Be very wary about accepting mystery shopping assignments from this company. They will not fully reimburse shoppers for required out-of-pocket expenses. I have done well over 100 shops for various companies and this is the first time the company failed to reimburse for legitimate, documented expenses. Even when the problem was brought to their attention, they refused to budge, even though it was their error.

Brent20, I hear your frustration. You will find that most shops that have a reimbursement specify what that maximum is and what you are required to purchase. We have all been in a position from time to time where the required purchase costs more than the specified reimbursement maximum. Unfortunately the difference comes out of the shopper's pocket and the shopper learns not to do that shop again. I have negotiated some significant bonuses on shops where the reimbursement in the past did not cover the requirements and the scheduler can't find anybody to do the shop because of that very factor, and I have done thousands of shops. You will find that some companies systematically under-reimburse on restaurant shops such that their reimbursement amounts to approximately a coupon. Many other companies offer a reimbursement that can cover purchase requirements either at the bottom or middle of the menu.

Don't be angry with Monterey Mystery Shopping, rather don't take the shop in the future and when they come begging to have it done, insist on a bonus large enough to more than make it worth your time and expenditure. At 100 shops total you are still very much in the 'learning curve'.

Note that if required purchases can not be met by the reimbursement you have an 'unreimbursed business expense' that is tax deductible to your business.

I have done a couple of there dealerships that a scheduling Co. handles. I found them to be a faster paying MSC...I had no reimbursement. I get the fact that if some of these MSC's have to call, they deduct, totally not fair. The first time in 6 years, I had my fee deducted and had no clue this popular Co. (TS) had this practice. I was shocked my 30.00 fee went to 26.00 due to a couple emails asking for more info. another way to sting the shopper, there are many MSC's that don't pratice this, and I wish more would be aware and start to complain, it is an outrage.

Monterey has always been good, pay quickly and upstanding.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2011 02:47PM by Irene_L.A..

Monterey has always payed me just fine and their shops were straight up.

just received a payment for their car dealer audit... $175... whoo hoo!!

I have done the high end auto shops for them and the regular auto shops. The pay is better than some MSCs and the payment for shop is received quickly. I have no problem with them and find them to be excellant to work with. I have done many restauraunt shops where the bill was more than the payment. I figure that I am going to eat out anyway and I would rather have some of my money back rather than none. This is nearly always the occurence when I do the desert restaurant shops. I love the food and service though. I usually spend 15.00 more than I am reimbursed. That is a cheap price for dinner for two at a good restauraunt.

I have the similar bad experience not with Monterey but with NWLPC (Northwest Loss Prevention Consultants). See my "Mystery Shopping Company" Post.

Once again you are bashing a very reliable MSC...this is your second bashing, and I for one am not believing when one has a problem doing a job, a company like Monterey will not take care of it and work with you...if your not giving details and this is your second bashing, where is your credibility.

secretsecretshopper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have the similar bad experience not with
> Monterey but with NWLPC (Northwest Loss Prevention
> Consultants). See my "Mystery Shopping Company"
> Post.

irene/flash i wouldnt put to much stock in it... i dont think it makes a difference one way or another...

anyone with 10 brain cells can see the ones who are on here for no reason at all but to bash a certain msp... the thing is... they wont stick around... to much trouble for them...

Yes, and certainly Brent20 has not returned since the bash post. But it is perhaps important for subsequent readers of the forum when they search for information about the company to recognize that the OP's experience is not supported by the experience of others. On the chance that the OP will subsequently become a valuable and contributing member of the forum who had one just awful experience, there is little point in immediately branding as a basher, though when they don't even return to read responses you know their sole purpose was to try to give the company a black eye.

I've only completed 1 shop for this MSC, but all transpired as agreed.

Another shopper with no issues with Monterrey. Quick, reliable payments.

Wow sounds like somebody has an axe to grind, posting in every MSC thread to bash one company isn't going to make your case more credible, in fact it does the exact opposite.


secretsecretshopper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have the similar bad experience not with
> Monterey but with NWLPC (Northwest Loss Prevention
> Consultants). See my "Mystery Shopping Company"
> Post.

I have never had a problem with any company as long as I followed their guidelines and did the shop on time with proper comments. When I look into the mirror the only problem there is me.

Appreciate all the input here. My first shop for Monterey is 11/10. Looking forward to getting started with them. I love auto shops!

This comapny just sheisted me out of payment. They are frauds, beware!!!!

This company is definitely not a fraud. I saw your other post in which you explained more fully that they told you that your report was not properly filled out. I'm sorry you had difficulty with your shop.

I've done many shops for Monterey and never even gotten a question on my report. Payment is fast and they offer reasonable payment for their shops. I've been more than happy with them. My only complaint about Monterey is that they don't have more shops in my area. I certainly won't stay away from them, and I encourage other shoppers to sign up and shop with them.

