, that tends to mean that there are a few "low end" companies that, in practice, I do not work for. Others have called them out here.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/2010 09:11PM by walesmaven.

This is a difficult question because the answer changes over time with the clients and performance of each MSC. I have a bigger list of particular shops I will avoid than companies.

The only MSCs I avoid at all costs right now are Restaurant Evaluators and Freeman. Neither will pay you time and they seem to have a bad attitude about their inability to pay, as if it's somehow rude for a shopper to request a payment that's 30 days behind. Restaurant Evaluators also has communication skills that rival my pet rock. Wait...I actually find the rock slightly more responsive.

O Yea, Steve, I forgot about RE. I will never work for them again, either.

I'm surprised that you say Bestmark. I washed my hands of them about 2 years ago. They were my very first shopping company and now they aren't the best anymore since my scheduler left. That should have been a red flag. Plus, you really don't make any money just reimbursements.

dee shops Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Other than the ones I have purposely deactivated
> myself from (currently Bestmark and Freeman, out
> of more than 400 companies I am registered
> with...) there are none I will flat out refuse to
> shop for. But, there are companies that I ignore
> on a routine basis. Why? Slow pay, low pay, rude
> and/or incompetent schedulers, unfriendly to
> shopper policies, late (per contract terms)
> payments, lack of ethics, etc. I am able to get
> enough work that suits my wishes and needs without
> stooping to work for people/firms I have issues
> with, so I don't. I have put in my time doing some
> grunt jobs, and paid my dues to get the better
> ones. I continue to do so with firms that I do
> jobs for as a newbie to them. In some ways, I'm
> rather lucky, as I teach college and hold the
> terminal degree in my field in a shopping market
> where people many do not even finish high school.
> That means my writing skills are better than some
> of my competition for the *good* jobs...therefore
> netting me more jobs. (Hint there-improving your
> writing skills, if they are not up to par, can
> only help you get some of the better jobs out
> there.) I am also lucky, though, in that there
> are a lot of upscale clients in my market, due to
> HI's location on the planet and popularity as a
> shopping and vacation mecca. It definitely makes
> for more work here than some other places.

If you search here, you will see the story as to why. No need to bore everyone repeating it. I just had enough. I was done.

Bestmark comes about as close as a MSC can get to my "Do Not Shop" list while still being a consideration.

The fact is that they pay in a timely manner and are communicative. I see them as a stepping stone to shopping, like CoRI. You can get your feet wet, find a lot of assignments and learn how to write reports, then take those skills to companies that will pay you better for your time.

Like CoRI, there's an occasional gem offered in the barrage of crappy shops offered by Bestmark. They are just getting fewer and fewer as time goes by.

My all time "no no" is Bestmark, with Marketforce coming in second, but only because I don't like there jobs. Second to none, done me wrong, and Intellishop and I made up, just finished two shops for them (after a year of not working for them). This comes and goes, like the wind. Things will always change, and I do jobs not always because of the company, but, because I like to do the jobs.

And of course my "Enough is enough!" company was Maritz. I just asked that they terminate me as a shopper and they did

people just love Maritz.. I sign up for many shops but they are always assigned to other shoppers. People have told me just to call and ask for the shop but I really dont do that, I did one shop for them and the other one I was assigned to do was way to involved for the money it was paying so I called and asked to be taken fromt he shop.. They wanted me to stop and take pictures across a very main street with no shoulder. I thought it was too dangerous and l called them and told them I could not do it,

I pick and choose, proceeding with caution on a few. I don't have a refuse to shop list. I haven't deactivated myself, or been deactivated. But that's not to say I haven't gone a few rounds when needed.

As I i posted elsewhere, my first experience with BestMark was frustrating. The issue was thankfully resolved in a timely manner, but the jury is out. Their shops in my area are not just reimbursement ones, so it would depend on the project and pay. Not jumping through hoops, but not avoiding at this point.

Almost all of my companies on my black list are no longer in business - OA, PRG, G3 and JC and Associates. The only other one I would not shop for is Freeman, but that is based on others experiences, not my own.

From what I understand, Bill Orillio has a new company - that would also be on my refusal list.

I would shop for Market Stat is they had a shop that was desirable to me. While they did buy JC and Associate, my understanding is that Jason Riverea has nothing to do with the Market Stat going forward. Plus Market Stat also bought Consumer Critique, and I had nothing but good stuff to say about them.

If you hear a new name for Bill Orillio's company, please let us know! That and any company associated with Harvey Gasn (of Datatron demise) need to be avoided like poison ivy.

