I'm about to apply more companies and thought I would ask the experience ones. Which ones should be avoided?

Off road: survey company: avoid Global Test Market.

Infotel

Channelwatch.net: Not only do they pay late, if at all, I had to threaten legal action with my Attorney General before they would pay. I told their scheduler they will end up with no shoppers and jobs left unfilled resulting in their business being damaged. What a stupid way to conduct business.

P.S.--Also heard that Orilio won't even pay you at all for your shops and there are problems with Service Evaluation Concepts not paying either.

Good for you in asking before you waste time doing shops and get jerked out of your money!!!

Good Luck to you.

I don't know about Orilio. I would check the threads here and V and MS freedom. They pay some people, not others....and nagging is involved. Bouncing check, too,,on the V board. But I would beware.

I've got several friends who work for gapbuster and they have not been paid for months. every time they ask the people at gapbuster to enquire about their pay, the manager says they are working on it. i was told by one employee working there that the manager pushes for payments of shoppers they know but don't care about shoppers like us. Please be careful. Stay away from gapbuster

Thanks for all wisdom. If there are more, let's hear more..

Again, MiscAdvisor, my contacts on other boards are having no difficulty getting paid for Gapbuster work that was not their own problem (such as trying to have payment sent to a credit union account or not following stated job instructions). It has been quite some time since I worked for Gapbuster because 1) they have little in my area, 2) I find their "Payment" information deceptive as it is not just the fee but also the reimbursement for required expenditures, 3) I find what jobs are available are stale scenarios and 4) I find their fees are low. My most recent job for them was performed 6/18 with a $70 bonus and was fully and completely paid by direct deposit on 7/21. Slightly over 30 days for payment is nothing to sneeze at.

I agree w/ Flash about Gapbuster.........the only way pay is delayed is if there is a problem that has not been clarified.......I do not believe Gapbuster would pay veteran shoppers instead of newbie shoppers. There fees are low but when you grab a bonus shop......it is worth it. Never had a pay issue w/them myself.

I do a shop a month for GAP and always get paid via DD.

To get jobs that are better pay and usually always pay on time, go to the MSPA website.

www.mysteryshop.org

I don't do much mystery shopping anymore, demonstrations pay much better, with less paperwork and have steady weekend work,most of the time.

www.stayingconnected.com Pleae use 72486 for referral code

I just got a payment from GameFilm. I hadn't worked for them in a while, so I looked up the assignment. It was done in May of 2007. There are two assignments for them right after it that I had marked as not yet paid. My other payments due were made. I'm glad they paid. I was extremely busy with assignments about then, and since then, too, so I hadn't really noticed. This year I am too busy to link assignments with pay. I list them separately and try to rely upon my memory. Maybe if I have a sick day I better go back and look while I'm resting.

Considering how many companies I have had to 'go after' this year by email and phone for payment and how many have been not only late but short, you really do need to keep track of information about the job, the contract amount and when it was done. This is especially true now that many of them have stretched a 30 day payment cycle to 2 and 3 months! I finally have closed out through July because I just wrote off stuff where I got screwed. I have some open August where the companies have not gone belly up yet so there is still hope of payment.

It's easier to blame the company for not paying you than place the blame where it belongs, On the Individual!
Most of the problems people are having is like mentioned, having the funds going to a credit union or a bank and not giving all the informtion or the wrong information, or not totally completing a shop. Talk to your scheduler and look at your work history and payment boards, see what's happening. Most of the companies pay every 30 days, companies like Infotel, pays every 90 days.
And: Companies do not pay veteran shoppers over the newbies! I don't care how much you yell, If you didn't get paid, you messed something up. Find out what it is and fix it, then you'll gt paid.

creole Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's easier to blame the company for not paying
> you than place the blame where it belongs, On the
> Individual!
> Most of the problems people are having is like
> mentioned, having the funds going to a credit
> union or a bank and not giving all the informtion
> or the wrong information, or not totally
> completing a shop. Talk to your scheduler and look
> at your work history and payment boards, see
> what's happening. Most of the companies pay every
> 30 days, companies like Infotel, pays every 90
> days.
> And: Companies do not pay veteran shoppers over
> the newbies! I don't care how much you yell, If
> you didn't get paid, you messed something up. Find
> out what it is and fix it, then you'll gt paid.


I so totally disagree with this. I have done shops where I have gotten a 10/10 and still had to beg for the $. Some people do not do good work, me included, for a variety of reasons (illness, stress, personal situation, poor work ethic, etc.) But when you did good work and have to beg for the $, especially when it is fine dining with a huge outlay up front, well, I'm sorry, you are just wrong. The blame goes with the ISC. They liked my work, they owe me.

Indeed, this year the need to follow up to get payments is really bad. Some companies are still paying like clockwork, but a disturbing number of companies need to be contacted repeatedly for payment. These are the same companies with the same account numbers they have successfully used for years to deposit money to as well as companies that have sent the check to the same address for years. They generally don't deny that they haven't paid, though generally the express 'surprise' and that they will 'check into it and get back with you'. But for the first time this year I am not accepting new jobs from companies where payment is past due date. And often they not get 'back with you' in a reasonable time. I work for pay not for 'Thank you! Great work.'

I will not work for companies that make me chase for my pay. My time is worth something and having to call/email, etc. takes up my time. I have no problem w/companies setting their pay schedules but if you say 45-60 days and 61 days have passed and I haven't been paid.......that is unacceptable.

MS companies don't put up w/us not fulfilling our part of the contract. We have deadlines they require us to meet as far as inputting reports and turning in receipts so I hold them to the same standards.

If a company has a problem and payment will be late, they should notify the shoppers. Over the years, I have had a few do this. Service intelligence and Trendsource. They emailed and apologized that payments would be a day late.
Infotel was horrible about paying. They stated 90 days.......and would drop your shop history off their site in 90 days........it would take them 120-180 days to pay shoppers..........if they want to state 120-180 days.........so be it but don't say 90 and then make shoppers wait another month or two or three.

creole,
You sounded like you own a company or work for them. No need to defend there.
Cheers.. :)

Creole--

How many shops have you done?

Creole is giving the positives, not the negatives, which are certainly in the minority. Good for you!

Ultimately, the one responsible is youself.

I do give preference to companies that pay quickly and reliably.

Sensus took almost a year to pay; they go by a different name now. I called them over and over; and they were high end restaurant shops, money out of pocket, so when the check finally came it was over $400.

I, yes I, should not have let it go on so long.

Wannabe scheduler/editor

Creole was terminated about 10 days ago. But I think s/he would be a very fine scheduler at STN.

And welcome back, gentle.

sneakers Wrote:
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> Creole was terminated about 10 days ago. But I
> think s/he would be a very fine scheduler at STN.


I love my scheduler at STN...Thanksfully she is NOT Creole!