I am unable to access the report that I submitted. When I accepted the shop, I read the guidelines in full. I accepted the payment offer of $25.00 plus $7.00 bonus. The guidelines did not state anywhere that the text boxes must have 2 sentences. The text boxes accepted my descriptions without minimum character requirements. The report was submitted successfully without error messages, and nothing stopped the transmission of the report for failure to include required information. The shop required me to register on the site that was linked to the email. I have fully registered and have completed the survey per the specifications. If you choose to withold payment, do so at your own risk, because the attorney general will be getting a report about it. Please process payment unless you want negative press. And remove me from your database.

M
On Aug 20, 2012, at 7:38 PM, John Thomas wrote:

M,

Per my earlier e-mail, I returned your mystery shop to you so that you could fix it. Can I ask why you resubmitted it unchanged? Did you not receive my earlier e-mail? The full text of the original e-mail follows for your convenience:

I have reviewed your recent mystery shop at Volvo of XXXXXX, and at this time I am returning it to you. Complete sentences are a requirement in reports, and most of the text boxes require a minimum of two sentences to be acceptable. You must carefully read the questions and respond to them, explaining when necessary. Please review the shopper guidelines you received and expand upon your answers. More information is better than less!

Additionally, we show you as not registered with Monterey Mystery Shopping. In order to be paid, you must be registered, so please go to www.montereymysteryshopping.com and register as soon as possible.

In accordance with shopper guidelines, please complete your registration and re-submit your shop within 24 hours.

Regards,
--
John Thomas, Editor
Coast to Coast Scheduling Services, Inc.
www.ctcss.com
johnt@ctcss.com



OK, here is a FRAUD......they give me the shop, I register and read the guidelines for the shop, now they tell me that I am not registered. EGG IN FACE!!!!!!

blanca,

Thank you for providing facts/documentation in your post. Not telling you what to do here but you may want to edit your post to remove all traces of the client's name. I see that you already made an effort to do so but what remains may still be a problem.

Here are my thoughts after reading your post:

1. CTCSS is a scheduling company. It schedules shops for MSCs (mystery shopping companies). Sometimes, as apparently is the case here, CTCSS also provides editing services to an MSC. In this case, the MSC is Monterey Mystery Shopping.

2. It appears that you are in CTCSS's database but you are not registered with the MSC, Monterey Mystery Shopping. Did you register with Monterey Mystery Shopping? If so, did you get a confirmation number or email? (I am not registered with Monterey and so I don't know for sure.)

3. It is extremely rare for a scheduling company to handle shopper payment. Usually, the MSC pays the shopper.

4. If you are not registered with Monterey Mystery Shopping, you won't receive payment. Monterey needs to have your name, address, and tax and payment information before it can pay you.

5. Did you receive the previous email the editor mentioned? If so, was there a reason why you resubmitted the report without making the requested changes?

6. Regardless of whether you received the previous email, you now know what changes the editor requested.

7. Proper grammar is required in most reports. It is not a fraud or a scam for an editor to return a report to a shopper so that the shopper can correct grammatical mistakes.

8. I can understand you being upset if you were never told, before this, that most text boxes required a minimum of two sentences to be acceptable. Was there a report sample in your shop materials?

9. On the other hand, a two-sentence response in each text box does not seem unreasonable. After all, a report needs to paint a complete picture of what happened during the shop. For an automotive shop, many details are usually involved.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2012 01:19AM by BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz.

I am so glad we have reached a point where we can discuss this.

Buzz, is correct about scheduling through CTCSS and actually working with Monterey. There was a problem somewhere if blanka was able to submit her report. The report has to be submitted through Monterey's website and I'm not sure how that could have been accomplished without registering. Payment will also be on Monterey and registration issues will be a problem.

I don't recall Monterey ever providing a sample narrative and their reports definitely do not indicate how much or how in depth the want that narrative. Two complete sentences is minimal in the world of mystery shopping and amazing for shops that pay as much as what they offer. A new shopper would have nothing to compare it to and no way to know. Submitting the same report without making any changes or expanding on any narratives would result in non-payment, regardless of the MSC.

When I started it was overwhelming how much was expected and as a newbie every job seemed difficult and took a long time. It is a hard learning process. Companies don't actually want to reject reports and deny payment, but it is damned hard not to think that when you have given it your all and it is still not good enough. Most, not all, but most, MSCs will try to work with you. To this day if I am asked for more information and I feel it was provided, my first step is to ask them what the problem is and what looking for specifically.

For your information,

I had registered with both CTSS and Monterey BEFORE the shop was even offerred to me. I was really happy to get the gas bonus of $7.00, because the gas bonus doesnt even cover the gas. So, I already lost some money in gas, and I spent 1 whole hour at the auto dealer. Another hour doing the form. I wrote one sentance for a few boxes, and 2 or 3 sentances for the other descriptions.

This is ludicrous that it was returned! And then to say I wasnt registered? C'mon now.

Also, the first email told me to resubmit the report because it was incomplete. I read through it three more times and saw that each and every single check box was marked and the description boxes were filled out. It never said anything at all about missing info.So I re-sent it as is.