Here is a link to an article written by Bill Orilio in August 09, after the demise of OA and Associates. It states that he is the owner of Hospitality Consultants in San Diego... however, it is highly possible that at this point, he is the one and only "consultant" working. I have never actually heard that they were hiring shoppers (and if I did, I would be shouting it to the world - run! run!).

[www.hotel-online.com]

I am pretty sure I know the new name, but since I have not been able to confirm it, I'm still researching.

G8r1966 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> people just love Maritz.. I sign up for many shops
> but they are always assigned to other shoppers.
> People have told me just to call and ask for the
> shop but I really dont do that, I did one shop
> for them and the other one I was assigned to do
> was way to involved for the money it was paying so
> I called and asked to be taken fromt he shop..
> They wanted me to stop and take pictures across a
> very main street with no shoulder. I thought it
> was too dangerous and l called them and told them
> I could not do it,

Hey, G8r1966, nice to see you on this forum. That other one has been so dead.

Before you get to self assign status, request the shop online and CALL AND ASK FOR THE SHOP. Really. This is a company that does things the old way. They LOVE the PHONE. I get emails from them that say nothing more than, "Call me, I have a shop I want to talk with you about." They are not netizens. NOT. Call them. When you get 10 shops under way, you can then avoid the phone and self assign. Except when an issue comes up. Then you still need to call them, as they do not read mail, at least, not in a timely manner.

Avoid Marketforce like the plague that it is. I had a chance to do a bonused shop for a bank, it was a fee I couldn't turn down so I went off to do the platform. The bank was right on their game and the shop went very well. A few days later I get a notice that Marketforce refused to pay the fee and I was out of luck. They claim that the branch manager said that I was her cousin and that I had lied about not being related to or friends with anyone in that bank. The fact that I wasn't from this area nor had any living family didn't seem to matter. They did not pay me for the bank shop. Prior to this They also claimed that I was spotted during a cell phone shop (which I know for sure I wasn't) and to "teach me a lesson"--their quote not mine---they not only were not going to pay me for cell phone but they weren't going to pay me for fast food either.


I also had some issues with Ath Power promising a nice bonus for some bank shops they were on deadline with and then not paying me anything more than the base rate. They said there was no proof that the scheduler promised me a penny over the regular fee and I was out of luck there too.

Use your own judgement about working for charlatans but that's my experience with them.

Cettie, the only word that comes to mind is unconscionable.

I've avoided MF because I knew they were a pain, with crappy pay, but what you are describing is downright criminal.

That's Marketforce in a nutshell.

Oh Boy: I can't wait for this one.
Market Force
ATH
Bestmark
CORI
Service Trac
Freeman is not difficult but they take forever to pay and they do lose invoices which means you do not get paid. I will hold on trashing them yet.

Which is why the topic of this thread is a little bizarre. I generally knock out $100 or so in shops for Market Force per month and very rarely have any problems with them. Of the 'big name' companies they are one of only a few with whom I will work.

I don't consider it bizarre. I find it very interesting. Because the kinds of shops and numbers of shops any given company might have in my area will differ from other areas of the country, hearing who other people won't shop for and why is interesting and enlightening to me.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2010 09:15AM by dee shops.

I'm gambling on Market Force. I've got a several shops out there and will be doing lots more so I hope payments start coming in. Looks like my first check will get mailed next week.

I am able to pick up lots of jobs from Bestmark and they have been paying. Have had trouble submitting some of their reports and instead of showing me how to fix it, they fix it late and then try to ding me for being late. I've written an email to my scheduler to say NO DINGS ALLOWED because I take all your jobs no one else wants! lol So far so good! And I do like working with Ron there because I am able to have a phone number to him instead of waiting on emails that never arrive like at other companies.

I've only done one for Atf and will wait to see if I get paid write because of what y'all have written here!

I wrote about having a problem with BestMark in another thread. (I'd contacted them before the shop was due and hadn't heard back, so I assumed that everything was okay.) It was my first shop and I was persistent -- I had proof of my contact attempts. Thankfully, they reversed the deduction, but if they hadn't, I would not consider working for them again.

Bestmark seems to hinge on their schedulers. When I first started working with them I had a fantastic scheduler. He would give new-to-Bestmark shoppers a fair shake even with the good shops (and they used to have a few really GOOD shops). He was reassigned to another area, where shoppers loved him, and my new scheduler is pretty much a pill. I no longer see the GOOD shops and assume the clients have moved on or stopped stopping. About every 3-4 months I do a shop for them as there is only one left in my market that even begins to be worthwhile.

Ron was mine. Beware.