Then, when I got the second email, I tried a fourth time to look again, the report had disappeared entirely from the montereymysteryshopping site. Now I cant even revise it. STIFFED! FRAUDS!

Just because instructions dont mention minimum comments, that doesnt mean they wont ask you to elaborate or write more.

also, you ranted about this company along with others in another thread, why do it here as well? its called spamming. stop it.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2012 02:00AM by cinemaphile.

Like I said, I never registered with Monterey and so I did not know how there reports were submitted. If you submitted your report on Monterey's site, then you were registered.

If that was a mistake on the editor's part, it should be a simple matter of bringing it to his attention.

Now, as to the editor returning your report...

Did you write in incomplete sentences? I don't mean one or two. If there were just minor grammatical mistakes, the editor, IMO, should just fix those mistakes. That comes with the job.

OTOH, if many of your sentences were incomplete, then it was reasonable to return the report to you.

Please note that the editor was returning your report for correction and not rejecting your report and refusing to pay you. That's a big difference.

If you refuse to make any changes to your report and simply resubmitted your report that the editor already deemed unacceptable, then how can you expect to get paid for the shop?

Now, the question of the number of sentences in each text box is a totally different story.

If you were never warned when you accepted the shop that most of the text boxes required at least two sentences, then, setting aside the question of grammar, you did your job as long as what you put in the text boxes and report painted a clear picture of what happened during the shop and you answered all the questions completely.

The number of sentences is not the point when you were never required to put a minimum number of sentences in the text boxes. The important thing is the substance/quality of your comments.

Edited to add:

I didn’t see your last post before typing my response. That paints a clearer picture of what happened, thank you.

If you are still interested in getting paid for this shop and are willing to make the changes the editor requested, may I suggest that you send an email to the editor in a non-hostile tone? You may, if you wish, simply state that you tried to log in to Monterey’s site so you could make the corrections the editor requested, but you were unable to do so. Let’s see how he responds.

The editor, or someone else, may have deactivated your account because of your previous email. I am not saying that was the right thing to do (if that was what happened), but I can understand why someone might react negatively to your email.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2012 02:06AM by BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz.

No reason to go back to the whole fraud thing. There is a problem here and obviously it is not entirely on you. As I said, you had to be registered in order to submit that shop. The initial e-mail to you did not explain anything and I would have done the same as you, checked to be sure it was complete. This is where I would have gone a different direction and asked what more they were needed at that point.

As silly as this may seem, have you tried different passwords on the site? I have a heck of a time with Prophet sites (that is the reporting platform) and have had to go back to my original confirmation e-mail to get the right one. If you are accessing the site and the report is gone, the next step is to contact the scheduler and editor once again. Tell them exactly what you have told us. You did not know what they wanted and tried to access the report to find it gone. If that job has been assigned to another shopper everyone's hands will be tied. On the other hand, if it still has not been filled, there is a chance you will be able to work it out and still be paid. If you have any doubts about what they want from you, tell them and let them explain.

Oh. They used Prophet? It may be as simple as the Prophet software (and not the editor, CTCSS or Monterey) removing the shop because it became past due.

One thing to mention here. When I accepted the shop, I did the shop entirely, and exactly per the instructions. I spent more time there than was probably needed, but genuinely wanted to make it an informative report. When you read the instructions, and follow then exactly, there is no reason at all for this nonsense.

The report contained all kinds of detailed answers to question and was VERY specific, not in any way generic, or filled out in a lazy heartbeat just to get paid.All of the sentances were complete sentances and answered the questions. There were no minimum character requirements as I have seen on other forms. There was nothing wrong with my report.

Lets get real, when the time investment to get paid $25 becomes like 7 hours? Obviously, you have to just throw in the towel and cut your losses. This is why I call it a scam. This company has literally exhausted me, over a form that a second grader could fill out. Yes, I saw that comment from someone else, and agree!

Lisa,

Thanks at least for the comment. My frustration level is sky high at the moment, because of this recent nonsense. Understand that it is the same repeat nonsense that I have encountered with both Marketforce and Bestmark.

Sad part is, I really thought all shops were fun, and sort of liked the flexibility, but really had to think about spending the $4.00/gallon gas to do this.

When you see that something simple is turned into a nightmare debacle, all to avoid payment in bad faith, its time to rethink MS entirely.

Less than 1 complete sentence for a car dealership?? Wow.


blanka Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For your information,
>
> I had registered with both CTSS and Monterey
> BEFORE the shop was even offerred to me. I was
> really happy to get the gas bonus of $7.00,
> because the gas bonus doesnt even cover the gas.
> So, I already lost some money in gas, and I spent
> 1 whole hour at the auto dealer. Another hour
> doing the form. I wrote one sentance for a few
> boxes, and 2 or 3 sentances for the other
> descriptions.
>
> This is ludicrous that it was returned! And then
> to say I wasnt registered? C'mon now.

robinhardage Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Less than 1 complete sentence for a car
> dealership?? Wow.

No.

"I wrote one sentance for a few boxes, and 2 or 3 sentances for the other descriptions."